About Us

Empowering African youth to be drivers of social, political and economic transformation.

Organisation of African Youth (OAYouth) is a continental, member-based, non-profit organisation registered in 10 countries and operating with National chapters in Africa; within the provisions of African Youth Charter, adopted by the African Union (AU). OAYouth is an empowerment vehicle and a revolutionary movement for all youth in Africa. It is a regional platform for young people to assert their power in numbers, energy and imagination to transform Africa to be a beacon of hope. OAYouth works to motivate, unify and empower African youth to be drivers of Africa’s social, political and economic transformation. Through structured programs, OAYouth harnesses resources and ideas to empower tomorrow’s leaders today.

The Kenya chapter was established in 2010, registered in 2013 and managed by the National Branch Committee. Adolescent and youth health is our key area of focus given the tokenistic nature of youth engagement in issues like governance, accountability, and policy and service delivery.

At the National level, OAY Kenya chapter is overseen by a National Advisory Board that provides strategic advice and governance. It is led by a National Branch Committee and core team/secretariat, which leads administration and programming. The work is supported by staff and volunteers (both peer and professionals/experts) and OAY affiliate youth organizations/clubs. OAY also works through relevant sector specific networks and coalitions.

OAY Capacity Statement

With over a decade of experience in youth development across Africa, OAY Kenya has built robust institutional capacity to design, implement, and scale high-impact programmes.

OAYouth is an empowerment vehicle for all youth in Africa. It is a regional platform for young people to assert their power in numbers, energy, and imagination to transform Africa into a beacon of hope.

We work to motivate, unify, and empower African youth to be drivers of Africa’s social, political, and economic transformation.

6000
Adolescents and Youth
1M
Social Media Reach
2700+
Active Members
40+
Projects Implemented

ORGANOGRAM

OAYouth

“conquer with love”

NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
AFRICAN REGIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
NATIONAL BRANCH COMMITTEE
TECHNICAL SUPPORT TEAM
CORE TEAM / SECRETARIAT
AFFILIATE ORGANIZATIONS
NETWORKS / COALITIONS
VOLUNTEERS
(PEER AND PROFESSIONAL)

YOUTH WORK PROFESSIONALISM

OAY’s Youth Work Professionalization Policy

Our Basis: OAY key champion of the African Youth Charter that calls for professionalization of Youth Work.

Our Policy Achievement: OAY successfully advocated for recognition of youth work professionalization clauses in the 2019 Kenya National Youth Development Policy (NYDP) for the first time in Kenya.

Our Commitment: We are dedicated to advancing the quality of youth work in alignment with the African Youth Charter and NYDP 2019.

Professionalization Focus: Driving recognition of youth work as a distinct profession.

Key Initiatives: Currently founded and co-convening a Professional Community of Practice (CoP) and supporting efforts towards establishment of Kenya Youth Workers Association.

Advocacy Actions: Work collaboratively with all sectors and actors to promote quality and standards by advocating for Youth Work Profession growth with focus on recognition, training, certification, supervision, remuneration and adherence to a strict Code of Ethics.

We commit to:

  • Upholding professional standards and codes of ethics across all programming, partnerships and collaborations.
  • Doing youth work through Informal & Non-Formal Learning through experiential learning, creativity, critical thinking, and digital literacy participant-driven settings and safe spaces.
  • Adopting digital youth work approaches through integration of digital tools and platforms into youth work while fostering physical human interactions to ensure overall personal growth of young people.

PROGRAMMING PRINCIPLES

OUR OVERALL PROGRAMMING STRATEGY

OAY Kenya employs three interconnected strategic approaches that guide all our interventions, ensuring maximum impact and sustainable youth transformation across the continent.

Partnerships

Partnerships

Working with and through partnerships, networks, alliances to maximize impact through knowledge sharing, resource pooling and enhancement of collaborative capability for resilience.

Artivism

Artivism

OAY integrates creativity with civic engagement to inspire dialogue and action. These actions are realized through Theatre for Development (TfD) and mediums such as murals, music, storytelling, sports and culture.

Youth Work Professionalism

Youth Work Professionalism

Supporting youth development through professionally established and recognized standards through informal and non formal learnings while ensuring that our staff and volunteers commit to Youth Work Code of Ethics and Child Protection Policies.

Community-Led / Participatory Approach

OAY is a signatory to Charter for Change (C4C) Localization Agenda and promotes devolving power and resources to local youth actors and communities.

Rights-Based Approach

Integrating international human rights standards into our programming and empowering young people as rights-holders.

Evidence-Based Approach

Grounding all our interventions in data, research, and proven concepts to ensure measurable and sustainable impact.