MEDIA RELEASE
In line with its Mission Statement, the Young Women’s Actions for Rights, Peace and Development (YWARPD) has signed a one-year Project Cooperation Agreement with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to implement a project title: “Enhancing Civil Engagement and Democracy Through Leadership Education.”
The overall objective of the project is to Increase youth’s participation in governance and democratic development at local and national levels.
The project will be implemented in Montserrado, Grand Bassa and Bong Counties, focusing on three strategic outcomes. As part of the project, YWARPD will undertake the following activities.
- Set Up Democracy Clubs in schools in Bong and Grand Bassa Counties to promote democracy and accountability. Each club will be composed of 20 members who will participate in a training workshop under the theme “Youth Engaged in Leadership and Learning (YELL)” covering civic education, democracy, leadership, and governance.
- In collaboration with Democracy Clubs, set up Mini Election Commission and organize students’ council elections in 17 schools in Bong, Grand Bassa and Montserrado Counties. This practical exercise in democratic processes will help build student capacity and foster a democratic campus culture. Post election, the student council members will develop Student Governance Action Plans. These councils will work with school leadership to address priority issues and report on outcomes.
- Convene One Democracy Youth Parliament in each county. YWARPD will create Youth Parliaments with members from various clubs to engage in political and democratic governance issues. Each Parliament will hold two sittings with elected officials and rules, involving national parliamentarians, county officials, and traditional leaders in opening ceremonies. They will create standing committees, including for accountability, governance, political parties and democracy, youth participation and human rights and women. They will engage with political parties, and local and national government stakeholders and endeavour to link the activities of the Parliament with the National Parliament as well as local governance.
- Local Youth and Stakeholders Town Hall Meeting on Democracy, Accountability and Local Governance
YWARPD will organize one Townhall meeting in each county which will be attended by Members of the Youth Parliament and local county stakeholders, including county superintendents, representatives and other local officials.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of YWARPD, Richelle M. Allison has commended the Board of Directors of NED for approving the project. She noted that this was the second project of her organization to receive funding from NED in the last two years.
YWARPD was founded in October 2022 as a non-for-profit organization. It was established by young women who saw the need to get off the stands as spectators and jump on the pitch as players to play a more proactive role in advocating for their own rights. YWARPD’s work reflects a commitment to empowering young women, promoting their rights, and ensuring their meaningful participation in peace, human rights, governance and development efforts within Liberia. The organization was formally registered by the Government of Liberia on 8 August 2023.
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world. Each year, NED makes more than 1,900 grants to support the projects of non-governmental groups abroad who are working for democratic goals in more than 90 countries.