CLAIMING SPACES AND SHAPING KENYA
4th NATIONAL YOUTH CONVENING COMMUNIQUÉ
21st to 25th September, 2026
Preamble:
We, the young people and stakeholders gathered under the theme “Claiming Spaces and Shaping Kenya,” came together to reflect on the Kenya we want to see and the role young people must play in shaping it.
We met at a time when young people are navigating changing economic realities, limited employment opportunities, evolving technology, entrepreneurship challenges and questions of leadership, accountability and participation. We recognize that young people are not merely a population to be managed or beneficiaries of decisions made by others. We are citizens, innovators, entrepreneurs, leaders, creators and active partners in shaping the present and future of Kenya.
The Convening provided space for honest conversations on governance, leadership, civic participation, livelihoods, technology and innovation. These conversations made one thing clear: governance, technology and innovation cannot be treated as separate issues. The quality of governance determines whether young people can access opportunities, participate meaningfully and hold institutions accountable. Technology can expand access to information, markets, employment and civic participation, while innovation enables young people to turn real community challenges into solutions, enterprises and opportunities.
We therefore came together not simply to talk about young people’s challenges, but to claim our spaces, identify what must change, and commit ourselves to being part of that change.
1. The Kenya We Want: Governance That Works for Young People
We envision a Kenya where governance is inclusive, accountable, transparent, responsive and citizen-centred, and where young people have meaningful opportunities to participate in decision-making from the grassroots to the national level.
Our participation must go beyond being mobilized during elections or being called upon to vote. We want to participate continuously in policy development, public participation, leadership, oversight and conversations that affect our lives and communities.
We recognize the importance of leadership that listens to citizens, upholds integrity, respects constitutional values and remains accountable for decisions and the use of public resources. We also want public institutions that citizens can trust and leaders who place the public interest above personal, ethnic or political interests.
As young people, we also recognize our own responsibility; If we do not organize we will agonize. Meaningful governance requires citizens who are informed, engaged and willing to demand accountability. We commit to claiming our civic space responsibly and participating beyond election periods.
As Kenya approaches another electoral cycle, we affirm the importance of peaceful, informed and issue-based political participation. We reject the use of misinformation, disinformation, political manipulation and ethnic mobilization to divide young people and communities. We recognize the need to understand electoral processes, verify information and participate peacefully and responsibly before, during and after elections.
2. Technology Is Our Space Too
Technology is already part of how young people live, learn, work, communicate, organize and create opportunities.
For us, technology is not only about sophisticated systems or artificial intelligence. It is the entrepreneur using WhatsApp to reach customers, the graduate using a digital platform to seek employment, the person with disability using assistive technology to access opportunities, and the innovator using available tools to respond to a challenge within their community.
Digital technologies, social media, digital payments and artificial intelligence are creating new possibilities for entrepreneurship, employment, learning, markets and inclusion. Young entrepreneurs are already using AI to develop proposals, create content and marketing materials, organize their work and improve business processes. Young creatives are also using digital platforms to reach audiences and markets beyond their immediate communities.
But access to technology is not automatically access to opportunity. Young people continue to face barriers including the cost of devices and internet access, unreliable power, limited digital skills, inadequate mentorship, lack of capital, certification challenges and limited access to markets and networks. These barriers can turn promising ideas into unfinished ideas.
We therefore call for technology that connects rather than excludes, creates opportunities rather than deepening inequality, and serves people while protecting dignity
3. From Hustle to Sustainable Innovation
We affirm that young people are not short of ideas, creativity, energy or willingness to work. Many are already hustling every day to survive and create opportunities. The challenge is how to move from simply surviving a hustle to building enterprises and solutions that can survive, grow, employ others and create lasting impact.
Innovation should not be understood only as developing sophisticated technology. It includes creative thinking, experimentation, adapting available tools, responding to customer needs and finding practical solutions to everyday problems.
