Equipping young minds: KIPPRA-CIP empowers youth in policy-making

Abstract

The youth bulge is a phenomenon common in many developing countries and Kenya is no exception. In Kenya’s demographic, the youthful population constitutes a higher percentage compared to other age groups, whereby 29% is between the ages 18 and 34. This youthful population has implications for the different aspects of society, it is therefore important to harness this potential for the country to achieve various developmental objectives. It would be remiss for policymakers not to tap into the potential of the youth to achieve national development and address societal challenges such as food and nutrition insecurity, income poverty, inequality, economic marginalization, and political challenges.

It is in this regard that the International Potato Center and Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis have partnered and organized an in-depth and comprehensive training program on the public policy-making process, policy briefs, blogs, and negotiation skills, that target the youth. The program ran for four weeks, starting 12th Feb 2024 to 8th March 2024. The participants were divided into two groups and each group went through a two-week intensive workshop. It was a hybrid program designed for both virtual and in-person participants and aimed to equip the 50 youths with essential public policy-making knowledge and skills. This joint initiative is part of the CGIAR Research Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS), which focuses on addressing policy demands and crises through evidence-based policymaking approaches and building policy communities of practice at the country level around common themes. This training program ensured that the participants gained the right skills, attitudes, and behaviours to deliver on future policy development and system transformation strategies that will influence national policies and beyond.