About YELO

YELO is the Network of UCLG Africa, dedicated to elected officials under the age of thirty-five (35) years. It is set up to defend the interests and carry the voice of youth, especially the elected officials from local and territorial governments of the continent.

Known as key agents of change and leaders of the new generation, young local and regional elected representatives have the capacity to act and mobilize other stakeholders around the challenges of sustainable development and governance at local level. Supporting the setting up of a youth Network within UCLG Africa is in line with the organisation’s vision of “Building African Unity and Driving African Development through the Grassroots“.

The Network is composed of young local and regional elected representatives from the five regions of Africa: Central, East, North, Southern, and West. This Network is multicultural and promotes the inclusion of young people in politics, their participation in the development and production of local public policies, particularly in the field of employment, education, training and culture, among others.

Goal

The goal of YELO is to organize the collective voice of Young Elected Local Officials of Africa at the national, regional and continental level pertaining to the consideration of the concerns and initiatives of the youth in the definition and implementation of local policies and strategies, as well as in the planning and management of African cities and territories.

YELO also cares about empowering its members with the required skills to deliver better services and improve their performance and effectiveness through training, peer reviews, peer learning and benchmarking.

Mission

The mission of the YELO Network is to empower its members with the capabilities and skills to participate, through debates, proposals and exchanges of ideas and experiences, in the discussions conducted within UCLG Africa on issues relating to territorial governance, particularly the promotion of youth, and account taking of their priorities in the definition and implementation of the policies and strategies of African cities and territories.

Objectives

To fulfill this mission, the objectives pursued by the Young Local Elected Officials of Africa Network are to:

  • Organize the common voice and representation of young local elected officials of subnational and local governments of Africa within UCLG Africa at the national, regional and continental levels;
  • Disseminate best practices on youth participation and inclusion in the management of public affairs in Africa and in the governing bodies of cities and territories;
  • Promote the exchange of experiences amongst members of the Network;
  • Improve and strengthen the management capacities of the Network’s members;
  • Develop and maintain cooperation and partnership relations with other youth networks in Africa and other regions of the world;
  • Prepare the next generation of UCLG Africa’s political leadership.

Governing Body

Mr. Hormatallah ERRAGHEB

Mr. Hormatallah ERRAGHEB

Mayor of Dakhla, Morocco

President of YELO, Vice-President for North Africa

Mrs. Antoinette De London ATAYI MEPAS

Mrs. Antoinette De London ATAYI MEPAS

2nd Deputy Major of the 2nd District of Owendo, Gabon

Vice President for Central Africa

Mr. Abubakar BUBA

Mr. Abubakar BUBA

Chairperson of Lere Local Government, Nigeria

Vice President for West Africa

Mr. George MWANZA

Mr. George MWANZA

Mayor of Chipata, Zambia

Vice President for Sourthen Africa

Mrs. Hilda Maate BUSINGE

Mrs. Hilda Maate BUSINGE

Mayor of Hima, Uganda

Vice President for East Africa

Organization

The governing bodies of YELO are: the Assembly, the Council, the Bureau, and the Presidency. The term of office of the members of YELO’s governing bodies is three years and ends on the same date as the term of office of the organs of UCLG Africa. The Secretariat General of UCLG Africa serves as the Secretariat for YELO.

Action Plan

Strategic Action Plan YELO

The setting up of a YELO Country network is voluntary. YELO will be created within the national associations of local elected representatives and will hold the mandate responsible for matters relating to young people. For this step, the adoption of the strategic and orientation documents of the network are essential, in particular the rules of procedure, the action plan and the roadmap.

The General Secretariat of UCLG Africa, the vice-presidents of UCLG Africa, and the Presidents of National Associations will offer their support to facilitate the process of creating the Network.

The YELO network will rely mainly on dynamic young elected local officials, previously identified by National Associations of Local Governments. Their main tasks will be to lead the Network’s approved activities. The YELO Network will organize events to promote young people in territorial governance, but above all their key role is to identify and overcome challenges faced by young people in African cities. They will be involved in events to raise awareness mainly on current issues such as training and employment, climate change, protection of the environment, migration, peace and security.

This level will focus on the drawing up of a document regarding the state of integration of young people in politics at local level in Africa, with an overview of the inclusion of youth in decision-making bodies. Particular attention will be paid to intermediary cities and rural

areas, where young people are more politically active. The report will be a three-yearly review, which will be presented at the Africities Summits.

This report will be based on contributions from the YELO-Country Networks.

Our Campaigns

  • See the YELO report for the recently held session  (HERE)