Post-COVID-19 Outlook: The Role of Young People in Urban Management
AFRICTIVISTES is at the heart of efforts to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are also working to address the crisis’s knock-on effects, particularly its socioeconomic impact in our countries. The coronavirus disease has exposed to the world the limits of our health systems and the shortcomings of dominant paradigms.
Africa is no exception. Alongside inadequate health infrastructure and a shortage of qualified staff, COVID-19 has exposed how unprepared our states are to manage the other, no less significant, effects of this public health crisis. Yet our governments should know that the best way to manage a crisis is to prevent it. Nevertheless, to reduce the shock, all organisations concerned about Africa’s future must support our states through this difficult task. For its part, AFRICTIVISTES, which is committed to transparency and good governance, is raising the alarm as authorities make missteps in the COVID-19 response.
AFRICTIVISTES closely follows the policies adopted in response to the pandemic and monitors how they are implemented. Since COVID-19 emerged, AFRICTIVISTES has kept a close eye on how our states are managing the crisis while also playing its part in raising public awareness.
In this context, some of our members, changemakers and social movements have launched social and civic initiatives in response to the crisis.
The context for civic engagement during COVID-19
The first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa were marked by a major wave of false information about the disease. The next phase saw a surge in civic engagement, with awareness-raising campaigns, public education and volunteering following the initial measures taken by political and health authorities.
Many social, technical and civic initiatives have been launched across the continent to curb the spread of COVID-19. Some youth initiatives have worked with public authorities and local authorities. Beyond organised civic movements, personal and spontaneous initiatives have also sprung up to help people through awareness-raising and civic education, in response to urgent needs.
From Dakar to Addis Ababa, hundreds of projects have emerged in response to COVID-19. Information and communication technologies are at the forefront, and young people are actively involved in the response.
Why focus on young people?
The activities being piloted in Senegal will be replicated in other countries. In Senegal, people aged 0 to 35 make up 70% of the population. According to the National Youth Council of Senegal (CNJS), which is affiliated with the Ministry of Youth, there are 17,000 youth associations in the country. In his inaugural speech for his second term, on 2 April 2019, Senegalese President Macky Sall placed a strong emphasis on young people, signalling the government’s willingness to work with them to build the country:
“For the period we are beginning today, this vibrant and creative youth, embodying the hope and vital force of the Senegalese nation, will remain one of my top priorities.”
Senegal can serve as a model for other countries, given that African populations are predominantly young. According to the French Development Agency (AFD), by 2050 more than half of Africa’s population will be under 25.
Why make youth initiatives and their collaboration with public authorities more visible?
Across the continent, we see many biases, stereotypes and clichés about the place and role of young people in public life.
Some perceptions and narratives claim that young people in Senegal and Africa more broadly are not involved in their countries’ or the continent’s political, community and social issues. Others claim that young people are interested only in entertainment and material comfort.
These biased views are why young people are excluded from decision-making and often left to fend for themselves. Outside election periods, when their demographic weight is seen as an asset, they are rarely consulted in decision-making.
The COVID-19 context has proved these views wrong: young people are at the heart of the response. They have worked to raise awareness in their communities through volunteering, supported healthcare workers, and, in some cases, youth associations have collaborated with public authorities and local authorities.
Mapping these initiatives shows how civic engagement is taking shape and highlights young people’s involvement in public life. It will also help identify youth associations, their areas of work and their collaborations with local authorities.
This mapping will provide enough data to show public authorities and local authorities that young people are highly engaged in community and civic issues. It will help shift perceptions and serve as a springboard for continuing these collaborations and making this practice sustainable. This points to a new order and a new relationship based on co-creation, to build the Africa of tomorrow.
Why are young people a force in the fight against COVID-19?
With the internet, young people make up 80% of the audience for mass media. This digital ecosystem places them at the heart of information, which circulates through their networks.
The digital revolution is being driven by young people equipped with digital tools and seeking a better life. In response to COVID-19, young people have sought solutions according to their abilities, skills and expertise, showing their willingness to contribute without expecting anything in return. This is also a way to prepare for and protect their future.
Looking beyond COVID-19
During the COVID-19 crisis in Africa, young people mobilised to confront the pandemic and take their future into their own hands, helping to meet citizens’ basic needs and keep them safe. Some volunteered and raised awareness in their local communities; others used digital tools to encourage people to follow preventive measures and the Ministry of Health’s recommendations.
Others went further by collaborating with public authorities and local authorities. In Senegal, for example, youth organisations volunteered to support healthcare workers during the crisis. Some young people also worked with local authorities to make and distribute masks and essential goods.
We have also seen young people exercise their right to civic oversight by demanding transparency and accountability during the health crisis. Some used social media to raise concerns about potential mismanagement during food distribution and the management of the State’s 1,000-billion COVID-19 response fund.
