Over 120 adolescent girls and young women from across Kenya gathered in Nairobi for the 6th Annual Girls Assembly, calling for greater opportunities for girls and young women to participate meaningfully in leadership, decision-making and development processes that affect their lives and communities.

Under the theme “Unleashing Authentic Feminine Leadership,” Polycom Girls hosted an Assembly that united girls, young women, female leaders, policymakers, development partners, and advocates for women’s rights. This gathering served as a platform for exchanging ideas, engaging in dialogue, learning, and building networks.

The Assembly explored issues including ending Violence Against Women and Girls(EVAWG), Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV), girls’ agency and participation in decision-making, climate justice, WASH, women’s economic justice and rights, Women, Peace and Security, male ally ship and partnerships.

As Kenya heads to the 2027 General Election, participants emphasized the importance of peaceful political participation and creating space for young women to contribute to public decision-making.

Polycom Girls Founder and Executive Director Jane Anyango said the organisation is committed to equipping girls with leadership skills and encouraging them to participate meaningfully in governance and political processes.

“Young people cannot be discussed in their absence.” The Assembly also highlighted the need for girls and young women entering political spaces to remain engaged despite the challenges that may arise during electoral
periods.

The keynote speaker, H.E. Henk Jan Bakker, Ambassador of the Netherlands toKenya and Permanent Representative to UNEP and UN-Habitat, encouraged young leaders to remain open to different perspectives. “A good leader is open to other opinions and other voices.”

The Ambassador emphasized that leaders should create space for differing views rather than surrounding themselves with people who simply agree with them.

He also noted that while development partners can provide support, sustainable development and scale ultimately require ownership by communities and governments.

Aphline Yogo, Programs Officer at Polycom Girls, said the Assembly was deliberately designed to create space for girls to develop and advance their own ideas.

“Girls are pitching their ideas and we want them to be realized.” Yogo said the approach is centred on intentional participation and ownership, noting that the girls themselves help shape the Assembly and the conversations taking place. “Girls Assembly — we say be intentional and it will show in the
people you get to the room.”

She added that this year’s participation model also strengthened ownership among the girls, with participants contributing towards their participation in the Assembly.

Florence Syevuo, Executive Director of the SDGs Kenya Forum, underscored the importance of ensuring that development conversations reflect the realities experienced by girls and young women.

“SDGs embody the lived realities of the girls.” Syevuo noted that issues such as safe environments, menstrual health and hygiene and technology-facilitated gender-based violence are part of girls’ everyday experiences and therefore need to be addressed through solutions that meaningfully involve them.

“We cannot do development from a place of what we know. We must include the girls as we seek answers to their problems.”

She emphasized that girls and young women have an important role in identifying solutions and called on partners to engage directly with them.

For the past five years, the Annual Girls Assembly has connected more than 1,000young women with mentors, policymakers, women leaders, donors and development partners, helping translate commitments to gender equality into opportunities for girls to lead and influence change. The Assembly is built around four principles:connect,co-create,champion ,celebrate.

The discussions also highlighted the importance of sustainability and locally led development.

Participants noted that while development partners can provide resources and opportunities, grassroots organisations and communities need the capacity, ownership and partnerships required to sustain their work beyond individual projects.

The 6th Assembly also set the stage for deeper conversations on peace and social cohesion ahead of Kenya’s 2027 elections.

Polycom Girls says the 7th Annual Girls Assembly will build on this year’s conversations by placing greater emphasis on peace, ensuring that girls and young women are not only participants in electoral processes but are also equipped to contribute to peaceful and inclusive communities.

As the Assembly concluded, the message was clear: girls and young women must not simply be prepared for the future — they must have meaningful opportunities to shape it.