News

The University of Botswana (UB) final year law students collaborated with Commonwealth in a dialogue on the 25th November 2025, to strengthening youth participation and democratic resilience.

The Youth Engagement on Democratic Resilience and Participation dialogue was a post succession event for the Commonwealth Secretariat Governance Forum held in Gaborone with the aim of strengthening good governance and rule of law in member countries to combat democratic backsliding and reinforce oversight mechanisms.

Speaking at the occasion, Industrial Court Justice Annah Raisibe said implementation of reforms to make justice accessible to youth was crucial for strengthening democracy and promoting equality. Justice Raisibe said youth often faced barriers such as high legal costs, complex procedures and lack of awareness. She observed that reforms would ensure that youth exercised their rights without discrimination.

Justice Raisibe noted that justice systems that included youth perspectives fostered inclusive governance and ensured laws and policies reflected the needs of all age groups. She further noted that such would further promote a generation that valued the rule of law and accountability.

UB final Year law student, Ms Mandipa Hlabano, highlighted the challenges faced by the youth in democratic participation such as lack of education, awareness, unemployment, cultural and social barriers. Ms Hlabano noted that to address the challenges, the youth and public should be educated on democratic principles, rights and responsibility.  She added that youth representation in political parties and decision making bodies has to be encouraged.

Ms Hlabano further encouraged the youth to make use of technology for engagement in policy discussions. She said training programmes on leadership, advocacy and governance for young people should also be incorporated into the curriculum.

Meanwhile, Parliament of Kenya Director of Legal Services, Dr Johnson Okello, advised the students to make use of various fora such as conferences, workshops, seminars and social media platforms to engage on issues of policy and law-making process.  He viewed limited access to information and transparency as a barrier towards youth participation on democratic participation in many countries.