SYPALA: Give young people power to control resources – Vandyck to CSOs

By: Godbless Asaana
‎The Head of Capacity Development at the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), Charles Kojo Vandyck, has called on civil society organisations (CSOs) to give young people greater authority in decision-making, including opportunities to serve on boards, design programmes and control resources.
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‎Speaking on Tuesday, August 25, at the Students and Young Professionals African Liberty Academy (SYPALA) 2026, organised by the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education in partnership with the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Vandyck said young Africans were increasingly moving away from conventional organisational structures.

The 12th Edition of the Students & Young Professionals African Liberty Academy (SYPALA) is currently happening from August 24 to 27, 2026, at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).
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‎“In many countries in Africa, wherever I go, I see young Africans, they are organising differently. They are less attracted to traditional organisational structures. They do not have time for that. They do not always need an office.
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‎“They do not always need a constitution. They don’t necessarily need a five-year strategic plan before they act,” Vandyck said.
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‎According to him, youth-led mobilisation had demonstrated that meaningful social change could emerge from networks and movements rather than only from large, formally established organisations.
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‎He cited youth led movements in Ghana and Kenya as examples of how ordinary citizens could organise around shared concerns and push for change.
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‎“The movements are demonstrating to us that social change does not always require a large, organised CSO or a large, organised NGO. It requires a network. It requires a movement. It requires thousands of ordinary citizens such as yourself, deciding that something must change,” he said.
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‎However, Vandyck cautioned that digital mobilisation alone was not enough to sustain long-term social change.
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‎He noted that while digital platforms and hashtags could mobilise people around particular issues, institutions were needed to translate such mobilisation into lasting policies, legal support and sustained community action.
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‎“I’ve seen that the digital mobilisation is powerful, but sustained change requires institutions. So hashtags can mobilise, but they find it difficult to build policies. You can’t use hashtags to provide legal support. You can’t use hashtags to sustain community organising,” he said.
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‎He therefore called for closer collaboration between established CSOs and emerging youth-led movements, arguing that civil society organisations could serve as the institutional infrastructure needed to sustain campaigns and movements.
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‎“The future is that CSOs must work as infrastructure for movements,” he said.
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‎Vandyck also challenged CSOs to move beyond creating programmes merely targeted at young people and instead give them real authority within their organisations.
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‎He argued that youth participation would have little meaning if young people remained excluded from decisions concerning organisational direction, programmes and resources.
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‎“Give young people power. Let them sit on boards. Let them control resources. Let them design programmes. Let them make mistakes,” he said.
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