The 3rd of March 2023, Alice Laurnelle Dolan, coordinator of the School Club Program and Mariama Camara, active member of the School Club team, attended the premises of the IEC (Electoral Commission of South Africa), in order to exchange on future collaboration.
The IEC is an independent constitutional entity that manages free and fair elections of legislative bodies and institutions through the participation of citizens, political parties and civil society in deepening electoral democracy.
This partnership appears to be an ideal opportunity to educate the School Club learners about the South African voting system. Africa Unite also intends to promote IEC values such as fairness, integrity, accountability, transparency, participation, responsiveness and respect. The aim is also to sensitize the youth on how to become a leader in electoral democracy.
We opened the meeting with an overview of the School Club Program and its long-term goals. Indeed, we discussed the implementation of several projects including the creation of a booklet explaining the steps of the electoral process. We also considered the implementation of presentations in schools on the importance and of voting and democracy in general.
The IEC will provide support for the set up of elections in the schools involved in the program , which will be extended to all learners in these schools.
To conclude this meeting, we discussed potential partners for the School Club such as SAEP (South African Education Project) and the Education District.
This was a promising meeting for the future of the School Club, as the collaboration between IEC and Africa Unite is a crucial step in the development of this program.
– Mariama Camara
Africa Unite Blog 