The Swedish Institute Alumni Network Liberia (SIANL) is aware of how important next year’s presidential and legislative elections in Liberia are for the future of the young people.

The decisions of the youth in the October 2023 elections are crucial for changing the face of democracy and the livelihood of the Liberian populace.

As the network looks forward to those elections, it wants to focus on the first-time voters who will participate.

First-time voters will constitute a large portion of the voting population, and SIANL needs to create awareness and discussions with them about their role.

SIANL wants to use symposiums and discussion sessions to educate young people about their role as citizens, their rights and responsibilities, the importance of voting, and how best to make voter choices and hold those they voted for accountable.

The activities will be held under the theme “The Role of First Time Voters in the Liberian 2023 Legislative and Presidential Elections”

SIANL intends to invite students and school administrators from different high schools in Montserrado County, Liberia, to converge at two high schools in strategic locations on December 2 and 9, 2022.

SIANL also wants to get high school administrators involved in organizing these symposia to make the program sustainable.

The two sessions of the first-time voters’ symposium event will be the first phase of a yearlong civic education program intended to run up to the elections in October 2023.

SIANL believes a civic education symposium with first-time voters from various high schools in vulnerable and underprivileged communities in Montserrado County will broaden their minds and prepare them to make informed decisions in the October 2023 elections.