Problems and Purpose

Rather than the existing youth bulge in Africa creating spaces for democratic development it has mainly produced challenges within the continent. The youth constitutes an overwhelming majority of the population within African nations, with the average age being 15,1 years in nations like Niger (Statista,2025). This majority remains the leading victims of systematic exclusion from the politics of their countries. Data illustrates that there is a trend amongst the youths of Africa to not just vote less but to be more indifferent to political matters and involvement than older individuals ( UNU-WIDER, n.d., Afrobarometer, 2023). This trend can be attributed to the despondency of the youth created by rampant unemployment, insufficient educational prospects, alongside inadequate governance producing poor service delivery and corruption. Within Senegal these occurrences were leading issues of concern building up to the 2012 elections.

In 2011 President Abdoulaye Wade announced he sought a third period in office within the 2012 elections, going against the limits of the constitution which he adopted. Resulting in mass unrest about the perceived backsliding of democracy it represented (Origins, 2012, Gueye, n.d.). The Y’en a Marre movement developed out of this unrest with the objective of combatting the attack on the constitution by President Abdoulaye Wade’s attempt as well as the broader objective of turning the youth's despondency and indifference into active political participation. The Y’en a Marre’s objective provides a model for successful engagement with the youth that could be adopted and adapted across the nations of Africa (National Endowment for Democracy, 2014, Africa Is a Country, 2013).

Background History and Context

Senegal has a long history of being a stable African country in terms of democracy, in contrast to most of the continent of Africa where tyrannical leadership, limited transparency in political decisions and restricted personal freedoms are the norm. Senegal has maintained a largely peaceful evolution towards full-scale democracy with peaceful successions in power (Vengroff and Magala 2001, p. 131-2). Yet from the time of 2011 and peaking in 2012 Senegal saw mass protesting and rioting which resulted in considerable violence due to Wade’s unsuccessfully implementation of policies and industrialization plans. Such failures resulted in extensive and consistent electricity outages across Senegal. Adding to this was the fact that Wade assumed presidency as a democratic and fair leader but had digressed into being an authoritarian who engaged in corruption and nepotism, highlighted by the attempt to create a vice-president role for his son Karim Wade.

It is within this context that the Y’en a Marre movement would develop as a predominately non-violent, youth centered movement which played a key role in ensuring the electoral defeat of President Wade. While simultaneously joining with most of the nation in defending their Constitution and protecting their democracy.

Through the combination of popularity and ability of artist like Thiat and Kilifeu to spread political education and activism through their music combined with the experience and knowledge of journalists such as Fadel Barro, the Y’en a Marre movement was rapidly successful in growing and mobilising the Senegalese youth(Gueye, Zuckerman 2013, n.d.). They not only represented the struggles of the youth but provided a youth friendly environment for the youth to express and act on their political rights. The movement's community initiatives range from public gatherings to manifestos. Most impactfully the Y’en a Marre makes use of the arts to reach the youth and draw them into political participation while directly questioning and standing up against those who misuse their power,this has been done largely through hip-hop(Gueye,2013, n.d.).

The focus point of this case study in relation to it's relevance to participedia is the Y’en a Marre’s successful mass voter registration and education of civil society campaigns with the specific intention of ensuring the then President of Senegal did not obtain a third term of presidency (Fiveable, n.d., Ciutats Drets Humans, 2024). The movement strategically focused their campaigning towards the youth of Senegal which despite making up most of the population of Senegal, made up the majority of unregistered and low-level voter turnout stats (Fiveable, n.d., Ciutats Drets Humans, 2024, Zuckerman,2013). The outcome of the Y’en a Marre’s campaigns, political artistic expression, initiatives and methods is claimed to have registered above 300,00 youths (although exact numbers were hard to confirm) making it pivotal in the defeat of President Abaduylo Wade in the 2012 elections (Fiveable, n.d., Origins, 2012, Zuckerman, 2013).

Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities

A fundamental aspect that attributed to the success the Y’en a Marre movement had in mobilising the youth is the movement's organisational layout and funding structure. The movement was established as a largely decentralised, community based collective, with initiatives mainly organised directly by the founders in collaboration with the youths of the movement (Sajnani, 2016, Africa Is a Country, 2013). By following this design, the movement produced genuine youth leadership and representation. Subsequently such a design dismantled the traditional top-down structure in politics which commonly exists and has excluded the youth from being meaningfully involved with traditional political parties across the continent.

