By 
Marvel Acts Youth Organization of Zimbabwe joins the rest of the continent in celebrating 25 May, Africa Day.
As we celebrate Africa Day, let’s put this on our minds that,
The larger part of African continent population is young people, surprisingly we rarely
find the young people in decision making boards of the continent and this is against the spirit of
the African Youth Charter article 11, which states that, “Every young person shall have the right to
participate in all spheres of society and States Parties shall take the following measures to
promote active youth participation in society: a) Guarantee the participation of youth in
parliament and other decision-making bodies in accordance with the prescribed laws; b)
Facilitate the creation or strengthening of platforms for youth participation in decision-making at local, national, regional, and continental levels of governance; c) Ensure equal access to young men and young women to participate in decision-making and in fulfilling civic duties; d) Give priority to policies and programs including youth advocacy and peer-to-peer programs for marginalized youth, such as out-of-school and out of- work youth, to offer them the opportunity and motivation to re-integrate into mainstream society e) Provide access to information such that young people become aware of their rights and of opportunities to participate in decision-making and civic life; f) Institute measures to professionalize youth work and introduce relevant training
programs in higher education and other such training institutions; g) Provide technical and
financial support to build the institutional capacity of youth organizations; h) Institute policy and programs of youth voluntarism at local, national, regional and international levels as an important form of youth participation and as a means of peer-to-peer training. i) Provide access to information and services that will empower youth to become aware of their rights and
responsibilities, j) Include youth representatives as part of delegations to ordinary sessions and other relevant meetings to broaden channels of communication and enhance the discussion of youth related issues.”
It is also noteworthy that the even African Agenda 2063 is in tandem with African Youth Charter in pushing for African Development through youths inclusion.
