ABOUT SYPD

 The Somali Youth for Peace and Democracy (SYPD) is a non profit, non governmental, youth led organization launched on August 2004 by a group of Somali youth activists. SYPD strives to empower Somali youth and unite their passion for building a peaceful and democratic Somalia.

 INTRODUCTION

 SYPD organized a one day event on Thursday, March 9^th, 2006. It was a lecture on Good governance and Democracy that was held at the Somali Institute for Management and Administration Development (SIMAD) in Mogadishu, Somalia. Youth groups from different community sectors, a senior Somali lecturer from the Diaspora and adult observers participated in the crucial event.

 It is important to note that 50% of participants were young females.

 The event offered young people the opportunity to know more about Good Governance and Democracy. They also got the chance to debate with adult intellectuals and express their views on democracy.
The participation of young people in the peace and reconciliation process is at the heart of youth discourse. In Somalia, the youth constitute more than half the population. However, they have zero percent participation in formulating decisions of importance to them. 

The occasion took place in two sessions. A lecture in the first session followed by a discussion on proposed questions in the next session.

OPENING REMARKS

The event was opened at 8:00 am by SYPD chairperson Mr. Abdinasir Nur expressed his appreciation and admiration to the forum participants. He outlined the objectives of the event which he stated as: to enhance the awareness of youth groups on Good Governance and Democracy in a bid to prepare them to be agents for democracy promotion in the war ravaged country.

(SYPD chairperson Mr. Abdinasir Nur giving the opening speech)

POETRY ON GOOD GOVERNANCE AND DEMOCRACY

After the opening remarks, the famous Somali musician, Mr. Maki Hagi Banadir delivered a very interesting poem on the genesis of the Somali conflict and how democracy remains the only option for ending the violent situation in the country.

(Participants cheerfully welcoming the famous Somali musician)

THE LECTURE COMMENCES 

After that, the floor was opened to the lecturer, Mr. Omar Idiris. Mr. Idiris is one of the thousands of Somali intellectuals who live in the Diaspora. He is from London, UK. The lecturer gave a good insight on the differences between a good government and a corrupted state. He mentioned that a bad government that is built on dictatorship will fail noting the previous Somali government as a live example. In addition, he uttered the importance of closer cooperation between youth groups in the country to be active agents for a democratic Somalia. 

(Young female participants keenly listening to the lecturer)

SECOND SESSION STARTS

Youth groups started to express their views during the panel session which lasted two hours. At first, the chance was given to Ms. Nimo’ Ali Daud to comment on the proposed questions. Ms. Nimo expressed her feelings towards democracy noting that she will lobby during her life time in order to create a democratic Somalia. She highlighted different characteristics of a good government. Among other characteristics, she noted that a good government promotes high standards of human rights and empowers women.

 She averred that the Somali youth has been excluded from the reconciliation process and their voices have not been adequately heard in the process. She noted that the Somali culture represents the greatest obstacle for youth initiatives. She concluded her speech that the youth are increasingly moving towards realizing valuable results on the ground.

(Youth giving his view)

Most of the speakers who had a chance to speak and comment openly emphasized the importance of youth participation in the decision making process and expressed their views on democracy and good government.

CONCLUSION

After the discussion, the chairman presented a set of obstacles and recommendations noted during the session.

Amongst the obstacles identified by the young participants are summarized as the following:

• Poor lobbying and advocacy skills.

• Lack of a platform for exchange of information and ideas

• Lack of awareness by the youth about their civic rights.

• Lack of communication among the youth and local administrations

• Lack of open-mindedness on the part of adults

• Lack of motivation

• Culture and traditions that discourage young people

 The following recommendations were received from the forum participants:

1. The youth participants must appoint a youth working group to ensure that the outcome of the discussion must be put into action.

2. The youth must be empowered through training  on their civic rights as well as democratic leadership

3. The youth must have their own meetings and discussions to get their own common ground.

4. The youth and elected officials of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia must have further meetings to build youth-government partnerships.

Finally, SYPD chairperson Mr. Nur expressed his gratitude to the forum participants that had ensured an exceptionally lively discussion environment. He especially expressed his admiration for SYPD members, Horn Afrik Media Network, the lecturer, and the Somali Institute for Management and Administration Development (SIMAD) for their financial and technical support, which made the forum possible.