#let's not bleed for leaders to lead -
election campaign Kenya

#let's not bleed for leaders to lead - election campaign Kenya

Our MasterPeace club Kenya (based in Nairobi) together with partners Footprints4c, Misskoch Kenya and Kenya Unites organized a campaign targeting youngsters to promote peaceful co-existence before, during and after the 2022 general elections.

#TusiBleedNdioWaLead Campaign - let's not bleed for leaders

 Elections in Kenya unfortunately often come with tensions and violent outbursts. The campaign intended to create awareness of a changed mindset on polarization caused by political leaders.

As we approached the general elections, Kenya’s National Cohesion and Integration Commission listed 23 counties that are considered potential violence hotspots, with Nairobi being mentioned as a high-risk area ahead of the country’s August 9th, 2022 general elections. The months leading up to, and after, elections were anticipated to have the most violent periods according to Kenya’s post-independence history. This year was no exception. In addition to operational and structural conflicts. A worrying trend of ethnic balkanization, zoning of the country by politicians, clashes during campaigns previously had increased inflammatory attacks, and hate speech by prominent political leaders.

The months leading up to, and after, elections were anticipated to have the most violent periods according to Kenya’s post-independence history. This year was no exception. In addition to operational and structural conflicts. A worrying trend of ethnic balkanization, zoning of the country by politicians, clashes during campaigns previously had increased inflammatory attacks, and hate speech by prominent political leaders.

Therefore the four organizations agreed that peace before, during, and after the elections does not need to be elusive and as a country we have been able to make great strides to achieve the peace and unity we enjoy today. Recognizing the need for peaceful elections MasterPeace Kenya and partners came up with an online peace campaign geared towards advocating for peace and tolerance more so among the vulnerable communities and youths within Nairobi such as Mathare, Korogocho, Dandora, and Majengo. The campaign seeked to amplify the message of peace directly from the communities and localities initially perceived to be the bedroom for electoral violence and tension.

And more!

The campaign applied the use of social media as a strategic tool to pass the message of peace, by taking pictures of individuals in their work area, chill spots, and businesses holding up a burner with a peace hashtag and posting the images on our social media pages, online campaign groups, and other relevant institutions to have a wider reach. 

The campaign reached a total of 18,423 people on all social media platforms, with Facebook having the highest reach of 10,367 (56%). MasterPeace Kenya and partners are happy with the results. And grateful to all Kenyans to keep the elections peaceful this time.

A population of 3,01,611 are living in slums in Bhubaneswar Municipal (Source: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation). This data highlights the vulnerable condition of their livelihoods. Amongst them, many children work as rag-picker who starts to work from as early as 5 am. Our MasterPeace Club of Voluntary Integration for Education and Welfare of Society (VIEWS)-India has acknowledged this issue and built a project targeting girl children of rag-picking communities to improve the socio-economical and mental status of targeted groups. The project started in July 2022 and is targeting mainly SDG 1, SDG 3, and SDG 4.

The rag-picking community is one of the most vulnerable communities amongst the slum group, collecting garbage from nearby societies for 9 to 10 hours a day. Especially, rag-picking children are school dropouts to support their poor families. Moreover, the girls from this community have been facing the problem of early marriages, death due to early childbirth, sexual violence, and poor physical and mental health. This is a big problem to be tackled with high priority. Thus, through this project, 116 children through 5 Child Support Centers in the urban slums of Bhubaneswar will be benefited directly. These children are being provided with education through Children's Learning Centers. In addition, various capacity-building and life-skill training certainly enhance their learning process to take better steps in improving family socio-economic status.

Lastly, improving the work lives of these precarious workers should address not only the physical hazards of their jobs but their mental and emotional health as well. The unfulfilled health needs of this disadvantaged community, which contribute to the ecology and economy of the city, need to be addressed. Furthermore, an underprivileged workforce like rag-picking communities is a symbolic example of the growing gap between rich and poor people. We cannot expect them to have equal opportunities and fair competition if they are not even getting basic needs for life: education, health, water, and sanitation. Hence, this intervention by MasterPeace-VIEWS is a leading example that expects continuous help and joining hands in the long process of transforming vulnerable slum communities into healthy and happy communities.

