The Youth Cafe’s Executive Director- Willice Onyango at The Summit for Democracy in Costa Rica.
The Youth Cafe (TYC) is pleased to join the Global Democracy Coalition (GDC). The Global Democracy Coalition is a multi-stakeholder alliance of democracy organizations from around the world committed to advancing and protecting democracy worldwide and influencing the Summits for Democracy and the Year of Action.
Being a partner/member in the Global Democracy Coalition, The Youth Cafe will have access to a network of like-minded organizations and colleagues around the world to share information on democratic innovations and good democratic practices, identify opportunities for collaboration, and better coordinate their efforts, specifically in relation to the Summit for Democracy, but also in their democracy strengthening efforts more broadly. The Coalition enables partner organizations to have a stronger voice in influencing the Summits for Democracy and the global democracy agenda more broadly, as part of a collective effort rather than as individual organizations.
The Global Democracy Coalition intends to bridge the issue-based discussions in other thematically organized coalitions and cohorts under the broader umbrella of democracy. It also aims to facilitate dialogue across Summit cohorts, facilitate synergies, and link them to the broader democracy agenda.
The Youth Cafe is committed to advancing and protecting democracy. TYC works to increase advocacy for political stability and effective governance to ensure a transparent, democratic, and accountable environment. TYC’s programs aim to increase youth participation in political and civic processes in Kenya and Sub-saharan African countries. By joining the Global Democracy Coalition, the Youth Cafe will benefit from the rich network of more than 90 democracy organizations from around the world committed to advancing and protecting democracy worldwide and influencing the Summits for Democracy and the Year of Action.
TYC advocates for innovative, impactful, and progressive policies that promote youth participation and engagement at national, regional and global levels. We also work as a catalytic, action-driven initiative that implements innovative projects on the ground that facilitate the achievement of our goals. The Youth Cafe engages the youth through; Connecting and Convening by creating spaces and platforms for different groups of young people to connect, deliberate, share and learn about topical policy issues that affect the development of tactical spaces and platforms are used to enhance young people's engagement and collaboration with the government, the private sector etc.
TYC works on influencing institutions, policies, legislation, and funding practices to enhance young people’s participation in political and civic processes. We do this through continuous engagement with policy actors and institutions and collaboration with diverse civil society and development partners. TYC participated in the Summit for Democracy in Costa Rica and gave significant input on practical recommendations to boost youth political and civic engagement.
The Youth Cafe also spearheaded the development of the Kenya Youth Manifesto 2022, which benefited from immense support from various organizations, groups, and individuals. The formulation of the manifesto was preceded by 8 regional consultative forums, which brought together youth and youth leaders from the 8 regions in Kenya. 83% of the provisions of the manifesto were adopted by the ruling (Kenya Kwanza) government that assumed power in August 2022.
The Africa Youth Summit (AYS) conference, organized entirely by young people, is the first-ever youth-led and hosted conference and the first collegiate Pan-African Youth Conference hosted by The Youth Cafe on the African continent. The Africa Youth Summit operates under the umbrella organization of The Youth Cafe's External Relations department as one of its signature events. AYS is distinctive in its efforts through its commitment to awarding as much financial aid as possible to youth delegates. The aim of the AYS is for all voices to be heard and to encourage participants to discuss, engage with, and craft solutions to Africa’s most pressing issues of the 21st century, including political and democratic issues.
The Youth Cafe joins the Global Democracy Coalition because our interventions are aligned with the GDC’s overall goal of advancing and protecting democracy worldwide and influencing the Summits for Democracy and the Year of Action. By being part of the GDC, TYC will have access to a network of like-minded organizations and colleagues worldwide to share information, expertise, and knowledge on democratic innovations and good democratic practices.
TYC will also have opportunities for collaboration and to better coordinate their efforts, specifically in relation to the Summit for Democracy and their democracy-strengthening efforts more broadly. TYC will have a stronger voice in influencing the Summits for Democracy and the global democracy agenda more broadly, as part of a collective effort rather than as an individual organization.
The Youth Cafe commits to sharing its expertise in the areas of policy, advocacy, and research. We also look forward to sharing policy analysis, networking, and implementing projects to achieve our goals and the shared goals of the Global Democracy Coalition.