Shared Futures: Youth Leading the way to Peaceful Interfaith Coexistence Cordaid works towards peaceful and just societies by enhancing the capabilities of communities and civil societies to resolve conflicts and promote social cohesion. Evidence from the pilot phase of the Shared Futures project implemented in the coastal region of Kenya has shown us that building skills of the youth for the mitigation and resolution of conflict can make a significant contribution to peaceful interfaith coexistence and facilitate positive transformation in individuals and communities.

Shared Futures - Youth Leading the way to peaceful Interfaith coexistence project is a follow up project to the pilot phase of Shared Futures – Together for Good project in Kenya. This project builds on the experiences and the lessons learnt in the pilot phase. The lessons learned from the Shared Futures pilot phase are included in the approach and design of the new phase. The shift we envision to make in the new project to incorporate the lessons learned from the Shared Futures pilot is to put the youth in the lead. We believe that youth can be empowered to take the lead in tackling the root causes of violent extremism in Kwale and Mombasa counties. Youth (faith-based) organizations and youth leaders will work with Cordaid to reach the overall goal of this project: youth take the lead in tackling the root causes of VE in Kwale, Mombasa and Tana River counties. We will focus on the two pillars that correspond with the major root causes that emerge from the context analysis: interfaith co-existence and economic empowerment.

In the ‘peaceful interfaith coexistence’ pillar, we aim to strengthen the family approach. Our focus will be on the youth but also target diverse groups that are connected to the youth. We propose to use various methodologies, including interfaith forums where youth leaders will lead interactions between youth of different religious backgrounds to create a safe space for interaction and exchange. The parents’ dialogues target young parents to create understanding of different religions, and to learn how to recognize signs of radicalization. Lastly, sports activities target children and will stimulate interfaith collaboration from an early age to prepare the youth for the future. In the economic empowerment pillar, we strengthen the capacity of the youth and create linkages that will encourage the youth to seek meaningful work to make an income through Cordaid’s signature MANQ’A approach. The MANQ’A approach will focus on the hospitality sector and facilities at various levels including hotels, restaurants, and food deliveries (low and high end) to create direct job opportunities in the hotels through apprenticeships, and indirect job opportunities through the supply chains of vegetables and fruits in agribusiness. To empower the Youth in Kwale, Tana River and Mombasa counties in Kenya to take the lead in tackling the root causes of violent extremism in their counties Direct beneficiaries include 3000 Youths (18-35, 40% Female). Other indirect beneficiaries include religious leaders, civil society actors, children and youth, teachers, county government, parents/guardians, private sector