KISUMU, Kenya — 30 youth leaders from across Kisumu County gathered this week for a two-day convening aimed at strengthening their capacity to defend and expand civic space amid growing political and economic pressures. The forum, organized by Civic Voice in partnership with Inuka Kenya Ni Sisi and the Civil Society Organization Network, explored the theme “Reclaiming Civic Space through Movement Building, Economic Resilience, and Digital Competence.”
The training brought together emerging community organizers, activists, and youth advocates seeking to build stronger, more resilient grassroots movements. Participants were taken through the foundations of social movements, including the distinctions between movements and NGOs, the lifecycle of organizing, and the internal and external challenges that threaten collective action.
A key highlight of the convening was a session led by Civic Voice Executive Director Abdul Noormohamed, who unpacked the historical and regional context shaping current civic struggles. He traced Kenya’s long trajectory of resistance from the Mau Mau movement to the recent #RejectFinanceBill protests, drawing comparisons with case studies from Uganda and Tanzania. Noormohamed emphasized the critical role of youth and women in confronting repression and explored the concept of building “parallel power” within communities. He also examined how legal frameworks can both enable and restrict movement building, noting the increasing use of laws to criminalize civic and political organizing.
Other sessions focused on economic resilience, digital organizing, narrative framing, activist safety, and grassroots resource mobilization. Through group exercises, youth created power maps for ongoing campaigns, drafted movement purpose statements, and designed cross-county solidarity strategies to strengthen local organizing efforts.
The convening concluded with participants co-designing a youth-led civic organizing framework tailored for Kisumu County. The framework integrates advocacy, community organizing, and economic empowerment as key pillars for sustaining civic engagement.
Organizers said the forum comes at a crucial moment as young people continue to play a central role in shaping Kenya’s democratic future. The training, they noted, equips youth with the tools, knowledge, and solidarity needed to navigate shrinking civic space and advance community-driven change.
