Just about a year ago, Terry Mutsvanga arrived in Charlottesville as a Mandela Washington Fellow. He came with a pervading passion for human rights and the restoring of transparency in governments. Now, in addition to producing and screening his own documentaries, Terry has joined together with other Mandela Washington Fellows to find new ways for engaging youth in elections.
Terry’s team, consisting of Fellows from Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi, recently won first prize in a tech hub training hosted by USAID. Called “Youth Awareness Project Africa,” their primary goal is to encourage young people to register to vote, as well as participating in the electoral process. This is done mostly through modern technology like mobile apps, but also includes other offline opportunities.
With great momentum, the team looks forward to working with governments across the continent on implement their new proposed technologies – an ever-important cause in a region where youth population has been increasing at a greater rate than anywhere else in the world.