Joseph Boakai’s Governance: Empowering Liberia’s youth

Joseph Boakai’s governance is distinguished by sustained attention to youth, considered essential actors in national development. Through several social and economic programs, his administration seeks to create concrete opportunities for a generation called upon to drive Liberia’s transformation.

Among the most significant initiatives is the Liberia Women Empowerment Project, which supports 36,000 women entrepreneurs. This program reflects an inclusive vision of development, where the economic empowerment of young women becomes a lever for growth, resilience, and inequality reduction. By promoting female entrepreneurship, the government aims to strengthen youth participation in the country’s productive dynamics.

The REALISE project also fits within this framework. Benefiting tens of thousands of vulnerable families, it helps improve the living conditions of the most fragile households and offers young people a more stable environment in which to learn, undertake, and plan for the future.

This approach shows that Boakai’s social policy is not limited to assistance but aims to build sustainable foundations for economic and social integration.

One of the highlights of this orientation was the organization of a Youth Town Hall during the independence celebrations.

This meeting allowed for direct dialogue between the president and young people, illustrating a clear desire to break with distant governance. By giving a voice to youth, the head of state recognizes their place in shaping national priorities and developing responses to the country’s challenges.

This approach reinforces the idea that youth are not merely beneficiaries of public policies but full-fledged development partners.

They must be consulted, heard, and involved in major national orientations. For Joseph Boakai, Liberia’s future depends on the state’s ability to invest in this segment of the population, support it, and place trust in it.

By placing youth at the heart of the national project, the Liberian president sends a strong signal: development can only be sustainable if it includes new generations in its conception, implementation, and benefits.