African Youth Parliament (AYP)

This youth-centred advocacy programme is inspired by the conviction that African youth require skills to assist in the implementation of their action plans and in their long-term development as agents of change within their communities. To that end, AYP works with various skills development partners to provide training programmes in areas such as resource mobilisation, advocacy, media, organisational development, and project management.

Specifically, through a diverse range of activities, AYP aims to address the challenges African youth face in communities and nations across the continent - using mostly face-to-face exchanges in its quest to:

• provide a forum for exchange through which young people can: get exposed to relevant facts, discuss ideas and experiences, and share best practices in solving challenges confronting their societies.
• instill a culture of learning, dialogue and skills development - including a process of mentorship to a generation of young Africans
• highlight youth issues in Africa by providing youth with a strong and effective voice
• promote increased participation of young people in national and international policy decisions, hopefully thereby ensuring a framework for ongoing consultations of African youth in the various African development processes
• foster collaboration, partnerships and networks to inspire and support young people in their struggle for inclusion, peace, good governance and social justice
• provide a resource for youth information in Africa
• lobby for policies that create an enabling environment for increased young people participation in economies, societies and governance.

In 2003, the network developed individual and collective action plans, which emphasise the major obstacles to youth action and identify and share strategies for overcoming these obstacles. 150 action plans were developed at AYP, with a majority being local-, grassroots-, and organisationally-based, centering on the themes such as:

• Youth enterprise
• Environment
• Culture & identity
• HIV/AIDS
• Armed conflict
• Human rights

In order to leverage support for these action plans - as part of its broader effort to advocate effectively - the AYP works with and participates in events and processes globally, regionally, and locally to mobilise the social and political will necessary to address issues raised in the AYP agenda. At these events and processes, AYP engages in constructive dialogue on issues confronting Africa, shares skills and experiences, and consolidates supportive networks across Africa. Such events and processes include the African Union, New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the United Nations (UN), and various regional integration processes.

Youth.

The first sitting of the AYP took place in Nairobi, Kenya from October 23 to November 2 2002. AYP is an initiative of African Action Partners (AAP) of the International Youth Parliament (IYP), an initiative of Oxfam Community Aid Abroad. IYP is an international network of young leaders and activists, advocating for the rights of young people and their communities. It was during the IYP's first sitting in 2000 that African delegates conceived the idea of having a specifically continental platform to discuss African issues, and develop key strategies around those issues.