Under the project “Cohesion Building: Youth Promoting Respect for Diversity in Five Informal Settlements in Nairobi” supported by GIZ-CPS, youth from five informal settlements in Nairobi namely Kibra, Korogocho, Mathare, Dandora and Kawangware went through a three days’ training on embracing diversity in April 2019.Thereafter, they organized four sets of community conversation forums within their respective areas in May, July, September and October 2019. Each forum brought together at least 50 young people, ensuring that both male and female youth were equally represented. The forums provided the youth with a platform to engage in cohesion building discourse. The youth interrogated stereotypes surrounding various diversities, negative consequences of holding onto the stereotypes and together explored creative and sustainable solutions to manipulation of diversity. Alongside the community conversations, project participants also took part in a series of radio talks shows at Pamoja FM (Kibra), Mtaani Radio (Kawangware) and Koch FM (Korogocho, Mathare and Dandora). The weekly talk shows which ran from May to October 2019 had two youth guests, male and female, who discussed the role of youth in promoting cohesion, tolerance and respect for diversity. They also discussed the strategies they can use to promote respect for diversity which included sports, cultural events, dialogue, re-socialization and inter marriages. The youth committed to unite and use their different strengths to address the challenges that they face instead of allowing their diversity to divide them.
Community Conversations and Radio Talk Shows on Embracing Diversity in Nairobi’s Informal Settlements
