BANGALY CAMARA

In a country ridden by political instability, bad governance, and high internal ethnic conflicts, Bangaly has created a vast autonomous peacebuilding and local development youth network, grown civic spaces which have an early warning system for conflict management and accountability.

Bangaly Camara’s LEJEPAD-GUINEE addresses the interrelated issues of governance, democracy, human rights, peace, security and sustainable development through an approach to youth engagement and community empowerment in Guinea. Unlike traditional initiatives that focus on isolated problems, it integrates these civic aspects, recognizing their interdependence and ensuring comprehensive solutions. What sets LEJEPAD-GUINEE apart is its emphasis on proactive youth participation at every stage - from training and monitoring to advocacy and awareness-raising - making young people the drivers of systemic change. By combining multi-issue integration with sustained youth leadership, Bangaly’s initiative builds long-term resilience and strengthens the democratic fabric of society.

The idea’s systems-changing potential lies in its ability to shift the dynamics of community engagement and governance. Placing young people at the center of the action creates a paradigm where youth are not just beneficiaries but active participants in shaping their future. Bangaly’s inclusive model ensures that the voices of young people are heard, and their needs addressed, promoting transparency in public affairs and encouraging a culture of accountability. LEJEPAD-GUINEE’s innovative tactics include the establishment of a multi-stakeholder collaboration framework, which brings together local authorities, the private sector, and citizens to periodically discuss and prioritize community issues. This collaborative approach ensures that solutions are community-driven and sustainable, making the initiative a replicable model for other regions such as Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Senegal.

The practical impact of LEJEPAD-GUINEE is evident in its direct influence on social change and community development. The initiative’s focus is on training young people in budget analysis, conflict management, and community monitoring which equips them with the skills to hold local authorities accountable, promote good governance, and maintain peace. Creating dialogue spaces and diverse stakeholders’ involvement in decision-making processes foster a culture of transparency and trust. This model has already shown significant results, with 240 young people from political parties and civil society being trained and engaging in accountability practices across 12 urban municipalities. The success of these initiatives has led to the development of proposals for accountability laws and electoral process reforms currently being discussed at the National Transitional Council.

LEJEPAD-GUINEE aims to transform Guinea into a model of participatory governance and active citizenship within the next five to ten years. Bangaly envisions a country where young people are deeply involved in decision-making processes, contributing to a transparent, accountable, and responsive government. The initiative’s innovative approach—blending youth training, stakeholder collaboration, and community-driven problem-solving—sets it apart from other efforts in the field and positions it as a catalyst for widespread social change.

Bangaly also plans to create a network of African countries dedicated to promoting accountability and budget transparency, making participatory governance a standard practice across the continent. By creating alliances based on integrity and professionalism and seeking partnerships for support, LEJEPAD-GUINEE aims to scale its impact, ultimately becoming a new norm for civic engagement and governance in Africa.

Guinea Conakry has been marked by persistent political instability, characterized by multiple coups d’état and recurrent interethnic conflicts. Since independence from France in 1958, the country has experienced a series of authoritarian regimes and chaotic transitions. In 2010, Alpha Condé became the country’s first democratically elected president, but his administration was also marked by accusations of corruption and ethnic tensions. In 2021, Condé was overthrown in a military coup led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, again plunging the country into political uncertainty. Conflicts between ethnic groups, notably the Malinkés, Peuls, and Soussous, have exacerbated the instability. These ethnic tensions have often been fueled by discriminatory policies, competition for resources, and political power, and have led to intercommunal violence.

The material issue at hand is the widespread corruption within the budget execution processes of local communes. This corruption manifests in the misappropriation of funds intended for community development and in the favoritism shown to certain groups or individuals, often at the expense of broader community needs. Consequently, there is a pronounced increase in social demands and a growing dissatisfaction among the population. The core systemic issue is the lack of trust in municipal authorities due to their failure to transparently and effectively mobilize internal resources. The dissolution of municipal councils in 38 communes, replaced by special delegations currently under legal scrutiny, further highlights the severity of governance failures and the urgent need for reform.

In Guinea, young people represent 62% of the population. Youth agreed they have few opportunities to participate in community decisions, display leadership, or be meaningfully included in decision-making. In most cases, youth see the political system as controlled by adults and powerful elites. Youth believe that access to civic engagement opportunities will help them become leaders and promote equal rights in their community. Participation in social and civic opportunities is lower among young women due to their traditional roles in society, a lack of female role models, and a lack of social and civic opportunities, as well as frequent violence against women during political demonstrations.

