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Harnessing the Demographic Dividends Through Investments in Youth

African Presidents convened in Addis Ababa from 28th January to discuss the continents economic progress. The African Union (AU) has chosen 2017 to be the year of the African youth and dedicated the theme for the summit “Harnessing the Demographic Dividends through Investments in Youth” to young people. Demographic dividend according to the United Nations Population Fund is the economic growth potential that can result from a change in a population’s age structure. This happens when the share of the working-age population (15 to 64) is larger than the non-working-age population (14 and younger, as well as 65 and older). The central importance of the demographic dividend to Africa’s transformative development has been repeatedly acknowledged by African leaders at the highest level and in key ministerial platforms. If Africa is to rise, then she has to invest in the youth of her member countries . Evidence from the last ten years has shown that a demographic dividend lens is a strate

Forget Covfefe, the Gender Gap in Climate Change Policies is What Our Media Should Be Covering

The environmental day celebrations missed out on one critical aspect – the involvement of and acknowledgment of the role women and girls pay in mitigating and adapting to climate change. Women and girls in most Kenyan homes carry the burden of unpaid care and domestic work which increase in changing climate. The role women play needs to be supported by strong policies as research has shown that people who are socially, economically, politically or institutionally marginalized are especially vulnerable to climate change. As the world heats up, oceans shrink, sea levels rise and animal species become extinct the world environment day serves as an important day to step back and reflect on what we are doing right and what areas we can improve on. A quick glance at current climate change policies indicates that Kenya, like many other African countries is yet to mainstream gender in her climate change policies. During the 2014 Conference of Parties (COP) countries adopted the Lima Work

4 Things I learned from the 28th AU PreSummit Sessions

NOTE: This is reblog from a post I did for Torchlight Collective who facilitated my participation in the AU summit. You can read the original post here For Africa to be first, youth must come first. The AU has declared 2017 the year of the African Youth and dedicated the theme for the year to young people. I fell in love with this theme because it puts young people at the center of development and explores the benefits Africa can gain by investing in her most productive generation. During our pre-Summit sessions we looked at the four pillars of the demographic dividend -- health, education, governance, and economics -- and developed key asks for the Kenyan government to work on if they are to benefit from the youth who form 35% of her population. The future is bright, and Africa can come first if she puts her youth first. Managing our population structure should be done with human rights at the center. I led a team of young people from my organization in discussions on the demograph

#BeautyofVolunteerism:My TV Interview on Volunteerism

Volunteerism in Kenya is gaining traction and I am happy to have been part of this journey (read my story on how I began volunteering at 16 years here ) . A few days ago the President Uhuru Kenyatta invited Kenyans to offer volunteer services on December 5th as part of celebrations to mark International Volunteer Day . Very soon we will be launching the national volunteerism policy. All these developments herald a new dawn for the volunteerism sector in the country. I sat down with KBC Tv's Sam to discuss these new developments and what they mean for the country. Watch the interview and share your thoughts. Kenya is among the few African countries to come up with a homegrown volunteerism policy. The policy aims to not only recognize volunteerism and its contribution to GDP but also celebrate and protect the rights of volunteers, volunteer involving organizations and beneficiaries. A copy of the policy is available on the Ministry of Labor website http://www.labour.go.ke/reso

My Year of Yes: Reflections on My One Year FK Fellowship

In February last year, I received a call from the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) ’s Information Manager that I had been selected for the Fredskorpset (FK) Fellowship exchange program. In my new capacity as an FK Fellow I was required to move to Uganda and execute communication and research duties at FEMNET’s partner Development Research and Social Policy Analysis Center (DRASPAC). Yes to a New Life On 19th April 2015, I travelled to Uganda to begin this new exciting journey. First stop was the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel in Entebbe where I was to attend a 2 week preparatory course organized by FK. There, I got to meet fellows from different countries. Everybody seemed equally excited and upbeat. I met my Tanzanian colleague Samora with whom we would be working at DRASPAC and Isabella and Janet, the two Ugandan fellows with whom we were being exchanged. That day I also met my roommate Assumpta, a Ugandan lady who was a nurse by profession. Assumpta

Urban TV Interview on Youth & Women Empowerment in the Social Media Era

Has social media helped or derailed advocacy for women's rights? What opportunities does social media present for women and youth? How can young people effectively use social media? Why do Kenyans and Ugandans on Twitter keep picking on each other? I sat down with Urban Tv's Dan Mumbere to discuss this and more. Watch the clips below and share your thoughts: Part 1: Part 2: