Mbabane – Tsidiswa Mhlanga, a youth advocate from Eswatini, has called for the establishment of a Youth Parliament in the Kingdom following her attendance at the first OACPS-EU Africa Parliamentary Assembly last week.
Mhlanga, who serves as a UNFPA youth representative, a Junior Achievement facilitator and mentor at Sifundzani High School, and a board member of Selulasandla Children’s Village, shared her reflections on the assembly in her Mindful Monday diaries on 18 May 2026.
She said the assembly brought together policymakers, parliamentarians, development partners, diplomats, and young leaders from across Africa and Europe to engage on the future of Africa-EU relations, peacebuilding, governance, sustainable development, and youth inclusion. 
“As a youth advocate with a little over a decade of experience working alongside young people from local communities to international platforms, this experience was both inspiring and deeply reflective,” she wrote.
Mhlanga attended the assembly from the official opening and high-level peace dialogues through to the evening Youth Parliamentary Session, which she described as insightful and impactful. However, she noted that limited time was allocated for youth delegates to fully present their submissions and recommendations, saying the session nonetheless reaffirmed the urgent need to create more meaningful and structured spaces for youth participation in governance and policy dialogue.
Among the key submissions she had intended to make was a proposal for a Youth Parliament in Eswatini, a platform she said would allow young people to actively contribute to national discourse, strengthen civic participation, and promote accountability and collaboration between youth, Cabinet, parliamentarians, and national leadership, while preserving the country’s national values and governance systems.
She also took the opportunity to commend the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, through the Eswatini National Youth Council, for establishing and structuring the Tinkhundla Youth Committees and launching the State of the Youth Report, describing these as important milestones toward organised youth representation and evidence-based youth development.
As the newly elected Chairperson of the Mbabane East TYC-ENYC and a One Young World Ambassador, Mhlanga said she remains committed to advocating for youth employability, community development, sustainability, and inclusive participation.
She used her platform to speak directly to young people in the Kingdom, saying the OACPS-EU partnership opens doors for youth participation in governance, entrepreneurship, climate action, digital innovation, education, leadership, and regional collaboration, but that these opportunities can only be seized by those who actively position themselves to participate.
“I encourage every young person to intentionally engage with local youth structures, community groups, civic initiatives, and developmental platforms within their constituencies. Let us stay informed, organised, and involved so that no young person is left behind as we collectively shape the future of our communities and our country,” she wrote.
She closed with a call to action, saying: “Real change happens when young people move from being observers to becoming active contributors to national development.”
