Consultation With EU Delegation In Kenya | Connecting, Engaging And Empowering Youths

The Youth Café Participates In EU Delegation In Kenya Consultation On Connecting, Engaging And Empowering Youths In Kenya.

“The EU aims to engage more systematically with youth and ensure that young people, with a particular attention to girls, are heard and empowered as young leaders so they can be the actors of change needed for the sustainable development of Kenya.”

On the 22nd of July 2021, the European Union held a consultation session with Kenyan youth representative organizations, with The Youth Café as a participant. Through the participation of this survey, the EU stated that participation in this survey can assist in the elaboration of their strategy in supporting Kenyan youth.  

The youth have been acknowledged as one of the major priorities of the EU’s Commissioner, Jutta Urpliainen. The key pillars for the youth action plan are to engage, connect and empower youths to take charge of their lives. The European Council requested the Commission to formulate a Youth Action Plan similar to the existing Gender Plan, in which it would outline in the full new approach to increase youth participation and empowerment in EU external actions in the years to come.

Some of the points of the webinar consultation included their hopes of broadening their understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the youth in Kenya as well as gather their views on possible action areas for the EU to support.

The European Delegation in Kenya conducted a questionnaire based on connecting, engaging as well as empowering youth in the country. In the first section of the questionnaire, the question surrounding the challenges that Kenyan youth are faced with, mainly addressed the fact that social and political platforms in the country, have been occupied by the older generation.

These people implement laws, and policies that do not line up with the youth. “The lack of young people in decision making environments limit their participation in civic matters that affect their lives”, it stated. It was therefore mentioned that in order to ensure that Kenyan youth are empowered, there have to be platforms where they are given the opportunity to voice their problems and come up with solutions to help create an impact through youth-led development activities.

In an article written by Kempe Ronald, from the United Nations Development Program, he noted that in order for there to be progress in development in Kenya, engaging the youth stands as an imperative process.

In the context of the COVID19 pandemic, The Youth Café and its partners conducted a series of webinars labeled, “Lockdown Live: Finding Youth-Led Solutions”. Through this series of webinars, the event saw the participation of experts and over 54 youth from various parts of the African continent, featuring an exchange of experiences, problems, ideas, and youth-led solutions to the COVID19 crisis.

This therefore had a significant impact on learning as it resulted in bans of public gatherings in a number of countries. In addition to this series was highlighting the challenge of mental health and deplorable health systems available to the youth. The pandemic resulted in the loss of many lives and jobs which created uncertainties and negativities.

Furthermore, exposing the affordability and access to healthcare services that young people can access. At the height of the pandemic, majority of the Kenyan youth living in informal settlements could not afford rapid antigen testing for COVID19 and had no access to health care services. In addition to that was the uneven distribution of healthcare workers as facilities, which was a representation of the poor effort by government to address the health needs of the youth.

Since HIV/Aids and mental health have become a growing concern amongst the Kenyan youth, this is bound to create a country with a young, unhealthy population, bound to struggle with its development process due to a lack of workforce that drives different sectors of the economy. This is the reason why there is a need for intervention in the health sector that addresses the challenges that young face.

Along with this focused challenge is the issue that youth in rural areas and informal settlements do not have access to formal training and education. This is due to several factors including poverty and poor infrastructure. Without proper education and training, people will lack the necessary skills that will enable them to gain access to employment and create opportunities for employment. Which, as a result, leads to different economic sectors lacking in development in the long run.

In 2020, a survey done by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), found that the labor participation rate in the country had fallen significantly as a result of the pandemic. In addition to this study, the Kenya Economic Update also noted that the pandemic had caused the unemployment rate to double compared to its pre-COVID level. Due to this issue, Kenyan politicians therefore take the opportunity to deliver on false promises for employment and job opportunities.

“Financial institutions on the other hand have for long avoided lending youth people money, saying that due to their inability to pay the high cost they are a risk”

In the report, it was also asked if the national and county youth policies geared to support youth in perusing their empowerment. In the questionnaire, The Youth Café responded by noting two fundamental policies that have been created to support the youth as the national level.

The first is the Kenya National Youth Policy 2006, which was developed to “promote youth participation in democratic processes as well as in community and civic affairs as well as ensuring that youth programmes, involve them and are youth-centered”.

The second is the Kenya Youth Development Policy of 2019, which was developed to “promote the holistic empowerment and participation of the youth in socio-economic and political spheres for national development”. It was further stated that the policy envisages a “society where youth have an equal and responsible opportunity to realize their full potential in socio and political aspirations”.

At this stage, Nairobi County is in the process of developing a County Youth Policy that will provide a framework for the implementation of the youth programmes and projects. The Youth Café has supported the Nairobi County Government in organizing a public participation forum for youth and other key actors in the youth space. This forum provided an opportunity for the youth to give their input and enrich the draft Nairobi City County Youth Policy.

In the survey, the topic about how inequalities impact Kenyan youth empowerment was discussed. In it, The Youth Café noted that market fundamentalism and political capture by the elites brings about economic inequality for young people in the country. This then results in the limitations of their prospects of gaining work of better economic conditions.

The Youth Café also added that this creates a gap in different sectors of the economy and slows down the prospect of development. This, according to a UN World Youth Report on Youth Civic Engagement in 2016, breeds the grounds for an increase in violence and instability. The lack in access to health and education is also caused by the economic inequality experienced in Kenya, which creates a trap for youth and pushes them to the bottom of the pyramid.

“The underrepresentation in youth in government positions leads to very little sustainable initiatives being implemented to help fix issues faced by Kenyan Youth. In addition to this is the social norms and discriminations placed around gender for many years have limited young girls and women’s access to education and participation in civic and political activities.”

