Nicaragua’s democratic institutions have eroded substantially over the past decade, to the degree that many Nicaraguan youth do not see viable options for making change in their communities or country through politics. Through grassroots organizing, a group of Nicaraguan youth have found ways to exercise their right to hold elected officials accountable and to secure action to bring about improvements in their communities.

NDI announced the release of two new online resources -- the Youth Political Participation Programming Guide and the Change My Community platform -- for strengthening youth political participation. These resources respond to the aspirations of young women and men around the world to become more politically organized and active, and make their voices heard.

“Political parties want to regain our trust. We demand access to information; this is the way for them to get back our trust,” said Houyam, a student from Al Akhawayn University. Through NDI’s Ajiw Tcharko, or Come Participate program, Houyam and his fellow students were able to express their demands through policy recommendations.

Despite comprising almost half of the Nigerian population, youth have been historically marginalized from entering politics at a state and federal level. Aspiring to increase youth’s participation in Nigerian politics, the Youth Initiative for Advocacy Growth and Advancement (YIAGA), Youngstars Development Initiative (YDI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) partnered to launch the “Not Too Young To Run” (NTYTR) campaign.