Zanzibar | Nairobi | Dakar| Accra| Johannesburg| Kampala| – The future of democracy in Africa is at a crossroads. Young people who are increasingly yearning for more democracy and freedom are growing frustrated by an abject failure of their governments to respond to their democratic aspirations. As Afrobarometer notes, fewer than half (45%) of Africans think their countries are mostly or completely democratic, and only 37% say they are satisfied with the way democracy works in their countries. Across 30 countries, both indicators show declines – of 8 and 11 percentage points, respectively – over the past decade. Some of Africa’s most high-profile democracies, including Botswana (-40 points), Mauritius (-40 points), and South Africa (-35 points) have witnessed a precipitous decline in satisfaction with democracy. 

Amidst this standstill, questions linger about the “Africanness” of democracy as an ideal and whether indeed it is the most appropriate means to ensure inclusive and equitable growth for the continent’s increasingly youthful population. Young people are responding to the democratic crisis in varied ways. The continent is witnessing a Youthlash with young people increasingly disengaging with traditional political and governance processes while forming new ways of engaging through technology enabled platforms. While some are proving increasingly amenable to military solutions to the crisis as witnessed in the Sahel, many others have found new ways to leverage technology and social movements to fight the threat of authoritarianism as witnessed in Kenya, Senegal and Nigeria. 

Both successes and obstacles have been recorded in quenching young people’s thirst for democracy on the continent. There are numerous stories of hope as there are of despair but most importantly, it is increasingly evident that Africa’s youth, led by Generation Z have significantly high expectations of themselves and their leaders and they have no plan of abdicating their quest for better governance. 

Addressing today’s challenges of the undersupply of democracy on the continent and the growing expectations of her youth requires active networking, learning and solidarity among those on the frontlines of the struggle for democratic governance. The Africa Drive for Democracy convening is built on this founding principle as it seeks to bring together the foot soldiers of democratic governance on the continent towards a closely knit and inclusive network of the current and future generations of democracy defenders. 

The convening will bring together some of the leading voices from the present and future generations of democracy defenders to rediscover Africa’s democratic soul and refuel the struggle for democracy grounded on African realities. It will host 4 virtual sessions for four consecutive Mondays, the first of which will be on the 14th October, 2024. Topics and links for these will be shared ahead of the webinars for people to register.

The convening is a collective effort of the AfricTivistes, AGORA,  Center for Strategic Litigation, the West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network, Rivonia Circle, PAWA254, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Agora Institute and Democracy Hub with support from the Ford Foundation, The IMS Foundation, and AkinaMama wa Afrika. 

For detailed information about the conference, visit: democracy.africa

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