One of the Y’en a Marre movements most valuable assets is its capability to mobilise the average citizen by utilising already established social structures (music and social media), this effectively attracts the youth (Alternatives Humanitaires, 2016). During the build up to the 2012 election the Y’en a Marre movement garnered support from diverse areas of Senegal such as students, civil groups, musicians and other artists (National Endowment for Democracy, 2014, Africa Is a Country, 2013). Importantly, funds for the movement were mainly produced at a community based level with the Y’en a Marre dependent largely on voluntaries and donations as well as funds accumulated from the selling of merchandise(Sajnani,2016, n.d.). Allowing the movement to maintain its independent stance and credibility amongst the youth which it seeked to mobilise.

The organisational structure of the Y’en a Marre movement presents valuable lessons in relation to attempting to mobilising the youth of Africa. The movement successfully tackled issues of funding, independence and representation which have been common problems within other movements on the continent. The Y’en a Marre’s ability to remain independent from any political orginisation was a key factor in ensuring the movement was able to remain relevant and credible in the view of the youth of Senegal (Sajnani,2016). This lesson of political independence may be crucial in effectively mobilising the youth across different African nations.

Participant Recruitment and Selection

The approach of the Y’en a Marre towards participant recruitment provides precious lessons for the mobilisation of the youth across the continent. Y’en a marre recruitment took a predominantly organic approach with self selection being a key element of recruitment, this proved effective as it was propelled by commonly experienced injustices and a drive to produce meaningful political transformation within Senegal (Africa Is a Country, 2013). The movement specifically focused on the recruitment of the youth of Senegal, understanding that the youth population of Senegal had enough strengthen and ability to play a crucial role in the outcome of elections (Nationtional Endowment for Democracy, 2014, Current History, 2025).

The Y’en a Marre’s politically focused use of hip-hop and the particular use of basic language in comparison to political jargon proved to be an innovative tool for participant recruitment as both instruments connected with the core of the Senegalese youth, creating a feeling of relatability on the grounds of a common objective between the youth and the Y’en a Marre movement (Sajnani,2016, AJWS, 2022). Community based gatherings, concerts, and community discussions all formed part of fundamental recruitment spaces, this was done by the consistent informing and encouraging of the youth within these spaces about voter participation, making the youth aware of their right to vote, the power of their vote and the importance of exercising their vote within the 2012 elections (Ciutats Drets Humans, 2024, Zuckerman, 2013).

The Y’en a Marre's method of recruitment provides further lessons for other African nations as it stands in contrast with the traditional methods of recruitment. Which has been applied across African nations which continue to follow hierarchical structures as well as been done in a formal and restricting manner such as a hall meetings, which has often alienated rather than increased youth political participation as they are drowned out and isolated with many of their inputs not been recognised with the same importance or value as elder members.

The Y’en a Marre movement decentralized participation structure, lacking any formal methods of selection offered the youth of Senegal a more integrative space that allowed for all that connected with the movement's purpose to participate in peaceful activism to contribute to the results of the 2012 elections equally (International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, 2024). The integrative template of the movement with some adjustments to suit the particular culture of one African nation or another could be successfully applied to increase the political participation of youths in other African countries.

Methods and Tools Used

The Y’en a Marre movement made use of varying innovative tools and methods which focused particularly on the mobilising of the youth for political participation within the 2012 elections, such innovative implementations could also be employed by other nations across Africa.

Using Hip-Hop Politically

The Y’en a Marre movement successfully capitalised on the reach and impact of hip-hop on the youth of Senegal by making hip-hop an innovative and main tool of the movement for mobilising and communicating with the youth. Musicians within the movement intentionally crafted their music to challenge governmental policy implementations, highlight corruption, as well as consistently urging the youth to participate in civil society activity and to register for voting. This allowed for the Y’en a Marre to turn social gatherings such as concerts into spaces of political education and rallying specifically for youth voter registration leading up to the 2012 elections (Sajnani, 2016, AJWS, 2022, Zuckerman, 2013). The lesson that can be derived from this is that music and the youth of Africa share a deep connection and genres such as Hip-hop play a key role within the culture of the youth of Africa. As such if African nations particularly young artists within these nations can be intentional with the music they release and ensure that they use their platforms and influence over the youth in a manner that educates and encourages youth political participation there are high chances that they will be successful in mobilising the youth.

