By: Aruna Kamara (BO)
Global platform Sierra Leone has organises a one-day dialogue session in Bo during the International Youth Day ,12 August ,2002 for youth belonging to political parties to ensure that they see themselves as one ahead of the 2023 general elections in Sierra Leone.
The engagement is aimed at creating the space for political tolerance as electioneering process is often associated with excruciating challenges with potential threats of igniting violence in post conflict Sierra Leone with youths being drivers of violence fuelled by politicians.
The engagement was also to build a team of young people to serve as Ambassadors and become change agents to contribute to changing the narrative of the youths during elections.
Making a statement at the engagement, acting National Coordinator of Global Platform Sierra Leone Sulaiman Kabia said that Global platform is a network of youth’s activism to support movements to promote social; political and economic change.
He said that the Action Aid Denmark funded project that targets thematic areas with the overarching objectives to enhance the synergies for the peaceful conduct of the 2023 general elections.
Mr. Kabia emphasized that the dialogue session will empower the youths with the requisite skills to constructively target the youthful population in order to disassociate them from violence orchestrated by patriotic politicians.
“It is an open secret that electioneering process is most times associated with political violence and in all of this young people take the centre stage, citing the recent violent protest in Freetown and some part of the country, it was the young people who championed it,” he said, adding that as youths in Bo and the other part of the country we want to get a peaceful election in 2023, starting from the registration process.”
“We called the youths because August 12 was international youth day and we celebrate it by having a dialogue with political party young people to map out ways to get a peaceful election and young people to serve as peace ambassadors to reach out to other youths with non-violence messages”, he stated.
Umaru Sesay, who is one of the participants of the dialogue session, said that youths should not allow politicians to misuse us to perpetuate violence, adding that the dialogue session organized by global platform is timely as we approach the electioneering process starting with voter registration process.