Through this forward-looking project, Africtivistes aims to identify youth organisations and analyse their collaboration with public authorities and local authorities to help build sustainable and resilient communities and cities.
Africtivistes also hopes that mapping youth initiatives will show the role young people play in public life and highlight their growing confidence in asserting that role. In Senegal, for example, young people make up 70% of the population.
By mapping youth initiatives across themes including citizenship, good governance, the fight against fake news, technology and human rights, Africtivistes will gather enough qualitative evidence to advocate for greater youth involvement in national decision-making.
Overall objective
Showcase young people’s initiatives in the fight against COVID-19, demonstrate their transformative power and ability to mobilise, and propose ways for them to work with governance structures at local, national and regional levels.
Specific objectives
- Highlight 100 youth initiatives responding to COVID-19 and their impact.
- Mobilise an online community around these initiatives to create a network for exchange and inspiration on young people’s civic engagement.
- Look beyond COVID-19: promote collaboration between youth organisations, local authorities and public authorities to increase young people’s involvement in decision-making and civic oversight.
Activities
- Map youth initiatives during the COVID-19 crisis.
- Identify the actors and youth associations involved in the COVID-19 response.
- Hold four webinars and produce four podcasts to discuss young people’s place in society, ways of collaborating with public authorities and local authorities, civic engagement and community management.
- Produce six short storytelling videos featuring some of the people behind these initiatives, and share them on social media (Facebook posts, video production and sponsored posts on Twitter).
Themes for mapping initiatives
- Civic engagement and volunteering;
- Access to information (media literacy and fake news) and respect for human rights;
- Transparency and good governance (civil society organisations, activists, government, etc.);
- Tech for good, information and communication technologies, and digital tools in the COVID-19 response.
Countries of implementation (including the diaspora)
- Mauritania
- Ghana
- Senegal
- Nigeria
- Mali
- Niger
- The Gambia
- Benin
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Central African Republic
Action plan
Phase 1: Collecting and processing data on initiatives
During Phase 1, Africtivistes will collect data on initiatives for the mapping, based on the themes listed above. The approach will involve monitoring digital channels from every angle. One team will search online for initiatives; another will contact the people behind them. A small committee will select the final initiatives using a scoring system.
The Senegal model will be rolled out in the other nine countries, with two focal points or representatives in each country.
A short questionnaire will be sent to the people behind the initiatives to understand the intentions and values that motivated their awareness-raising and civic action.
A database will be created of young people interested in civic engagement and civic leadership, to identify ways to support them and sustain this momentum around citizenship and volunteering among young people.
Senegal
- Identify initiatives in Senegal.
- Contact the initiatives in Senegal.
- Gather feedback and learn about the specific features of these initiatives.
- Have the committee approve the initiatives to be selected.
Other countries in the sub-region
- Identify focal points (two per country) from the Africtivistes network.
- Explain the project, its objectives and its action plan to them.
- Implement the action plan, following the Senegal model.
- Submit weekly or fortnightly activity reports.
Phase 2: Community engagement and an online space for civic dialogue
This phase will promote local narratives and engage the online community in exchanges and discussions about the role of young people in public life in Africa.
Topics will include:
- What lessons can young Africans draw from the COVID-19 crisis?
- How can young people become more involved in public life?
- How can this renewed civic awareness be harnessed and sustained?
- Where are the opportunities for collaboration and synergies between youth initiatives, and how can young Africans in the diaspora be more involved?
- How can young people, public authorities and local authorities work together?
- What kind of advocacy can increase youth involvement in decision-making?
360° communications strategy and content types
- Storytelling videos (number to be determined) in which people behind the initiatives explain why they launched their projects and how they see their engagement developing after COVID-19.
- Webinars with young changemakers from the selected countries. Three webinars will be held.
- Podcasts featuring changemakers, civil society organisations and local authorities. Two podcasts will be produced.
The different types of content will be shared organically on Africtivistes’ accounts on the following platforms:
- YouTube channel for webinar recordings
- Podcast platform (SoundCloud)
To reach a wider audience and increase visibility, sponsored posts will also run on:
Newsletters will be sent to Africtivistes’ pan-African network and partners:
- A newsletter on youth initiatives in Africa;
- An information newsletter inviting people to take part in or watch the webinar;
- An information newsletter about following the podcasts.
Timeline
The project will run for three months, from 1 July to 30 September 2020.
Deliverables
- 100 youth initiatives, with at least five initiatives per country and per theme.
- Six short storytelling videos featuring some of the people behind the initiatives, to be produced and shared on social media (Facebook posts, video production and sponsored posts on Twitter).
- Three webinars and two podcasts to discuss young people’s place in society, ways of collaborating with public authorities and local authorities, civic engagement and community management.
- Media literacy, fake news and misinformation.
