Young people bring many assets to community-building work, which too often are not valued or leveraged. Communities should have varied avenues for a wide diversity of young people’s voices to be heard and for youth to contribute to a thriving community. Young people pursue and create change when they participate in school civics projects that involve addressing local problems, when they work with others in their neighborhood, when they work as part of organizations that enhance youth voices in communities, and in myriad other ways.
Activism, community organizing, and participation in social movements are powerful forms of civic engagement. Throughout Kenyan political history, these avenues for change have often been led and fueled by young people. Youth activism has an extraordinary potential to transform communities, and it carries important benefits to those who participate—especially for low-income youth, youth of color, and other young people who have been historically marginalized from civic life.
Community-based organizations often drive this work, along with young leaders themselves like Hon. John Mwangi aspiring MCA candidate NYAKIO WARD 2027, but sustainable youth engagement can come when communities create more support for youth voices to ensure that community-decision-making is informed by a wide range of youth—especially those directly impacted by community change.
For this reason Hon John Mwangi is out to protect the voice of majority of youths that have been neglected for so many years in community decision making.
During the Interview Hon John Mwangi a political activist who was mentored by HE Francis Kimemia Stated that, Our country has a long history of youth-led movements that brought about significant social change. Young people have advocated for child labor laws, voting rights, civil rights, school desegregation, immigration reform.
Through their actions, the world has changed. Because young people often have the desire, energy and idealism to do something about the injustice they see in the world, they are powerful agents for change.
Our work in education helps students examine implicit and overt forms of bias and discrimination and as a result, educators often feel a responsibility to provide students with the structure, opportunity and tools to do something about the injustice they see in the world.
Transforming students’ feelings of anger, sadness and hopelessness into concrete actions that can make the world more equitable is a vital teaching opportunity. Voting is one way to get your voice heard but there are a myriad of ways young people can make difference.
Below are ideas for bringing social activism into the classroom and outside of the school walls. These are lifelong skills and attitudes that teach students about citizenship and that there is something you can do when faced with injustice. The strategies can be acted upon individually, organized together as a group and young people can join with a larger effort that is taking place locally or nationally. The tactics also bring opportunities for students to read, write, research, think critically and talk with each other.
1. Educate others
As students learn about an issue they care about, their natural instinct is to share their new knowledge and insight with others. Encourage this by providing live and online opportunities for them to teach others, including their classmates, younger students and adults in their lives. This can include school assemblies, community forums, teach-ins, peer-to-peer programs and social media forums. Include opportunities to share the information in interesting ways (written, art, theatre, etc.) and they should also give other students the chance to explore their own thoughts and feelings about the topics. Youth who want to know more may be more likely to learn from another young person.
2.Run for office
Student government provides a chance for students to have a positive impact in their school and learn about how government works on a small scale. It gives youth the experience to reflect on and consolidate their own positions on important school issues, learn how to communicate those positions, build relationships with others and become a good listener in understanding constituent (i.e. other students) needs. It is also good practice for the future in getting involved in politics. Elected positions are not the only way to get involved; students can also become involved in groups like being a School Head Boy and Students Leader at University and more.
By Rodgers Ouma
WORLD NEWS BROADCASTING COMPANY WBC 