PSC Report interview: ‘I’m not here to tick a box’, says AU youth envoy
The PSC Report spoke to AU youth envoy Aya Chebbi about getting young people involved in silencing the guns in Africa.
Last year the African Union (AU) appointed its first youth envoy, a position that is set to have an impact on the continental body’s Youth, Peace and Security Agenda. The PSC Report spoke to Aya Chebbi and asked her how she intends to use her two-year term to empower youth to silence the guns in Africa.
Q: As a young person who participated in the Arab Spring in your home country Tunisia, what is your view of youth inclusion in Africa’s governance and peace processes?
A: The short answer to that is – youth must be included in governance. We must not just have governments; we must have young governments. Youth should not only be at the table but also in key decision-making positions so that those young people outside of the processes can strategise with them to get their demands heard. For me, governance is, first, people power and citizen participation; second, to be at the table that is representative of the youth population, that is diverse and not homogeneous; and third, youth in key leadership positions – and not just leadership. They should be parliamentarians, ministers, mayors, presidents and CEOs [chief operating officers] of companies. Youth should not just be on the margins, they should be head of political parties and not the youth volunteer wing, etc. So, we need to start having youth in key decision-making positions and in leadership.
Youth should not only be at the table but also in key decision-making positions
For me, there are many layers of governance to be addressed, because even in the Tunisian revolution, we thought that, ‘Okay, in order for us to be in leadership, we have to run for office or for Parliament and you know, be here and there.’ But then when we realised that this space was hijacked we decided to build a strong, resilient civil society where we had advocacy groups in the constituent assembly, basically writing the constitution for the members of the assembly. We had to push at different fronts in advocacy. At the end of the day, we wrote the constitution. That, I think, is people power and that is what the first layer is about.
When we realised that this space was hijacked we decided to build a strong, resilient civil society
The second layer is youth in leadership. Youth must have a say in decision-making. So far, in the last five years, we have succeeded in opening the space to advocate for youth to be at the table and we see more and more youth at that table. But we're not enlarging that table enough, because it is still only the elite youth with exclusions in terms of refugee, migrant, disability, gender, etc. We have the young people ticked in the box and that's it.
Q: What can we expect from your office in terms of supporting or complementing the work of the AU Youth for Peace (Youth4Peace) Africa Program?
A: What my advisory council and I are trying to do is to first analyse what already exists on youth in the commission and see the gaps. We need to see how we can promote what they have, but also how can we make them do better. I work closely with Ambassador Fred Ngoga Gateretse the head of the conflict prevention and early warning division, and his amazing Youth4Peace team. We have great support from H.E. Smaїl Chergui, Commissioner of Peace and Security. I met him recently and discussed the support needed for youth in conflict and displacement. We also work closely with Madame Aïssatou Hayatou, the operations manager for silencing the guns, in the chairperson’s office. So, we have to have our own voice there and support them in getting the word out about their work and how it relates to youth.
Q: How well do you think the AU has done so far in attempting to silence the guns on the continent?
A: I think there are different efforts at different fronts. Silencing the guns by 2020, which is next year, is not a date deadline. It's more like how are we non-violent in our mentality and behaviour, and how is that sustainable?
I think what is missing for me coming in and what my contribution would be, is that youth are not involved in these initiatives towards silencing the guns. They are not co-designing the initiatives. The question remains, are these initiatives responding to what youth actually need right now at the AU level?
The question remains, are these initiatives responding to what youth actually need right now?
With the youth advisory council, we aim to influence certain processes and policy decisions, and put forward recommendations. I think my bigger role is to make sure that now we have a permanent space for youth to speak and contribute, and we use it. For example, I'm developing a concept of roundtables with youth in peaceful political transitions aimed at bringing together brilliant young people from Sudan, Algeria and other countries that have gone through political transitions since 2011 like Tunisia, Gambia, Zimbabwe, etc. where they can share their experiences and best practices. I aim to organise this roundtable monthly.
Hopefully we can do some regional ones with the RECs [regional economic communities] as well to inform the AU Peace and Security Council that, ‘Hey, you know, this is what the youth are saying about what's happening in their countries etc.’, and this might help you in your decision because maybe they're giving a perspective that you don't know about because they're the ones, at the end of the day, leading change in their countries in a peaceful, positive way.
Q: A lot of youth are hard to reach and in some cases in conflict-affected areas. How does your office plan to reach them?
A: We are working on bringing to light the existing youth platforms on the continent. There are many movements on the continent with similar mandates for youth, peace and security. Most of them might not be online and the people they work with might not have Internet access either. We are trying to get to offline youth and speak to young people on the ground and support youth hubs, clubs and chapters. For me, this layer is about mobilisation. For example, if our event or initiative is advertised online, we could ask youth applying to bring someone who is offline or film someone who doesn't speak their language and who doesn't have Internet but who would have a story to tell.
We are trying to get to offline youth and speak to young people on the ground
There are many creative ways that we can explore. It's just about the willingness to do it. And we need action because we can talk about as many great ideas as we want, about how we create inclusive spaces. The other day, my council and I were talking about how we can really own the ground. And we talked about the first-ever TEDx event at a refugee camp, in Kenya, TEDxKakumaCamp, as an example of meeting youth where they are. It’s about taking innovative ideas to the youth and ensuring their participation.
Q: The Peace and Security Council underscored the need for AU youth peace ambassadors to support your work. What are your expectations from these five when they get on board?
A: I'm excited about that. I think for me, anything that gives a platform for youth is great but there is always the question, ‘Who is going to be there?’ People say, ‘Let's create a new structure, let everyone have a voice.’ But who is the person who will be heard? Is that person affected by conflict? Is that person a refugee? Is that person a migrant? The five ambassadors would have to have gone through a struggle and have also overcome it so they can be the hope for other young people.
When you say ‘ambassador’, your role would be to inspire
When you say ‘ambassador’, your role would be to inspire. When you go as an ambassador to refugee camps and speak to young people, you let them know that ‘there is hope and you are getting out of this because you are amazing, you are talented and you're not going to be trapped in this’. This is what we need to make sure the process is inclusive. So, with this initiative, we will be prepared to reach as many young people as possible, not only online.
Picture: AyaChebbi.com
