Johannesburg youth quiz politicians on how to build a youth-inclusive city

The focus will be on the Corridors of Freedom Programme, which intends to transform the apartheid spatial patterns that have continued to entrench inequality in the City of Johannesburg. This will also be an opportunity to assess whether the political party representatives in the top five parties contesting local government elections (ANC, DA, EFF, IFP and UDM) appreciate what challenges young people are faced with in Johannesburg.

The aim of this dialogue will be to answer, amongst other questions, the following:

• Has this programme improved the lives of young Joburgers and are there other alternatives?
  
• How does the Corridors of Freedom project address the particular concerns of young Joburgers, and are we seeing a real improvement in the quality of youth lives?

#2X is a campaign aimed at amplifying young people’s voices in the real and digital worlds. It aims to galvanise young people to champion their own local issues and bring those issues to elected representatives’ doorsteps. The campaign falls under youth engagement and social impact agency Livity Africa’s Voting Is Power (VIP) platform.

Launched in the lead up to the 2014 national and provincial elections, the VIP platform was conceived as a proactive response to voter apathy and democratic disengagement among young people. With almost half the population made up of young people, VIP bridges the gap between politics and the youth, ensuring that they take ownership of civic engagement and become the champions of the unique agendas they set.

Using digital, media and live engagements, the national platform centralises the social, cultural, economic and political themes of young people’s lives in interpreting, interacting with and monitoring South African politics, governance and policy. Since the lead up to the first voter registration weekend in March #2X has travelled throughout the country, engaging with young people about their part in the democratic process and particularly, the importance of their issues and their vote.

For more information, go to www.viplive.co.za.