Kenya should embrace Meaningful youth participation

“I know I can, be what I wanna be, if I work hard in it, I will where I wanna be” all of us are familiar with this song by Nas. But can young people in Kenya be anything they want to be without being meaningfully involved in matters that affect them? Can they be where they want to be without taking charge of their destiny? In Kenya, meaningful youth participation is very low and is mainly influenced by many factors, including cultural values, resource issues, adult perceptions about the value of young people’s opinions, skills within the organization, and the readiness of young people themselves to engage.

Research has shown that by meaningfully engaging young people in matters that affect their lives in any way, we are more likely to see positive outcomes.