What I mean by Intergenerational Co-Leadership

What I mean by Intergenerational Co-Leadership 

On November 1st, 2018, I was tasked by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E Moussa Faki, with the assignment of being his first ever Special Envoy on Youth.

When I was entrusted with this responsibility, I had already been in Pan-African activism for almost a decade. I come from a generation that started the first 21st century peaceful revolutions, a generation that changed the course of history, and the way we use technology, access information and demand reforms. When I was in the streets of Tunis, protesting during my country’s Revolution of Dignity, I thought after a decade the world will be better off because we, the millennials, will be in charge. Our generation is the most connected, innovative and better educated. However, we still live in an Africa where the average age of African leaders is 64 years old and the average age of the population is about 20.  Between the ‘led’, that is young people despite making up the majority, and the ‘leaders’, there is a generational gap, which is the largest in the world. Such a gap is one crucial element in the pattern of ‘state - youth’ relationship in Africa, and the world at large. It has become even more visible during COVID-19 pandemic showing an increasing distrust between institutions and political discourse, and youth. 

For many young people, being in Africa today becomes synonymous with being trapped in the state of waithood as “the prolonged involuntary delay in reaching adulthood because of the struggle in the social and political life”. However, young Africans did not resign themselves to the hardships of their situation, but are using their agency and creativity to fashion “new youth escapes”. African youth used waithood as a driver to resort to peaceful trajectories of change as well as more violent choices. They took to the streets in Tunisia, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, and South Africa among other cities which dramatically changed Africa's landscape. But thousands have also drown in the medietrrenean and joined violent extremists groups. 

We must recognize this existing generational crisis. Youth are perceived as a political counterweight to existing power and as a threat and radical, dangerous class of masses. While the existing systems are perceived by youth as corrupt and not representative of the population needs, and people in power are perceived by youth as old men overstaying and not listening to their grievances. This distrust pushed youth out of leadership, governance, political parties and negotiating tables. 

Scholars talked of intergenerational theories, institutions talked of intergenerational fairness and equity, others talked of intergenerational dialogues and mentorship, but the gap among generations has not yet been addressed with a theory of change that can address the issue. 

When I came into the African Union with an activist spirit of "it's our time to lead", I found resistance because many feel threatened with a wave of youth demanding change and a seat at the table. I have listened to and observed older men (largely and mostly) and fewer older women in leadership which shaped my discourse because I realised that we can't change the system alone as millennials, there is a wealth of knowledge and experience to learn from if we are not repeat those mistakes and serve better, future generations.

So I curated a concept which later became the discourse of many African and global leaders as well as young people, I called it "Intergenerational Co-Leadership". I emphasise that it's not "intergenerational leadership" which is an older concept of engaging in opportunities for partnerships and collaboration among generations. But what I mean is political.

I usually explain Intergenerational Co-Leadership as a preventive approach to address current and emerging crises and conflicts. In fact, conflict on the continent is aggravated by the lack of communication between generations. The generation that fought for independence; the generation that built the African nation and the current youthful population that navigates a world of continued violence and inequality. If we don't address this gap now, it will widen by the end of this century.

I do not mean by Intergenerational Co-Leadershipa ‘transfer of legacy’ or ‘passing the torch or the baton’ to the current generation or future generations. These have become not only cliches but disempowering statements that only implies youth are of “tomorrow” not today. Current older leaders would have to step out sooner or later but what is the alternative? Inheriting systems we did not co-design is basically setting our generation to failure. Our generation has not navigated bureaucracy, diplomacy and governance spaces because most youth are in civil society, or the informal sector. The danger is that if we do not start co-leading now and reforming the failing systems, we cannot break this cycle, bridge this gap and allow for generational healing. 

I am simply saying; don’t pass the torch to us, pass the truth! co-lead with us, so we do not fail the next generation either. 

Because we are a generation in transition, we need to also transition to a new theory of change which I think should be Intergenerational Co-Leadership.

