The seventh edition of International Democracy Day was commemorated in the National Assembly on September 15, 2014.

The International Day for Democracy has been observed in Cameroon with a call for youths to consolidate values of good governance that are essential for a growing democracy. This was repeated at the National Assembly in Yaounde yesterday September 15, 2014, as the Inter-parliamentary Union, IPU, gathered some cabinet ministers, members of the diplomatic corps, Senators, Members of Parliament and youth from universities, other institutions of higher learning and civil society organisations to promote dialogue, and consequently, democracy in Cameroon and the world.

Heralding the theme, "Engaging Youth on Democracy", the representative of House Speaker, Cavaye Yeguie Djibril, one of the Vice Presidents of the National Assembly, Theophile Baoro, reiterated the fact that youths are the backbone of every nation and must be included in democratic institutions. But how do they get involved in this democratisation process? The first response was for elders and professionals on the field to put at their disposal development tools which, according to Hon. Baoro, were already provided by government. 

Such is the National Youth Council and the National Civic Service for Participation in Development. Cameroon's delegation member to the Inter-parliamentary Union, Hon. Emah Etoundi, recalled that the IPU is committed to developing democracy. He argued that it is a framework organisation built on promoting democracy by enabling countries to exercise sovereignty.

In spite of all the persuasion, the President of the National Youth Council, Jean Mark Afesy Mbafor, saw democracy as gradually taking a political connotation with little or no direct impact on the livelihood of youths. However, youths will always get themselves engaged around the virtual space, Afesy Mbafor added, saluting government for creating structures through which youths can get themselves heard, but insisted that such structures must accomplish the tasks for which they are put in place.

While lambasting the inability of organisers to balance presentations in both languages, observers challenged youths to remember that power is not given on a platter of gold and that they must show interest in development initiatives, entrepreneurship and politics to be able to reap the fruits. They stressed that the nation is being constructed for youths and so the latter must muster the courage, get going and show their capabilities. But the young people argued that they were “frustrated and angry,” because their initiatives were not taken seriously and as they put it, "there is too much bureaucracy."