Increasingly, spaces for young people to raise their voices and participate in key decision-making processes continue to shrink. This is worsened as most governments are dominated by older elites. Even when youth are engaged, their influence tends to be more symbolic than substantive, sidelining their ability to meaningfully contribute to decision-making processes.
Faraja Africa Foundation builds functional platforms for young women and men aged 18-35 years to advocate and engage in key decision-making processes at community, district, national and regional levels for social justice.
At Faraja Africa Foundation, our projects are more than just initiatives, they are powerful movements led by and for young people. From civic engagement and policy advocacy to economic empowerment and peacebuilding, each project is rooted in our belief that youth are not just the future, but the present changemakers. Whether it’s through the National Youth Parliament, the EU Youth Sounding Board, or grassroots community development programs, our work amplifies youth voices, nurtures leadership, and fosters inclusive progress across Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Together, we’re building a continent where every young person can rise, lead, and thrive.
About Us
The National Youth Parliament aims to increase youth participation in policymaking, contributing to youth-focused, inclusive regional and national budgeting processes that cater for youth priority areas in education, health, economic empowerment, and response to the climate crisis, among others, using both digital/innovative platforms and traditional ones.
This Parliament serves as a platform for youth to debate Sub-national and National issues, propose policy reforms, and advocate for their interests in a structured and impactful way. Through these parliaments, Faraja Africa Foundation seeks to complement the government’s efforts outlined in the National Development Plan III (NDPIII by enhancing youth-led civic participation in policy formulation, budgeting among youth, development partners and government for effective governance at all levels of decision making. Through a bottom-up implementation process and digital engagement, the program centers on the voices of underrepresented and marginalized groups, creating a foundation for authentic community-centered policy recommendations. The sittings of National Youth parliament are preceded by Regional Youth Parliament sessions in seven regions i.e., Central, Western, Northern, Eastern with focus on policy issues that were pertinent to the regions within the thematic scope.
The East African Youth Parliament (EAYP), known as the “Vijana Assembly,” is a flagship cross-border advocacy program initiated by the Faraja Africa Foundation in collaboration with the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), the East African Community (EAC) and other partners, launched in 2018. EAYP has become a platform where young people can actively participate in regional integration processes through governance, advocate for youth issues, and contribute to the EAC’s development. One of the key achievements of the EAYP was advocating for a uniform tuition policy for East African university students, which was passed in 2019. This policy has helped reduce the cost of education for students studying outside their home countries within the EAC.
The EAYP aims to amplify the voices of young men and women in critical decision-making processes at both national and regional levels, fostering a coordinated regional governance framework with youth as key drivers of change.
The EU Youth Sounding Board (YSB) is an initiative by the European Union Delegation to Uganda, designed to enhance youth participation, engagement, and inclusion in shaping EU-Uganda relations. The YSB provides a structured platform for young people to contribute to the design, implementation and monitoring of EU policies and programs in Uganda, ensuring they reflect the aspirations and realities of young people.
The YSB is part of the EU’s broader commitment to making development cooperation more participatory, relevant and effective for youth in Uganda, fostering a youth-centered approach to international partnerships. Faraja Africa Foundation is implementing the EU-YSB in partnership with the EU Delegation to Uganda. Through this collaboration, FAF ensures that the initiative effectively engages Ugandan youth and provides meaningful opportunities for their participation and leadership.
National parliaments are representative institutions of the people unfortunately most times, it is difficult for citizens to understand what their elected representatives are doing. Faraja Africa Foundation initiated the Parliament Connect to compliment the Parliament’s efforts of ensuring that community members are involved in policymaking and evaluation processes. Under this project, we run the MP-Connect and Youth Parliaments.
This community voice project aims at building capacities of young people to spearhead dialogue and meaningfully engage relevant duty bearers to develop relevant actions, documents, policy briefs and programs that ensure a sustainable future for young people. Through this project, FAF works with a network of grassroots young people aged 18-35, youth advocacy leaders and youth led civil society organisations.
