The Challenge:
According to the 2024 census, Uganda remains one of the world’s youngest nations, with 50.5% of its population aged 17 years and under, and a further 22.7% between the ages of 18–30. Despite their numbers, young people’s needs are often unmet, and they continue to face the consequences of poor governance, underrepresentation, and weak service delivery.
Youth civil society has the potential to transform the reality of young people in Uganda by providing platforms where they can shape governance, drive accountability, and influence Uganda’s development agenda. However, youth civil society organisations (CSOs) in Uganda face critical challenges:
- Weak coordination: The lack of a strong, unified coordination mechanism leaves youth voices fragmented, duplicating efforts and limiting national impact.
- Capacity gaps: Many youth CSOs struggle with organisational structures, policies, financial management, and the ability to engage effectively in policy debates. Young feminist leaders, in particular, face critical gaps in skills such as resource mobilisation and organisational development.
- Limited influence in policy processes: Youth CSOs often lack the space, platforms, and networks to meaningfully influence policies that directly affect them, especially in areas such as livelihoods, entrepreneurship, and youth innovation.
Our Response:
Through this new GIZ-supported intervention, Restless Development will mobilise, coordinate, and strengthen youth CSOs to ensure they can effectively participate in governance and development processes. The project will build the resilience and capacity of youth leaders to hold duty bearers accountable, influence policies, and drive national development.
Overall Objective: National and local development processes that affect young people in Uganda are influenced by a strengthened youth civil society.
Envisioned Change
- A strengthened and coordinated national mechanism for youth civil society.
- Youth CSOs with enhanced organisational and leadership capacity.
- Youth CSOs meaningfully engage in and influence policy and national development processes.
What the project will do: Over the next year, we will:
- Build a clearer picture of youth civil society in Uganda by producing Uganda’s first State of Youth Civil Society report that maps youth organisations across the country and highlights what they need to succeed.
- Connect and coordinate at least 100 youth organisations through the National Youth Working Group helping them collaborate, speak with one voice, and build stronger partnerships with government and development partners.
- Launch a digital Leadership Action Lab: an interactive platform where young leaders can access training, mentorship, and tools to grow their organisations.
- Support youth engagement in national planning by creating a framework to track youth participation in the Fourth National Development Plan, ensuring young people’s priorities are not left out.
- Advocate for the Start-Up Bill by bringing youth organisations and policymakers together through the Youth Business Forum and direct engagements with key Parliamentary Committees. This effort will ensure youth voices shape the Bill and help create a more enabling environment for young innovators and start-ups in Uganda.