Georgia
We are a country in some say East Europe, others say West Asia. Our beautiful country is the home of 3.7 million inhabitants. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union many, mainly highly educated youngsters, migrated to Western Europe and USA. According to the reports of the World bank (2020) ca 21% lives below the poverty line. Still we are a beautiful country with many opportunities. We as Caucasus Youth Nexus, licensed by MasterPeace Foundation, believe together we can engage, connect and empower youngsters to help build a sustainable future for all.
The Aim and Mission
Our project called “Stay” is created in response to nowadays challenges that youth in Georgia are facing. Our Aim is to create opportunities for local youths, especially for the ones who have less access to educational benefits or who are belonging to ethnic and social minorities.
The mission of “Stay” is to promote youth self-employment and economic empowerment in their community, through education, social entrepreneurship, and youth activism.
The challenge
As time goes by, more and more young people leave Georgia to get a better education and to improve their economic and social conditions. Most of them choose to live abroad forever.
According to the data from the National Statistics Service, 80,351 citizens left Georgia in 2021, with a total population of 3 688.600
Bottom line; our country is losing young people who are capable to work and make important changes.
Objectives
Introducing social entrepreneurship as a tool for youth empowerment and economic sustainability
Raising awareness about social entrepreneurship through educational projects
Increasing opportunities for both individuals and specific entrepreneurs through the development of social entrepreneurship
Development of skills and competencies focused on modern challenges
Creating an online educational space and selling products of existing social enterprises through an online store
Educating, empowering, and engaging girls in economic activities in the municipality

The projects of Stay
One Step Ahead is a large and innovative project, which has been implemented in Marneuli and Tetritskaro municipalities by supporting Estonian development cooperation. The aim of the project is to inform the local young generation about social entrepreneurship and possibilities which are open to them. The target group is 15-25 years old Georgian citizens. Within the framework of the project, young people are met and trained by experienced trainers in their municipality centers or schools. The main topics of the sessions are social entrepreneurship and financial and social resources which they find for implementing their ideas. Besides those, the audience is getting a chance to be involved in the following activities: team-building; self-organizing and self-representing; Making goals, and SMART assessment for the idea.
6 videos and Guide Book about social entrepreneurship - Within the framework of One Step Ahead, we created a guide book for beginners in Social Entrepreneurship and recorded 6 videos on the following topics:
1) How to become an entrepreneur?
2)How to work on self-development and leadership?
3)How to find suitable human resources and build up the team?
4)How to write a business plan?
5) Marketing tricks for our business success.
6) How to find potential donors and get funding?
Webinars with successful young entrepreneurs. Once in every two months Stay invites a successful young entrepreneur on the online platform, where she/he shares their own history and experience. It is free to attend and ask questions for everyone. (The last webinar was with 29 years old girl - Baia Abuladze who created her own wine brand and leads the winery in Georgia).
Motivation Posts. As the aim of the Stay is to motivate young people, we use any availabilities to encourage them. Every week on our Facebook and Instagram Pages, we share the successful histories of famous people.
Gifts – From time to time we announce small competitions on our social media platform. There are several questions and the first person who answers all of the correctly receives eco-gifts.
Erasmus+ Programs – Stay is actively involved in not only local but international projects, as well. By with collaborating Erasmus+, we create and participate in programs, where young people have the chance to get to know different cultures, expand knowledge about a specific topic and create international networks.
Partners
Caucasus Youth Nexus;
Estonian Development Corporation;
Masterpeace Foundation;
Council of Europe;
Erasmus+ .

Context:
ACT as a Doughnut addresses the statement (The Guardian 30/4/2021) by Frans Timmermans, vice-president of the EU commission" if social policy and climate policy are not combined, to share fairly the costs and benefits of creating a low carbon economy, the world will face a backlash from people who fear losing jobs or income, stoked by populist politicians and fossil fuel interests. He said: “It’s not just an urgent matter – it’s a difficult matter. We have to transform our economy. There are huge benefits, but it’s a huge challenge. The biggest threat is the social one. If we don’t fix this, our children will be waging wars over water and food. There is no doubt in my mind.”
The project is co-funded by the EU and a co-creation in five countries; The Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia by five independent NGOs: MasterPeace Foundation (MP), Grow United (Germany), Fundacja Wspólnota Wielopokoleniowa (Po), MasterPeace Ro (Ro), and EDU 4 U (Edu4U

Our Ambition

ACT as a Doughnut aims to engage, connect and empower youngsters to be an active citizen to co-create "their "thriving city. We will develop educational materials; train our youth workers who will train their local associated teachers in the domain of social science/citizenship. Their students will create a city portrait and use the power of imagination on how their thriving city would look like. As a second step, based on education materials re the Doughnut theory they will advise their city on the best next steps. The new methodologies will be shared via various platforms including the global prestige of  the Community Arts Network (CAN) and  the Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL) managed by two of our global associated partners. Together we can be the difference and realize our mission!

"ACT" stands for the “doing” part as now is the time to ACT: The urgency to fight the lack of social cohesion and the lack of how to "manage" the environmental challenges has never been so high. ACT is also the abbreviation of "Artist Create Together" as we will use creativity, arts, and culture to engage and connect. ACT is a metaphor in the sense that we all are the architects of our own future. To engage and inspire the primary target groups we will co-create with cultural creatives of our CAN network and use their methodologies. "As a Doughnut" refers to the theory in the book: the Doughnut Economy". A book that transformed into a knowledge platform that uniquely combines social cohesion within the boundaries of the planet.

Context 

We all are aware that our societies face multiple crises; like climate and environmental; increasing gaps between those who "have and have not"; lack of (jobs) perspective, (Im-) migration, and a generic distrust in institutes especially amongst our "Gen Z" youngsters. Corona
enlarges all these gaps. we work towards an inclusive society. It is key that 30 % of the students are from a minority background. Crisis means “a crucial point”. The challenges have never been so high, but we do have the capacity to find answers!. This takes You and Me. This dilemma offers a unique opportunity to stimulate education to be a driver of transformation.

Our primary target groups are students in the age group of 15- 19 years, and their teachers. Our secondary target groups are cities, their representatives, and our associated partners. Based on our shared values we create innovative methodologies and formats that will be used by youth workers and teachers to mobilize youngsters to become active citizens.
Two global partners, CAN and DEAL, are eager to co-create while we develop blended educational formats and scale globally. We can build on the toolkits they have built, in addition to the toolkit created by the City of Amsterdam. Our national and global associated partners in Education are eager to learn and reuse the new methodologies we develop. All (no one left behind) youngsters, deserve a quality education and ACT to create their own future. However, we know by experience and are backed by reports that we face gaps in all five countries. Youth workers, teachers, students, and cities asked for our support. We aim to drive this transformation.

Our theory of change/ transformation approach
Our approach with youngsters in the lead is based on a three phased approach (in line with the MasterPeace approach which is in line with youth strategy developed by the EU in 2021:
1)to engage 2) to connect 3) to empower

The transformation we like to facilitate impacts people's values and behaviors. Our aim is to work towards a “thriving” city. This also requires changes in the approach to governance; the systems and procedures that are in place in our society. In our approach we use the model invented by Ken Wilber:

When we use this model in our Doughnut economy context it can be summarized in the picture below

Our products and services:

I. Engage young people by using arts, sports and play to get their interest into the topic.
Topics: Sustainable Development Goals, Talents, Values
Tools: Kahoot! Quiz/ gamification,Core Values Game, Arts for Social Change like visualisation via StreetArt and storytelling via rap
Results: I am, I matter 2)I am a European 3) I am, I learn Learning Goals:
Topic: Talents

• Knowledge: you know what category of talents there are.
• Insight: you understand that every person has their own unique talent.
• Ability: you are able to indicate what your talents are.

Topic: Values

• Knowledge: you can explain what values are.
• Insight: you understand why values are important
• Ability: you show which values are most important to you and why.

Topic: Sustainable Development Goals

• Knowledge: you know what the Sustainable Development Goals are.
• Insight: you can name the most urgent global challenges.
• Ability: you creatively express your opinion/your dream for a more sustainable and socially just world.

II. Connect young people with other stakeholders in their community to widen their view.
Topics: Dialogue, Fake News, Team Diversity
Tools: Inclusive Dialogue, Storytelling
Results: 1) We dream the future of our city together 2) We are connected
Learning Goals:
Topic: Dialogue

• Knowledge: you know how to participate in an inclusive dialogue.
• Insight: you understand why it is important to listen to other points of view.
• Ability: you are able to enrich your point of view by integrating the wisdom of others in order to achieve common goals

Topic: Fake News

• Knowledge: you can recognize fake news and name the difference between facts and opinions.
• Insight: you understand the negative effects of fake news.
• Ability: you are able to find trustworthy information.

Topic: Team Diversity

• Knowledge: you know what makes a team successful.
• Insight: you realize that a diverse team leads to better results.
• Ability: you are able to work together successfully as a diverse team.

III. Empower young people to provide them with the tools to take action and make a positive change
Topics: Doughnut Economy, City Portrait, System Thinking, Social Entrepreneurship
Tools: Personal Doughnut Scan, Doughnut Puzzle, Social Business Model Canvas
Results: 1) WE act and campaign, 2) we act and implement, 3) we act and co create
Learning Goals:
Topic: Doughnut Economy

• Knowledge: you can explain the doughnut economy and its five themes in a broad sense.
• Insight: you can state which global and/or local challenges are important to you and why.
• Ability: You have chosen, as a team, one of the five doughnut themes you want to learn more about and for which you want to make a positive change. Based on the team’s priorities, talents and interests.

Topic: City Portrait & System Thinking

• Knowledge: you know how to make an analysis of the current local situation focussing on one of the five doughnut themes, including different points of view.
• Insight: you can analyse which factors are of most influence to improve the current local situation.
• Ability: you can formulate advice towards decisionmakers what needs to change to improve the current situation.

Topic: Project Management

• Knowledge: you know how a project model canvas works.
• Insight: you can fill in a project model canvas for your idea for positive change.
• Ability: you are able to execute the project based as formulated on the project model canvas and show how you can make a positive impact.

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