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Liberia – Youth Political Participation

#Research on Youth Political Participation

Liberia is one of the growing democracies in the West Africa sub-region, with a total population of over 5.1 million people. After going through a series of civil wars in the 1990s, the country regained political stability in 2003 and held its first post-conflict general election in 2005. With its smooth power transition in 2017, Liberia received rare accolades from local and international observers for conducting its first free, fair, and peaceful elections in seven decades, signalling the country’s growing democracy and political stability. The country also has a vibrant civil society space, with non-governmental organisations (NGO) and international NGOs (INGO) contributing to several developmental reforms. The country has an active youth population, with young people between 15–35 years old accounting for 70% of the country’s total population1. Young people in Liberia are significantly contributing to the country’s political stability through advancing accountability, peace and security, and human rights.

Understanding youth-focused policies and initiatives

Young people are important stakeholders in the socio-political growth and development of Liberia. This demographic population represents one of the most significant players in the country’s public affairs, including politics, elections, and civic engagement. This is evident in the significant role of the Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY) in driving Civic Voters’ Education (CVE) ahead of the country’s presidential election in October 2023. FLY visited counties and local communities to sensitise Liberian youth and the entire populace on the need to exercise their civic rights in the forthcoming election. The Liberian government has instituted several policy initiatives and programmes to advance youth integration into the public policy processes in Liberia.

National Youth Policy (2019–2023): The National Youth Policy (NYP) is the official document that outlines the goals, objectives, and priority areas of the government for promoting youth development in Liberia. The first National Youth Policy was published in 2001, and a revised version was published in 2012 to cover action plans for another five years (2012–2017)2. The latest NYP in Liberia was published in 2019 and is titled ‘The National Youth Policy and Action Plan 2019–2023’. The latest national youth policy highlights the government’s priority areas regarding youth development, which also reflects the needs and realities of young people in Liberia. In developing the latest version of the NYP, youth groups and international organisations, such as United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), and World Bank, were consulted to ensure that the policy document reflected the voices and concerns of the Liberian youth3. The Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYS) is the government institution responsible for implementing the NYP in Liberia. The ministry collaborates with other government agencies and youth groups to advance the objectives and priorities outlined in the NYP – coordinating and monitoring youth-led initiatives and facilitating skills training.

The primary objective of the NYP is to improve youth participation in decisions vis-à-vis policymaking processes in Liberia. With this central goal in sight, the NYP presents 13 priority areas the government seeks to address regarding youth inclusion in policymaking processes – including youth education and training, employment, and empowerment. It is worth highlighting that the NYP is the central policy document driving Liberia’s government programmes and initiatives concerning young people in the country. The government allocates funds annually to relevant institutions – such as the Ministry of Youth and Sports – to advance youth development and participation in public affairs in the country. Over USD$3.4million was allocated to the Ministry of Youth and Sports in the 2020/2021 fiscal budget to advance youth-focused development initiatives, including vocational training and support for youth advocacy, among others4. 

It is also worth noting that one of the major priorities of the Liberian government is to actively engage young people in advancing peace and social cohesion in the country. This is largely due to the devastating roles played by young people in the country’s civil wars, where government forces and rebel groups recruited young people in their political battles, including over 20,000 children who were recruited as child soldiers5. Thus, supporting youth development and implementing the NYP is an effort to promote sustainable peace and stability in the country. This is evident in the efforts of the Federation of Liberian Youth – one of the government-funded youth groups – advancing peace in the country through its recently facilitated Buutuo Declaration, where it brings together youth leaders across various political parties to commit to peace and unity in Buutuo, Nimba county, in the country6.

Federation of Liberian Youth: The Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY) is the umbrella body of youth-led organisations in Liberia. Established by an Act of Legislation in 1974, the FLY is a statutory body mandated and recognised by the government to advance the voices and concerns of the Liberian youth7. While FLY existed before the first NYP, its objectives align with the government priorities for advancing youth development and participation in public affairs. 

