What is Youth Dialogue?

The National Youth in Dialogue

The IEC's efforts to intensify its civic education campaigns have resulted in the formation of a dialogue with South African youth as a way of engaging and connecting with young voters. This discourse was organised to provide a platform to raise awareness amongst youth about the importance of participating in electoral processes and an opportunity to share their views and experiences in democratic South Africa.

The event, hosted on the 30th of October 2008, took place before the voter registration weekend on the 08th and 09th of November 2008. The summit can only be described as an interactive platform, attended by over 500 youth originating from different parts of South Africa, representing both organised formations and individuals attending in their private capacity.

It has become increasingly apparent that South Africa's youth have to be heard and various forums be identified in order to make their concerns known about their role in our democracy.

What can be perceived as interesting and unique about the event is that it was entirely organised by young people within the Commission, who heeded the CEO's call to join together, ultimately resulting in the formation of a steering committee. The committee comprised of young people from both national and provincial offices, who co-ordinated the event from start to finish. The team's execution of the CEO's brief was outstanding, doing the Commission proud to host a national summit of such magnitude.

Moreover, of relevance, is that fact that the Commission seized the opportunity to launch the concept of “Youth Ambassadors” at the Summit. The big idea behind the concept is to invite 100 young people from different spheres across the country to ultimately represent the spirit of democracy amongst their peers and in communities at large. The dialogue ended on a high note with young people appealing to the Commission to roll-out a Youth dialogue in every province.

The message is clear: the youth should be engaged, not only when their votes are required, but when policies are developed and implemented for them to 'own their future'.