HOW DO IMPACT, INFLUENCE, AND LEVERAGE OUTCOMES RELATE TO THE YOUTH CAFE CORE CAPACITIES? 

The Youth Cafe’s core capacities are the central guides that enable our powerful strategies to become actualized. Our core capacities represent our beliefs and our deeply held values for development. We understand that lasting change is created through unique opportunities for unique problems facing different societies. Our work in youth development is geared towards forming outstanding ideals that separate the organization from others. We truly believe that our building blocks will continue to impact the change we seek to see in youth and youth stakeholders. All the projects that The Youth Cafe handles are founded on the capacities we have established and continue to strengthen.  These capacities include our administrative structures, professional and social networks, knowledge base, and leadership.

Our structures

The Youth Cafe’s management structures are unique in that they are customized to fit the needs of every project. These structures include the communication template, volunteer management work plan, project implementation plans, monitoring, and evaluation templates among others.  The Youth Cafe continuously seeks to improve programs and deliver the best to beneficiaries. Doing so ensures that work is satisfactory, goals are achieved and real impact is created. The work of The Youth cafe inspires people and other organizations to create change in their circles. The impact of the structures is felt internally and externally through the numerous projects managed through them. Instead of forging the existing frameworks for work and policy development, The Youth Cafe strives to lead in the discourses involving youths. The Thematic Working Groups, which remain the approach in our development projects, allow for brainstorming and deep consultations. We spearhead conversations, embrace new ways of thinking, and inspire change through our networks.  

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As Barack Obama articulated, “change is not made through righteous anger, rather, it requires a program and organizing”. When work is well monitored through our structures(core capacity) then our project to empower x youths on climate change becomes a success(outcome). The work we do will inspire youths to be accountable for their environment(influence). The chain of influence then leads to less usage of plastics and improved environmental health (impact).

Our ideal situation is where youth and youth stakeholders play an active role in fostering good environmental practices. Climate change is one of the thematic areas of The Youth Cafe. We hope to create lasting change felt in the broader environment.

Professional and social networks

The Youth Cafe encourages engagement with organizations and people that share our concerns. We aim to foster connections that last by opening up lines of communication and collaboration. The openness of The Youth cafe makes the shareability of information, ideas, and opportunities easy from both ends of the communication process. Part of expanding the network is engaging with people in person and through digital platforms. As such, continuous improvement of the firm’s website, having a strong social media presence and developing different forms of credible independent media such as podcasts and articles are priorities. Offering opportunities for entities to engage with us on our themes ensures real challenges are tackled through our projects. Meaningful collaborations are created through volunteers, interns, and other organizations inside and outside Africa. Our evaluation shows that our social return for investment is at 1 dollar investment for 12 dollars worth of social influence. The Youth Cafe continues to engage with departments and entities within the international development ecosystem like the United Nations system and affiliates, international organizations as a way to increase global reach.  Better outcomes and continuous improvement of programs are actualized through sharing ideas and information within the network. 

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People love to have a sense of ownership in their work which could be achieved through their involvement. When we engage with our project stakeholders through various platforms (core capacity), we change their perspectives on gender-based violence (influence). The people in the network join our campaign on eradicating gender-based violence leading to a wider reach (outcome). By the end of the campaign, gender-based violence reduces by 30% (impact).

Our ideal situation is where the social return on investment continues to rise as we continue to handle different projects. Influencing thoughts, perceptions and policies is a huge part of our model of change. 

Knowledge base 

Knowledge, just like a puzzle, gets better when the different pieces finally fit together. This is the analogy that the The Youth Cafe lives by when implementing its work. Although The Youth Cafe is continuously sharpened by the experiences of different interventions, we believe that real change is possible through the integration of different viewpoints. The work of The Youth Cafe is thus founded in research whether primary or secondary. Data-driven policies and projects tend to be more sustainable since the articulation of challenges and viewpoints is more precise. Our youthful community interacts with our research polls through our social media accounts, surveys, and competitions. Utilizing expert panel discussions, human-centered design thinking, and focus groups with stakeholders is part of our research process. The Youth Cafe strives to conduct

projects based on data and to share new knowledge through reports published online. Our influence will continue to span at the individual, organizational and policy levels. We aim to impact governments, policymakers, and beneficiaries of all projects sustainably.

