NIGERIA, OYO STATE AND IBADAN
Sowing The Seed of Deliberation
- Hub
- Activity
- Model
- Citizen Dialogues
- Actors
- Citizenship and communities
- Youth
- Children
- Marginalized communities
- Civil society and intermediaries
- Facilitators
- Social organizations
- Purpose
- Citizen empowerment and capacity building
- Citizen empowerment
- Civic ccapacities
- Deliberative skills
- Strengthening democracy
- Democratic education
#YOUTHPARTICIPATION
This deliberative practice seeks to foster youth and community development through the creation of an inspiring model of school-based deliberation clubs. The goal is to have this model replicated by government agencies, the educational community, and school or corporate entities across the country—highlighting youth leadership and bridging the participation gap between young people and adults.
One of its core motivations is to offer alternative pathways for leadership and civic education that help prevent student recruitment into violent cult groups. It also addresses school bullying by promoting dialogue and social cohesion among students, thereby fostering peaceful coexistence in Oyo State’s schools.
- SSD promotes respect for diverse perspectives, acknowledging how personal contexts shape problem-solving approaches.
- It trains students to engage in informed, collaborative deliberation processes through in-person workshops and leadership programs.
- 60 youth leaders from 20 secondary schools participate in structured training based on pedagogical materials focused on deliberative democracy and civic participation.
- Problem identifiers (defining shared concerns)
- Deliberators (exploring alternatives)
- Problem-solvers (proposing actions)
- They learn to frame issues around shared values, consider different approaches, make trade-offs, and take collective action.
- Since 2009, SSD has grown into a key initiative in Ibadan by establishing deliberation clubs in secondary schools and engaging youth aged 15–21. Its achievements include the creation of a summer school and school-based labs, and influencing public policy—most notably contributing to reversing the privatization of public education in 2015.
- Medium-term goals include expanding to 30 clubs in Ibadan, and long-term ambitions involve scaling the model to other Nigerian cities and West Africa, training youth leaders and driving community transformation through civic participation.
KEY CONCEPTS
Contextual: Cultism, social violence, bullying, poverty, underrepresentation of youth, institutional distrust.
On Democracy: Civic engagement, youth leadership, school-based deliberation clubs, collective problem-solving
