Young Liberians meeting in Monrovia have called for political participation to extend beyond voting and election campaigns, placing access to public decisions alongside education, work and health. The September 15 dialogue brought together 75 young leaders, students, civil society representatives, political actors and development partners, according to The Analyst. Participants examined the barriers that limit young people’s influence and discussed how accountability and inclusion could become continuing features of public life.
The Federation of Liberian Youth organised the event with the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy as part of the Liberia Electoral Support Project. It coincided with the International Day of Democracy. Rather than treating the occasion solely as a celebration of elections, the organisers used it to ask what democratic participation means for young people between electoral contests, when decisions about services, opportunities and national priorities continue to be made.
Representation between elections
NIMD Programme Officer Relda Scott opened the discussion by linking democracy to participation, inclusion, accountability and dialogue. Her message challenged a view of political involvement centred on election day, rallies and campaign promises. She encouraged participants to consider how citizens can contribute to decisions that affect their lives. The approach presented democracy as a continuing relationship between the public and institutions, with dialogue and engagement extending beyond the selection of political leaders.
Rosetta Fardolo, speaking for the Federation of Liberian Youth as its head of secretariat, focused on the gap between the size of Liberia’s youth population and its representation in leadership. She described young people as the country’s majority while questioning their limited role in national decision-making. Her intervention asked participants to consider whether promises of inclusion are reflected in practice, and encouraged them to become contributors to governance rather than only recipients of its programmes.
The discussion examined several obstacles to that participation. Age and gender featured alongside economic inequality, political-party structures and access to leadership opportunities. Participants considered how those barriers could restrict influence even where young people account for a large share of the population. The conversation therefore went beyond competition between political organisations to consider the conditions under which people can enter public debate and have their concerns heard.
Everyday priorities as democratic questions
Scott drew on NIMD’s regional youth consultations in Liberia to identify three recurring priorities: quality education, skills development connected to employment, and sexual and reproductive health. She presented those concerns as relevant to democratic participation, rather than issues separate from politics. The dialogue linked young people’s ability to shape their future with the policies that affect learning, work and well-being, broadening the discussion beyond the immediate demands of an election campaign.
Participants also discussed unemployment, technical and vocational training, health and opportunities for young people. These subjects were treated as matters deserving attention alongside electoral politics. The emphasis on issue-based participation reflected the approach promoted through NIMD’s Democracy Schools and youth-engagement activities. In the account of the meeting, constructive engagement and accountability were presented as shared responsibilities, with participants encouraged to connect political involvement to the problems affecting daily life.
A wider programme of participation
The Liberia Electoral Support Project provides the institutional setting for the dialogue. The initiative is managed by the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with NIMD and UN Women, with support from the European Union, Ireland and Sweden. Its work supports national institutions and citizens in democratic governance, peaceful participation and accountable public institutions. The Monrovia meeting forms part of its broader efforts to involve young people and women in public affairs through meaningful participation and more inclusive democratic governance.
The event’s central message was that democratic involvement should continue after citizens leave the polling station. Participants described listening, dialogue and joint work on national challenges as parts of that continuing process. The available report records the concerns raised and the priorities discussed; it does not announce a new law or binding commitment that resolves the barriers identified. For the organisers, the dialogue was part of the effort to give young people a meaningful role in shaping public decisions.