I believe co-creation of policies and solutions would allow young people to thrive their leadership potentials without the fear of reprisal. By helping to build a relationship of trust with institutions,  it will strongly contribute to helping the latter avoid being rejected by the youth. This would have resulted in the long term upsurge of violence or continuous cycle of uprisings. Instead, with Intergenerational Co-Leadership, a network of concerned and passionate citizens is created which enables reforms to decision making processes by bringing all generations to the table to collaborate in the formation of policies and implementation of programs. Thus, stimulating solidarity between generations rather than tension, rivalry and dichotomy. 

I believe listening is an exercise that both generations need to humbly practice. While we are often not listened to or taken seriously by people in power, we need to exchange with those who made change when they were also young. We need to realise that there are many older folks who have left the space for youth and they are now championing the youth agenda, they are our allies.

In my role as African Union Youth Envoy, I curated, practiced and advocated for this approach to bridge the generation gap, it's been a process but it is working! 

In 2019, I first held consultations with hundreds of young people and within the AU system and published an Action Plan introducing an Intergenerational Model. I started making noise around this concept and inviting leaders to embrace it.

Video interview with AfriCAN

When I briefed and the AU Peace and Security Council and the UN Security Council I presented the concept and advocated for the institutionalisation of Intergenerational Co-Leadership

Video Briefing of UNSC

In 2020, I released a Toolkit for Intergenerational Co-Leadership empowering young people across the world to organise and advocate and with that I launched a multi-stakhoder platform which led to organising together with young people and policymakers 100 Intergenerational Dialogues where 150,000 youth participated with 800 elders with 38.3M impact online, mostly importantly these honest dialogues addressed critical issues of Silencing the Guns (YPS) , gender equality, pandemic outbreak etc.

I have taken the conversation to the national discussion in South Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya (and 2019),  Morocco, Norway, Namibia, Denmark, Sweden, among other countries across Africa and the world. 

I consistently called for this approach during second briefings to the AU Peace and Security Council and UN Security Council as well as the process of UN75 , UNFPA (ICPD Nairobi Summit) , UN Women (Generation Equality forums) , UNAOC, UNGA , among other other agencies 

I also advocated for this concept during the pandemic and collaborated with thinks tanks like IIEA (Video) , ACCORD, ICLEI, GPI , Milken Institute , ISS Africa among others to amplify the message and advance the advocacy.

Recap video of the impact of Intergenerational Co-Leadership

Because many embraced our philosophy, I launched with the African Leadership Institute on international Youth Day 2020, a Report on Greater Youth Inclusion of African Youth in Public Service and Governance proposing eight practical recommendations for more youth to occupy the parliamentary seats, governments appointments, local councils and electoral lists.

Intergenerational means also not about having a “youth Rep” in “older spaces”, it’s rather about all spaces becoming intergenerational. Policymakers, boards, executives, and other spaces need to move from “let us get the young person to represent youth voices into this meeting” to “let us appoint a young person to co-chair the meeting” and ensure youth are co-leading the agenda. It worked, indeed appointments of youth in leadership increased, parliaments and ministerial portfolios as well as advisory roles were created for youth to the top leadership (Cabinet and Heads of States) in the spirit of co-leadership.

As I conclude my mandate and reflect in retrospect while documenting these efforts in my Legacy Report, I am proud that I fostered Intergenerational Co-Leadership, that governments have institutionalised it through youth quotas, that members states, have included youth within their delegations to the AU summits, and hopefully scholars would theorise it in the leadership literature.

All we are asking is for our generation to express itself, to be and become and pioneer a new leadership. It is in the interest of all of us to have young governments, young institutions, young mayors and young ministries. It is In the interest of all of us to speed the internet and democratize access for youth making lives for themselves online. It is in the interest of all of us to be bridges for trade and open borders. For youth to Silence the Guns we have to enable for them a life with dignity. Only together with wisdom of elders and innovation and competence of young people, we can take this continent, this world to where we deserve to be.

 Aya Chebbi

Former African Union Special Envoy on Youth

March 2021