Civic Responsibility among Young People

 Students for Global Democracy (SGD) is  carrying out a project on responsible citizenship and civic culture to instill a sense of civic responsibility in Ugandan youth by engaging youth in community service activities and showing youth the real-life consequences of violence and the benefits of constructive civic engagement. Uganda has witnessed a rise in youth-led violence and destructive youth political engagement in the past two decades. Politicians manipulate youth to advance their campaigns and intimidate opponents, as seen by the ruling party’s deployment of the brutal and youth-dominated Kiboko squad in the run up to the February 2011 elections. In addition, university students resort to violent strikes to contest high tuition fees and professor absenteeism, and slum youth use violence to decry unemployment and poor living conditions. Most interventions to improve Ugandan youth attitudes and civic engagement involve psycho-social support or punitive measures such as imprisonment; however, these approaches fail to address widespread apathy, ignorance, and disenchantment among the youth population. SGD is filling this gap by involving youth in community service activities including clean-up exercises and tree planting, prison visits and nonviolence fora, among other activities in Kampala and Jinja, Wakiso and Mpigi districts. SGD will target youth who exhibit a particular vulnerability to violence, including slum youth and formerly incarcerated youth, as well as youth leaders from Makerere, Kyambogo, Busoga and Nkumba universities. Resources permitting, secondary beneficiaries will include the families and friends of youth participants, as well as police, religious leaders, and school and university administrators. SGD is collaborating with fellow CSOs and CBOs to identify participants and coordinate all project activities; these will include: Youth Revival Association in Nkere Zone in Makindye Division; Action for Fundamental Change and Development in Lufula Zone in Kawempe Division and Sports Eye Foundation in Market Zone in Nakawa Division; Uganda Change Agent in Buwama Trading Center community in Buwama Sub County; Kituntu Youth Development Association in Kituntu Trading Center in Kituntu Sub County and National Organisation for the Empowerment of Rural Communities in Mpigi Trading Center in Mpigi Town Council; Agasawo Ministries in Mpumudde Market Zone in Mpumudde Sub County; Jinja Nurba Youth Chaplain in Aldiina Village in Jinja Central East Constituency and Busoga Youth Development Association in Church Zone in Walukuba-Massese Division; and Community Action for Development in Nansana Town Council; Integrated Community Action for Development in Nsangi Sub County; and Maganjo Youth Development Association, Maganjo Village.