Advocating for youth in Africa’s peace and security agenda #WhatMakesYouthFeelSafe
Written by Sandiso Matshikiza, Graphics by Schalk van der Merwe
In March 2021, we came together with the Institute for Security Studies for what seemed like a simple and straightforward project on Youth, Peace and Security. Activist Aya Chebbi was approaching the end of her two year term as the African Union’s first Youth Envoy, so we wanted to reflect on her work and ask the question “What’s next for Africa’s Youth Peace and Security agenda?”
The conclusions that we reached during our reflection process revealed some startling insights:
42% of the world's youth will be African by 2030, yet little is being done to equip young leaders on the continent. The African Union, whose mandate is to cover Youth Peace and Security among its other agendas, seems detached from the needs of the youth on the ground. Constantly excluded from key decisions and represented by leadership who are much older, African youth do not feel safe and they do not feel heard.
So what did we do?
With these daunting facts, we saw an opportunity to crowdsource the perspectives of youth from all over Africa to understand: What makes youth feel safe? What makes youth feel unsafe? What made this campaign special was that we took a simple question of safety in one's community, easily answerable by a small child, and used it as a line of communication between African youth and AU leaders. By answering the question, African youth were directly influencing the next steps for the African Youth Peace and Security (YPS) agenda.
We kickstarted the campaign with a WhatsApp group to discuss the topic. Working with ISS lead researcher, Munei Kujeke, we convened over 130 young peace builders in more than 20 African countries.
Whilst the official platforms for the campaign were Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, it was on our WhatsApp group where the conversation unfolded organically. We worked with these young people to turn their statements into videos, which eventually spilled over onto other the other platforms. As the week progressed, there was an outpouring of videos from all over Africa, with youth bravely speaking out on issues such as the importance of good governance, the scourge of gender based violence and the need for inclusivity and opportunities across all youth groups.
“Hearing multiple perspectives, in different languages with different cultural backgrounds, united through a noble purpose, is a feeling that can only be described as spiritual.”
With an organic reach of over 548 000 people, the #WhatMakesYouthFeelSafe campaign clearly struck a chord. From the first sprouts of debate on the WhatsApp group, right up to the peak of the conversation during the round-up seminar - the conversation was rich, vulnerable and gave all those involved a genuine sense of belonging and importance. Accordingly, it came as no surprise when we learned that the campaign had caught the eyes of broadcasting channels such as eNCA and Big Daddy Liberty who invited lead researcher Muneinazvo Kujeke for interviews.
Behind the scenes: Key challenges and breakthroughs
Behind the scenes, the campaign did not come without its challenges. A major technical obstacle that we came across was the realisation that although the call to action had been for videos, not everyone involved in the campaign had access to bandwidth. So as the week progressed, we improvised and included posters and text messages as part of the conversation.
For the community manager and interaction designer on the account, this was a debut campaign which we playfully describe as a ‘baptism of fire’.
“My personal breakthrough was when engagement with the initial videos was very low and people were just not joining the conversation. I realised the value of my vulnerability and the need to honour my responsibility as African youth. So I grabbed a pen and board and I added my voice.”
Our team saw its defining moment, however, as we approached the campaign round-up seminar and Schalk surprised us with a short clip which showed all the faces of the youth who had participated in the campaign. This strategic move shifted the energy of the campaign and raised the commitment levels of the participants significantly- showing us that before issues are unpacked, the affected parties value being seen and acknowledged.
So, in a campaign that was meant to bring attention to Africa’s Youth Peace and Security agenda, we managed to reach youth across the continent and got them to raise their voices on critical issues which affect them and their ability to flourish.
For us, some of the key learnings were:
The importance of an authentic engaging conversation behind a public mobilization;
The importance of leading by example, and showing community members how to participate.
The importance of supporting and acknowledging participants so they feel heard. Whether by responding to them on social media, or featuring them in the content directly.
#WhatMakesYouthFeelSafe carries lifelong lessons on community, leadership and the importance of incorporating play in work.
