Ten Days In Nairobi: Youth Working At The Intersection Of Food Systems And Climate Action

What happens when young activists, professionals, and civil society representatives from Europe and Kenya come together to discuss the future of food, climate, and social justice? From 8 to 17 June 2026, nearly 30 young professionals and activists from Kenya, Italy, Romania, and Slovenia gathered in Nairobi for the Youth Exchange Trip in Kenya, organised under the European project Rebooting the Food System. The aim was to promote youth activism and participation for human rights and environmental justice through an intensive exchange on some of the key global challenges linked to food systems. More than a simple international exchange, the experience created new connections and collaborations among young people and organisations from different countries, generating concrete ideas and initiatives: digital and crowdfunding campaigns, advocacy actions targeting global events such as COP31 and the World Food Forum, podcasts, documentaries, and peer-to-peer learning initiatives. 

Reflections from the Youth Exchange Trip written by participants Chiara Cresta, Evelina Ciobotaru and Lovro Klinar.

It took only a few days on the ground to understand why Kenya was chosen as the setting for this conversation. The country has one of the youngest populations in the world, with around 35% of Kenyans aged between 15 and 35. Yet, almost two-thirds of young people face unemployment, while the effects of climate change are increasingly disrupting their communities and livelihoods. Agriculture, which contributes roughly 23% of Kenya’s GDP, is particularly exposed to these changes. Bringing young people together to exchange experiences, challenge one another and imagine alternatives felt both timely and necessary. 

The first four days centered on the Youth Activism Hub, a space for European and Kenyan youth to exchange ideas and solutions on the global challenges tied to social inequities, food systems and climate change — challenges that, unfortunately, tend to reinforce one another. 

Participants arrived with very different experiences and perspectives. Among the European group were people working in agroecology, research, activism and communication. The Kenyan participants brought equally diverse experiences as researchers, advocates, activists, farmers and entrepreneurs. This diversity quickly became one of the strengths of the exchange. 

Together, we took part in a wide range of activities, from presentations to interactive group discussions and role-play exercises designed to put participants in one another's shoes. We began by comparing the state of agrifood systems in Kenya and in Europe, and the challenges each faces, looking at both through an intersectional lens to identify where inequalities emerge. Gender equality was a cross-cutting theme throughout our discussions. There can be no truly sustainable development if some people are left behind or excluded from decisions that directly affect their lives. 

Despite differences in the type and scale of impact between the two contexts, one key message quickly became clear: climate change is a threat we all share and the transition towards sustainable food systems cannot be separated from questions of justice and human rights. 

A particularly powerful part of the Hub was hearing from a local social movement about agroecology as a form of resistance, including the role of women farmers in Kenya. This perspective challenged the idea of agriculture as simply a system of food production. Instead, it presented agriculture as a question of sovereignty, identity, resilience and climate action. 

Beyond the Hub, we had the opportunity to see how some of the ideas shared in the workshop take shape in in communities facing significant social, economic and environmental challenges.  

Our first stop was Ubuntu CBO, a youth-led community organization in the Mukuru kwa Ruben informal settlement. The organization runs a Black Soldier Fly farming project that turns organic waste, collected by the young community member from hotels, markets and households, to then turn it into a compost and animal feed, with almost no waste left behind. 

A second field visit brought us to the Usafi Initiative, in Kibera, where community members practice organic urban farming on land within the grounds of a local police station, donated for the creation of community gardens. The gardens support the cultivation of a variety of crops and herbs. The initiative also serves as a hands-on educational space for young people and children, allowing knowledge about farming and sustainable practices to be passed on to the next generation. 

Both initiatives are powerful reminders of what young people can achieve when they have access to resources, knowledge and networks, but also when they are trusted to develop solutions themselves.  

All the Europeans and Kenyan young people involved in the exchange had ideas, experiences and demands that deserved to be heard. But having a voice also means having opportunities to bring those ideas to the spaces where decisions are made. 

In one of the most significant moments of the exchange, we met with the European Union Delegation in Kenya, where we presented policy recommendations built around four core themes — climate justice, meaningful youth participation, digital activism and gender equality — consolidated into a Youth Manifesto. This Manifesto was the product of Rebooting the Food System's wider consultation process, which gathered contributions from over 300 young people. 

Presenting the recommendations that we developed together directly to policy actors helped bridge the gap between youth advocacy and high-level policy-making. It also gave us an opportunity to learn more about the EU’s priorities and engagement in Kenya and other African countries, and to understand how youth perspectives can contribute to these conversations. 

"Participation does not end with returning home but is seen in what we choose to do next, in the conversations we start, in the projects we implement and in the communities we continue to support." Evelina, European participant for Mai Bine NGO (Romania) 

The Youth Exchange Trip in Kenya ended with European and Kenyan youth committing to long-term collaboration, united by a shared project and a common commitment to stay engaged and continue advocating for the transformation of agrifood systems into ones that are equal, just and sustainable. 

The exchange was only a starting point of a longer process. We returned home with the responsibility to carry these conversations forward: through information materials, a documentary, a fundraising campaign, and the promotion of the Manifesto at international events such as COP31. 

This Trip in Kenya was not only about exploring Kenyan realities, but rather learning from one another. It reminded us that, even across two different continents, we all live in the same interconnected world and that our daily actions affect one another, just as our commitment and engagement do, in creating change towards a just, equitable and sustainable future for everyone.

The rich programme was made possible through the collaboration between WeWorld and WeWorld Kenya Foundation, and thanks to the contribution of organisations and individuals engaged in climate justice in Kenya, including Lydia Kingeru, Kenyan activist and researcher and WeWorld spokesperson at COP30, Susan Otieno from the Kenyan Peasants League, and Patrick Irungu from the University of Nairobi. 

The Youth Exchange Trip to Kenya is part of a broader process of youth mobilisation and advocacy promoted by WeWorld and WeWorld Kenya through European Union-supported initiatives, including Sikiliza Sauti Yetu: Dunia Inaita! (Listen to Our Voices: The World is Calling!), which supports organisations active in climate justice in Kenya, and, which engaged nearly 400 young people across Europe and East Africa and led to the development of the Youth Manifesto for a Just and Sustainable Future, one of the key references that inspired the policy recommendations developed during the Nairobi experience. 

This journey further confirms WeWorld’s commitment to strengthening youth participation for social and environmental justice.