In the same line, GWP Eastern Africa has in the past engaged young water professionals in the region through various activities, mainly capacity building in IWRM, IWL, reporting on climate and water, internship, etc. GWPEA intends to build on these previous initiatives and enroll more youth and their participation and contribution to the 2030 Development Agenda while empowering them to become agents of change in water and climate areas.
To this end, GWPEA organized a national youth workshop in Machakos, Kenya on 10 July 2018 that gathered 25 young water professionals from different institutions with the objective of increasing their knowledge in IWRM, strengthening their governance and network structures as well as the ownership and sustainability of their activities.
The workshop goal was to support youth participation in addressing water and climate change challenges in Kenya. It focused on imparting knowledge and raising awareness of participants on the challenges related to water security and climate change and the role that informed and active youth can play in addressing them. The workshop also highlighted that a well-structured youth network can work together to promote the use of IWRM, bring change in water and climate agenda, and sustain its own activities.
The national youth workshop was very successful: participants were enthusiastic, committed, knowledgeable and eager to bring the much-needed change in water and climate change sector. Most of them were university graduates working for government institutions and civil society organizations in areas related to water security and climate resilience.
The workshop used interactive and participatory method and participants were able to raise different issues and share experiences from their respective organizations
GWPEA introduced GWP Youth Strategy and Youth for Water and Climate Platform and participants expressed the will to join the platform and submit project proposals for potential funding. The workshop was also organized back to back with the media workshop and participants expressed the need to create synergies between those two groups for collaboration and complementarity
Machakos County leaders where the workshop took place were excited and seized the opportunity to engage the youth and expressed the wish to keep this initiative alive in collaboration with KWP. At the end of the workshop, a network was created, and a committee was stablished to ensure that the youth program and initiatives go beyond the workshop. To this end, a WhatsApp group was created for members to keep in touch. The committee coordinator will also serve as the youth focal point for Kenya