Youth representation in decision-making Colleen Chibanda (left), David Gondongwe, Karen Manzera, Comfort Chirombe; and Nadia Mutisi

Nadia Mutisi

University of Zimbabwe
In keeping with global trends as well as the Agenda 21 agreed by world leaders at the Rio Summit of 1991, Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) ensures inclusion of youth voices to achieve its mission.

Not only has this facilitated increased knowledge and participation among the youth on key issues such as local and national budgeting, participation in parliamentary activities, they have played an important role in shaping debate culture especially among university students.

ZIMCODD consistently invests in the inclusion of the youth in all their activities.

They recently held a youth symposium in Bulawayo. The symposium once again raised instrumental ideas, concepts and issues that widened the scope of thinking of young people.

There was also a great representation of the youth at this year’s Zimbabwe Alternative Mining Indaba, allowing them to be included in the space and to also envision and take steps towards making their voices heard.

Zimbabwe has a thriving, world-renowned debate circuit. One of the key issues debaters in Zimbabwe have consistently raised is the identification of politics within our debate motions and the importance of doing something to change issues that would have been argued on.

It seems a growing number of debaters have become less interested in the accolades and are eager to be part of the solution.

The debates engaged in this year’s Youth Symposium and the Alternative Mining Indaba that focused on Zimbabwe’s debt accumulation, debt resource mobilisation, youth unemployment, and the compensation of white former commercial farmers, as well as Zimbabwe’s taxation policy with multinational corporations.

These debates are timely and imperative as they foster holistic as well as sustainable thinking amongst the youth.

Being included in conversations with organisations such as Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA), ZIMCODD and Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) — organisations that generally deal with inequalities and the marginalised within our country – means that young people are being influenced to be statesmen and not just politicians. This is a very important development for Africa.

Different conclusions were arrived at concerning the motions at hand. Discourse and engagement occurred, a great step in acknowledging the voices of the youth who comprise about 67 percent of Zimbabwe’s total population.

It is clear from the nature of Zimbabwe’s debate circuit that there are young people with ideas and ideas that are effective.

It is necessary to realise debate and debaters as not only people engaging in a mental sport as actual think tanks that have been trained over years to prioritise utility, sustainability and other very important attributes of good policies.

What ZIMCODD has done effectively is to build policy makers who are concerned about the actual subjects of their debates.

“Youth debates are part of building a movement for social and economic justice with young people who are conscious of the issues that we work on,” remarked Nqobizitha Mlambo, the Programme Officer (Citizen Engagement and Advocacy) with ZIMCODD.

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey