Members of the PowerToYouth (PTY) program converged at the African Health Agenda Conference #AHIAC2025 as part of its efforts to celebrate and honour their journey of community transformation. This conference which held from 02 to 05 March 2025 aimed to generate solutions in breaking barriers to health accessibility in Africa. AHAIC2025 was held under the theme – Connected for Change: Addressing the Socio-Ecological Dynamics of Health.
Participating in this event, the PowerToYoYouth consortium sought to find opportunities for sustaining and empowering young people as leaders and advocates in their communities. Owing to its end of a 5-year cycle, Power To Youth hosted an offsite event on 3rd March 2025 celebrating youth voices and their immense contributions to policy change and countering systemic barriers in accessing sexual reproductive health and rights and gender equality.
This off-site three-hour event featured formal presentations and informal networking opportunities through storytelling, interactive exhibits and multimedia presentations. It provided a flexible platform to celebrate the achievements over the years while finding strategies to continue with the impact of the youth-focused program and PTY’s main achievements, amplify its real-life impact, and engage prospective donors in a meaningful dialogue about its future.
Major Highlights from AHAIC
Power to You(th) Evening Reception : This was a special evening reception which celebrated the wins, amplified real-life impact, and engaged key partners to sustain PTY’s legacy. Through immersive storytelling, and multimedia presentations, Power To Youth partners brought to life the inspiring stories of young changemakers driving the youth movement. It was also a moment to underscore the prospective challenges young people will continue to face if this program is not sustained through alternative funding sources.
Power of the People Session : This session was moderated by Beatrice Okech, the Power To Youth global communications and advocacy specialist. Beatrice facilitated powerful discussions which challenged gender norms and stereotypes, emphasized young women’s agency and bodily autonomy. This session sparked commitments to action for protection of adolescent girls and young women, like ensuring equitable access to health and other resources for them.
#HearUsOut Campaign : The Power to You(th) Programme started a global initiative dubbed #HearUsOut campaign IN 2024 to promote the rights of young people and elevate their voices and aspirations. This campaign calls on communities and local leaders to address issues that influence the lives of young people and ensure that youths are heard on issues that are critical for the latter’s empowerment. At the AHAIC, young people were engaged both onsite and online. Their voices were amplified through ground engagement, digital storytelling, and bold advocacy messages.
Power To Youth Partners are on a journey to ensure the sustainability of their work and scaling of global impact to address pressing world issues with youths at the center of leadership and implementation beyond 2025. Funding opportunities will help elevate youth voices as agents of community transformation and sustainable development. #PowerToYouth #AHAIC2025 #SRHR #YouthLeadership #GenderEquality #TheFutureIsYouth