Youth advocates in the Power to Youth (PtY) Program Malawi now have skills to meaningfully participate in the development of their communities and serve as agents of change in deconstructing toxic socio-cultural norms experienced by women and girls. This is due to the Meaningful and Inclusive Youth Participation (MIYP) training facilitated by Sonke Gender Justice in Partnership with Choice for Youth and Sexuality and Youth Wave Malawi from 8th -11 April 2024.
According to a youth advocate, Chimwemwe Kayange, ‘‘Meaningful and inclusive youth participation is the integration of youth voices in all the decision-making processes. This means integrating all the youth voices in planning, implementation, monitoring of all the processes in decision-making.’’
The MIYP training sought to
- Provide adequate knowledge and awareness on meaningful and inclusive youth participation.
- Strengthen skills on implementing MIYP during community interventions.
- Increase knowledge on youth related policies and processes.
- Increase understanding of Youth-Adult Partnerships (YAPs)
- Foster collaboration and Learning: Facilitate an environment for participants to share experiences, exchange knowledge, and learn from each other’s good practices.
Through PowerPoint presentations, group and individual practical sessions the workshop delved on the concept of meaningful and inclusive youth participation, the flower of participation, leadership, and negotiation skills, policy and legal frameworks for youth engagement; development of MIYP action plans among others.
As a way forward from the MIYP training, youth advocates committed to implementing the developed action plans, leveraging on media and communications to showcase their work, and working closely with the youth council in Malawi to promote substantive youth participation.
Watch this video and learn more about what MIYP means to young people in Malawi.