The Political Participation of Youth

“Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development, and building good governance.” - Kofi Annan, Former Secretary General of the United Nations.

Despite progress in codifying women’s rights into law, advances in gender equality around the world have been halting, at best. This, despite the additional attention that the #MeToo movement brought to incidents of sexual assault and harassment in parts of the Global North—and increasingly in the Global South.

In a landmark move, the Nigerian House of Representatives has taken a significant step towards empowering women in politics.

Spearheaded by one of the female lawmakers, Blessing Amadi, the House adopted a motion to establish a dedicated department within the Ministry of Women Affairs, complete with adequate funding to support and train women in politics.

The department will also work to integrate the importance of women’s political leadership into the secondary school curriculum.

Galloway, N.J. – Did you know that New Jersey has never sent a woman to the U.S. Senate? Or that New Jersey ranks 23rd among the 50 states in the proportion of women serving in its legislature?

Excelling as a world-class athlete and performing parliamentary work both require determination, collaboration, and a commitment to excellence. As we count down to the Paris 2024 Olympics, let's meet five trailblazers who succeeded in both arenas.

1. Sebastian Coe - United Kingdom

2. Matthew John Cowdrey – Australia

3. Nancy Greene – Canada

4. Nawal El Moutawakel – Morocco

Milica Borjanic is a vocal advocate for youth rights in Serbia and programme manager with The National Youth Council of Serbia (KOMS), as the highest independent representative body of the youth in Serbia. Last year, she was one of the participants of the UN Women's training for trainers on women's political participation and leadership.