Over the years, FLY has played a significant role in transforming Liberian society, through promoting youth development, demanding accountability and transparency, and constructively engaging the government on behalf of the Liberian youth8. FLY is playing a pivotal role in promoting political stability and peace and security in Liberia, recently launching its national youth agenda called ‘Up to Us’, which presents a three-year strategic plan of the government-funded youth body to advance youth agency in the country9. FLY also established an Inter-Party Youth Council with the primary objective of promoting peace and improving coordination between young people and political parties. Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, FLY implemented a nationwide initiative tagged ‘The Youth Agenda’ – which aims to identify the top ten concerns and priorities of young people in the election. This team uses surveys, focus group discussions, and town meetings to collate youth ideas and opinions across the country. With the youth population accounting for 50% of the total number of registered voters, FLY and all youth-led organisations in Liberia believe they have a significant role to play in ensuring free, fair, and peaceful 2023 elections. FLY receives financial and non-financial support from the government, including annual budgetary allocation and logistical support for youth-led projects. Another notable trend in FLY’s activities is the use of social media, where the group leverages Facebook to engage young people and other relevant stakeholders.

President’s Young Professionals Programme: This programme was established in 2009 during the administration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The President’s Young Professionals Programme (PYPP) is an initiative of the Liberian government that trains and mentors young Liberian university graduates in the country. As a two-year public service fellowship programme, the PYPP places selected candidates in relevant government roles with the purpose of giving young graduates the opportunity to hone their skills and gain relevant on-the-job experience. The PYPP empowers the youth and provides them with the rare opportunity to participate in the country’s public policy processes. The programme is highly competitive and has received some criticisms for its low selection rate. According to Abraham Varney from BudgIT, “since the programme was established in 2009, it has yet to produce up to 1000 beneficiaries. The programme focuses only on graduates, automatically disqualifying other vibrant young people who are doing excellent work in local communities10”. Overall, despite the small number of beneficiaries, the programme has been successful in integrating Liberian youth into the national public policy space.

Policy Implementation

Financial commitment to youth-led initiatives: In implementing some of the above policy initiatives, the Liberian government has made financial commitments in several ways. The Ministry of Youth was allocated over USD$3.4million in the country’s 2020/2021 national budget, which was mainly to promote youth development in Liberia. FLY was allocated a total amount of USD$150,000 in the country’s 2013/2014 national budget, which was largely to facilitate the country’s youth-led initiatives11. Despite priding itself as a nonpartisan and nongovernmental organisation, commentators believe FLY is a pro-government organisation. Varney argues “FLY and other government-funded youth organisations usually do not have the guts to criticise government activities, even when they are wrong12”. The PYPP also receives increased funding and technical support from the government, as well as international organisations, such as United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Hess Foundation, Mulago, Big Win Philanthropy, and others. The Liberian government is also using PYPP as a platform to integrate young people into the country’s civil service and public affairs by providing them with hands-on training across the government’s ministries and agencies, as well as gaining meaningful mentorship experience13.

Driving partnership with youth-led initiatives and INGOs: Another major finding is the increasing partnership between government agencies and youth-led initiatives in driving youth participation in Liberia’s public affairs. The Liberian Ministry of Youth and Sports partners with young people to advance youth-focused solutions. This is evident in the significant role played by FLY and other youth-led organisations in drawing up the 2012 and 2019 national youth policies. Beyond government-led agencies, youth-led organisations are also partnering with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and international organisations to advance youth participation in public affairs – including elections, civic engagement, and politics. For instance, FLY is currently partnering with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU) to advance inclusive and peaceful elections in Liberia.

Key Successes

Increasing youth participation in public affairs: One of the most significant successes in post-civil war Liberia, the efforts of the government in advancing youth inclusion into public affairs has seen a significant increase in the participation of young people in politics, elections, and civic engagements. This is even more important with the role played by young people in the devastating civil wars and political stability in the country. Interestingly, the Liberian youth are now at the forefront of advocating for free, fair, and peaceful elections. While Liberia is yet to have a young person elected as political officer or parliamentarian, the country has progressed immensely in getting young people to show interest in politics, through voting, vying for elective positions, and holding leaders accountable. Despite all this, Varney still believes it is not enough, noting that “in practice, young people are still not given the room to take up political positions, even though the constitution permits youth above 25 years to do so”. He also noted “young people’s growing interest in politics is not only because of their [government] initiatives, rather it is because young people are tired of the country’s socio-economic situations. There is so much youth unemployment and poor education. So, the youth’s interest in politics is because we want to ask questions and challenge the system14”.

Increasing number of youth-led organisations and initiatives: Liberia is experiencing an increasing number of youth-led organisations and initiatives. This is a notable success because it highlights the significant impact of youth-focused policies and programmes. The government has reduced bureaucratic bottlenecks that hinder young people from incorporating their social enterprise. Interestingly, Liberia is now experiencing an increasing number of youth-led initiatives focusing on several developmental issues including elections, accountability, climate change and environmental protection, and quality education.

