PROMAD Foundation, a nonprofit organisation combining evidence-based strategies with civic technology has trained some youth in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and mobilsed them for community engagements.

Six youths who are volunteering as the Community Development Champions (CDECs) for the organisation were trained and mobilised for civic engagements to influence youth participation across their communities in the six area councils of the FCT.

Founder and executive director, PROMAD Daisi Omokungbe, said the training was an important component of the “Accelerating Youth Civic Participation in FCT” project supported by LEAP Africa and funded by the Ford Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation.

The young champions will carry out civic engagement, youth development and community needs assessment activities in the six council areas across their different communities.

The executive director said the PROMAD has developed a civic-technology solution to mainstream citizen and community participation in budget making through community needs assessments for women and youth to decide what they want in the government budget annually.

Mr. Omokungbe added that the solution is being tested with its deployment for FCT’s youth and education sectors’ assessments, adding that the solution would be launched for full operations to drive community needs assessments at the national and subnational levels in the country.

He said PROMAD has written to the six area council chairmen seeking partnership on youth and community development to engender participatory governance for the attainment of sustainable development in the FCT.

The PROMAD boss noted that a report on youth civic participation for the FCT would be launched before the 2023 general elections.