Kenya's youth council bill

There is a bill in the Kenyan Parliament to establish a national youth council whose functions would include, among other things:

• Registering youth groups and youth-focused community-based organizations:
• Promoting and popularizing official national youth policy, and facilitating the periodic review of said policy;
• Mobilizing resources to support and fund youth programs and initiatives;
• Lobbying for legislation on issues affecting youth;
• Liaising with other organizations to ensure youth have access to resources and services appropriate to their needs;
• Inspiring and promoting "the spirit of unity, patriotism, volunteerism and service among the youth";
• "[Acting] as a voice and bridge to ensure that the government and other policy makers are kept informed of the views and other aspirations of the youth";
• Promoting research on youth issues.

The bill, however, includes no requirement that its membership include actual youth. The membership requirements also make it unlikely that the members would be representative of the population as a whole. Members must have a university degree and 3 years of experience developing youth programs or projects.

For a critique of the bill, see this blog post.