Last month, mapper Mildred represented Map Kibera at the Youth 21 Global Youth Leadership Forum. The result of the Forum is the Nairobi Declaration, recommendations from youth to make global governance process inclusive and accountable to young people. The section on research emphasizes the importance of youth led, resident led, community based information, and highlights Map Kibera.
Research is a disciplined form of investigating what happens in communities and with the people who live there, including young people. Research may marginalize certain groups, especially the vulnerable or excluded. But, research also has the potential to give voice to the voiceless and make visible the
invisible.A good example of youth research is the mapping exercise by youth living in the slum of Kibera who used modern technology to conduct research about their community. Through their research, they identified medical clinics and other resources in their community. Their research has made their
community visible and showed it as a place of many assets and not just challenges. Building on the local strengths identified, this research can be used to negotiate resources, advocate for their needs, and generate their own strategies for change.
For Mildred, the experience exposed her to the challenges on possibilities of youth, on a global scale.
We also had discussion on challenges to youth livelihoods which came out to be a stabstantial number of young people reside in areas in which poverty constitutes a major challenge .Another defining factor was that youth are very often concentrated in urban areas with limited access to basic social services. It also came to my notice that Employment was also one of the problems that bring challenges in life of young people.
After all this discussion it came to my notice that youth have particularly been the vulnerable group for a long time in the society. They at the same time, hold the potential for the future because young people are not as mired in the prejudice and are better at moving ahead in terms of confronting vices such as corruption, which the elderly on the other hand may consider inevitable. Further young people have ideas and vision and it is from their name that the leaders and politicians of tomorrow will step forward. However poverty and inequality have remained a major hindrance for the youth to unleash their potential.
Out of the UN general secretary youth engagement report will be of help to the young people and it will give them hope towards there vision and ambition. It will also give them courage to unleash their potential if only it happens. It was a nice experience to me as a youth in the community of Kibera. Being that my desire is to impact the community it will really be of help.
Map Kibera is a youth-led organization. The energy and willingness to experiment with the new and unknown are key to our work. We appreciate the opportunity to represent at this forum, and we hope Map Kibera can continue to participate in the global dialogue on the position and potential of youth.