The imagine youth project was launched fourteen years ago. Since then, it has grown internationally. The first partner project in Brazil was added ten years ago. Today, it comprises four youth groups on three continents that work together to promote greater respect and less discrimination.
A brief look at imagine international Kenya by Caroline Buss, imagine international organizing committee
Among other objectives, imagine international is not only intended to play a role for the young people in the team, but also to have an impact on the outside world. The festival in Embu (Kenya) attracts several thousand people every year and conveys the topic to them in an impressive way through the artists. Nevertheless, the greatest impact of imagine Kenya is achieved in the workshops, which are also expanded every year.
Engaging with stakeholders
Many young Kenyans want more active participation in shaping public life and more transparency in politics in order to improve justice and equal opportunities in Kenya. For this reason, the young people of imagine Kenya organized several forums, panel discussions and workshops in 2013. These activities involved not only the population, but also political decision-makers. With a focus on public co-determination and political participation, the young people from imagine invited the political actors to their forums and invited them to answer questions from the population.
and achieving concrete results
Thanks to the public platform offered by imagine Kenya, various concrete demands from the young people have already been implemented: For example, a music studio is currently being set up to provide more support for the local music scene. The origin of this wish was the 2011 festival: with the motto “Dream out loud”, the young people asked the audience to express their wishes and record them on a poster.
How can I have a say?
Last year, imagine Kenya also held many workshops with young people from Embu under the motto “Dont be left out get involved”. During our visit in December 2014, we were able to take part in one of them. It was used to discuss the problems and ideas discussed again and to pool the results from the previous workshops. What is public co-determination? When is something public? And how can each individual have a say?
Conclusion: Everyone is part of the public and has the right to have their opinion heard and their needs respected. This is what imagine Kenya successfully campaigned for last year.
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