Democracy & Governance
Diaper Mentality
The Diaper Mentality project aimed to provide a mirror reflection of the bad habits often done by both the public and those in leadership in spite of 50 years post-independence. It creatively sought to do this visually via video and photography by recruiting a talented cast and production crew. The overall objective was to increase awareness of the need for responsible and accountable citizenship.
Mavulture
Since early 2012, PAWA initiated several street graffiti projects whose purpose was to draw Kenyans’ attention to the endemic issues of bad governance, corruption, and abuse of office perpetrated by the political class. We used the image of a vulture to characterise and satirise the Kenyan politician in street graffiti, while calling on Kenyans to stand up and fight for their rights and hold their leaders to account. The graffiti also chronicled political scandals over the last decade.
Occupy Parliament I/II
Occupy Parliament and Occupy Parliament Reloaded were protests held a month apart from each other to express outrage and public outcry towards Kenyan Members of Parliament awarding themselves huge salaries and perks. Live pigs were used during Occupy Parliament I to symbolize the greed of the MPs.
The protests garnered extensive public interest and sparked a deeper inquiry into the lack of accountability within the Kenyan political sphere, as well as the scarcity of ethical leadership within the political class.
M-Pigs
M-pigs was a public campaign that culminated into a public protest aimed at shaming our Members of Parliament who in 2013 attempted to increase their salaries at a time when the Kenyan economy was on its knees.
Ni Yetu Walk
Ni Yetu Walk was a 2-week walk, from Kisumu to Nairobi, in commemoration of the 6th anniversary of the promulgation of the Kenyan Constitution. Together with artists and musicians across the country, the walk saw performances and discussions forums held at different stopovers along the way. The walk consisted of a core team of 100 artists and activists including a technical team of 20.
Form Ni Gani?
#Formnigani was a creative advocacy campaign designed to amplify the voices of young Kenyans in favour of family planning. The title ‘Form ni gani?’ translates to ‘What’s the plan?’ in Sheng, a slang form of Swahili. The project was an experiment in how creative communication can be used to support the ongoing work of advocacy groups by magnifying the voice of the people through the use of artivism and other forms of creative advocacy. This campaign featured contributions from Kenyan musicians, photographers, filmmakers, dancers, comedians, street artists, writers, poets, and graphic novelists.
Heroism & Courage
The Heroism and Courage Project was an advocacy project that used innovative and bold approaches to catalyze public interest and action in governance to ensure public transparency and accountability, defeat of the culture of impunity and the rampant abuse of human rights in Kenya. The project aimed at inspiring large-scale civic consciousness and engagement among Kenyan youth on governance issues using the stories and examples of Kenya’s heroes and heroines as a primer.
Knockout Corruption
This was a peaceful demonstration in support of government action against corruption. Knock out Corruption was carried out in December 2015 and involved over 300 activists. The activists marched from Uhuru Park’s Freedom Corner to State House to petition the President to take a personal stand against corruption following numerous reports about corruption in government.
Sauti Tetezi
Sauti Tetezi was an integrated arts and budget-tracking project implemented by PAWA254 that aimed at enhancing the participation of Kenyan youth in accountability and governance processes. The project’s goal was to “Contribute to a behavioural shift among the youth from being hapless participants of development/governance processes to active and frontline players in matters Accountability and Governance”.
The project focused on implementing activities that would lead to the achievement of the following key objectives:
- Mobilise artivists in Nairobi to develop poetry/spoken word and graphic design content across different online and offline platforms to conscientize the public while addressing issues of accountability, public participation, and corruption culminating in an Accountability Festival.
- Empower the communities through training in budget formulation, implementation, and tracking in the target wards, to demonstrate how lack of accountability impacts a nation’s state of health, economic prosperity, and democratic space and in so doing, help the target audience to recognize their power, authority and strategic positioning in championing accountability.
- Create, implement, and analyse an interactive personal/collective responsibility accountability campaign sharing information about the role of youth in cultivating, nurturing, and celebrating a culture of accountability, ultimately, contributing towards a behavioural shift from passivity towards active and knowledgeable participants in governance processes.
PAWA partnered with community members and activists from the social justice centres of Kiamaiko and Githurai wards in Nairobi County to successfully implement the project.
Some of the notable successes that the project achieved included;
- Reclamation of grabbed public lands in Githurai and Kiamaiko wards as a result of sustained citizen pressure.
- A Notable increase in the number of citizens in both wards taking part in Social Accountability processes in the two wards.
- Empowered citizens actively taking part in public processes and exerting pressure on state officers to be accountable as seen from the many public memos and even protests held to demand for good governance.
- The production and dissemination of the Sauti Tetezi Poetry album; a youth-centric avenue through which the youth were and will still be engaged in advocating for social justice.
Wajibu Wetu
The Wajibu Wetu Programme sought to contribute towards respect for and fulfilment of human rights, deepening democracy and realization of gender equality in Kenya. The programme, under FORUMCIV, worked with CSOs vested in media, arts and culture and other innovative approaches to foster democratic culture, respect for and fulfillment of human rights, and gender equality.
Rights, Inclusion, and Transparency For Accountable Institutions (RITAI)
PAWA254 is currently implementing a three-years (2023-2026) project termed as Rights, Inclusion and Transparency for Accountable Institutions (RITAI). PAWA254 is implementing the project in three counties namely Nairobi, Kajiado and Nakuru. RITAI is implemented in partnership with URAIA Trust, HAKI Yetu, Friends of lake Turkana (FOLT), Muslim Women Advancement of Rights and Protection (MWARP) Organizations and the Ombudsman. The project is supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy (RNE).
The project Goal is to promote a rights-based society by fostering an enabling environment that supports the realization of human rights through increased access to information, enhanced transparency, accountability, citizen participation in public affairs, and strengthened capacities and support systems for the Human Rights Defenders in Kenya.
PAWA has thus far enhanced the capacities of more than 200 young people in the 3 counties; Nairobi County ( Kiamaiko & Githurai wards), Nakuru (Biashara & Kaptembwa wards) and Kajiado County ( Oloolua and Ngong wards) in Public finance management, access to information and public participation to enable them participate effectively in democratic processes and hold their leaders accountable. We have also established a vibrant youth-led HRD network engaged in collective action & advocacy for human rights through organising training workshops to equip the young human rights defenders and activists with knowledge on Human rights principles, advocacy strategies, and digital activism in three counties of Nairobi, Nakuru and Kajiado.
People Dialogue Festival (PDF)
The People Dialogue Festival (PDF) is a flagship dialogue initiative by the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD-Kenya) aimed at shaping the discourse around critical issues by bringing together leaders and people to engage in meaningful conversations about pressing challenges and opportunities facing the broader society in Kenya.
