GOYN Mombasa: Youth Civic Engagement: Identifying the Right Moment

CASE STUDY | PDF

Detailed case study of GOYN Mombasa's youth civic engagement strategy.

October 29,2024 Download Share

GOYN Mombasa was launched in 2019 and is currently led by Swahilipot Hub Foundation, a leading local non-profit focused on youth empowerment, creative arts, and heritage. Mombasa has been
a vibrant trading center since the 12th century and is often referred to as the ‘gateway to East Africa’. It is the smallest county in Kenya, but the fourth largest contributor to national GDP. Despite its strategic location and colorful history, Mombasa has historically experienced economic, political, and social marginalization. Youth – who make up 44% of the population – continue to perform dismally in education in terms of access, retention and performance. GOYN estimates that 373,000 Mombasa youth are either not in education, employment, or training; or are underemployed or employed in the informal sector.

Working closely with GOYN Global Partner Global Development Incubator (GDI), GOYN Mombasa spearheaded a youth-led mapping exercise of the youth employment ecosystem in the city. This research highlighted ambiguous OY-related policies that lacked impactful and sustainable strategies to improve outcomes for youth in Mombasa. Furthermore, the prevailing attitudes among policymakers towards young people, coupled with the lack of transparency in participation processes, have alienated young people and hindered their ability to meaningfully contribute to a more inclusive and enabling policy environment. This negative environment exacerbates high levels of youth unemployment and underemployment, limits access to vocational training, stifles youth voices in the civic space, and discourages young people from challenging authority, leading to widespread apathy. This situation
tends to reduce youth participation in decision-making processes to mere tokenism.

This case study details the approach taken by GOYN Mombasa to address this challenge and increase youth civic engagement – i.e. active youth participation in the political, social, and community activities that influence public policies and governance – to create a more favorable policy environment for youth economic opportunity.

More information

Please contact the GOYN Mombasa team for more information.