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When data is collected from reputable sources, then the foundation of projects becomes solid (our capacity). A youth empowerment program based on data collected directly from youth will lead to a more focused approach towards goals (outcome). Direct involvement of stakeholders leads to increased attention and interest in the project (influence). A well-structured project will cater to the needs of the beneficiaries in the best way possible creating sustainable solutions (impact).

Our ideal situation is where relevant data is collected for all projects to inform decision-making and refine projects. We identify that data is a tool necessary at all stages of interventions.

Leadership

Leadership is at the core of The Youth Cafe’s model of change and improvement plan. The Youth cafe believes in the power of leadership to influence the direction and create pathways to change at different levels. The Youth Cafe prides itself on a network of partners that have different expertise on certain subjects. These experts are often consulted for insights to ensure that project outputs are the best. Our internal structure attempts to increase the capacities of individuals and equip the organization for broader opportunities. The Youth cafe also seeks to be a leader globally and nationally on youth-led and youth-serving affairs. The winning of the UNESCO global award in 2020 is of huge pride, and is an active example of the pace we need to set. It anchored The Youth Cafe as a world leader in Media Information Literacy (MIL). Our unique approach to challenges gives us the confidence to front ideas that may uplift young people in Kenya and worldwide. We uniquely present ideas, cases, and personal testimonials as factual, points of reference for other organizations in the industry.  The tenacity to lead at personal and interpersonal levels continues to help us to create unique and tailored projects.

Our ideal:

When leadership is orchestrated at the organizational and inter-organization level (core capacity), then the organization is recognized as a key stakeholder in youth processes (outcome). The projects that The Youth Cafe’ handles will carry a sense of authority (influence). The Youth Cafe will create a lasting trickle-down effect on different themes.

Our ideal situation is where leadership is evident in our processes, projects and collaborations, such that our projects are run with the intention of excellence at all times.

Public-private partnerships

The public-private partnerships of The Youth Café are representations of the support network that The Youth Café has in its advocacy work.  Partnerships include universities in and outside Africa, youth-serving organizations and other international partners. These organizations offer mentoring, support and grants which are all necessary in increasing the relevance of The Youth café and the work that we do.  All our partnerships bring unique support in line with their expertise which increases the strength of our work. Substantive partnerships encourage the programs that The Youth Café has in increasing opportunities for youths in Kenya and Africa at large. Our projects are aligned with the greater goals of the government and international bodies on youths.

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The Youth Café leverages on the public and private partnership it continues to foster to have diverse engagement in projects and programs (core capacities), projects have more stakeholders and partners driving objectives (outcomes). Sharing knowledge formally and informally leads to more awareness on the relevant themes (Influence).  Youth benefits from the initiatives that partners support and become part of.

The ideal situation is where The Youth Café partners are strategic to the mission and vision of The Youth Café. Partners are actively involved in the projects supporting youth advocacy. 

Innovativeness and adaptability

The Youth Café is proud of its resources and particularly its personnel who ensure that projects and programs are at the forefront of what they do, and that the processes adapted are relevant.  The Youth Café staff members and the related partners all work together to actualize projects that are suitable to the place, time, and context.  The flexible nature of The Youth Cafe allows for out-of-the-box strategies such as community-themed trips and travel programs, with our personnel planning and managing tours within Kenya and the region. Development tourism is a necessary step in advancing our theme on culture and the arts, and it also presents the opportunity for a broad range of people to learn more about the organization. Members of The Youth Café continue to take part in UN interventions, festivals within Africa, and conferences that solidify the work of The Youth Café in driving change. The executive director also contributed a chapter in the upcoming book: Digital Media as the Next Frontier for Fighting Violent Extremism among Youth.  The increased reach of individuals and organizations in formal and informal ways continues to strengthen our roots in the youth advocacy area. Having more people in our networks means that more people will engage with our work and push our agenda towards involved and empowered youth development. Using different forums and networks to drive change is a strategy that we intend to keep and refine as we continue to grow.

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The Youth Café uses innovative solutions and adapts to the changing environment when handling a project (core capacity). Our projects on entrepreneurship gain more credibility as a result of more collaboration (outcome). More youths become empowered through our entrepreneurship program and they go ahead to empower others (influence).  Youths in Kenya and Africa continue to increase their employment and business skills (impact).

Our ideal situation is where we use informal and formal strategies to implement projects, meet new people, and engage with more young people. Such approaches open doors to better projects and more advocacy actions.