The Youth Cafe is honoured to participate in the EU External Democracy Policy. That will take place in Addis Ababa on 27 October 2022. The dialogue focuses on assessing the continued relevance of the EU’s external democracy policy and action, taking into account shifts in the state of democracy and major geopolitical challenges and crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic or Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Feedback and insights from democracy partners and actors in the Global South and the European neighbourhood will inform recommendations on a potential recalibration of EU policies and actions.
Governance and political inclusion (accountability and remittances) are major focus areas in the Youth Cafe’s Eight Thematic work areas. Ensuring “a transparent, democratic and accountable environment” is a strategic objective of The Youth Cafés work, contributing “to reducing fragility, fostering political stability and effective governance, and enabling sustainable and inclusive development and growth.”
In this regard, The Youth Cafe is keen to engage in strategic partnerships with like-minded institutions that seek to advance democracy locally and internationally. While the project's primary focus is on democracy, it considers the interdependence between human rights and democracy.
The project activities include a desk study, interviews, surveys, and regional dialogues in the following regions: Africa, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Eastern Europe and Western Balkans, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
Based on the project activities, the project team will produce a report and a policy brief, which will be used to support the Swedish EU Presidency’s objective to prioritize democracy on the EU agenda and to bring relevant messages to the attention of EU institutions up to the political level.
The key findings and recommendations captured in the two documents will also be discussed during a multi-stakeholder conference marking the report's launch. Together, these outputs aim to support future EU democracy policy and help design its main priorities in a rapidly changing global landscape.
This is a closed-door event under Chatham House rules with high-profile participants from various diplomatic backgrounds.
The topics to be covered Include:
What lessons has the EU learned from the latest democratic developments in Africa? How can the EU support democracy effectively through the current set of its policies?
Which African countries are on a positive track, and which are backsliding? What are the major trends in the continent?
How to prevent democratic backsliding and consolidate the democratic gains under the current conditions?
Assessing the relevance of the EU’s external democracy policy in Africa
How is the EU perceived as a democratic actor in Africa? Are EU democracy priorities the right ones? Does the EU engage with the relevant democratic actors locally (civil society, regional organizations, political parties, electoral monitoring bodies etc.)?
Presentation on the EU’s external democracy policy in Africa
Assessing the coherence of the EU ́s external democracy policy in Africa
Is the EU coherent in implementing its external democracy policy?
How aligned are the actions of the EU and its Member States? Does the EU coherently engage with local democracy actors?
New geopolitical landscape – what are the implications for Africa and for the EU’s external democracy policy?
What is the impact of recent global geopolitical developments for African countries (war in Ukraine, socio-economic impact of Covid-19 pandemic, emergence of new geopolitical actors, rise of religious extremist groups etc.), and how might or should the EU policies change as a result?
Impact of Green and Digital transformation on democracy and EU democracy agenda
What are the challenges of green and digital transformation in Africa from a democratic perspective? How can the EU strengthen the link between its external democracy policy and its African green and digital agenda? How can the EU support African institutions and civil society in green and digital transition that respects and strengthen democratic values?
The intersection of EU horizontal priorities (Gender, Youth) with the democracy agenda in Africa
How effective has the EU been so far in supporting gender and youth in Africa? How can the EU maximise its impact in these two areas in the future?