Government Wants Youths to Be More Serious with Life

By Mwakwaya Raymond

Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

The government has challenged Youths to take up any opportunity that avails itself to them anywhere across the country.

State department for the youth and creative economy principal secretary Ismail Madey told Youths to be flexible on their preferences so as to harness opportunities available either at national or county governments in order to develop themselves.

Speaking during the national celebration of the International Youth Day in Mombasa on August 12, 2024, the PS said they should use their efforts, creativity, and energy to all the programs they were undertaking.

Youths across the 47 counties staged a procession from the iconic elephant tusks to the Swahili Pot Hub where they engaged with different dignitaries.

They engaged with the leadership in dialogue that created an opportunity to shape their minds so as to understand how the government is run both at national and county levels under this year’s theme – “From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development”

According to the PS the theme is timely as the country is making strides in creating online jobs for the youth through the Ajira Hub and other platforms.

“Through the efforts of the President, we can now convince some of the social media companies to allow Kenyans to get money out of the content they create. META has recently announced some programs in their platform that the young people of this country can benefit from,” he said.

The PS said, last year, his Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports collaborated with the Ministry of Education to undertake a talent search program in football and creativity.

“Out of that program, we have managed to scout 2,000 young Kenyans and took them to a talent and skilling camp at the Kenya Academy of Sports.”

Six young Kenyans, according to the secretary, have been scouted by international football teams and are currently playing for different clubs in Europe and America.

The Talanta Hela Initiative now will focus on creatives and a new talent search program dubbed “Who is Next” will be unveiled soon.

“We also support in collaboration with the Ministry of Education the School drama and music festivals for creativity. The successful talents identified are linked to our different institutions that deal with the development of those creative,” he said.

Through Talanta Hela, he added, the ministry has inked agreements with international partners to provide a gateway for Kenyan’s youths.

The government, he said, has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Grammy Awards on music, and with Hollywood Innovation studios for Kenyans in USA.

The acting chief executive officer of the National Youth Council, Margaret Kiogora expressed her pleasure to host this year’s Youth International Day in Mombasa County saying their main agenda of the day was to explore what the young people had been up to, including their success stories.

She said that they aim to listen to the youths’ challenges and use the insights to influence policies and laws to enhance their growth and development in every aspect of their lives.

“We continue to encourage young people to join these initiatives by actively engaging with government platforms, whether at the national or county level without fear,” she said.

On matters of strengthening the National Youth Council Kiogora added that the PS has pledged that they have put in place measures to establish election guidelines and an Act that aligns with the Constitution.

The next crucial step is gathering input from young people on how they would like to see the constitution strengthened.

Sophie Nikoye Waliyaula, chairperson of the Youth Advisory Board at the National Youth Council encouraged the youth to interact using the digital aspect and embrace technology in all activities that they do.

Charlene Ruto, the Founder of Patron of Smart Mechanized Agriculture and Climate Action for Humanity and Sustainability (SMACHS) Foundation, said that she had a lengthy talk with the youth of Mombasa and that she confirmed that they were well supported by the county governor.

“I encourage the young people to continue reaching out to our leaders, especially within our youth networks so they can help us implement our ideas and dreams into reality,” she said.

She stressed that many important developments in the country were often overlooked by the youth. 

To address this, she is actively bridging the information gap between leaders and young people through her social media platform, thus, ensuring they stay informed and engaged.

“Information is power, especially during this time and age, I try to bring this connection to the youth to know what is happening, but it’s up to you to put in the effort and put yourself out there because the best I can do is give you the information,” she added.