Young people's participation - The picture
Mozambique is a very young country. Almost 10 million of its 19.4 million inhabitants are younger than 18 years, with 8.4 million being younger than 15 years. In the years since the end of the civil war in 1992, children and young people have gained increasing opportunities to make themselves heard and to participate in critical planning and development processes. One example is the fight against HIV/AIDS. Today, thousands of young people are active as peer educators providing their friends and school mates with critical information and life skills on how to prevent an HIV infection. They thus play a crucial role in determining the further course of the epidemic, because this mainly depends on decisions taken by young people. Another example is the Second National Child Parliament, which took place in April 2004 at Mozambique’s National Assembly. During the two-day-session, the young delegates representing all 11 provinces made a strong case of the concerns and demands of children and young people in Mozambique. The topics brought forward reflected the big development issues of the country: Poverty, HIV/AIDS, access to health services, education and parental care, and protection from abuse and exploitation. President Joaquim Chissano closed the session by saying: “Your voice starts to be heard by adults. It speaks of serious and well reflected topics.” At province level, the young delegates now follow up on their demands. Children and young people are also very active and present in the media. Both the national radio (Radio Moçambique) and TV (TVM) have opened space for programmes produced and presented by children and young people. Part of them is broadcast in local languages.
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