The Third National Youth Convention Set for Nairobi

The Third National Youth Convention Set for Nairobi

The Third edition of the national youth convention is set to kick start, coming Saturday The 11th to 12th August 2007 in Nairobi. This will take place at the K.I.C.C.
This is the event that falls on the weekend that marks the international youth Day is earmarked to be a platform drawing together up around 2000 young people from around the country.“Organize, Liberate, Re-create Kenya”
The convention which draws together movements, leaders, networks and young peoples’ grassroots’ initiatives seeks to provide space for the young people to focus their discussions and resolutions along the following themes:

1. Ethical and transformative leadership: Leadership is the most important pillar of recreating the republic. Kenya’s institution of leadership today is characterized by mediocrity, lack of vision, impunity and corruption. This leadership is largely accessed through inheritance, violence, corruption and on the basis of tribalism. The leadership (not merely leaders) that Kenya wants today is ethical, accountable, visionary and transformative leadership at all levels which is founded on sound principles, standards, values and expectations. Kenya requires a new leadership that is visionary, based on knowledge and research and that is faithful to the true interests of our republic.
2. Resolving our identity “dilemma”: Culture is a paramount pillar of the project of recreating the republic. We have witnessed a culture in Kenya dating back to the pre-independence period a culture of treachery, betrayal, and exclusion; a culture that rewards the bad elements and those who do not work and punishes those who do well and those who work. It is a culture of injustice. The youth have suffered most through out history on modern Kenya. We want to define a new value and cultural framework that supports the vision of a new republic. This requires that we must engage in resolving our identity dilemma as a republic and define what the acceptable, celebrated and popular Kenyan culture is. We want to define a new “Kenyan-ness”.
Inevitably this must happen within the context of regional integration processes, the role and place of citizens in the East African Community (EAC) as well as our position on (and perhaps in) the Union of African States.
3. Equity: factors, actors and influences (as they influence resource allocation and distribution): Our current political process is to a large extent based on “personalities” rather than “issues”. Political institutions such as political parties have been blocked from evolving and becoming institutions of political participation and good governance. Ours is “politics of exclusion” that excludes young people, women, people with disabilities and minorities and sections of the country that did not vote for the sitting president. The political leadership largely performs in ways that betray national interest and serve the narrow elite interests of those in power! The youth have suffered under this political order. The youth have become the fodder for this political order not the foremost drivers of the national agenda and governance. No sector is served best under this political order. This political system must be transformed, if not Kenya will diminish, not emerge stronger in this new millennium. The environment will collapse, dependency and inequality will increase, poverty and unemployment will increase and the independence of our country will be jeopardized.
Partners

Youth Agenda (YAA)

Youth Employment Summit (YES) Kenya.

National Convention Executive Council (NCEC)

World Corps Kenya

Vijana Progressive Alliance (VIPA)

Global Call Against Poverty (GCAP)

Kenya Youth Education and Community Development (KYCEP)

United Nations Millenium Campaign (UNMC)

Coalition of Young Kenyan Voters (CYKV)

United Democrats (UNDA)

Global Community Movement (GCM)

Young Women Leadership Institute (YWLI)

Transparency International

Social Development Network (SODNET)
The reformed political order envisaged by young Kenyans must be designed to guarantee and serve equity. Our politics must feature institutions, actors, factors and influences that support the vision of the new republic and society we want. We want the management of the economic resources, power, opportunity, deference and all interests and endowments of the republic to be done in a way that equity is guaranteed.
4. Economic management – innovative production and efficient distribution: the economy is so important a pillar to the success of the vision of the new republic the young people of this generation want to create. The Kenyan economy remains small and weak to offer 33 Million Kenyans the opportunity to meet their needs and a decent living standard; it is dependent on foreign forces, underdeveloped and inefficient. It is neither a just nor fair economy with limited training and skills development, limited research, inaccessible capital resources to the majority, dismal wages and an unfair tax system. We want a strong, innovative and efficient economy.
An economy based on innovative and efficient production and efficient distribution shall benefit the young people- the majority and most productive members of our society most. This will mainstream the fundamentals of innovative production that serves the innovation that is a characteristically best identified with young people – the innovator of our country but also ensure efficient distribution of the production of our society. This is the secret to innovation, creativity and opportunity and therefore a strong and dynamic economy.

5. Responsive social institutions: we want a reliable health care system, a transformational and empowering education not just for employment but for powering the thinking and informing the creation of new better society; we want a dynamic and strong labour, and a dynamic and dependable social security system. We want a media, families and religious organizations that are responsive and not obstructionist, to the aspirations, dreams and goals of our republic.
Towards this end the organizing secretariat has set up a media mechanism aimed at working and furnishing the press with crucial information even prior to the beginning of this event, as way of better informing and enhancing public awareness and participation.
This is going to start with a media breakfast meeting on for senior editors. The aim being to spent time with the media and facilitate comprehensive and in-depth coverage of the young people-related issues and concerns at the convention.
Meanwhile journalists are invited to pay visits at the organising secretariats office and find more information and conduct interviews with members of the organising secretariat.