Juliani Appointed Peace Ambassador
The National Youth Bunge Association (NYBA), a leading youth network of County forums with the village youth bunges at the National level, will hold the biggest peace festival of this year dubbed the NYBA Tuko Rada I Choose Peace Festival.
The NYBA Tuko Rada I Choose Peace Festival will be an extravaganza utilizing entertainment as a driving vehicle to bring together, engage and inform Kenyan youth countrywide of the fact that they are the positive agents of change in Kenya and have the power to greatly influence how the forthcoming general elections should be managed in a peacefully manner. The concert theme will focus on peace building and unity before, during and after the upcoming general elections which will be held on the 4th March.
Tuko Rada I Choose Peace Festival will be a celebration of our diversity as a country of ethnic groups living together. The festivities will be a celebration of several NYBA peace initiatives. They already have roadshows and peace caravans in Western, Nyanza, Coast, Central and Rift Valley. This is an excellent example of the Kenyan youth taking control of their destiny by ensuring the post-election violence experienced in 2007 does not recur.
“The NYBA has ensured that the Kenyan youth is continually empowered and structured to shun political violence and instead work towards peace building, recovery and celebration of peace as well as teaching each other to be the guardians of peace”. Says Silas Maru, The NYBA National President.
Juliani, currently the hottest Gospel rapper in Kenya, has been appointed the events peace ambassador. Gospel fans continue to be captured by his singles. He is well known for his lyrical prowess, shaking his dreadlocks and his energetic performances which drive the crowd wild. Juliani was born and raised in Dandora.
Leading Kenyan artists, local and international sports celebrities, youth leaders, media personalities, business leaders, peace stakeholders, NYBA County youth forum members and representatives from all over the country are
expected to grace this event which will be held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) Courtyard on the 16th February from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. A total of over 10,000 Kenyan youth are expected to attend this event in an effort to pledge peace countrywide.
This event will be coordinated in close partnership with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) who in January this year signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the NYBA which will ensure the
fostering of peace amongst the youth in the country. This was followed by a peace pledge signing with signatories inputting their names on a canvass and pledging to peacefully participate prior, during and after the March 4th general
elections countrywide in a bid to restore Kenya’s pride and image which was tarnished in 2007 as a result of the PEV skirmishes.
The NYBA has also lined up forums ranging from site visits to seminars with key business and leadership, which will culminate to the respective youth representatives getting exposure to top business and government leadership
personalities at a breakfast event on the 14th February at a Nairobi hotel. This will be an opportunity for the NYBA’s leadership to convey messages from the youths, as well as have their questions answered by the industry and government leaders in an interactive format.
The NYBA Tuko Rada I Choose Peace Festival will be an all youth led affair with a primary audience of youth countrywide and national NYBA members from across the region. Musical acts local celebrities will host interactive sessions on a variety of topics and tools reinforcing peace messaging and the leadership role youth must play in maintaining it, including:
– How to respond to and report hate speech, violence including Early Warning/Early Response systems training
– How to refuse bribes associated with organized political activities;
– Devolution and how it will affect youth;
– Pledging to be the guardian of peace in their communities.