Reduced participation of youth in the country’s civic and political life leads to their exclusion from decision-making, design, and implementation of development policies. As a result, adopted government policies tend to have less emphasis on youth and improving youth well-being. Both youth and stakeholders confirmed that politicians tend to manipulate young people to facilitate election/re-election by promising them financial compensation in return for participation in campaigns and political protests. Unfortunately, youth often end up being subject to violence and extremism during campaigns and protests.

Previous efforts by the government, private sector, and civil society to address these issues have seen limited success. The government has struggled with political instability, marked by a military-led transition that prioritizes power retention over good governance and development issues. Existing initiatives have failed to effectively combat corruption or enhance transparency in public financial management, leading to systemic gaps that perpetuate distrust and inefficiency. Efforts have often fallen short due to a lack of political will, inadequate enforcement of regulations, and insufficient community engagement and empowerment.

Through LEJEPAD-GUINEE, Bangaly has created training programs which last several weeks to a few months and equip youth (aged 18-35) with skills in budget analysis, community monitoring, and conflict resolution, empowering them to hold authorities accountable and advocate for governance transparency. Participants are recruited through local outreach in schools, youth organizations, and communities, with over 50,000 young people trained across all Guinean municipalities. After the training, participants form local chapters to continue advocacy and community monitoring efforts, supported by regular follow-ups and mentorship. The program has led to concrete results such as improved governance transparency, increased youth political participation, and reduced local conflicts, with scalable potential for regional expansion.

Bangaly’s KOBO-collect application is designed to address a wide range of local conflicts, including land disputes, inter-ethnic tensions, resource-related conflicts, political unrest, and domestic disputes. The trained youth monitors who use the app are embedded within their communities, allowing them to stay informed about potential conflicts through regular interactions with residents, local leaders, and community gatherings. In addition, they rely on informal networks, such as social media or word-of-mouth, to quickly identify and respond to brewing tensions. Once a conflict is identified, the youth document details such as the nature, location, and parties involved, and send the data in real time to a central server for analysis and follow-up. The main objective of KOBO-collect is to address both the symptoms and underlying causes of conflict within communities. By documenting and reporting real-time conflict data, the initiative enables rapid mediation and resolution of disputes, thereby managing immediate tensions. In addition, the comprehensive reports generated from this data help identify the root causes of conflict, such as resource scarcity or historical grievances, and allow for the development of targeted strategies to address these deeper issues. This dual approach ensures both immediate intervention and long-term solutions for sustainable peace and community cohesion. The initiative covers 33 prefectures in Guinea, with seven trained young people per prefecture, for a total of 231 young monitors. In Conakry, the number is even higher, with seven monitors per neighborhood.

A key component of LEJEPAD-GUINEE’s strategy is the work on different strategic projects with multi-stakeholder collaboration frameworks. These frameworks bring together local authorities, private sector representatives, civil society organizations, and citizens to discuss and prioritize community issues such as conflict resolution, economic development, education, healthcare, environmental sustainability, and human rights, focusing on local disputes, job creation, resource management, and social inclusion. Regular dialogue sessions facilitate the identification of pressing concerns and the development of actionable solutions. In 2016, the MOSSEP (Movement of Civil Society Organizations for Public Services Follow-up) consortium was one of the first to monitor the quality of public services in education, health, and public works in Guinea, with financial support from the OSIWA Foundation. As a co-initiator of the MOSSEP, Bangaly conducted follow-up and evaluation of the quality of education services. Within this consortium, LEJEPAD and Bangaly focused on the education sector, deploying 50 agents who attended meetings with education authorities. This enabled them to gather detailed, on-the-ground insights into the challenges and gaps in the education sector. The data collected and the feedback provided by these young monitors helped inform policy recommendations and advocate for necessary reforms.

Bangaly and LEJEPAD also collaborated with Social Change Factories as an implementing ally in the project Youth Voice, which focused on addressing the challenges faced by stateless individuals in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Conakry, and Senegal. Through this collaboration, Bangaly extended his commitment to youth empowerment and civic engagement affecting marginalized populations, ensuring that even the most vulnerable individuals are included in the broader societal framework and have a voice in governance and community development. Between 2020 and 2021, thanks to funding from the NED Foundation (National Endowment for Democracy), 240 young people from political parties and civil society were trained in the use of accountability tools such as independent budget analysis and community monitoring. These young people analyzed the budgets of 12 urban municipalities and participated in a national forum in Conakry to share their best practices with local authorities. These activities hold authorities accountable and educate citizens on their rights and responsibilities, fostering a culture of civic engagement and vigilance. For instance, among the 240 participants in budget transparency initiatives, young people have reached decision-making bodies in different roles. One is the president of the special delegation of the rural commune of Garambé; two are members of the National Youth Council of Guinea and others are self-employed in economic and social entrepreneurship. The development of accountability laws and electoral process reforms, currently under discussion at the National Transitional Council, is a testament to LEJEPAD-GUINEE’s impact on policy and governance.

