Prospects and challenges to youth participation in democratic governance in Uganda; A case of Kampala District

Abstract

This study sought to establish how youth can be positioned to participate in democratic governance in Uganda, and the study engaged both the qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study was conducted through a descriptive research design that was used to examine the perceptions of the respondents and an analytical research design that was used to determine the relationships between the variables. Objective one of this study was to investigate the factors that hinder the meaningful participation of youth in democratic governance. The study established a number of socio economic factors that hinder the meaningful participation of youth in democratic governance in Uganda. The study found these to be personal (esteem), cultural (e.g. respect for elders), structural and institutional for example lack of platforms for the youth to participate, or where there are these, e.g. in political parties and the National Youth Council, they are not effective. The second objective sought to explore ways in which youth can be encouraged to meaningfully participate in the democratic governance. Whereas the third objective was to assess how existing legal frameworks in Uganda can be used to create an enabling environment for effective youth participation. The study sought to find ways in which youth can be encouraged to meaningfully participate in democratic governance and how existing legal frameworks can be explored to create an enabling environment for effective participation in democratic governance. The study found out that the youth need to be supported in not only building their self confidence, but also in soft skills for instance how to lobby, dialogue and network. This research therefore recommends a structured form of mentoring and coaching for youth leaders and the launch of the interparty youth platform is a great step in the right direction. This platform brings together all youth/young leaders from the seven major political parties, to discuss and push for youth friendly policies and interventions to address youth issues, beyond their individual parties.