Objective

To provide youth with a sense of belongingness and build awareness about the significance of youth voices in shaping Bangladesh’s democratic and political future.

Project Summary

The project is designed to increase awareness and participation in responsible citizenship among school children, youth, and communities in Bangladesh. It aims to provide a sense of belonging and build awareness about the significance of youth voices in shaping the country’s democratic and political future. Various activities, including project inception meetings, capacity-building workshops, community mobilization through youth action and media campaigns, and post-election scorecard implementation are conducted.

A project inception meeting is held to review the activities and differentiate responsibilities among project staff, while the capacity building workshop focuses on training youths from all 64 districts as master trainers on issues related to voting, good governance, and democratic rights practice. These master trainers then conduct day-long district training sessions with youths from each district to discuss the same issues. After the capacity-building workshops, the trained youth leaders conduct community sensitization campaigns on “My Voice My Choice.” JAAGO Foundation runs social media awareness campaigns to raise awareness among the wider audience, which includes a national radio talk show. Furthermore, youth leaders are trained to collect data, from their communities, using scorecards, and an external data analysis expert team is hired to analyze the data collected post-election. The compiled data is segregated according to all 64 districts for a comparative analysis of the local elected representatives.

Through this initiative, we empower youth by building their awareness and sense of belongingness, increasing their participation in the democratic process, and promoting accountability among elected representatives. Overall, the impact is to contribute to shaping Bangladesh’s democratic and political future by creating a more informed and engaged citizenry.