UN, Polycom seek grassroots voices as Kenya hosts high level Civil Society Conference

Kenya will host the prestigious 2024 United Nations Civil Society Conference at the UN Headquarters in Gigiri, Nairobi on Thursday and Friday.

The high-profile session is expected to deliberate on pertinent issues affecting our planet, among them the need to establish better living conditions for people across the world.

The sitting will also forge a global consensus on what the planet should look like in the future and what can be done to secure it.

The meeting centered around the ‘Summit of the Future’ theme will also deliberate on critical outcomes that will serve as contribution for Member States as they work towards the intended ‘Pact for the Future.’

The ‘Pact for the Future’ – a concise, action-oriented outcome document, to be agreed in advance by consensus through intergovernmental negotiations, will be further deliberated upon at the Summit for the Future Conference, to be convened in September 2024, where its adoption will also be considered.

In order to better the outcome of the global Civil Society Conference that is set for Nairobi, the UN on Wednesday held an offsite event dubbed the ‘Peoples Assembly’ in Kibera in conjunction with Polycom Girls, a Non- Governmental Organization protecting and advocating for the rights and wellbeing of the girl child.

The ‘Peoples Assembly’ sought grassroots opinions that can be further used to improve the forthcoming Summit of the Future and its Pact.

During the lively discussion held at the Canaan Hall in the heart of Africa’s vast slum, Kibra, women, girls and other stakeholders involved delved on relevant topics of interests to better the world among them the development alignment to the needs of the people, safer cities, gender inclusion and sustainable action on climate change among others.

Global Call To Action Against Poverty Director (GCAP) Mr. Ingo Ritz emphasized on the need for the inclusion of grassroots voices in the summit decision making stating that it’s the only way to attain equality and equity on the planet’s needs.

“Global Justice - we want it now! Global process for justice, all together will make the difference,” he underlined.

“We have a target up to 2030 to deal with hunger, education, health and social protection issues currently bedeviling the globe,” Ritz stated.

His sentiments were echoed by Polycom Girls Founder and Director Jane Anyango who reiterated that grassroots voices should be taken into consideration by all the world leaders, as they have a greater impact on the development of the planet, especially on the current global sustainability campaigns.

“Climate change is widening the gender gap; this needs to be called out. Poor drainage and flooding are also affecting the quest for safer cities. Therefore, I called upon the UN and the world Governments to listen to the voices of the people for they offer real solutions,” Anyango emphasized, adding that women have been more affected than men by the ongoing flooding in Kenya and across the world.

“Our Government should get an immediate response to the people rather than planning for vision 2030 projects yet people are suffering,” she lamented.

One of the flood victims, Maureen Akinyi whose belongings were destroyed by water and even some swept away, narrated in tears during the heated discussions on how she had to change houses in the middle of the night as a result of the incessant rains currently pounding the Kenyan capital.

It was also the same case with the area resident Philomena Twili Kivuva who reckoned: “I had to call my neighbors early in the morning for help for evacuation. My properties were completely ravaged by the flood, the water seeped into every corner of the house destroying furniture and other essential appliances.”

Polycom Girls is a Pan-African feminist women-led organization based in Kenya that was established in 2004, in response to the sexual violence and exploitation against girls in Kibera’s informal settlement in Nairobi.

The NGO has since grown to implement programmes beyond Nairobi county. For more than a decade, the organisation has worked closely with schools, local education authorities and communities to improve the lives of adolescent girls and women in their diversity.

Over time, Polycom has built trusting relationships with the community and the local Government, enabling them to integrate complex issues such as social injustices, child protection, GBV and SRHR into their work as well as programming.

The outfit work is summarized under one word “G-PENDE” (which means to love yourself) thus promoting self-worth and appreciation among women and girls in their diversity.

The organization is keen to bridge the gap and connect the local realities of these women and girls to regional/global processes and decisions.

Over the last 19 years, the NGO has worked together with women’s rights organizations, civil societies, governments, and the private sector, developing strategies, partnerships, programs, and community and policy dialogues for the promotion and protection of gender equality and inclusivity across Nairobi County and Kenya at large.