Significant successes that have been made over the duration of YAA’s operation include:
Our Impact
- Changing the image of the term ‘youth’ to mean freshness, energy, creativity, and a break from the past view of being riotous, unreasonable, and only interested in causing mayhem.
- Increasing visibility and participation of youth in national policy processes: the Youth have since become critical players in national development and governance processes considerations at all levels including constitutional, leadership, legal, policy, political, funding and planning levels. They not only are recognized as key actors but also the factored in decisions and policies.
- Sharpening the quasi-political agenda of the youth. Youth concertedly mobilized and focused on participating in political and social engagements with the intention of taking over leadership and acquiring the requisite power. Many youths presented themselves as candidates in the 1997 elections in the local and parliamentary elections with impressive shows. Since then the numbers of youth vying for and successfully entering leadership at parliamentary, local authority and other elective bodies has continued to increase as a result of YAA’s interventions.
- Youth Independence. Young people were for long used to agitate for and support other people’s agenda. Through YAA’s work, the youth constituency has identified and organized at various levels on their own issues and agendas without necessarily being prompted by other competing interests at all levels.
- Increased Visibility and participation of youth in national policy processes; Youth Agenda attributes the establishment of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Youth Enterprise Development Fund, the National Youth Council and a youth-friendly constitution to its advocacy efforts.
- Increased involvement of youth in Political Parties and political processes. In addition to increased youth participation in national processes as a distinct stakeholder. YAA has been instrumental in encouraging young people to register as party members and to actively participate in positive legitimate party activities. The presence of Youth Leagues in a few parties are confirmation of youth leadership and reclaiming their space.
- An upsurge in the development of more specialized leadership training and leadership programmes for youth by YAA, the government, political parties, development partners and other civil society organizations. Many organizations have since picked the cue and continue to develop specialized leadership programmes for young people. These initiatives are considered complementary to the activities of YAA, thereby achieving a wider national reach.
- Strategic engagement of youth leaders in key institutions and processes of the Kenyan society, key among which are the constitution-making process, development and implementation of Vision 2030, and formation of major political parties.
Here are some impact reports for download:
