Youth

Chioniso Michelle Murinda is an elected councillor and Chair of the Chegutu District Council in Zimbabwe, where she leads on environmental governance, natural resource management and local development. Murinda joined the first-ever Women’s Assembly on 23 June 2026, hosted in the context of UCLG’s World Congress and Summit of Local and Regional Leaders in Tangier. Supported by WYDE Women’s Leadership, the Women’s Assembly marked a historic moment for women in local governance, creating a space for women leaders across generations and regions to collectively shape a more inclusive political future.

When Chioniso Michelle Murinda first entered local politics in Zimbabwe, she quickly realized that holding a leadership title was only the beginning. Real change, she says, comes not from occupying a seat at the table, but from ensuring that communities have a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect their lives.  

An elected councillor and Chair of the Chegutu District Council, Murinda has already broken several barriers. She is the only councillor in Zimbabwe elected to chair two committees simultaneously: the Environment Committee and the Finance Committee. Her work spans natural resource governance, land management, agriculture, climate issues and local development across multiple districts.

Yet despite her achievements, Murinda believes the most important lesson she has learned is one she did not acquire in a classroom. “It's not enough to go to school,” she says. “There are many things that you would never find in any library, any university, any institution. There are the unspoken rules of leadership, which you can learn only from those who have walked that path before you.”  

Behind her achievements lies another critical factor: mentorship. For Murinda, learning from women who had already navigated leadership spaces was instrumental in shaping her confidence, resilience and approach to public service.

For instance, through UN Women’s African Women Leaders Network capacity‑building programme, Murinda gained structured training in leadership, mentorship, and advocacy, along with access to regional peer networks and practical tools for community engagement. This investment strengthened her confidence, expanded her influence as a councillor and young female leader, and enabled her to mobilize resources, challenge stigma, and amplify youth voices in Zimbabwe’s governance and development spaces.

Furthermore, mentorship with senior leaders created the intergenerational solidarity necessary to strengthen women’s leadership. Rather than viewing younger and older generations as competitors, she argues that progress depends on collaboration and shared leadership. “We need each other. Only when senior women lead side-by-side with emerging women leaders you can have a whole of stakeholder approach,” Murinda says.  

That belief was reinforced during the UCLG Women’s Assembly held in the context of the World Congress and Summit of Local and Regional Leaders in Tangier. Reflecting on the discussions with women leaders from around the world, Murinda highlighted a crucial shift in the conversation on women’s political representation: “We have fought to be in these spaces as women,” she says. “So, it's no longer about how many women are in the room, but what we do when we are in that space.” For her, representation alone is not enough. “Are we introducing new policies? Are we bringing reforms or are we just making the numbers?”

Soon after assuming office, Murinda observed that many local policies were designed from the top down, often without sufficient consultation with the communities most affected by environmental and agricultural challenges. In response, she launched Environmental Committees across 29 wards in her district, a first-of-its-kind initiative in the area. These committees bring community members amongst them many women, into local decision-making processes and help shape policies based on local needs and realities. Murinda explains that women, as primary caregivers and first responders to environmental and agricultural challenges within their households and communities, often possess valuable knowledge that is rarely harnessed in formal policymaking. Through these committees, Murinda offered channels for women’s voices to inform local governance while strengthening ownership of development initiatives.

The impact of these committees extends beyond policy outcomes. Murinda says that seeing a young woman chairing committees historically led by men has changed perceptions among many women and girls living in rural areas. It has demonstrated that leadership is not limited by age or gender, and that women can effectively lead in sectors that shape local economies and livelihoods.  

“Visibility without influence is nothing.” 

As more women enter political and leadership spaces, Murinda believes the focus must shift from representation alone to meaningful influence and transformative leadership. Her journey demonstrates that breaking barriers is only the first step. Lasting change happens when women use their positions to amplify community voices, shape policies and create opportunities for others to lead.  

Asked what advice she would give to the next generation of young women leaders, she laughs before offering a simple message:

“There is never the right time to start. So start anyway!” 

The Women’s Assembly was organized by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) which is an implementing partner of WYDE | Women’s Leadership, an initiative funded by the European Union and led by UN Women. WYDE | Women’s Leadership is a collaborative global effort aimed at advancing women’s full and effective political participation and decision-making at all levels, especially those most often left furthest behind.

Note: These publications aim to stimulate a constructive debate on key issues of interest for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment. The views expressed by the individuals interviewed for the production of our editorial content do not necessarily reflect the official position of UN Women, United Nations system agencies nor of the European Union.  

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Morocco highlighted its efforts to expand political participation among young people and women at the second African Political Parties Summit, held Nov. 5-7 in Addis Ababa, according to Morocco’s Press Agency (MAP).

The Moroccan delegation outlined initiatives aimed at increasing young people’s participation in elections, citing King Mohammed VI’s directives to strengthen the involvement of young people and women in political life.

Delegates emphasized the importance of expanding access to leadership and decision-making positions, arguing that greater political participation could strengthen democratic practices and political parties across Africa.

The delegation also presented Morocco’s development projects, particularly in the southern provinces, under the development model launched by King Mohammed VI in 2015.

Moroccan representatives highlighted the Royal Atlantic Initiative and the country’s South-South cooperation strategy, which seeks to strengthen economic integration and partnerships among African countries.

They also reiterated Morocco’s position that its autonomy initiative under Moroccan sovereignty should serve as the sole basis for resolving the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.

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The 51st Congress session (Strasbourg, 27-29 October 2026) features a number of side events, including a presentation of the book “Unbreakable Kherson” on wartime resilience developed from the region’s experience of occupation, liberation and ongoing attacks, to take place on Wednesday 28 October 2026 at 12.45 pm in Room 10 of the Palais de l’Europe, with the participation of the Head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, and Congress Vice-President Cecilia Dalman Eek.

On Monday 26 October, the Heorhiy Maiboroda National Bandurist Chorus of Ukraine will perform in the Hemicycle of the Palais de l’Europe starting at 6 pm. Founded in Kyiv in 1918, the chorus carries more than a century of Ukrainian musical tradition. The event offers an opportunity to hear the live sound of the bandura, which has become a symbol of Ukraine’s nationhood and resilience.

On Tuesday 27 October, the Permanent Representations of Iceland and Ukraine to the Council of Europe organise a side event on “Women’s Political Participation and Democratic Resilience in Ukraine amid Russia’s Full-Scale War”.

The event will focus on how to safeguard women’s political participation and representation in Ukraine’s recovery, reconstruction and post-war democratic development as well as the key role played by women in sustaining Ukrainian communities and democratic institutions during the war. It will also highlight key challenges Ukrainian women politicians face and how civil society organisations work to enhance women's political participation and prepare for post-war elections in Ukraine. The event will take place at 1.15 pm in Room 6 of the Palais de l’Europe. 

Also on Tuesday 27 October, there will be a presentation of the Council of Europe campaign “Journalists Matter” for the safety of journalists, examining how local authorities can support strong and independent local media, and how local authorities and law enforcement bodies can work together with journalists to ensure their safety as they carry out their crucial work in the interests of stronger democracy. The event will take place at 1.15 pm in Room 10 of the Palais de l’Europe, with the participation of Dutch journalist René Hendriks, representatives of the Swedish police authorities and Congress Vice-President Mélanie Lepoultier.

On Wednesday 28 October, a side event on “Putting the new European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life into Practice”, supported by the German delegation to the Congress, will feature the participation of Congress youth delegates, who will share their experiences in shaping the future of local democracy. The event will take place at 12.45 pm in Room 8 of the Palais de l’Europe.

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International IDEA convened the sixth Young Women’s Empowerment Academy in Bangkok, Thailand, under the EU-funded WYDE Women’s Leadership Initiative.

The three-day Academy brought together 30 young women leaders and politicians from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Timor-Leste. Participants came together to exchange experiences, build leadership skills and explore strategies to overcome barriers to women’s political participation and representation.

Through dialogue, learning and peer exchange, the Academy created a space for young women to strengthen their voices, connect across borders and contribute to more inclusive and representative political systems.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines self-care as the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote and maintain their own health, prevent disease and cope with illness, with or without the support of a health or care worker.

Self-care recognizes people as active agents in managing their own health care through lifestyle choices and interventions that complement care given in formal health facilities. Self-care includes health promotion; disease prevention and control; caregiving to dependent persons; rehabilitation; and palliative care. Tools and actions that can support self-care can comprise evidence-based interventions including drugs, devices and diagnostics that can be accessed fully or partially outside formal health services, as well as informed actions people take such as healthy life-style choices and health promoting behaviours.

WHO recommends self-care for every country and economic setting, as a critical path to reach universal health coverage (UHC).

Self-care can:   

• provide agency and autonomy to individuals and communities as active agents in managing their own health and well-being;

• lead progress towards UHC and better health and well-being outcomes; and

• lead to more efficient use of resources for health.

This 2025 report is the sixth IPU review of youth participation in national parliaments. It maps the presence of young members of parliament (MPs) worldwide, providing the most recent data on the proportion of MPs aged 30 and under, and MPs aged 40 and under, at the time of the most recent election or renewal.

The report also provides insights on good practices to increase youth participation in parliament. Age data in this report comes from 210 parliamentary chambers in 155 countries and is current as of 31 July 2025.

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