Activist Hopes Youth Will Have More Influence in Sierra Leone
Washington — An activist in Sierra Leone hopes President Obama’s Forum with Young African Leaders will inspire her government to encourage more political involvement for youth and women. (Photo: Amienatta Kanawa, – a delegate at Obama’s Forum with Young African Leaders)
“In my country, we have these older people always representing us,” Amienatta Khoumba Kanawa told America.gov. “Even in ministries like, for example, the Ministry of Youth, you see there are older people … the young people are not included.” Kanawa said she hopes the forum will help persuade the government of Sierra Leone “that youth activities should be handled by the young people themselves, not by the elders.”
She also expressed the hope that women in Sierra Leone, who make up about 17 percent of government, would gain greater representation. The number of women in politics and decisionmaking positions is very low across all of Africa, Kanawa said.
As a project officer for the Sierra Leone Youth Empowerment Organization (SLYEO), Kanawa, 23, coordinates activities on gender issues, youth issues, HIV/AIDS and sexual/reproductive health. SLYEO also offers education and learning programs that help develop literacy skills in young people and help them negotiate effectively with people in power.
Kanawa is in Washington for the August 3–5 forum, which includes a town hall meeting at the White House with President Obama. The forum is being attended by more than 110 delegates, representing 46 countries across the African continent.
In a statement, the White House said the forum “presents the U.S. government and American friends of Africa with an opportunity to deepen and broaden our understanding of the trajectories of African societies, and to reflect on how the next generation are building their communities’ and their nations’ futures.”
“The thing that most interested me [about the forum], Kanawa said, “is bringing Africans together to see how they can work towards one agenda in improving the continent.”
By Jane Morse, Staff Writer, U S State Dept.
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