With last week marking International Youth Day, we reflect on the importance of youth in the journey to end FGM/C. The focus was on Digital Pathways for/of Sustainable Development, which is something that Orchid Project feel really strongly about. As we reflect on this theme, we’ve been thinking about just how important it is to invest in youth and how through technology, the younger generations can create some of the biggest changes in our sector. With this in mind, we thought it would be apt to share some information with you on one of our recent workshops that focused on technology and youth capacity development!
In Juja, Kenya, alongside Youth Anti FGM Network Kenya from the 11-14th June, we carried out a series of workshops. This involved 30 people under 25 from 22 hotspot counties across Kenya. The focus of these sessions were on developing strategies to address social norms around FGM/C and to design effective strategies to end this practice. When looking into developing strategies, there was a strong focus on how young people could utilise their skills to create change, from creating social media plans, to the use of mobile apps, creating podcasts and much more.
With youth attending from many different backgrounds and areas, there was space for people to share their experiences and ideas towards how we can move forward with ending FGM/C. During some of the sessions the opportunity was created for participants to appreciate each other’s cultural diversity by displaying their unique attire and ornaments. This was a very special moment in bringing the group together.
It was great to see participants engaging with each other and creating key messages, using and creating different innovative plans of how to disseminate this information. This passion and vibrance is key to creating change and we can’t wait to see how the future generation will be using these tools and ideas within their communities to help bring about change and get us one step closer towards ending FGM/C. There is an African proverb that says, “if you wish to move mountains tomorrow you must start by lifting stones today”. We hope that these workshops will one day contribute to these big changes needed to end FGM/C.
