The Youth Cafe’s continued involvement in the People's Dialogue Festival (PDF) 2024 and Partners for Democracy co-organized by Center for Multimedia Democracy and Global Democracy Coalition respectively, is not merely an event participation but a strategic move in realizing our mission to reimagine civil society.
In Kenya, the role of civil society is increasingly pivotal to counter the government populist narratives. By actively participating in the Peoples Dialogue and Partners for Democracy 2024, we not only contribute to the broader conversation on democratic development but also showcase our dedication to The Youth Cafe's mission.
PDF and #P4D present an opportunity to advance our strategic goals of fostering inclusive dialogue and constructive public #democracy #ydc engagement. Our continued involvement in the PDF aligns with one of The Youth Cafe's core mission of generating open civic spaces through collaborative initiatives that yield tangible institutional and citizen-level impacts.
Evidence shows a pattern of not just relatively lower youth participation, engagement and involvement in electoral and governance processes but also a glaring downward trajectory at both levels of governance.
This risks youth interests not being represented and threatens Kenya's democratic governance given that the future is said to belong to the youth. The marginalization of the youth threatens to perpetuate a vicious cycle whereby youth tune out, leaders continue deferring young people’s needs and priorities risking even further disenfranchisement. Reversing these trends requires breaking this cycle and dedicating intentional effort to engage the young people at their level.
There is therefore a need to establish spaces that facilitate engagement, involvement and participation of the youth. These spaces will contribute in seeking to unravel the barriers to youth participation while at the same time establishing potential actionable remedies. We have designed these events to take place at the People's Dialogue Festival and Partners for Democracy 2024 as part of our contribution towards re-writing this wrong. Our co-created sessions targets the youth with an aim of having an intergenerational conversation. The dialogue will be centered around breaking this cycle and ensuring meaningful participation of youth in the electoral and governance processes.
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