Every year, the International Youth Think Tank (IYTT) holds a youth conference that some of the world’s brightest young minds from various fields attend. The conference is centred around promoting human development through peace and democracy. This year, the sixth annual Youth Conference of the IYTT will gather at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) from 25 to 29 August.
This year’s conference is focusing on the role of today’s youth in promoting peace and developing democratic processes, specifically in Africa but also in the world in general. The conference is entitled “African Youth Show the Way Towards Peace and Democracy”. It will be the first conference in IYTT history to be held in Africa, and it will feature 24 young minds from eight different countries, namely Botswana, Nigeria, Malawi, Pakistan, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Among the 24 participants are two University of Pretoria students from the Department of Political Sciences: Ester Njikho and Ruth Kasanga. PDBY sat down with Njikho and Kasanga to find out what inspired them to apply for this year’s IYTT.
Njikho, a Political Sciences master’s student, said that she was inspired to apply because of the unique opportunity that this year’s conference offered her. She hopes to showcase her research and to network with Nobel Peace Prize laureates, as well as scholars, professionals, and her fellow youth who will be present at the event. Njikho highlighted how she is looking forward to making a bigger impact on the continent, and she hopes that this conference will enable her to achieve her personal dream. She dreams of “inspiring change whenever [she] can and whenever possible”, particularly within democratic and peace-building processes.
Kasanga, an International Relations honours student, told PDBY that she was inspired to apply because she is passionate about youth representation in democratic and political processes. This is something that she personally advocates for within and outside of the university. She applied because the sixth annual IYTT conference is focused on the role of African youth in democratic and peace processes, and it aligns with her own youth advocacy work. She said that she is excited to have “dynamic dialogues with Nobel Peace Prize laureates”, as well as scholars, professionals, and young people from different walks of life who are actively involved in promoting youth participation and equity in political processes. Furthermore, she is looking forward to expanding her personal and technical understanding of democratic entrepreneurship. Kasanga plans to do this by gaining insight into various perspectives from the arguments that will be raised during the conference.
The public can witness the event on site at Stellenbosch or through live streams.
