The launch of the Kenya Youth Manifesto 2022
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
The Youth Manifesto is a declaration of a shared vision for Kenya and its youth. It is a culmination of a long process and journey that began nine months ago. Join us in Villa Rosa Kempinski as we launch the Youth Manifesto and contribute your voice.
The journey for the preparation of the Youth Manifesto began with the convening of youth participants who are actively involved in the political and civic leadership space from across the country in a nationwide Youth Summit, with participants (Nairobi, North-Eastern, Eastern, Central, Coast, Rift-Valley, Nyanza, and Western) came up with a draft of the Youth Manifesto which highlighted key thematic issue under three broad pillars; Economic, Social, and Political.
The draft manifesto was further subjected to inputs from additional 240 young people in all the eight (8) regions in Kenya (Nairobi, North-Eastern, Eastern, Central, Coast, Rift-Valley, Nyanza, and Western) who moved from examining and identifying key challenges in each pillar, to providing recommendations and homegrown solutions. Whereas the National Youth Summit saw the involvement of the majority of the youth participants as active in the political and civic space, the regional consultation forums had youth participants varied in professions such as those in the SMEs, teaching, journalists, community workers, students, et al..
The manifesto was further subjected to a Technical Working Group comprising 22 young people from the private sector, youth-serving organizations, and NGOs to develop the Manifesto document, building its content from existing literature and aligning the manifesto to existing policies and legal instruments. It was finally presented to a minor team of writers to refine it before being subjected to a Youth Jury randomly selected to critique the document.
The actions recommended in the Kenya Youth Manifesto are directed toward specific stakeholders in youth development, including government, civil society, the private sector, United Nations agencies, donors, the international community, and young people themselves, among others.
The political class is one of the key stakeholders in implementing the Youth Manifesto. It was, therefore, paramount to involve the political class in the development of the youth manifesto right from the inception of the process since implementation rests on their shoulders. Getting a political buy-in of the manifesto through sign-on is critical to the performance of the Manifesto. The Presidential aspirants for the major political parties and coalitions will be invited for the sign-on. The document was shared with them early enough to peruse through before they append their signature on the manifesto. The sign-on by political parties signals a commitment for the political parties' presidential aspirants should they ascend to power and clinch the presidency. They will be committed to the implementation of the Youth Manifesto. They will also be committed to addressing the various challenges bedeviling young people as enumerated in the manifesto and acting on the various recommendations. They are committed to marshaling the support of multiple actors and stakeholders in youth development in addressing specific issues/challenges.
The Youth Café is a multi-award-winning, pan-African, youth organization that strives to enrich the lives of young people by modeling and advancing youth-led. Rights-based approaches to foster young people’s civic efficacy, community resilience, sustainable development, and equitable society, proposing innovative solutions, driving social progress, and inspiring transformative change by utilizing innovative research, policy, and advocacy actions.
“The International Republican Institute (IRI), with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), subcontracted The Youth Café to implement a project dubbed “Magnifying the Visibility of Youth Leaders’’ whose objective is to enhance the skills of Kenyan youth to gain influence within the political establishment and to serve in civic and political leadership roles. ”