Youth as Peacebuilders: A notable success in Liberian public affairs, young people who used to be known as menaces to the country are now drivers of peace and stability. Ahead of the 2023 general elections young people, with the support of FLY, advocated for peaceful elections. Beyond campaigning for free, fair, and peaceful elections, FLY also coordinated the signing of a peace pact tagged the “Buutuo Declaration”. The Buutuo Declaration was signed by youth leaders in major political parties in early 2023, encouraging young people to shun violence and promote peaceful conduct in Liberia’s 2023 general elections15. The Buutuo Declaration has a historical significance, as it was signed in the Buutuo area of Nimba County in Liberia – the location where the devastating civil war started 34 years ago. Coordinated by FLY, this declaration signals the increasing role of young people in promoting peace in the country, which is one of the priorities of the government outlined in the NYP. 

This case country is taken from a comprehensive examination of successful youth-led policy initiatives drawing from the insights of a scoping study “A comparative analysis on National Youth Policies”.

Read the full scoping study on Youth Political Participation here

This study is supported by a European Union-funded project called WYDE Civic Engagement led by EPD that aims to improve the inclusion of Youth in all levels of democratic participation at the national, regional and global scales.  The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and should not be considered as representative of the European Commission’s official position

  1. Federation of Liberian Youth, “Statement on the announcement of the 2023 Census report.” February 22, 2023. https://medium.com/@flyonline/statement-on-the-announcement-of-the-2023-census-report-ee0ceb602e38 ↩︎
  2. Federation of Liberian Youth, “The Revised National Youth Policy (2012 – 2017).” September 18, 2012. https://www.youthpolicy.org/national/Liberia_2012_Revised_Youth_Policy_Presentation.pdf. ↩︎
  3. Reagan Lebbie, “MYS Launches National Youth Policy, Action Plan 2019-2023,” October 29, 2019, https://www.faapa.info/blog/mys-launches-national-youth-policy-action-plan-2019-2023-2/.
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  4. Republic of Liberia, National Budget Fiscal Year 2020/2021, June 2020, https://www.cabri-sbo.org/uploads/bia/Liberia_2021_Approval_External_BudgetProposal_MinFin_CEN-SADECOWAS_English.pdf 
    ↩︎
  5. UNHCR, “Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 – Liberia,” https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805e813.html#:~:text=The%20UN%20has%20estimated%20that,Liberia’s%20seven-year%20civil%20war. ↩︎
  6. Francis Boayue, “Liberia: Political Parties Youth Leaders Affix Signatures to Buutuo Declaration, Commits Peaceful, Democracy, and Non-Violence Elections,” August 7, 2023, https://frontpageafricaonline.com/news/liberia-political-parties-youth-leaders-affix-signatures-to-buutuo-declaration-commits-peaceful-democracy-and-non-violence-elections/. ↩︎
  7. Front Page Africa, “Liberia: Federation of Liberia Youths (FLY) General Assembly Independent Ad-Hoc Elections Commission 2022 Guidelines,” October 20, 2022, https://allafrica.com/stories/202210210181.html. ↩︎
  8.  Ibid ↩︎
  9. David Yates, “Liberia: FLY Launches “Up to Us” National Youth Agenda,” February 23, 2023, https://www.liberianobserver.com/liberia-fly-launches-us-national-youth-agenda. ↩︎
  10. Interview with Abraham Varney, Country Lead at BudgIT Liberia ↩︎
  11. YouthPolicy, “Liberia: Definition of Youth,” April 28, 2014, https://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/liberia/. ↩︎
  12.  Interview with Abraham Varney, Country Lead at BudgIT Liberia
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  13. President’s Young Professional Program, “The PYPP Model,” https://www.pyppliberia.com/model. ↩︎
  14. Interview with Abhram Varney ↩︎
  15.  Francis Boayue, “Liberia: Political Parties Youth Leaders Affix Signatures to Buutuo Declaration, Commits Peaceful, Democracy, and Non-Violence Elections,” August 7, 2023, https://frontpageafricaonline.com/news/liberia-political-parties-youth-leaders-affix-signatures-to-buutuo-declaration-commits-peaceful-democracy-and-non-violence-elections/. ↩︎