FLY to Launch National Youth-Government Dialogue

By Feeme M. Wantee

MONROVIA, August 12, 2026: The Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY) says it will launch a National Youth-Government Dialogue aimed at strengthening trust, communication, and collaboration between young people and government institutions.

FLY President Ernest Duku Jallah made the disclosure at the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, saying the initiative is intended to change the way young people are perceived and engaged in Liberia’s governance process.

Jallah said young Liberians are often viewed as “disruptors,” violent actors, or people who are primarily opposed to government. He stressed, however, that FLY wants to change that narrative by positioning young people as partners and solution-makers.

“Every time I have a platform, I repeat that young people have been seen as disruptors. We’ve been seen as violent and oppositional. At FLY, our strategy is different. We want people to see young people as solution-makers, and that is a process. It is not something that is going to happen in a day,” Jallah said.

According to Jallah, one of the major ways to change this perception is to create a structured platform where young people can regularly engage directly with government officials and institutions.

He announced that the National Youth-Government Dialogue will officially be launched on Wednesday, August 12, in observance of International Youth Day at City Hall.

The dialogue will be held under the theme, “Closing the Gap and Building Trust Between Young People and the Government.”

Jallah said the initiative comes against the backdrop of Liberia’s youthful population, noting that young people constitute the overwhelming majority of the country’s population.

“According to the 2022 National Population and Housing Census, 76.4 percent of the people living in Liberia are under the age of 35,” Jallah said, emphasizing that such a significant demographic group must have a meaningful role in national decision-making.

He noted that despite representing the majority of the population, young people often interact with government only during elections or periods of crisis.

“Because we are the majority, we see that often young people and government can only interact when there is an election or when there is a crisis. We want to change that,” he stated.

The FLY president said the National Youth-Government Dialogue will provide an avenue for young people to engage government institutions constructively and contribute to the development and implementation of programs intended to benefit them.

He said FLY does not want government institutions to simply design and implement programs for young people, but wants young people involved in the process.

“We want to engage government institutions constructively to ensure that they do not just deliver programs for young people, but work with young people to deliver those programs,” Jallah said.

He further described the initiative as a shift “from complaints to conversations,” with the ultimate goal of transforming those conversations into practical solutions.

Jallah said the dialogue will also differ from traditional meetings where participants make speeches, take photographs, and leave without concrete outcomes.

“Usually, these sorts of dialogues, people go there, make speeches, and go home. Our intention is for this to be different,” he explained.

Under the initiative, young people will have the opportunity to sit directly with government officials, ask questions, raise concerns, identify gaps in government engagement, share their experiences, and propose solutions.

“We want young people to sit directly with government officials. They will ask all the questions on their minds. They will identify the gaps in engagement together, and we will also share experiences and then propose solutions that we can work on together,” he said.

He added that government institutions participating in the dialogue will be expected to listen to young people and work with them to identify ways of improving the delivery of public programs and services.

“The expectation is that these government agencies and institutions will listen to young people and help us work with them to identify how they can deliver better for young people,” he said.

For the inaugural edition of the National Youth-Government Dialogue, Jallah announced that Josita Nuvio Wentu will serve as the guest.

He said Wentu was selected because she is among the youngest public officials appointed by the President, making her participation an opportunity for young people to engage directly with a youthful government representative.

“We have Josita Nuvio Wentu as the guest for the meeting because she is one of the youngest public officials appointed by the President, and we think it is an opportunity to listen to her and also to listen to young people as well,” Jallah said.

The FLY president expressed hope that the initiative will become a sustainable platform through which young people and government institutions can maintain regular communication beyond political campaigns and national crises.

He said the Federation believes meaningful youth participation is essential to improving governance and ensuring that policies and programs reflect the realities and needs of Liberia’s young population.

Jallah called on government institutions to begin viewing young Liberians not simply as beneficiaries of government programs, but as active partners in national development and governance.

“At the Federation of Liberian Youth, we want government institutions to see young people as partners in governance,” he stressed.

The launch of the National Youth-Government Dialogue is expected to mark a new approach to youth engagement, with FLY seeking to create a sustained channel for dialogue, accountability, collaboration, and joint problem-solving between young Liberians and government institutions.