The Internet and Media

The Y’en a Marre movement maximized social media platforms that had a high youth presence such as twitter to arrange gatherings and spread information and education specifically related to voter registration and participation. Such as closing dates for registration, the movement was also able to get its message and objectives across to a mass audience simultaneously through the posting of manifestos. Another key lesson that can be extracted from the Y’en a Marre's use of social media and online activism is that it allowed the Y’en a Marre to get their message to the youth by, bypassing traditional forms of media within Senegal such as news channels and other broadcasting stations as well as been able to present alternative information to that presented by the government through such networks. While this specific method may be difficult to apply in African nations without access to such platforms and severely restricted spaces for the spreading of information outside of the government's control. In countries similar to Senegal the use of social media has and continues to be proven as an effective political tool specifically in relation to mobilising the youth as such it should be amplified and continually used to improve youth political participation especially within an ever digitalising world (Fiveable, n.d., Africa Is a Country, 2013).

Rigorous Drives for Voter Registration

The Y’en a Marre movement, once identifying the crucialness of the participation of the youth of Senegal in the 2012 elections, arranged rigorous and easily identifiable voter registration campaigns. While exact stats have been difficult to acquire the Y’en a Marre movement has been credited with registering and producing many youths who voted for the first time in the 2012 elections. This is a valuable lesson for other African nations when engaging in voter participation campaigns the movement was able to successfully obtain this feat by deliberately targeting and persistently engaging and assisting the youth to not only register but apply their right to vote and the power it holds. This was possible not solely through engagement but through assisting with the various logistical and informational needs related to registering and voting such as knowing and having the required documents to complete the process (Fiveable, n.d., Ciutats Drets Humans, 2024). This intentionally focused approach on increasing youth representations in relation to elections directly tackles the issue of poor youth impact on election outcomes across Africa.

Educational Civic Workshops

The Y’en a Marre implemented workshops and engagements such as the TAB ËAX ELLEG with the objective of providing the youth of Senegal with knowledge of their rights and responsibilities as citizens. These initiatives bred critical thought amongst the youth in relation to the 2012 elections, and continually highlighted the active participation of citizens as the most viable way to produce meaningful change within Senegal ( Ciuatats Drets Humans, 2024, International Center on Nonviolent Conflict,2024). The lesson that can be extracted is that civil education is a valuable tool for mobilising the youth especially in African nations where there is an absence or restriction on civic education within traditional areas of education.

Engagement with the Community

Consistent engagements on a local community level allowed the Y’en a Marre to develop unity, tackle local issues, and ensured that the message of youth voter participation was integrated into the daily lives of the Senegalese youth. This method allowed for the movement's attempt at youth mobilisation to extend beyond urban hubs (Ciuatats Drets Humans, Alternatives Humanitaires, 2016). This community based method of the Y’en a Marre movement is a valuable lesson within the African continent, where the youth located in rural spaces are commonly excluded from the political affairs of the nation.

What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation

Rallies and Uprisings

Once formed in 2011 in Dakar, the Y’en a Marre swiftly arranged mass protest in opposition to the governing of president Wade (Gueye, n.d.). The movement's 2011, June 23 uprising triumphantly resulted in President Wade’s withdrawal of a constitutional amendment meant to allow for his son to gain presidential status (Zuckerman, 2013). During 2011 - 2012, the movements “Faut Pas Forcer” protests rallied the Senegalese youth in opposition to President Wade’s attempt at a third run in office, such protests were centered in non-violence and heavily music driven (International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, 2024).

Voter Registration

During 2011 the Y’en a Marre began “Ma Carte, Mon Arme” (My voter Card my Weapon), the campaign focused on reaching new voters through the process of door-to-door as well as establishing centers that offered assistance with registering (Gueye, n.d.). The movement further spread material that offered education on voting alongside releasing music such as “Daas Fananal” that went on to have great influence as the anthems of the movement (Sajnani, 2016). The combining of social events such as hip-hop shows with political education allowed the movement to make youth participation in politics compelling to young people (Sajnani,2016).

