The key objective of AfricTivistes CitizenLab Benin is to promote citizen engagement and build the capacity of civil society actors in Benin in the field of participative democracy.

AfricTivistes is implementing the project with the involvement and participation of the AfricTivistes network in Benin, civil society and youth organisations, and media professionals, underpinned by an access to public information and citizen participation. It is supported by the Summit for Democracy’s Youth Democracy Cohort and funded by the European Union.

The development of Civic Tech, which has fostered a new civic awareness and encouraged co-construction, has been linked to several major turning points such as the democratisation of Internet access and the development of social networks.

Over the last ten years, the irruption of technology into the public sphere, and more specifically into democratic debate, has continued to produce striking results in Africa. From the online campaign #Sunu2012 in Senegal, to #MaliVote in 2013 in Mali and #GuinéeVote in 2014 in the Republic of Guinea, the manifestation of Civic Tech can take several forms depending on the context of their emergence.

More specifically, the specific focus will be to:

– Prioritise the voice of young people in governance;

– Promote a culture of political participation among young people;

– Promote a culture of human rights among young people; give impetus to a new dynamic of civic participation;

– Create a network of committed actors to identify, study, reflect on and propose solutions to socio-political issues through the production of content.

– Advocate for the Youth Cohort’s commitments specific to the country, in order to get the government to commit to implementing them.

This programme is part of AfricTivistes CitizenLab, a lab that aims to support, assist and equip civil society players through training, the development of tools and support for innovation and co-creation. These skilled stakeholders will carry out advocacy campaigns in favour of the Menu of possible commitments of the Youth and Democracy Cohort.

These trained members will conduct advocacy campaigns in favour of the Menu of Possible Commitments of the Youth and Democracy Cohort, in response to a request from young people and civil society organisations to provide tools and approaches that encourage young people to get involved, while bridging the gap between civil society actors and the public administration.

As well as being a programme to accelerate young people’s participatory engagement, the project will also be a hub for innovation, the production of valuable content and advocacy based on digital projects dedicated to democracy.

For further information, please send an email to : info@africtivistes.org.