In a 2020 Report on the Multidimensional Inequality done by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics, found that representation of women in legislative bodies is at ratio below 10 percent. It is therefore the reason why young girls and women lack the opportunities to learn new skills and knowledge that can be useful to develop themselves.

In the second part of the survey, the priorities for EU support to the Kenyan youth was headlined. A question about what key actions would The Youth Café recommend the EU for support and funding, and if there are any existing support targeting similar actions and other donors. Through the support of the EU initiatives aimed at addressing skills mismatch and ensuring that training programmes meet labour market need, is a fundamental area that the EU can support the youth of Kenya.

Organizations like The Youth Café, for example who get funding from USAID, were able to conduct a Digital and Information Literacy project in Nairobi. This had the aim of advancing the skills and knowledge of youth in digital media and empower them in the participation of civic matters online.

“The EU’s support in funding technical vocational education programs will go a long way in empowering the youth in Kenya because they will be able to bring their skills into the job market and get decent jobs”

The survey also added that there are opportunities for investment in innovative forms of social protection to improve income security for workers in venerable employment. One of the priorities of The Youth Café, is Business, Job Creation and Entrepreneurship. We believe that the youth must be empowered to participate in shaping a shared future and economy, working closely in partnership with agribusiness and renewable energy.

Therefore, The Youth Café aims to enhance business incubators (Co-Creation Labs) with physical locations in Africa for capacity-building and virtual connection/access throughout Africa and internationally, focused on the agribusiness and renewable energy.

In the same section of the survey, the perception of the EU’s added value was discussed. It was noted that the EU highlights their mission in promoting youth-centered, quality and comprehensive policies that assist to tackle their cultural, social, economic and political wellbeing. This will help to meet the expectation of young people and also invigorate them to participate in societal activities.

It is also instrumental in many ways. It was firstly noted that this will help to promote active citizenship among young people. This is regarded as important as it contributes to civil society by creating solidarity, a sense of belonging, facilitating justice and being sensitive to individual needs, “especially those who are different”, The Youth Café added.

In the survey, The Youth Café also stated that they envision young people empowered to influence decisions, moreover for those that will have a direct impact on their lives. Secondly, a collaboration with the EU will stimulate social integration amongst the Kenyan youth. In doing this, youth will be able to enjoy equal services, opportunities and rights.

For the third section of this survey, the topic around working to empower, connecting and engaging with the youth was brought up. The main stakeholders of The Youth Café are the county government who have a role in designing development plans that reflect the priority needs of the youth as well as including the marginalized and disabled groups.

Civil society groups like the Kenya Human Rights Commission and Community and Social Justice Centers, play a role in supporting the empowerment of youth by mobilizing and sensitizing the policies that have been set up by government on the development of youth matters.

Finally, the inclusion of international organizations like the United Nations Youth Associations and World Youth Alliance, are instrumental in supporting the country to implement youth policies by assisting in the monitoring and evaluation of performance regarding policy interventions.

“In the private sector, financial institutions are a key source of economic growth, employment and investment that can benefit the young generation”

They type of structures the EU support to achieve a genuine youth engagement at national and local level demonstrate high levels of youth involvement and ownership of the project. Youth councils at national and local level could be helpful to the EU with its mission to achieve a genuine youth engagement. The use of youth participation activities can also actively carry out decisions and dialogues between decision-makers and the youth to encourage the dynamic engagement of young people in the democratic life of Kenya. This will result in making their voices heard.

According to The Youth Café, the EU can also consider leveraging on youth-led networks as they have the potential to take development to scale in Kenya and the rest of the continent. These youth-led networks have the potential to make a positive impact for governments, people, firms and larger communities. What should also lastly be regarded by the EU in this regard is youth-empowered centers. These are designed to be a focal point for addressing the dynamic and diverse needs of the youth including HIV/Aids preventative measures, guidance and counselling on substance abuse and lack of opportunities.

In the survey, the issue surrounding how The Youth Café see the role of youth organizations in working together with the EU to promote youth’s engagement in Kenya was discussed. The Youth Café stated that the implementation of activities and programmes for youth will sensitize and advocate their course.

Through this collaboration with the EU, youth engagement in Kenya will be enhanced via various strategies such as capacity building and education. They will also get the opportunity to develop youth-friendly information for themselves, by making use of conventional and current technological mediums like the internet and digital media.

By the EU joining forces with youth organizations, the EU will be in a better position to promote youth engagement in Kenya by ensuring that young people’s democratic and social rights are met in order to enable them to reach their potential. By so doing, there will be need to create various mechanisms and structures for advancing youth participation in their democratic rights. The EU working with youth organization’s will also translate into encouraging youth to participate more socially and politically in levels of their community.

Finally, the last question presented was on how the EU can promote youth interest and participation in the design and implementation of programmes or projects targeted in their needs. Through the means of organizational development, this can support youth participation and the EU can dedicate its resources manpower and ideology in improving the structures, systems, and processes of youth organizations in Kenya in order to bring the youth to the core.

“By advancing and consulting with the National and County governments through the formulation of development and policy plans, they will ensure young people are included as leaders, partners and beneficiaries in all levels of government be it locally or nationally”

 To end off, the use of EU financial products such as loans, equity and other risk-bearing mechanisms can promote implementation of programs and activities by local youth organizations such as The Youth Café.

The Youth Café works with young men and women around Africa as a trailblazer in advancing youth-led approaches toward achieving sustainable development, social equity, innovative solutions, community resilience and transformative change.

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