Jericho Youth Serves as Local Mayor for Three Days

Jericho Youth Serves as Local Mayor for Three Days

“I would like to see more investments in youth  from various civil society and private organizations.”                                                                                   —Hussein Ibrahim Grove
As the President of youth council of Jericho, Hussein Ibrahim Grove was invited to assume the mayor’s functions for three days. During these three days Hussein will represent Jericho’s youth in decision-making procedures at the local government level. At the same time he will learn about the various functions of the mayor and local government bodies.
Hussein expressed excitement and nervousness about his new role. “Being younger than all the rest of municipality’s members, on the first day in the mayor’s position, I am faced with a challenge of being accepted by others,” he explained. He also emphasized his commitment to his new responsibilities, “Before assuming mayor’s functions, I have been studying the law, responsibilities of the municipality and the mayor and learning how to deal with citizens.”
The real mayor of Jericho, Mohammed Gelaath, voiced his strong support for this initiative which encourages and educates young people to become involved in local governance.
The youth council of Jericho is part of a larger initiative set up end under the Youth Shadow Local Councils (YSLC). In its third phase now, the Youth Shadow Local Council initiative was first piloted in 2008 in four communities in the West Bank. It was expanded to an additional 9 communities in 2010 under the USAID-funded Local Democratic Reform program working with local partner, the Sharek Youth Forum. The initiative now continues under the Local Government & Infrastructure program also funded by USAID and will be expanded  to an additional seven communities in 2013, for a total of 20 target communities.
The Deputy Manager of the YSLC initiative, Riyad Nassar, lauded the municipality of Jericho for their cooperation and support in designing, planning and implementing the activities carried out by the youth council and thanked the municipality members for their willingness to share their knowledge on citizenship, human rights and democratic participation by involving youth in the municipality’s work.
Learn more about the Youth Shadow Local Councils here.