Political Education

The Y’en a Marre movement established “Nouveau Type de Senegalais” to cultivate civic cognisance amongst the youth (Africa Is a Country,2013). The movement further implemented "citizen cells” within communities that were responsible for organising the youth and providing workshops that educated them on the principles of democracy (Ciutats Drets Humans,2024). The "citizen cells” operated using basic language and making consistent cultural references, using hip-hop and street art they were able to relay convoluted political ideas in an understandable manner to the youth (AJWS,2022).

Influence, Outcomes, and Effects

The movement of the Y’en a Marre had an influential and deep impact within the context of Senegal and its politics, specifically in relation to youth political involvement and the 2012 elections (Current History, 2025). This was reflected in the most impactful and visible way through the movement's ability to achieve their objective of denying President Abdoulaye Wade a third term in office. An objective that was obtained as a result of the movement's mobilising of the youths of Senegal in mass amounts. This triumph illustrated, unmistakably, the strength youth activism has when organised accordingly to protect democratic procedures and influence their outcomes such as that of elections (International Center on Nonviolent Conflict,2024).

The rigorous voter registration drives of the Y’en a Marre movement proved to have a significant impact, based on the Journal of African Elections (2017). The 2012 elections witnessed “the largest recorded turnout for voting” within Senegalese history. While accurate data on the percentage of first time voters that were registered by the movement's registration drives is not obtainable, UNESCO (2018) supports the fact that “when the Y’en a Marre campaigned to register citizens to vote during 2011, the turnout for the 2012 elections was without precedent”. The lesson that can be taken from this is that the unparalleled amount of citizens that voted in the 2012 elections were the youth of Senegal who before were indifferent to the political happenings of the country. Yet through consistent youth focused and broad reaching community based voter registration drives of the Y’en a Marre movement the youth of Senegal not only participated in elections, but had a definitive impact on the results of the elections itself.

Growing from Senegal, the movement's triumph influenced the creation of analogous movements throughout Africa (largely in West Africa). For instance the Balai Citoyen (Citzen’s Broom) in Burkina Faso was directly influenced by the movement's methods, tools and ideology. The Balai Citoyen themselves played a crucial role in the 2014 unrest that resulted in President Blaise Compaore resigning from presidency after holding power for 27 years. The similarities of the movements can be identified as follows : the utilisation of hip-hop musicians as leading figures, consistent civic education engagement, and the organising of mass demonstrations which called for accountability and change through democracy (UNESCO 2018).

The movement has further influenced Filimbi and LUCHA (DRC), illustrating the movement's ability to be applied across the continent when dealing with youth political participation issues. The Y’en a Marre successfully proved hip-hop to be an effective political mobilisation instrument that is able to cut through the traditional disconnect between youth culture and rigid political systems.

Analysis and Lessons Learned

The Y’en a Marre movement provides valuable lessons for successfully mobilising the youth throughout Africa.

1. The necessity of Cultural Authenticity

The intentional blending of hip-hop (youth culture) with specific political motive was successful in getting traditionally politically indifferent youths to participate and influence the outcome of the 2012 elections. This provides a lesson on the importance of understanding the culture of the youth and connecting politics to this culture in order to increase youth participation.

2. Decentralizing Organisation Broadens Mobilisation

The Y’en a Marre movement was able to rapidly mobilise and develop an expansive reach over the youths in all areas of Senegal, this was possible due to the movements decentralised, community rooted focus, combined with active social media use ( Fiveable, n.d., Africa Is a Country,2013). Proving to be a valuable substitute to the more centralised, hierarchical system that has fallen short in reaching the youth.

3. Credibility Built from Independence

The Y’en a Marre’s ability to remain autonomous from political organisations and outsider funding is a valuable lesson for African nations as the movement's independence provided it with the credibility and trust of the youth. Who are largely distrusting of traditional political groups and systems based on their history of failure and lack of transparency (Sajnani,2016).

4. Combining Digital and Physical Mobilising

The Y’en a Marre effectively combined social media and physical community groundwork offering a lesson for African nations who are witnessing an increase in digital availability but are still restricted in comparison to other nations.

5. Challenges

While there are valuable lessons that can be extracted from the Y’en a Marre movement, it must be noted that there are barriers that must be overcome when applying these lessons in other countries such as crafting the lessons in a particular way that accommodates the unique cultural landscape of a particular nation. The movement has also largely remained West African which raises questions about its effectiveness or relatability in other parts of Africa. Despite these challenges, the Y’en a Marre’s success in transforming youth despondency into visible political participation that was able to strip a president of power, stands as proof and motivation for all the youths of Africa regarding the power and ability of a youth-led movement that unites all the youths behind a common objective in a relatable manner (Origins, 2012, Alternatives Humanitaires,2016).

