Westlands is a residential area in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, where tensions between poor residents and commercial interests express the divisions inherent in Kenyan society. On 18 August 2009 I met with 38 representatives from youth clubs in the Westlands area, to talk about political representation for young people in this part of Nairobi.
As part of my fieldwork on the role of youth political participation and representation within political parties in Kenya, in August 2009 I held two focus group discussions with youth in Mvita Constituency, Mombasa. Unlike mainland Kenya, which is divided between traditional African religions and Christianity, Mvita is predominantly Islamic and the majority of the young people on this island strictly adhere to the regulations of this faith.
On 11 August 2009 I met with student leaders from a variety of Kenyan universities to get a better idea of the way university students in Kenya are organized. While all student organizations in Kenya are represented by the Kenya National Students Union (KNSU), I was also interested in the way in which students organize themselves on their own campuses.
Ms. Susan Mangéni came to be the Youth Chairlady and the automatic member of the National Executive of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) after the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) formed the coalition. Ms. Mangéni is a member of LDP. She said that Kenya has a large pool of youths who participate extensively in politics acting as everything from critical voters to campaigners and general mobilization agents for their parties to foot soldiers and security providers for their political godfathers and leaders from their ethnic groups or regions.
Mr Ludwig A. Hlodze is deputy national youth organizer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He is also personal assistant to President John Attah Mills and an advisor on the role and place of young people within both the NDC and the new government. We meet at the Castle, which doubles as a presidential palace and working office.
"Our party literally has the youth at heart" John Boadu, youth organiser for the NPP, tells me. This is because, he explains, "60% of our members are under thirty-five". While quickly pointing out that the NPP is a conservative party, upholding the concept of seniority as espoused in the African tradition, he recognizes the fact that young people play a critical role in shaping and sustaining party politics.
As it is my intention to speak with all political parties to hear their view on youth and politics, I have made appointments with them, with the help of IEA - NIMD's partner organization here in Ghana.
The Global Youth Action Network (GYAN) is an international network of youth organizations spanning 180 countries, and headquartered in New York, near the United Nations. GYAN is a youth-led not for profit organization that incubates global partnerships and increases youth participation in decision-making. I visited the coordinator in Ghana, to hear his opinions on the challenges for the youth, their representation and participation in Ghanaian politics.
The People's National Convention (PNC) is a party formed out of the CPP, the first Ghanaian president's Kwame Nkrumah liberation party. The PNC has its origins in 1992, at the start of Ghana's fourth Republic. The party currently has two members of Parliament. Both of them are above 35, which is an age I stick to, when speaking about youth.
Youth groups convened at Ghana's Parliament building last Wednesday to petition government for the implementation of a youth policy. Although Ghana has reached several milestones towards democracy since its independence in 1957, a formal national youth policy has never been adopted.
Gideon Chitanga is an M.A. student at the Institute for Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague, The Netherlands, and a researcher for Young NIMD. Currently, Gideon is doing research on political youth participation in Ghana and Kenya.
