Guyana Youth ALLIES Civic Education Toolkit

In Guyana, young people under 35, a diverse population that constitutes seventy percent of the country’s population, face challenges in engaging in public life and have limited access to civic education resources. Recognizing this challenge, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) developed a civic education toolkit designed to convey the skills and knowledge needed for young people to be active democratic actors. IFES partnered with young people and civil society organizations throughout the life cycle of the toolkit, starting with focus group discussions to determine relevant topics and incorporating opportunities to pause, reflect, and adapt throughout implementation. The interactive toolkit covers topics like democracy and leadership and applies an edutainment approach to civic education, merging game-based play with learning. Thanks to the intense collaboration in toolkit development, its approach and content resonated with young leaders across Guyana and aligned with the skills and knowledge they were interested in developing. The toolkit also reflects young people’s intersectional identities, such as young Indigenous people and young people with disabilities, through graphics and characters developed by a Guyanese graphic designer. IFES has distributed 100 toolkits and reached over 960 young people across Guyana through toolkit activities. Seventy-nine percent of those trained have continued engaging in civic activities in their communities after the first toolkit training, and almost all program alumni feel they have strengthened their skills, such as public speaking and networking among young leaders. IFES will use lessons learned to adapt its toolkit for new populations, including young people under 18.