From Joshua Odhiambo Nyamori (Nyanza Youth Coalition.)

WE THE 700 YOUTH LEADERS:
CONVENED between 10th and 12th November 2010 at the Karl Henricks Amphitheatre, Kenyatta International Conference Center (KICC) in Nairobi under the auspices of the National Youth Forum (NYF) which is the fastest growing youth led, youth managed and youth focused national space aimed at breaking new ground for Kenyan youth aspirations to build a new nation from the grassroots;
REPRESENTING the will and aspirations of more than 1.5 million Kenyan youth organized in more than 20,000 grassroots youth organizations and networks spread across all the in 47 counties, labour movements, students unions in universities and other tertiary institutions, civil society, religious bodies, diaspora organizations, professional associations, private sector groupings and informal sector associations that cut across religious, political, gender, cultural and ethnic divides;
HAVING exhaustively reviewed the country’s socio-economic, legal and political status as informed by the developments and promises heralded by the New Constitution adopted at the August 4th 2010 referendum;
NOTING that it is a constitutional responsibility of every citizen to respect, uphold and protect the New Constitution of the Republic of Kenya and that, because the enduring effects of a constitution take fairly long to be felt, this responsibility belongs more to the younger and future generations than it does to the older generation;
ACKNOWLEDGING that the New Constitution has brought about a new focus on the role of young people, especially with regard to equity, development and enhanced enjoyment of life, respect and dignity for all Kenyans by recognizing that government is created to serve the welfare of the people and through the concept of generational equity recognizes that the youth and future generations are part of “we the people…” entitled to their fair share of the benefits of governance, and by creating an expanded room for participation by the youth in the running of the affairs of state and or governance.
REALIZING that the hopes and aspirations of Kenyan youth are hinged on successful implementation of comprehensive reforms to fundamentally transform our country into a democratic, open and equitable society as espoused in the New Constitution; and
COGNIZANT of the frustration of the Kenyan youth at the incessant state of confusion, indecisiveness, infighting, backstabbing, cartelism, impunity and corruption within parliament, cabinet and high levels of government

NOW THEREFORE RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
1. Implementation of the New Constitution
i. That we shall immediately embark on mobilizing and organizing our members and the over ten million young people and the rest of Kenyans at the grassroots to actively engage the relevant authorities to ensure diligent and faithful implementation of the New Constitution as provided for in the its schedules and in the preamble.
ii. That we shall marshal youth from across the country to take a leading, helpful and peaceful role in safeguarding the implementation of the New Constitution from the grips of a selfish and partisan political elite and anti reformists forces.
iii. That we shall mobilize and organize the youth and general public across the country to continuously be vigilant and hold their political leaders to account on statements made and action taken on the implementation of the New Constitution.
iv. That we shall undertake intensive civic and political education on the New Constitution so as to ensure that youth, including the four (4) million new voters who come of age in 2012, truly and diligently participate and effectively play their rightful role in the delivery of a new legal, political, economic and social order at county and at national levels.

2. Improving Young People’s Economic Capacity
i. That we shall mobilize young people to initiate youth-friendly micro-finance engagement programs in all the counties of Kenya.
ii. That we shall champion for the modernization of the existing vocational training centres in all counties to develop and improve the skills of young people.
iii. That we shall pursue the establishment a national youth development fund and youth savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOS) in all counties
That we shall aggressively engage the government to ensure that all youth agencies and programmes such as Ministry of Youth Affairs (MOYA), procurement policies, Kazi Kwa Vijana initiatives and Youth Entrepreneurship Development Fund (YEDF) are redesigned to be relevant, sensitive and useful to the needs and situation of young people and more resilient to political influence.

3. Political Leadership and Responsibility
i. That we shall mobilize, encourage and organize young people from all parts of the country to not only join political parties but to also strategically position themselves in the structures of the parties at all levels so as to ensure that the parties adhere to the letter and spirit of the constitutions, and also respond to the needs and aspirations of young people.
ii. That we shall encourage young people involved in various industries to join or form trade unions and seek leadership positions therein so as to breathe new ideals to the labour movement in Kenya.
iii. That we shall mobilize and encourage young people to seek and vote for fellow young people for political positions at all levels so as to brew a new kind of leadership, servant leadership rather than master leadership, and develop and promote a new creed of leadership to overcome tribalism, corruption and impunity.
iv. That we shall mobilize and organize the youth to develop and nurture emerging youthful leaders to be the vanguard for change, entrench new values of leadership & integrity in youth organizations and in the governance of Kenya and champion for expansion of opportunities to transform youth leaders based on a culture of selfless service and transformation of the mindset of young people.
v. That we shall undertake aggressive sensitization of issues of youth with disabilities to be able to actively engage within mainstream ordinary life.
vi. That we shall mobilize and organize the youth to establish NYF County Youth structures in all the counties so as to reach and engage more youth at the grassroots.
vii. That we shall mobilize and organize the youth to engage in national cohesion and integration dialogues so as to make and enhance youth as the flagships of national unity and cohesion.
viii. That we will intentionally advance and advocate for gender parity in all leadership and livelihood engagement throughout the country.
ix. That we shall develop modern communication and networking channels for effective dissemination of information on youth.
x. That we shall undertake capacity building among youth leadership across the country on management, governance and leadership to put them on the cutting edge in their various engagements.
xi. That we shall fight against ethnic protectionist tendencies especially in the fight against impunity and corruption.

4. IMPLEMENTATION, MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE RESOLUTIONS
i. That we adopt the proposed structure of the National Youth Forum and will work towards speedy establishment and capacity building of county structures so as to facilitate the establishment of the NYF Leaders’ Congress for the purposes of facilitating youth mobilization for implementation of the above mentioned resolutions and the county action plans.
ii. That County structures will conform to the essential values of inclusiveness, diversity, transparency and servant leadership embodied in the National Youth Forum and that the organizations that form part of the County Youth Forums shall maintain their independence and identity to pursue their particular interests while joining together as a coalition in solidarity with other youth organizations to pursue common interests.
iii. That we shall develop strategic plan(s) to enhance focus and institutional development of the national and county structures of the National Youth Forum.
iv. That the Interim Steering Committee will provide leadership in development of the institutional structures and systems for management and sustainability of the National Youth Forum to ensure effective and timely implementation of the resolutions and recommendations of the National Youth Forum.
v. That we shall engage the government, private sector, civil society and international development for moral, political, financial, material and human resources for implementation of the resolutions of the Forum and for the institutional development of its structures and systems.
vi. That the next annual National Youth Conference shall be convened, in normal circumstance after one year, but in case of need, as immediate as may be necessary and practicable.

ADOPTED ON THIS FRIDAY THE 12TH DAY OF NOVEMBER 2010 AT KARL HENRICKS AMPHITHEATRE – KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTER, NAIROBI- KENYA.