The Kisumu Youth Voices in Action Forum took place at a pivotal moment for Kenya’s young people. Across the country, Gen Z has reshaped civic engagement—transforming digital platforms into spaces for activism, dialogue, and public accountability. The Finance Bill 2025 protests marked a generational shift: young people asserting, loudly and clearly, that they are not passive observers of policy but active architects of Kenya’s future.

It is within this national context that over 150 young people from Kisumu County convened at RIAT to explore how platforms like Yunitok and Yoma can sustain civic participation beyond moments of protest—turning energy into structured action, informed engagement, and sustained accountability.

🔎 Why the Forum Mattered

The event focused on equipping Kisumu youth with the civic knowledge, digital tools, and collaborative spaces needed to influence local and national governance.

Forum Objectives

• Equip young people with civic knowledge and digital tools for sustained engagement.

• Introduce Yunitok and Yoma as platforms for accountability, participation, and empowerment.

• Co-create actionable youth-led solutions to governance and livelihood challenges.

• Strengthen partnerships between youth, government, and civil-society actors.

Speakers emphasized that sustainable civic participation must extend beyond street demonstrations. Young people were urged to deepen their understanding of public finance, electoral processes, and policy oversight.

“Every Finance Bill debate affects your pocket, your tuition, your hustle,” noted Ms. Cynthia Oduor, Youth Engagement Lead at STEM Impact Center. “Our responsibility is to equip you with facts and platforms that make your voice credible—not just audible.”

📱 How Yunitok Is Enabling Youth-Led Accountability

During the forum, it was demonstrated how Yunitok — Kenya’s U-Report platform — enables young people to engage meaningfully in governance, social justice, and public accountability. Through polls, chatbots, civic campaigns, and real-time feedback channels, Yunitok captures youth perspectives and feeds these insights directly to government actors and development partners.

Participants were also introduced to Yoma, a digital ecosystem that rewards civic participation through digital credentials earned from courses, volunteer work, and innovation challenges.

“We want to register to vote, but we also want to vote with understanding,” shared Brian Omondi, a RIAT student. “Platforms like Yunitok help decode complex policies—like why taxes matter or how county budgets are made.”

🚀 From Protest to Policy: Co-Creating Youth-Led Civic Solutions

The forum was intentionally designed to move youth from awareness to action. In breakout sessions, participants identified major barriers to youth civic engagement, including:

• low voter registration and turnout

• limited access to county budget information

• weak youth representation in governance spaces

From this dialogue, youth co-created five civic innovation prototypes, including:

• #KisumuDecides — a digital voter registration mobilization campaign

• Yunitok “Finance Bill 2025” Poll Series to capture youth perceptions

• Open-data mapping tool to track ward-level development projects

• Peer-led Civic Literacy Circles

• A Community Accountability Tracker using Yunitok responses

“We can’t only trend online — we must translate our hashtags into policies,” said Linet Awuor, a Kisumu-based digital creator.

🎙️ Deepening the Conversation: The Governance & Accountability Panel

A dynamic panel session titled “Barriers, Governance, and Pathways Forward,” moderated by a Yunitoker, amplified youth frustrations and aspirations. Panelists highlighted:

• lack of transparency in county processes

• over-bureaucratized youth funds

• weak coordination between county and national youth structures

• rising political apathy

“We protest because we care,” emphasized Kevin Odhiambo, a Yunitoker from Kisumu. “But we must convert that care into civic muscle—participate in budget hearings, understand legislation, and occupy civic spaces with informed confidence.”

This collective reflection sparked the creation of a powerful shared vision.

📝 Introducing: The Gen Z Social Contract

At the close of the forum, participants developed a unifying framework called “The Gen Z Social Contract”—a commitment to sustained civic engagement anchored in responsibility, knowledge, and collective action.

Youth pledged to:

• register and verify their voter status ahead of the 2027 elections

• establish a Civic Hub – Kisumu Chapter

• use Yunitok to gather and amplify citizen feedback on governance

• host bi-monthly #YouthForAccountability dialogues

• mentor peers in budget literacy, policy tracking, and peaceful advocacy

“We don’t just want a seat at the table — we’re building our own,” concluded Tracy Anyango, a youth leader from Kisumu.