EMBs have a crucial role to play in
achieving SDG target 16.10 (“Ensure public access to information and protect
fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements”) through CVE activities.
All citizens, including young people,
are entitled to the knowledge and information necessary to make well-informed
choices and thus to participate in a meaningful way in electoral processes. As
part of the CVE activities that form part of EMBs’ mandate, they need to form
extensive partnerships with youth organizations, schools and universities, and political institutions and to find innovative ways to build young people’s knowledge and capacity.
The education sector and the
provision of CVE programs are vital tools in the prevention of violent
extremism, and for facilitating young people’s positive engagement in peace. Educating
youth with critical thinking skills may be the first defense against violent
extremism, by equipping young people with the skills to detect extremist
propaganda, make informed decisions, and question the legitimacy of extremist
content. Any civic education initiative in this age should also aim to educate
people on how to spot fake news and identify hate speech on social media. This
can serve as an alternative policy to completely blocking social media which
can adversely impact on youth and their engagement with politics. EMBs in their
advocacy campaigns should focus not just on the electoral process but also on
what constitutes a fair election and what ethical standards for political
parties and media etc. should be adhered to.
In the progress study The Missing Peace, mandated by United
Nations Security Council Resolution 2250, reference is made to the potentially
transformative power of education in building peace, and the educative role
that youth can play in building peace. “Many civil society organizations,
including youth-led organizations, have extensive experience in developing
educational strategies and modules for peace, through both formal and
non-formal means, signaling the importance of building strategic partnerships.”[i] The message to EMBs, particularly in conflict and fragile contexts, is
to collaborate with youth organizations to provide CVE initiatives.
The young people consulted for the
progress study pointed to a need for “value-based education for peace and
teaching of critical thinking skills and non-violent methods to address
conflicts, with a particular focus on the celebration of diversity.”[ii] While governments predominantly provide or oversee education at the
primary, secondary and tertiary levels, other educational organizations, such
as CSOs, provide informal educational initiatives. These can be youth-led or
focused on youth and play a vital role in educating young people about their
rights and responsibilities in democratic societies. EMBs can be part of
multi-stakeholder alliance providing peace and democracy education. Youth-led
CVE and peace-related education is noticeably innovative and resourceful in
using art, sport, and media. EMBs can partner and/or support such initiatives.
There are a number of ways that EMBs
and other CVE providers inform and
educate voters and potential voters. These include:
- information
and advertising campaigns
- supporting
grassroots movements
- door-to-door
or face-to-face interaction
- school and
university curriculum, extra-curriculum and adult education
- mock
elections and other special-purpose programs
- entertainment
- inducements.
Different countries have different
ways of approaching young voters. As youth are not a homogenous group, EMBs
should develop education programs taking into account the specific challenges
of different subgroups related to the voting process. Non-targeted activities
might lead to discrimination against certain subgroups and undermine efforts
toward an inclusive electoral participation. For example, voter education
campaigns relying on information and communication technologies (ICTs) often
discriminate against illiterate youth, those with visual disabilities, or those
living in areas with limited internet access.
In
view of the need for increased women’s
empowerment across most societies, EMBs should reflect on strategies and targeted
activities to reach out to young women and eliminate
existing barriers to women’s participation.
Voter education programs should take
into account the fact that young women and girls might face additional challenges
compared to young men and boys. Voter information campaigns should therefore
highlight to women and men alike the importance of their votes and emphasize
their right to vote as equal members of society. A recent document co-produced
by UNDP and UN Women[iii] put it this way:
“With respect to gender
equality, it is also extremely important to convey
to young women voters that the
ballot is secret.
In outreach messages
and images, it is important that women be shown in active
roles as voters, candidates and electoral staff.”
Example: The Canadian NGO “Equal Voice’” a
multi-partisan organization that promotes the election of women in Canada,
called on citizens to “bring a girl to vote”
to the ballot in the 2011 elections in order to familiarize girls of pre-voting
age with the voting process.
Youth who suffer multiple or
intersectional discrimination, often face strong barriers to meaningful
participation in society, including their ability to access information and
education. Targeted CVE campaigns pay attention to these often hard to reach
youth, matching the media and approach with the specific needs of the target
group. Peer-to-peer approaches are frequently used to educate and inform
marginalized groups.
Example: In Australia, the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) has a range of
engagement strategies to reach youth who are the hardest to reach, using
peer-to-peer approaches including:
- young Indigenous Australians – by
partnering with Aboriginal organizations (such as the Korin Gamadji Institute)
- multicultural youth – through the
Youth Active Citizenship project
- hard-to-reach youth, such as the
homeless, youth not in education or employment, and youth with disabilities –
through VEC’s “Be Heard Democracy Ambassador” programs.
See Annex: VEC Some Youth
Inclusion Programming
Example. In Kenya in 2017, IFES leveraged community social networks to implement
targeted voter education campaigns and outreach in informal settlements to two
traditionally marginalized populations in Kenya – women and youth voters. See Annex:
Voter
Education Outreach in Informal Settlements
Example: Elections Canada launched “Inspire
Democracy” in 2014 with the goal of building a community of youth-serving
organizations knowledgeable about the issue of declining youth voter turnout
and helping Elections Canada provide voter information to young people in
preparation for the 2015 federal election. It includes three core activities:
- The development and launch of the Inspire Democracy website in April
2014. The website shares research on youth engagement, as well as
engagement tools, links to engagement organizations and infographics in an
effort to make research findings relevant and accessible to stakeholders.
- National workshop series. A total of 10 workshops, each 1.5 days in
duration, were held in major cities across the country from April to October
2014, with the goal of providing youth-serving organizations with a better
understanding of youth engagement issues and brainstorming ways they could
engage youth during the 2015 election. Over 130 organizations participated in
the workshops and the final
- Inspire Democracy newsletters. A quarterly newsletter was
launched in May 2014 to provide youth-serving organizations, academics, and
government officials working on youth-related issues with updates on new
research and engagement tools and to help further build the engagement
community. Go to www.elections.ca
for more information.
[i] Graeme Simpson (lead author), The Missing Peace: Independent
Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security, UNFPA/PBSO, forthcoming, UNSC
Resolution 2250 mandated Progress Study, ‘The Missing Piece: Independent
Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security’ (2018)
[ii] Simpson,
The Missing Peace.
