Civic Education Dialogue- 13 March 2021: Pavilion Hotel

The Democracy Development Program in partnership with the Partner facilitator hosted a Youth Dialogue with the youth of different communities. This dialogue was guided by this theme: “My Vote Counts”. Looking at youth participation from a futuristic approach, reimagining what the future will look like if young people were more informed on democratic processes beyond political party influences and social ills limitations and ways in which they can actively participate in already existing structures in their communities and ensuring that their votes, count for the future they long for.

The dialogue’s objectives are as follows:

1. To increase participants understanding of how the municipality functions.
2. To bring together different municipal stakeholders to enable them to understand each other’s roles and responsibilities and how to work together,
3. Enable participants to collectively identify challenges facing the municipality and its people and come out with practical solutions to these challenges,
4. To promote public participation
5. To encourage increased levels of transparency
6. To co-create mechanisms for accountability (over and above the existing legislated mechanisms).

The Dialogue was hosted at the Pavillion Hotel in Durban on the 13th of March 2021.

This dialogue is part of a series of Civic Education Dialogue that will be hosted by DDP and Associate Facilitators throughout the KwaZulu Natal province this election year.