See Also

1. Balai Citoyen - Burkina Faso
2. Ca Suffit - Republic of Congo

References

Africa Is a Country (2013) 'The New Type of Senegalese Social Movement', Africa Is a Country, 19 November. Available at: https://africasacountry.com/2013/11/the-new-type-of-senegalese-social-movement (Accessed: 26 September 2025).

AJWS (2022) 'Hip-Hop in their DNA: How Senegalese Activists are Building a Movement with their Music', American Jewish World Service, 29 December. Available at: https://ajws.org/blog/hip-hop-in-their-dna-how-senegalese-activists-are-building-a-movement-with-their-music/ (Accessed: 26 September 2025).

Alternatives Humanitaires (2016) 'Humanitarian action in the face of civic mobilisations. The example of the Senegalese movement Y en a Marre', Alternatives Humanitaires, 19 January. Available at: https://www.alternatives-humanitaires.org/en/2016/01/19/humanitarian-action-in-the-face-of-civic-mobilisations-the-example-of-the-senegalese-movement-y-en-a-marre/ (Accessed: 26 September 2025).

Ciutats Drets Humans (2024) 'The citizen movement "Y en a Marre" and the democratic crisis in Senegal', Ciutats Drets Humans, 23 February. Available at: https://ciutatsdretshumans.cat/en/2024/the-citizen-movement-y-en-a-marre-and-the-democratic-crisis-in-senegal/ (Accessed: 26 September 2025).

Current History (2025) 'Youth Mobilization and Democracy in Senegal', Current History, 1 May. Available at: https://online.ucpress.edu/currenthistory/article/124/862/181/209759/Youth-Mobilization-and-Democracy-in-Senegal (Accessed: 26 September 2025).

Fiveable (no date) 'Y'en a marre - (History of Africa – 1800 to Present)', Fiveable. Available at: https://fiveable.me/key-terms/africa-since-1800/yen-a-marre (Accessed: 26 September 2025).

Gueye, M. (no date) 'Urban Guerrilla Poetry: The Movement Y' en a Marre and the Senegalese Presidential Elections of 2012', Journal of Pan African Studies. Available at: https://www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol6no3/6.3-4-Gueye-Urban.pdf (Accessed: 26 September 2025).

International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (2024) 'Building the Future: A New Model of Nonviolent Resistance to Power in Senegal', International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, 21 March. Available at: https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/blog_post/building-future-new-model-nonviolent-resistance-senegal/ (Accessed: 26 September 2025).

National Endowment for Democracy (2014) 'Y'en a Marre: Youth and Social Engagement in Senegal', National Endowment for Democracy, 30 January. Available at: https://www.ned.org/events/yen-a-marre-youth-and-social-engagement-in-senegal/ (Accessed: 26 September 2025).

Origins (2012) '"Y'En A Marre!" (We're Fed Up!): Senegal in the Season of Discontent', Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, 2 March. Available at: https://origins.osu.edu/article/yen-marre-were-fed-senegal-season-discontent (Accessed: 26 September 2025).

Plastische Demokratie (no date) 'Y´en a marre', Plastische Demokratie. Available at: https://www.plastischedemokratie.de/en/models/yen-a-marre/ (Accessed: 26 September 2025).

Sajnani, D. (2016) 'The African HipHop Movement: Y'en a Marre's Political Model', Anthropology News, 57(1), pp. 3-4. Available at: https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/j.2573-508X.2016.tb00005.x (Accessed: 26 September 2025).

Wikipedia (no date) 'Y'en a Marre', Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%27en_a_Marre (Accessed: 26 September 2025).

Zuckerman, E. (2013) 'Y'en a Marre - music and mobilization in Senegal', Ethan Zuckerman's Blog, 15 April. Available at: https://ethanzuckerman.com/2013/04/15/yen-a-marre-music-and-mobilization-in-senegal/ (Accessed: 26 September 2025).

External Links

Notes

This case study centers around extracting lessons from the Y'en a Marre movement's successful youth mobilization strategies that could be usefully transferred across African continents facing similar population realities and struggling with youth political participation