"It's not just a seat at the table that youth need, it's the whole table"
In Kenya, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) established a Youth Sounding Board in 2020 to include youth in decision-making. Through the platform, UNDP is developing an inclusive approach that integrates diverse perspectives and represents the interests and aspirations of youth.
Samuel Kimani started as a national UN Volunteer Youth Leadership Coordinator with the Youth Sounding Board in May 2022. As part of the board, he helped establish the youth marker, which offers tools for mainstreaming youth across programming. One of these is a scale that rates progress in building youth confidence and establishing inclusive spaces. In the past, youth mainstreaming was simply about ticking a box. Now, youth working groups conduct a thorough analysis of all initiatives.