The power of global movement building: My key reflections
within the World Movement for Democracy
There is an old adage that suggests ‘young people are leaders
of the future and not the present’. I have always contested that and continue
to argue that young people are leaders of both the present and the future. The
notion that young people should retain ‘only’ the right to future leadership is
ill-conceived and turns a blind eye to the vast knowledge, skills and energy
young people possess in the present. We
owe a lot to such concepts as democracy that have pushed the rights of youth
and women on the global agenda. As a young woman, I have had an opportunity to
lead in the present, and believe that if the world harnesses the vast and
untapped knowledge, skills and energy of the young women and men out there, then
democracy stands a chance in the face of its all too apparent decline and the
current authoritarian resurgence. Being a Steering
Committee Member of the World Movement for Democracy allowed me to
witness the richness that comes with spaces and movements that embrace new
ideas and new energies from young people, and the importance of sharing that
within and across countries in the advancement of democracy around the
world.
This reflection, is a tribute to the World Movement for
Democracy on its 20th anniversary of Promoting Democracy
around the World. I believe that by sharing my experience, young women and men
around the world will be inspired and act to join movements that are promoting
democracy in the world today.
Getting started
My leadership journey begins with Institute for Young Women Development
(IYWD), a feminist organisation I work with, to promote the
democratic participation of young women. The journey certainly started earlier
than that. However for the purposes of this reflection, I will focus on getting
started with IYWD and World Movement for Democracy.
My journey with the World Movement for Democracy started in
2012 when I participated in the Cape to Cairo Youth Conference convened by the World Youth Movement for
Democracy (WYMD) in South Africa. I met with young activists from
other parts of Africa, at a time when young people were at the front of
attempts to foster democratic transitions in Tunisia and Egypt. I met with
young activists from as far afield as South America and Asia. All in all, we
were a movement of committed and inspiring young, female and male activists who
up to this day are still putting their lives on the line in a world that is now
in an all too apparent democratic slide-back. Despite the geographical
distances between our countries, we connected immediately. Our desires and
visions to see a democratic world aligned. As an activist who has been in the
struggle for some time, I had met yet another sign post in the struggle for
democracy.
After the conference, the Institute for Young Women
Development collaborated with Un
Mundo Sin Mordaza from Venezuela on a campaign for a ‘World without censorship
for young women’s participation’. As young women, we were stripping down the
emblems of patriarchy, and challenging autocratic leaders who were silencing
our voices through media repression.
Expanding our network
Over the years, as the relationship of IYWD and the WMD
continued to grow, our network of young female democrats whose vision is to see
democracy at home and around the world also grew. Our network grew both in
Zimbabwe and beyond. We worked with partners in many parts of the world
including Crossroads International in Nepal, Naymote
in Liberia and Youngsters Foundation in Nigeria.
International Honour
In 2013, the grassroots efforts of IYWD to promote democratic
participation of young women and our enriching collaborations received an
international accolade. We were honoured by the National Endowment for Democracy, a
democracy supporting organisation based in Washington DC, United States of
America. I received this award on behalf of our movement, 30 Under 30
Democracy Award together with
three other young women activists from Russia, Pakistan, and Cuba.
Much of the human rights work and mobilisation for democratic
participation that IYWD does happens in rural, farming and mining communities
of Zimbabwe. To many who do not know us, our work remains invisible. But it is
work that we believe is shaking power at all levels in Zimbabwe. Making it a
story worth telling, with the hope that it inspires many especially girls,
young women and men to think differently about democracy. With support of the
WMD, we documented the story of IYWD into a short film titled Girl
Child. The film has to date
been translated into three different languages including Arabic and Spanish and
been shown by our partners in different parts of the world. The film, has also
become IYWD’s prayer, to draw inspiration from, when repression from our
government dampen our spirits.
In 2015 I joined the World Movement for Democracy’s Steering
Committee. I will continue to serve in the board until 2020, and I
am excited to be celebrating the movement’s 20th anniversary in that
position. Just like many of us are seeing today, democracy and democracy
promoters remain under threat across the world. But seeing young people, women,
democracy activists, practitioners and intellectuals all coming together from
all over the world in support and solidarity with each other, I have no doubt
that democracy will eventually win. It is my belief that when young people and
women win, democracy wins, and when democracy wins, young people and women will
also win.
Happy 20th Anniversary World Movement for
Democracy!!!
