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Claude OKONDJO ZANKATU
Claude OKONDJO ZANKATU
Civil society actor, researcher, writer and independent analyst
Civil society actor, researcher, writer and independent analyst
Who I am
I am Congolese and live in Kinshasa. For about ten years, my commitment has moved from political participation to citizen action, democratic governance and the mobilization of civil society for conflict prevention. As a researcher, essayist, poet and public speaker, I help institutions and organizations understand political realities and act on them.
I am Congolese and live in Kinshasa. For about ten years, my commitment has moved from political participation to citizen action, democratic governance and the mobilization of civil society for conflict prevention. As a researcher, essayist, poet and public speaker, I help institutions and organizations understand political realities and act on them.
How I read realities
My approach is systemic, across space and time. Across space, I connect the local, national, regional and international levels. Across time, I trace the decisions and power relations of the past that produced the current situation, then build several scenarios for the future. My work as a writer, poet and speaker feeds this reading, which goes beyond party competition alone.
My background
From early commitment to citizen action (2016-2023)
I began my civic and political engagement in 2016, while studying management information systems. This first experience exposed me to political organization, electoral processes, coalitions, and the relations between parties, institutions and citizens. In 2018, I supervised election observers during the electoral cycle, then gradually stepped back from formal party politics while staying active in public affairs. In 2019, I joined the citizen movement Vivre Autrement, where I served as Executive Secretary until 2023. There I developed Wa Diminu, a program on behavioral and social change, built on one conviction: political change only lasts if citizens and society evolve alongside it.
Women, entrepreneurship and African networks
I also became involved in women’s entrepreneurship and African women’s networks: collaboration with the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs of the Congo (FEFCO), development of AWEP-RDC, and the role of Permanent Secretary of the Network of Francophone African Women for the SDGs (RFAF-ODD).
Electoral reform and local governance (2022-2026)
In 2022, I completed an internship at IFES on electoral reform and civil society advocacy. I helped bring together several major electoral civil society actors around the iREVE initiative, and then contributed to the creation of the Observatory of Democracy in Africa (ODA), whose country office in the DRC I later led. In 2023, an internship at GIZ allowed me to work on democratic governance at the local level.
Experience of electoral competition
My candidacies in national and senatorial elections gave me direct knowledge of political competition: unequal resources, institutional structures, and the obstacles faced by young people who want to take part in public life.
Today
I chair the High Council of African Civil Society Organizations within the International Movement for the Construction of Collective Identities of diasporas, people of African descent and African civil society (MICIC). I work to strengthen links between civil society and economic actors, for a more autonomous civil society and constructive partnerships with the African private sector.
Education, languages and recognition
What guides me
To help overcome the fragmentation of civil society and to support collective action focused on conflict prevention, democratic dialogue and institutional transformation in the DRC.
Contact me
My approach is systemic, across space and time. Across space, I connect the local, national, regional and international levels. Across time, I trace the decisions and power relations of the past that produced the current situation, then build several scenarios for the future. My work as a writer, poet and speaker feeds this reading, which goes beyond party competition alone.
My background
From early commitment to citizen action (2016-2023)
I began my civic and political engagement in 2016, while studying management information systems. This first experience exposed me to political organization, electoral processes, coalitions, and the relations between parties, institutions and citizens. In 2018, I supervised election observers during the electoral cycle, then gradually stepped back from formal party politics while staying active in public affairs. In 2019, I joined the citizen movement Vivre Autrement, where I served as Executive Secretary until 2023. There I developed Wa Diminu, a program on behavioral and social change, built on one conviction: political change only lasts if citizens and society evolve alongside it.
Women, entrepreneurship and African networks
I also became involved in women’s entrepreneurship and African women’s networks: collaboration with the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs of the Congo (FEFCO), development of AWEP-RDC, and the role of Permanent Secretary of the Network of Francophone African Women for the SDGs (RFAF-ODD).
Electoral reform and local governance (2022-2026)
In 2022, I completed an internship at IFES on electoral reform and civil society advocacy. I helped bring together several major electoral civil society actors around the iREVE initiative, and then contributed to the creation of the Observatory of Democracy in Africa (ODA), whose country office in the DRC I later led. In 2023, an internship at GIZ allowed me to work on democratic governance at the local level.
Experience of electoral competition
My candidacies in national and senatorial elections gave me direct knowledge of political competition: unequal resources, institutional structures, and the obstacles faced by young people who want to take part in public life.
Today
I chair the High Council of African Civil Society Organizations within the International Movement for the Construction of Collective Identities of diasporas, people of African descent and African civil society (MICIC). I work to strengthen links between civil society and economic actors, for a more autonomous civil society and constructive partnerships with the African private sector.
Education, languages and recognition
- Education: Master’s degree in Elections, Democracy and Good Governance (Ecoforleaders, 2022); bachelor’s-level degree in management information systems (ISIPA, 2017)
- Languages: French, English (working proficiency), Lingala, Swahili, Otetela (mother tongue)
- Award: Mwasi Motomboli Mboka trophy (2023), NGO Parlement des Femmes
- Publications:
- Citoyens ou Spectateurs? Ce que la sortie de Joseph Kabila nous révèle sur notre rapport géopolitique
- Le Congo Face à Lui-même : Manifeste Pour Une Rupture Nécessaire
What guides me
To help overcome the fragmentation of civil society and to support collective action focused on conflict prevention, democratic dialogue and institutional transformation in the DRC.
Contact me
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