Gen-Z’s prepare to lead at the 2025 Indian School of Political Ecology
It is a scorching day in Plaine Magnien, the picturesque city in which Mauritius’ Sir Sewoosagur Ramgoolam airport is located. The orangey rays of the searing heat contrast with the intense blue colours of the sun, sea and mansions dotting the countryside, creating an ever-changijng kaleidoscope.
One by one, young activists emerge from the airport with large smiles on their faces. The gut-punch from the humid climate is not enough to deter them from enjoying the week with great comrades. Afterall, they have literally been in sociopolitical cauldrons these last few years. Now, they meet again at the 10th Annual CARES School of Ecology under the banner “youth of the world, unite!”
Everybody is buzzing. Although they make up what many are calling ‘Africa's forgotten generation’, young Africans have been front and centre in the social movements that have made waves in recent months: the de-linking debates in West Africa, the revolution that brought Assimi Goita to power in Mali, the storming of the parliament in Kenya In 2025, the post-electoral impasse in Mozambique in 2024-2025…
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Africa has been standing still for over four decades and nobody feels the lack of progress more than young people. The generation that came of age in the 1980s missed out on scholarships and jobs in the public sector, but they still got something in the private sector. The 90s generation, the unluckiest in Africa's history, had to contend with structural adjustment, currency devaluation and unprecedented repression as national conferences rocked the generation that came to power in the 1960s. The 1990s generation survived by leaving Africa. It is this great exodus that educated the 2000s generation and continued the trend of later generations moving abroad in droves rather than waiting for non-existent opportunities at home.
But! Times have changed. Prolonged economic stagnation has created a generation of young people whose main emotion is, to quote former French President Dominique de Villepin, anger and pure rage.
Political action in a number of countries show that young Africans have assumed this responsibility with courage: they brought down the IBK regime in Mali (Although Assimi Goita then usurped the fruits of their work); they stormed the parliaments of Kenya and Burkina Faso; the thwarted former Senegal President Macky Sall’s bid for a third term; they joined Venancio Mondlane’s campaigned that rocked Mozambique in 2024-2025; in Botswana, they backed Duma Boko’s victorious campaign for State House; in July 2025 they paralysed Angola for about a week, demanding an end to austerity.
Everywhere you look, young people are changing Africa's politics. Many people in leadership positions have not yet spotted this trend. Young people however, are preparing themselves for leadership. They are not asking for a seat at the table, they want the entire table. They want Africa to go in a different direction. They want austerity economics gone.
As the School of Ecology opens in late November 2025, there are young activists from all the South West Indican Ocean Islands (Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion, Madagascar) as well as from Mozambique, South Africa, Senegal. Within hours, over 100 tents have been set up on the Riambel beach. People are recounting their recent political adventures. Some sit on the sand playing guitars and belting out slam poetry.
The first day of the workshop is dedicated to discussing the current conjuncture. It happens in a very hot Vacoas Community Centre before a large, diverse audience.
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Madagascar’s Miora explains that GenZ had their backs against the wall and they simply had no choice. Madagascar is currently dealing with runaway inflation, rolling power outages, unprecedented youth unemployment and a generalised sense of despair. With the high levels of inflation that Madagascar is facing, Rojoelina’s policies were akin to, as Angola, South Africa, Mozambique and many others have seen, using a cup to put out a blazing inferno. Miora explains that the first days of the protests were characterised by intimidation tactics from government soldiers. However, wave after wave of young people surged forward and this is what turned the tide in their favour.
Bella Sy from Y’en a Marre describes Senegal’s storied history of youth participation in politics. She tells the audience that young people were there when Macky Sall challenged Abdoulaye Wade for the presidential seat. In fact, this is when her organization was created by artists, media personalities and development practitioners. Y’en a Marre stands for “Fed up”. The same energy that Y’en a Marre channelled to sweep Abdoulaye Wade out of power electrified Senegal when they kicled Mack Sall out of power. Bella explains that Senegal is faced with the same poverty and unemployment challenges that affect other countries. She adds that what differentiates Senegal from others where people have turned to military leaders for help is that they are attached to their democratic ideals, for which they are ready to die, just like the 80 who gave their lives for the Diomaye Faye-Ousmane Sonko to come to power.
There are two other standout days at the school. The second day is another opportunity for opinion sharing. What is truly special is that members of, Africa’s only ecosocialist party represented in a national government, Mauritius’ Resistanz ek Alternativ, are present to give talks and energise the young people. Members of Parliament Babitha Thannoo and Ashok Subron talk about the importance of organizing, having a clear vision for society, having clear values, having courage to confront oppression. They underscore the importance of having the courage to contest elections because young people need to be the change that they seek.
The main facilitators Roland Ngam and David Sauvage lead discussions as on a range of topics:
- Deconstructing capitalism;
- Historicity of youth activism in Africa;
- Transforming the energy-material metabolism;
- Dissecting the current geopolitical order;
- Key theories for a transformative consciousness.
The Indian Ocean School of Ecology is a self-organised space.
Perhaps the biggest learning that is to be had at the CARES School of Ecology is the democratic values that come with doing everything together: managing the hours, cleaning, cooking, organising debates, evening activities, sharing meals, etc.
This mindset more than anything, is what young people take back to their countries to share with other folk. It is the glue that holds the Indian School of Political Economy together and what has made it an enduring feature of socio-ecological education in Africa more recently.
