People Dialogue Festival in Kenya - a democratic success
A small piece of the Danish Island, Bornholm can be found in Nairobi's stunning national museum garden. At least, that's how we felt as delegates from four Danish parties at the Kenyan People's Meeting, "The People Dialogue Festival".
Text by Henrik Sølje Weiglin, organisational deputy chairman of the Conservative People's Party and member of DIPD's board.
The People Dialogue Festival (PDF) was held for the fifth time in Kenya's capital Nairobi in March, a celebration of democracy as Danes knows it from the People's Meeting on the Danish Island, Bornholm.
Tents in the National Museum were filled with conversations, music, and dance to strengthen and celebrate democracy. This year, I had the opportunity to participate alongside other Danes from the Conservative People's Party, The Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party, and Green Left as part of the multi-party collaboration we have established in Kenya.
The Liberal Party has been working in Kenya for over ten years through the Danish Liberal Democracy Programme, and the People Dialogue Festival in Nairobi is just one of many outcomes of that partnership. The ambition for the future work, since we are now four parties working together, is to get the democratic conversation from the big cities to the rest of the country. Poverty, hunger, and unemployment are everyday life in many parts of the country, making it difficult for democracy to take root.
People Dialogue Festival addresses money in politics and corruption
The SDG’s had a central position at the festival. They are viewed as a key framework for development in Kenya, and in developing countries in general. As a result, the main stage of the PDF was devoted to debates about the implementation the SDG’s.
I attended a workshop on developing a framework for local democracy organised by the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD-Kenya), our Kenyan partner and organiser of the PDF.
One of the many challenges in Kenya is that the democratic conversation takes place only in the major cities. This is because politicians relocate to Nairobi right after the elections, and the parties' organisations are not anchored locally. Another problem is corruption in connection with the elections. As a result, there is a lot at stake, and the debates at the PDF is occasionally quite blunt and to the point.
Another debate in which I participated was titled "Money in Politics." Due to corruption, it is often more expensive to be elected to parliament in Kenya than it is in, say, the United States or Denmark. This makes it difficult for many young people who lack the skills to pursue a political career. At the same time, it is difficult for individuals who have been elected to parliament to make politics a way of life. As a result, there are numerous parties that appear and then vanish.
Young people at the PDF
The youth politicians and school students – Kenya’s future – played a significant part at the festival. Education of children and youth a high priority for CMD-Kenya. There was an entire stage dedicated to school children, where the panellists and audience were all school students. The desire to speak and to ask questions was great.
Elsewhere at the public meeting, in the Youth Village, was the youth stage, where youth politics unfolded with discussions on gender differences, inequality, inclusion, sexuality and many other controversial topics.
Music, dance, and taste samples of a sustainable collaboration
The Danish commitment is great in Kenya. Every day in the heart of the festival site, in the Culinary Conversations Corner, 50 young chef students, 25 Danish and 25 Kenyan, cooked delicious demonstrations of how to use resources and reduce food waste.
Music, dancing, and entertainment take up a lot of space and are utilised to celebrate democracy and dialogue. Artists, poets, and cultural life were represented at the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as throughout the gathering. Every day culminated in a concert on the main stage.
Still big challenges
Although the democracy festival was a huge success, there are still major challenges that our work will address in the next years. PDF gets a lot of publicity in the Kenyan media, yet only a small percentage of the population is aware of it, and even fewer attends.
Regardless, the festival is a step in the right direction, and it provides opportunity for interaction with politicians from all Kenyan political groups. That way, we can keep working to expand party politics beyond Nairobi, Meru, Mombasa, and Kisumu.
I hope that the Danish initiative in Kenya will support the democratic conversation. In any case, we four parties are looking forward to continuing our collaboration with our partners in Kenya and Denmark.
