Twenty-five-year-old Rwandan, Mussa Mutsinzi, has unveiled his manifesto as he bids to become the Regional Representative of the Commonwealth Youth Council in Africa and Europe.
This comes after he was shortlisted among the 41 young leaders on Friday, April 1, as candidates who will stand in the election to join the Commonwealth Youth Council as executive members.
Candidates were shortlisted from hundreds of nominations received from across the Commonwealth bloc, following a rigorous review process. They will compete for the nine executive seats on the council.
Mutsinzi is contesting for the seat against other six young leaders; Namir Chowdhury (United Kingdom), Kaene Disepo (Botswana), Ifeoluwa Kehinde (Nigeria), Shamim Nabuuma (Uganda), Jane Nakasamu (Zambia) and Ekema Ndolo (Cameroon).
During an exclusive interview with The New Times, Mutsinzi described the seat as a platform through which he can play a role in bringing positive change to the youth not only in Rwanda but all the 54 member states.
"When I get the opportunity or platform where I can express my ideas on how the world can live in a better environment, I always look forward to it and most especially when it comes to youth, I am so much interested,” he added.
The campaigns, which are being held online, started on April 30 and will end on 21 May. The voting will take place online on 22 and 23 May, while the results will be out on 24 May, according to the calendar.
Among Mutsinzi’s priorities as per his manifesto, include promotion of social welfare and social justice, strive for decent living conditions for youth and inclulcating entrepreneurship among the youth.
How to support him
To support Mutsinzi through their social media, people can give him more views, likes and comments to his manifesto available on his YouTube channel as well as share his campaign poster on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram by tagging #CommonwealthYouth, #CYF, #CHOGM2021, @Mussa Mutsinzi on FACEBOOK, @mussa_mutsinzi on Twitter, @Mussa Mutsinzi on LinkedIn and @mozz_du_bois on Instagram.
The electorate will be composed of delegates from each of the 54 member countries of the Commonwealth. Each country has two delegates, who have one vote.
Among the key benchmarks to consider during the elections include the popularity of the candidate's manifesto on social media platforms.
He said that there has been good feedback so far going by how his manifesto has been embraced on social media but called for more support.
Elected candidates will serve on the council from 2021 to 2023 and will lead inclusive consultation, projects and events to bring forward ideas and concerns of young people to shape youth development policies and frameworks
Nominees were required to submit a detailed application that involved their manifestos, personal profile, a letter of endorsement from a National Youth Council or a youth-led body, and a secondment letter from a government department.
Set up in 2013, the Commonwealth Youth Council aims to advance youth development agenda across the 54 member countries and boost young people’s participation at all levels of decision-making.