By Lester Nyali

Lilongwe, Mana: An international organisation Change for Us (C4U) has launched an initiative aimed at investigating youth involvement on issues of governance in a bid to improve meaningful youth participation in peace and governance structures.

The initiative which is in form of a baseline survey is being conducted in Traditional Authority (T/A) Nchilamwera in Thyolo district and will run from February 15th to March 30th 2023.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA) the Executive Director for C4U Kondwani Mwendo said the organisation will look at issues of governance at community level and district level.

“At community level we are trying to look at meaningful youth participation in governance and peace building bodies at area development committee and village development committee, “Mwendo said.

He said the committees will find out whether youths are taking part in development activities happening at community and district level and also if district plan of action has youth plans embedded in it.

He added that the initiative will help in knowing the extent to which youths are involved in development and what specific measures may be used to ensure they are actively taking part.

 “The project is directly targeting youths at the same time structures in their communities and we are going to involve the gate keepers who are custodians of the by-laws like chiefs, health workers among others, “Mwendo said.

Mwendo also explained that C4U is aiming to empower youths to participate in inclusive equitable systems of development at all levels by connecting community voices and experiences to national, regional and international networks through strategic partnerships.

Commenting on the same, the Executive Director for My Community My Responsibility, Brian Khembo said it is important for youths to be involved at every stage of development since they have a big population in the country.

“They have creativity and innovation, the more youths are engaged, the more they stay away from issues that can affect them negatively, “Khembo said.  

He therefore called upon youths to take part in policy making, decision making as well as implementation in their communities.

C4U is a youth-led, focused and driven initiative operating across Malawi through partnerships to empower and build leadership skills among adolescents and young people within the age ranges of 10-35 years in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and African Union Agenda 2063 and it is currently working in partnership with National Democratic Institute (NDI).

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