Interview with Abdou Aziz Cissé, project coordinator for AfricTivistes CitizenLab

“CitizenLab is a programme designed to boost civic engagement. It empowers young people and supports them in creating a new dynamic of civic engagement through the creation of relevant content and training.”

Following on from Mauritania, it is now young people in Benin who are benefiting from this project. Why AfricTivistes CitizenLab?

AfricTivistes, a pan-African organisation founded in November 2015, runs projects aimed at mobilising young people. Following on from CitizenLab Mauritania, it is now the turn of CitizenLab Benin to be launched. CitizenLab is a programme designed to encourage civic participation. We want this project to be participatory, open and committed. It enables young people to promote civic engagement and participatory democracy by producing content and running training sessions for other young people, so that they too can be made aware of these issues. This is a pan-African project; Benin is the second country to benefit from it, following Mauritania. We will continue to roll it out in other African countries in order to build an Africa shaped by us and for us.

To what extent is it important for young people to get involved in civic life?

At AfricTivistes, we firmly believe that there can be no true democracy without citizen participation. After all, today’s young people are tomorrow’s leaders. As for the framework for engagement, it was adopted in 2021 at the Summit for Democracy. This framework serves as a guide for citizen participation; in particular, it includes provisions relating to freedom of expression, the defence of human rights and the political participation of young people within decision-making bodies. As part of this project, we call on governments to adopt the ‘Commitment Menu’, so that instruments such as the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (CADEG), the African Youth Charter, the Maputo Protocol, etc. are implemented. We are promoting all these instruments to make our leaders understand that our democracy will only be viable if all citizens, without exception, can participate in its strengthening and consolidation.

AfricTivistes’ “CitizenLab Bénin” project has just been launched – what’s next?

In Benin, there is already a community of young people. This collective initiative will organise a whole range of activities, including the production of content and the organisation of training sessions for other young people, with the aim of imparting knowledge on issues relating to democracy, the defence of human rights and other causes aimed at consolidating democracy in Benin. As Benin was a pioneer in the wave of democratisation in West Africa – it was here that the country’s first conference of civil society took place – we are not here to establish democracy; we want to consolidate it and strengthen citizens’ engagement.

A call to the young people of Benin?

Young people in Benin must realise their strength and potential. They must use that strength, those opportunities and that potential to strengthen democracy in Benin, for it is the only system that enables us to live life to the full in prosperity and to ensure that prosperity and development are not merely concepts, but a reality.

Interview conducted by Médard Clobechi, a member of CitizenLab Benin

See also: medardclobechi.mondoblog.org