Sessional Paper No. 04 of 2005 on Youth Development

Abstract

Sessional Paper No. 4 on Kenya National Youth Policy is aimed at ensuring the youth play their role, alongside adults, in the development of the country. The policy's goal is to promote youth participation in community and civic affairs and to ensure that youth programmes are youth centred. The policy proposes guidelines and strategies that can be used to facilitate participation of the youth in national development. The policy also spells out the strategic areas that must be addressed in order for Kenya's young people to effectively play their role in nation building. These are: Employment creation, health, education and training, sports and recreation, the environment, art and culture, the media and participation and empowerment. The youth are classified into priority target groups to make it easier to tackle challenges unique to each group. The priority groups are: Youth with disability, street youth, youth infected with Aids, female youth, unemployed youth and out of school youth. The document has been developed through intensive consultative meetings among young people, Non-Governmental Organizations and the Government. An implementation plan to ensure that the policy becomes a reality has also been developed. It suggests the formation of National Youth Council to facilitate, co-ordinate, monitor, advocate and promote youth issues and youth-led initiatives, under the ministry in charge. The Institutional Framework will minimize duplicity and enhance efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery to the youth.