Young people are already demonstrating this spirit through entrepreneurship, creative industries, technology and community initiatives. What is needed is an ecosystem that enables ideas to move from concept to action, from action to viable solutions, and from viable solutions to sustainable enterprises.
We recognize that young enterprises face challenges with cash flow, customer retention, competition, taxation, record keeping, registration, licensing and other operational costs. Young founders without collateral and established networks can also struggle to access economic empowerment, mentorship, partnerships and social networks which can therefore make a critical difference.
For young creatives, we further recognize the need to value creative work as a skill, profession and economic product, while strengthening awareness of intellectual property, ownership and royalties so that creators can protect and benefit from the value they produce.
4. The New Reality: AI, Information and Responsibility
We welcome the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence and emerging technologies while recognizing that innovation must remain grounded in human judgment, creativity, responsibility and an understanding of the people and problems being served.
AI can support young people’s work, but it also raises emerging concerns around data privacy, digital safety, misinformation, errors in AI-generated information, child protection and over-reliance on technology. Technology must strengthen—not replace—human responsibility.
The changing technological landscape also requires young people to continuously learn and adapt. Education and skills development must keep pace with changes in technology and the creative economy. Young people should not be prepared merely to consume technology; we must be equipped to create with it.
This also means becoming more critical consumers of information. The same digital spaces that enable civic engagement, entrepreneurship and creativity can also accelerate misinformation, propaganda and AI-generated content. We must therefore strengthen digital literacy, responsible technology use and our ability to verify information.
5. Mental Health, Pressure and Dignified Livelihoods
We recognize that the realities facing young people are not only economic or political they are also deeply personal. Unemployment, rising living costs, repeated rejection, financial pressure, relationship difficulties, social expectations and the rapidly changing world of work are affecting how young people experience themselves, their futures and their sense of dignity.
We are concerned that distress is often hidden behind productivity, social media and the pressure to appear successful. Young people may be labelled as lazy, unmotivated, rebellious or unfocused when they are struggling with pain that is not being recognized or supported.
We call for a shift from responding only when young people reach crisis to addressing the conditions that push them towards distress in the first place. This means stronger support systems, safe spaces for honest conversations, appropriate professional care and livelihood approaches that strengthen the whole person not only their technical competence.
6. And to Us, the Young People:
We recognize that our role goes beyond voting or being mobilized during elections. We want meaningful opportunities to participate in decision-making, public participation, leadership, policy processes and holding institutions accountable. We are ready to engage constructively and responsibly in shaping the decisions that affect our lives and our future.
We have ideas, creativity, skills and the willingness to work, but many of us struggle to turn these into sustainable opportunities. We therefore call for stronger access to practical skills, mentorship, financing, markets, networks and supportive systems that can help us move from ideas and hustle to viable enterprises, solutions and dignified livelihoods.
We see technology and AI as powerful tools for learning, employment, entrepreneurship, creativity, access to markets and civic engagement. At the same time, we recognize our responsibility to use these tools wisely, protect our personal data and digital identities, verify information, and remain critical of misinformation and AI-generated content. We want technology to expand opportunity, not deepen exclusion.
We cannot be told to innovate and create while the systems around us remain difficult to navigate. We need accessible opportunities, affordable digital infrastructure, skills development, financing, mentorship, networks and markets. We call on government, private sector, civil society, faith institutions, development partners and other stakeholders to move beyond talking about our potential and invest in the systems that enable us to realize it.
We believe our challenges cannot be addressed by young people alone. We are ready to work with one another and across generations, combining the experience and knowledge of older generations with our energy, creativity and innovation. By working together, we can build communities where governance is inclusive, technology creates opportunity, and innovation responds to real challenges rather than leaving people behind.
Claiming spaces means more than occupying them. It means using them to create value, solve problems and influence the future.
This is our space. This is our responsibility. This is our Kenya.
We will claim our spaces.
We will use them responsibly.
And together, we will shape Kenya.
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:4
Signed on this 25th Day of September 2026 at CSLC Ufungamano House
Rev Canon Chris Kinyanjui
NCCK General Secretary
