The Young Women’s Action for Rights, Peace and Development (YWARPD) continues its training workshop for members of the Democracy Clubs of schools, with the latest being the Konuwa Jr and Senior High School in District 11, Montserrado County.
The training, which is supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), is in continuation of the project tilted, “Young Democrats Initiative: Mobilizing First Time Voters to Support Democracy Values, participate in the 2023 Election in Liberia and Espouse, Free and Nonviolence Elections in Liberia,” says a press release from the organization.
According to Ms. Richelle Allison, Program Officer of YWARPD, the democracy clubs in school is is an intensive, non-formal educational program for students interested in contemporary issues of democratic
politics. The clubs seek to strengthen democracy leaders through the means of education, increase public accountability and support the establishment of a highly developed society.
The mission of the Democracy Clubs is to create a growing pool of active young citizens through the means of educating on democracy, who then become a driving force of the democratic change and development.
In a statement during the workshop, the Founder and Proprietor of the school, Mr. Patrick Konuwa, commended YWARPD and NED for undertaking the workshop and said that it was necessary to reintroduce civil in Liberian school to enable Liberian students regain their sense of national consciousness.
He called on members of the club to take advantage of the training as it will help them reach their full potentials. The training included a number of topics including civil education, the basic tenets of democracy, elections, Governments, human rights, nonviolence conflict resolution and peace building. At the end of the training, members of the club
took the “Democratic Oath” pledging to promote democracy, human rights, good governance and the rule of law at all times.
As part of the project, YWARPD is working to establish 17 Democracy Clubs in 17 Districts across Montserrado County. The overall objective of the project is to amplify the voices and roles of first-time voters and ensure their meaningful participation in democratic initiatives in Liberia.
The specific objectives include
- To increase first time voters’ turnout in the 2023 election order to ensure that young people play a significant role in determining the next set of leaders for Liberia;
- To empower young women and men to build a community of young civic actors who are passionate about democracy;
YWARPD was founded in July 2022 to serve as an advocacy mechanism and platform for young women participation in issues affecting their participation, development and survival. The organization grew out of the felt need to amplify the voice of young women.
The organization was founded by young women from a number of universities across Liberia and seeks to serve as the main platform for young women engagements in a number of activities affecting their development.