Leave No Youth Behind to Petition Parliament on Youth Eligibility to Run for Public Office
Youth in Zimbabwe constitute 67.7% of the population and are a demographic imperative which government must consider fully in all development processes. Youth despite being a demographic dividend in the country are marginalized in and from governance processes as revealed in the African Union (AU) – European Union (EU) Summit consultations that NAYO undertook in 2017 under the theme of ‘Investing in Youth’ which had a pillar focusing on Governance, Political inclusion and Activism. The outcome of the process was the Zimbabwe Youth Declaration and Youth Road-map in which a recommendation was made to review the eligibility requirements for accessing public office by youth. This too was endorsed at the main AU-EU Youth Summit in Abidjan and the Heads of State meeting of both continents with NAYO representing youth in Zimbabwe and part of the Cluster on Governance, Political inclusion and Activism. At a global level, youth participation in governance processes is becoming prominent an