With more than 100 participants – including politicians, youth leaders, researchers, government officials and NGOs , our alumni conference Youth Inclusion in Local Governance, co-organised with the University of Zambia (UNZA) in Lusaka from 7–9 October 2025, was a great success. We heard many powerful and insightful voices, gained new knowledge, explored innovative methods, and shared valuable experiences resulting in tangible commitments and action. The conference culminated in the adoption of the Lusaka Declaration on Advancing Youth Inclusion in Local Governance.
This three-day conference brought together ICLD alumni and associates to discuss how to turn policy into meaningful change for children and young people. The room was vibrant with local governments, researchers, youth leaders, civil society, and media houses development practitioners coming from Botswana, Kenya, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The first day featured high-level panels, research presentations, and results from ICLD partnerships. We learnt from successful projects where platforms such as Youth Councils and Children’s Parliaments have been established. Researchers demonstrated how evidence is helping guide our work in the right direction. Supported by state-of-the-art theory on child rights and youth inclusion, we explored how to bridge the gap between policy and implementation – and how to turn informal discussions into concrete action.
As Dr Gabriel Pollen, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in Zambia, said in his opening speech: “The real challenge lies in turning policy into practice.”
The following two days gathered a core group of 50 alumni to focus on practical work, inclusing sharing results and methods, cross-sectoral collaboration and inter-local learning. These sessions provided great opportunities for networking and for adapting good practice to different local contexts.
It is often said that research and practice stand wide apart – something that proved false when scholars and local government officials were deep in discussions around the tables. Researchers in ICLD programmes strive everyday to understand the conditions on the ground, and policymakers have much to gain from using the emerging models and knowledge.
We left Lusaka truly inspired – by what we achieved together during the conference, but especially by the powerful results from ICLD partnerships and programmes. Their knowledge, tools and methods are spreading between municipalities, across cities and even across borders.
As Professor Felix Masiye from UNZA put it: “The inclusion of youth in governance is a strategic investment for society.” And to quote Prisca Mwangi, youth Influencer from Kenya: “Youth inclusion is not a favour – it’s a right!”
The Lusaka Declaration on Advancing Youth Inclusion in Local Governance
We also joined forces to draft and adopt the #LusakaDeclarationYouthInclusion, a truly co-created pledge towards moving beyond words to real, evidence-based action that empowers both young people and the actors advancing their inclusion as true agents of change. With 50 leading names from policymakers, youth, scholars and civil society in 8 countries as signatories, the document lends legitimacy and weight to the urgency with which our alumni will continue this work in their home contexts. The slogan reminds us of a key phrase in inclusive governance: “Nothing for us without us.”
