Step Up, Speak Out: How Young People Are Changing City Governance Through Node X! 

On 28 November 2024, the Young and Safe project of Healthy Cities for Adolescents programme brought together 30 young people, city authorities, and relevant stakeholders in Ho Municipality for the 3rd edition of Node X, a design thinking boot camp themed “Plugging Youth into City Governance.” It was a day of brainstorming and co-creating solutions to enhance youth participation in city governance, aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies and build effective, accountable institutions for sustainable development. 

Young people in Ho Municipality often feel disconnected from the systems that impact their lives. Even though they have so much to offer, a lot of them think their opinions don’t count, which keeps them from getting involved. This is why the Young and Safe project organized Node X: to brainstorm, understand the barriers to youth participation, and create tailored solutions that ensure young people have a seat at the table in decisions that affect their communities. 

The Node X Experience 

The event began with an opening ceremony at Node Eight. Miss Perfect Mawulorm Amegboe, Project Coordinator for the Young and Safe Project, welcomed everyone and expressed gratitude for their attendance. She highlighted the project’s various activities, including Node X, and encouraged participants to engage openly, emphasizing that the event’s success relied on their active participation. 

She laid out the purpose of the event: to figure out why youth in Ho Municipality don’t actively engage in city governance and to come up with solutions using a design thinking approach. To give participants firsthand experience, she announced a visit to the Ho Municipal Assembly, where they would attend the General Assembly meeting and see how these meetings are conducted and what goes into city governance. 

Empathy field trip to Ho Municipal Assembly  

At the Ho Municipal Assembly, participants were greeted by Mr. John Ntibrey, the Municipal Planning Officer, who invited them to observe the ongoing General Assembly meeting. He explained that this meeting includes; the General public, Management and Assembly Members from all electoral areas under the municipality. 

Mr. Ntibrey explained the Assembly’s structure, highlighting its 16 departments led by a Director, with the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) as the political head. He pointed out the importance of public awareness, noting that many young people were clueless about the Assembly and what it actually does. Despite efforts to reach out through various media, participation was still pretty low, especially among youth. 

The design thinking experience 

This lack of awareness showed just how crucial it was to find fresh, innovative approaches, like Design Thinking. In the next session, Xorse Senanu, Venture lead at Node Eight, introduced this method, focusing on creating solutions that really connect with young people. He shared tools like the “5 Why” Technique to dig into root causes and Empathy Maps to understand the thoughts and feelings of youth, all aimed at tackling the barriers to their involvement in governance. 

Breakout Session: 

Participants were then split into focus groups to brainstorm why youth did not engage in city governance. Their findings pointed to intimidation due to age, lack of interest, time constraints, and limited access to education and information. Among the solutions they proposed were organizing town hall meetings and mentorship programs, using social media for outreach, developing an app to keep young people updated on Assembly activities, forming advocacy groups, and hosting more youth-focused events. 

To wrap things up, Courage Asase, the project lead for the Young and Safe project, gave a big shoutout to everyone for their awesome engagement throughout the day. He assured them that their solutions would be compiled into a report for the relevant authorities and that some participants would be invited to discuss their projects further in the future. 

Node X: “Plugging Youth into City Governance” was a rallying cry for young people to step up and get involved in shaping their communities. Together, we can make a real impact! 

Stay Engaged! 

Let’s keep the momentum going! Share your thoughts on how we can further enhance youth participation in governance. What ideas do you have? 🌍✨ 

About Young and Safe 

The Young and Safe project is a three-year initiative that aims to address key issues such as youth participation in city governance, sexual and reproductive health, mental health support, creative self-expression, and digital employment opportunities. The initiative aims to develop an inclusive and supportive community for young people in Ho, Volta region, Ghana by leveraging the capabilities of each partner. The Young and Safe project will also increase young people’s employability by helping them build their digital innovation and entrepreneurship competencies. Read more. 

For all enquires, reach out to us via email at info@nodeeight.org