Bangaly’s project, "Face to People," a TV show featuring debates between opposition and government deputies, achieved great success through its broadcasts on the national TV channel (RTG). This initiative achieved great success and plays a crucial role in training youth. By involving young people in producing and analyzing these debates, the project equips them with essential skills in governance, media, and public engagement. This collaborative approach ensures that governance is inclusive and that decisions reflect the needs and perspectives of all community members. By fostering a culture of cooperation and shared responsibility, “Face to People” promotes sustainable, community-driven solutions and empowers the next generation to actively participate in the democratic process.

Bangaly envisions expanding LEJEPAD-GUINEE beyond Guinea to create a network of African countries dedicated to promoting participatory governance and budget transparency. This ambitious expansion plan involves building alliances with organizations and governments in Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Senegal where LEJEPAD is already installed.

Bangaly, born in Guinea, has lived through significant personal challenges and societal upheavals that have profoundly shaped their entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to social change. Raised in a difficult context, Bangaly’s childhood was marked by the absence of both parents due to financial hardships. When he was in the sixth grade, his mother fled to escape debt, and his father, who had also suffered financial losses after the death of his younger brother, was forced into exile. Growing up in an extended family without parental support, the candidate faced numerous hardships and responsibilities from an early age.

Despite these difficult situations, Bangaly demonstrated remarkable resilience and leadership qualities. During high school, he participated in a sex education awareness campaign called “Taboo on Sexuality,” serving as the technical director and lead actor for the school’s theater troupe. This early involvement in community engagement and leadership set the stage for their future endeavors in social change and entrepreneurship.

As a teenager, Bangaly became acutely aware of the importance of peace and social cohesion, particularly in a country marred by political instability and communal conflicts. Motivated by a passion for fostering harmony, they engaged in community mediation efforts. A pivotal moment in his life was his participation in leadership and conflict prevention training at the Gorée Institute in Senegal. Inspired by the executive director’s dedication to empowering youth, Bangaly returned home with a renewed commitment to promoting peace and unity within their community.

One of Bangaly’s early significant challenges was gaining the trust and collaboration of stakeholders, particularly local authorities and the private sector. Recognizing the critical importance of stakeholder engagement for successful governance and accountability, they focused on a co-construction approach, involving these parties in the planning and implementation stages of initiatives. This strategy has proven effective in overcoming resistance and ensuring active participation from all relevant parties.

A turning point in Bangaly’s life came during the 2013 legislative elections in Guinea. As a member of the forum of young political parties, he played a crucial role in mediating a political conflict that escalated into a Conakry community crisis. When supporters of the RPG party burned a campaign bus belonging to the UFDG party in the Ratoma commune, resulting in significant material damage, Bangaly took the initiative to bring the conflicting groups to the negotiation table. He facilitated the formation of a mixed committee comprising youth from the warring neighborhoods, Petit Lac and Hamdallaye Pharmacie. This mediation effort successfully prevented further conflicts between these communities, highlighting his capability in conflict resolution and community building.

Bangaly attributes much of his current success to the skills and values instilled in them during childhood and adolescence. His father’s approach to treating him as an adult, coupled with unwavering support and clear communication of expectations, fostered a sense of responsibility and a drive to avoid disappointing him. This upbringing gave him the resilience and emotional intelligence necessary to navigate complex social issues and maintain a steadfast commitment to ethical leadership.

Disillusionment with political engagement and a keen desire to make a tangible impact on society have driven Bangaly towards social entrepreneurship. His past experiences with political failures and community conflicts have reinforced his belief in the power of grassroots initiatives and community-driven solutions. This realization has fueled his current efforts to promote transparency, accountability, and civic participation in local governance, aiming to build a more just and equitable society.

Through his dedication to social entrepreneurship and community development, Bangaly continues to leverage their personal experiences and professional skills to address systemic challenges and empower marginalized communities in Guinea. His journey is a testament to the transformative potential of resilience, leadership, and a deep commitment to social change.