The marginalization of the youth in decision making in the community and their exclusion in mainstream governance inadvertently paved the way to disenfranchisement and dissatisfaction. Subsequently, this lead to desperation, apathy, disinterestedness, and nonchalance and ultimately growing frustrations that builds into rebellion, civic dissonance, demonstrations.
Youth Bridge Kenya is on the pilot seat of changing the narrative and championing a paradigm shift; from noise to voice.
Partnering with other youth centric organizations, YBK developed a Youth Manifesto, championed for its adoption in national and county levels, and plays a critical role in monitoring implementation.
To ensure mainstreaming of youth issues, YBK leveraging on social capital established access to political gatekeepers and public office holders to enable youth to play a substantive role in determining relevant policy priorities of their government and policies that affect them.
Through Notable National Youth Leaders Caucus, YBK midwifed a bipartisan dialogue program calling for peace and tolerance during and after elections by convening political office aspirants to sign a peace and cohesion charter.
This program also includes amplifying youth voices by hosting social media spaces and town hall sessions where youth across political persuasions debate current affairs and push for relevant policy interventions for issues critical to the youth needs.
The broader goal is to initiate a paradigm shift from noise to voice and amplifying the marginalized voices and building citizen-centered governments by prioritizing the needs and challenges of Kenyan youth while also enhancing their ability to hold state and civic institutions accountable.
The milestones include;
1. Youth collaboration and development
2. Active and effective citizenry
3. Joint advocacy efforts for inclusion and accountability.
4. Knowledge gain
5. Application of knowledge gained to address policy gaps.