{"id":9304,"date":"2024-10-27T13:35:13","date_gmt":"2024-10-27T13:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/?post_type=storiesprojects&#038;p=9304"},"modified":"2026-04-21T09:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T09:40:10","slug":"oripha-chimwara-youngresearchersnetwork","status":"publish","type":"storiesprojects","link":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/stories\/oripha-chimwara-youngresearchersnetwork\/","title":{"rendered":"Oripha Chimwara &#8211; #YoungResearchersNetwork"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"height:63px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#c2dedc\"><strong>Dr Oripha Chimwara <\/strong>is a political scientist and author whose publications span areas of natural resource governance, women, and democratisation. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy degree in youth participation. Through her research and publications, she promotes accountability, democratic governance, and social justice. Acceptance into the Youth Research Network under the European Partnership for Democracy is a humbling learning experience for furthering youth research to promote inclusion in decision-making processes. The incessant youth calls on \u2018Nothing for us without us\u2019 should not be seen as signs of disrespect; instead, they are calls for space that allows the youth to be, flourish, and take a hand in addressing global challenges whose disastrous consequences know no boundaries. Harnessing youth potential in decision-making processes is part of the solution to contemporary global disasters.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Oripha Chimwara&rsquo;s<\/strong> <strong>Case Study<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A case study of Zimbabwe showing how youth quotas can open the door to representation but, without deeper political reforms, risk becoming symbolic fixes rather than drivers of real democratic inclusion.<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons alignwide is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-outline is-style-outline--1\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-background has-text-align-center wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/stories\/chapter-6-by-oripha-chimwara\/\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:7px;border-top-right-radius:7px;border-bottom-left-radius:7px;border-bottom-right-radius:7px;background-color:#e8212f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Enhancing Youth Representation in Zimbabwe Through Effective Quotas<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><span id=\"docs-internal-guid-87c2c207-7fff-8dfd-c7f8-ea84d940a3d7\"><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Voices behind the research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"ratio ratio-16x9\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Meet Dr Oripha Chimwara - Young Researchers Network\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ixTFAjqEnZ0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:55px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why working on Youth Political Participation? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Youthhood is an essential social category and stage where individuals endeavor to fulfill the dreams long cherished as they grew up. However, in most countries, including Zimbabwe, young people tend to be frustrated by the unconducive economic and political environment. YouthHood also signifies a critical time when mentorship and nurturing should take place. However, in most instances, generational politics tend to be characterized as unruly and deviant behavior of the youth. Therefore, as a young person, I wish to actively participate in advancing youth research aimed at changing the stereotyping narratives and shaping policy oriented at harnessing youth potential in addressing global and local contemporary challenges. I, therefore, work on youth political participation as a means of speaking for the youth. At the same time, I believe in documenting the youth narratives, challenges encountered, successes made, and prospective courses of action. It is essential to engage through research in dialogue on the best international practices on youth political participation reflective of the local context where I come from.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Unconventional about Oripha<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the \u2018rule of thumb\u2019 demonstration my part one professor invited me to participate in, I have wanted to be in academia. In fact, soon after the demonstration, he officially crowned me \u2018the assistant professor.\u2019 The demonstration wasn\u2019t pleasant for the shy girl I was, yet when I look back, it constituted the prophetic call I have ever received to be in academia. Though a simple demonstration in one of the local halls at my university, it turned out to be an elaborative action of what the profession entails. To my professor, the rule of thumb demonstration was all I needed to choose a profession<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Personality who Oripha admires most  <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"565\" height=\"483\" src=\"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Oripha-CHIMWARA-in-details-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9311 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Oripha-CHIMWARA-in-details-1.png 565w, https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Oripha-CHIMWARA-in-details-1-322x275.png 322w, https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Oripha-CHIMWARA-in-details-1-161x138.png 161w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 565px) 100vw, 565px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>I continually admire my late mother, <strong>Barbara<\/strong>. She held my hand and cheered each winding path I trod. Mostly cherished- she gave me wings to fly against societal stereotyping. She gave me the voice to question practices and principles that accept power imbalances as usual and the example of the beauty of collaborative interactions between two different generations! The world would be a better place if the younger generation were deliberately involved and given the space to become and make contributions to contemporary societal challenges.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Link to papers already published&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/334948574_The_Sustainability_of_Diamond_Mining_in_Zimbabwe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/334948574_The_Sustainability_of_Diamond_Mining_in_Zimbabwe<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Get to know Oripha<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links has-icon-color has-icon-background-color is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-social-links-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li style=\"color:#fefefe;background-color:#c2dedc;\" class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-linkedin  wp-block-social-link\"><a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/oripha-chimwara-035a12b3\/\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M19.7,3H4.3C3.582,3,3,3.582,3,4.3v15.4C3,20.418,3.582,21,4.3,21h15.4c0.718,0,1.3-0.582,1.3-1.3V4.3 C21,3.582,20.418,3,19.7,3z M8.339,18.338H5.667v-8.59h2.672V18.338z M7.004,8.574c-0.857,0-1.549-0.694-1.549-1.548 c0-0.855,0.691-1.548,1.549-1.548c0.854,0,1.547,0.694,1.547,1.548C8.551,7.881,7.858,8.574,7.004,8.574z M18.339,18.338h-2.669 v-4.177c0-0.996-0.017-2.278-1.387-2.278c-1.389,0-1.601,1.086-1.601,2.206v4.249h-2.667v-8.59h2.559v1.174h0.037 c0.356-0.675,1.227-1.387,2.526-1.387c2.703,0,3.203,1.779,3.203,4.092V18.338z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">LinkedIn<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li style=\"color:#fefefe;background-color:#c2dedc;\" class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-x  wp-block-social-link\"><a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/princessopa27\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M13.982 10.622 20.54 3h-1.554l-5.693 6.618L8.745 3H3.5l6.876 10.007L3.5 21h1.554l6.012-6.989L15.868 21h5.245l-7.131-10.378Zm-2.128 2.474-.697-.997-5.543-7.93H8l4.474 6.4.697.996 5.815 8.318h-2.387l-4.745-6.787Z\" \/><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">X<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr Oripha Chimwara is a political scientist and author whose publications span areas of natural resource governance, women, and democratisation. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy degree in youth participation. Through her research and publications, she promotes accountability, democratic governance, and social justice. Acceptance into [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"story-category":[92],"project-category":[242],"project-region":[315],"story-tag":[93],"class_list":["post-9304","storiesprojects","type-storiesprojects","status-publish","hentry","story-category-individual","project-category-wyde-civic-engagement","project-region-africa","story-tag-young-researchers-network"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/storiesprojects\/9304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/storiesprojects"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/storiesprojects"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/storiesprojects\/9304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22126,"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/storiesprojects\/9304\/revisions\/22126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"story-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story-category?post=9304"},{"taxonomy":"project-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project-category?post=9304"},{"taxonomy":"project-region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project-region?post=9304"},{"taxonomy":"story-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youthdemocracycohort.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story-tag?post=9304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}