How Tanzanian youth in Denmark use networks to push SDGs agenda

 Still, he quickly realised he had to master new skills in the broadcasting industry to gain a foothold against his peers, taught himself video editing and improved his knowledge of electronic media, and that was a life-changing decision that advanced his career.

 He never settles; he is on a constant lookout at how he can impact his community and learn new things from his peers across the world.

 So when the opportunity to meet, network, and learn from his peers in Denmark arose, Erick, along with other Tanzanian youth, couldn’t hesitate.

Mr  Erick and Ms Hellen Sisya were among six exceptional youth who were selected to represent the country in the Danida Fellowship Programme.

 ‘Contrary to what some young people believe,’ Erick said, ‘the programme is not for the selected few, the elite, or the politically connected young people; it’s for young Tanzanians who are willing to go out there and seek opportunities that not only benefit them but their society in the long run.’

 “I am based in the Tanga region, far from what one would call rich and connected, but I was selected for the programme,” he insisted.

 The Danida Fellowship Programme aims to empower youth to influence the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implementation. It began in 2023, designed to support young people already working on the sustainable development issues in their countries.

 Each year selected participants, often from African countries, travel to Denmark for a three-week programme that combines training, institutional visits, and networking.

Mr Erick’s work as a multimedia communication specialist and community facilitator is focused on gender equality, climate action, and inclusive development.

 The Pangani-based young journalist creatively uses storytelling and participatory dialogue to promote gender justice and support local changemakers in addressing harmful social norms and advancing sustainable development goals.

“We are here in Denmark with youth from Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and our other African brothers and sisters,” he said.

 Most of the attendees selected are part of the Youth Sounding Board members of the European Union Delegation.

 The programme is facilitated by 2030 and Beyond with support from the Danish International Development Agency (Danida).

 The young Tanzanians in the list are diverse; some are into start-ups, human rights, CSO founders, and social entrepreneurs, and others are into politics.

 For the three impactful weeks, Erick has learnt, unlearnt, and relearnt a lot about his multimedia interventions and how he can better his future approach working with marginalised communities in Pangani.

 The training has enhanced his communication skills, making the SDGs advocacy more relatable to an everyday citizen.

 He believes in the power of partnership for the effective implementation of all these goals, and he has learnt how to form meaningful partnerships.

 For a journalist working with a CSO, he now understands, you don’t need hefty funds from development partners to implement a project in the community.  He visited innovation hubs in Denmark and saw how they use partnerships to decrease the budget of their projects.

 He saw how 2030 Beyond as an organisation has partnered with the Danish Parliament to push for SDG implementation.

 Strategic partnership that he aims to employ when he gets home.

 It dawned on him that even the projects that require a big budget to impact his community could cost much less if he had key collaborators, mostly now that most donor-funded projects are stalling with the exit of USAID and changing geopolitics.

 Nevertheless, he has figured out how, as young people, they can support the government and local leadership to implement the SDGs.  He patiently worked with village elders and leaders, explaining what the Sustainable Development Goals are and how they can play a crucial collaborative role in their implementation.

 He learnt, with a human-based approach, how to communicate one’s objective while avoiding resentment.

 “Even speaking about human rights could meet resistance if you do not communicate properly,” he said.  Having the community feel ownership of the initiative can help improve the implementation, he learnt.

Mr Erick is coming back to Tanzania, just as the country is gearing up for the general election. As a journalist, his participation will be a key factor in his community; he plans to facilitate live discussions in the traditional media, and radio is still a big player in the communities he serves.

 Creating civic spaces where communities will be educated on the importance of participating and engaging in political forums, know their rights and obligations to make sure political participation translates to development in their communities, and elect leaders who will not be self-serving but help the community.

 Despite the current political challenges, he hopes to urge the youth to not only vote but also aspire to political positions where they can be in positions to make decisions and changes as well as refrain from being used as tools of violence during the general election.

Ms Hellen, on the other hand, is a passionate youth leader and an advocate for girls’ education and gender equality.

 Still a young lady, but her accomplishments are impressive. She is the founder of ‘Her Education Foundation, a youth-led initiative promoting access to education across Tanzania.

 She is a vocal champion for the #ArudiShule Campaign, which encourages school re-entry for adolescent mothers and out-of-school girls.

 She also serves as a Youth Sounding Board Member to the European Union Delegation in Tanzania.  While in Denmark, she has undertaken extensive courses on human rights and how to incorporate them while implementing her projects.

 All projects that the government or private sectors undertake should have human rights considerations.

 She has been learning how to implement the sustainable development goals and meeting with different organisations that have experience in government relationships and how CSOs can harness those relationships to achieve their goals.

 She was also able to meet Danish members of parliament; she was also able to attend Folkemødet, the Danish for “The People’s Meeting” where more than thousands of people meet in the annual democratic festival held in Bornholm, Denmark, where politicians, NGOs, businesses, and citizens gather for one week to discuss political and social issues.

 Among the crowds were well-known government ministers and members of parliament, of whom Ms Hellen took the time to learn a lot from their experiences.

 She was amazed by how approachable these high-level politicians were, meeting their citizens and answering critical questions their voters had; it was such a humbling experience for this young activist.

Ms Hellen has participated in high-level conferences before, including the one that was held in Rwanda.

 “Getting exposed to what other people are doing in the implication of SDGs is what I am here for, to learn and share experience,” she said. For an activist working on issues related to equality, it strengthens her knowledge and network to further her work and puts to work the insight she has gained from the programme.

 She has been engaging in feminist spaces with well-known activists like Rebecca Gyumi and others. Speaking on the pending general election, she is apprehensive about the current electoral system and the chances women have to not only vote but also contest seats in the parliament.

 It’s only through free and fair elections that women and youth will have a fair ground and a chance to win.

 “I want women and youth to be given a level playing field to compete and win, not because of their age and gender, but for their capability,” she insisted.

 She hopes for improved electoral laws that are fair and that will reflect the democratic values that Tanzania claims to promote and safeguard.