Act Change Transform

10/06/2026

👉 🔎 Multi-Stakeholder Validation Workshop Delivers Actionable Insights for Kenya’s 2027 Electoral Preparedness 🗳️

On 4th June 2026, with support from the Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi through the Reformed Elections for Enhanced Democracy and Inclusion (REDI) Programme and the Embassy of Denmark in Kenya through the Resilience, Peace and Stability (RPS) Programme, Act! convened a multi-stakeholder validation workshop. The workshop brought together the European Union Delegation in Kenya, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Civil Society Organisations, and other key election and security stakeholders to review findings from the Political Economy Analysis, Electoral Conflict Risk Mapping, and National Public Perception Survey. The sessions generated critical insights to inform Kenya’s electoral environment ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Key highlights:

📌There are significant trust deficits in formal electoral and political institutions, which contrast with higher confidence in community-proximate actors such as religious leaders and local administration.

📌Electoral risks are evolving across the electoral cycle, with emerging trends showing increased pre-election conflict, youth vulnerability, and the growing role of digital technology and misinformation.

📌Youth are politically aware but require stronger pathways for meaningful agency beyond civic education, alongside urgent action on misinformation, disinformation, and AI-driven risks.

📌Digital technologies and platform accountability have emerged as major electoral threats, encompassing technology-facilitated gender-based violence, deepfakes, and online mobilisation.

📌Conflict dynamics are evolving; new tensions are emerging in previously stable regions while traditional hotspots remain fluid.

📌Modernising peace committees and strengthening adaptive early warning systems now urgent priorities.

📌Women, youth, and marginalized groups remain disproportionately affected, facing barriers to participation, safety concerns, and exclusion from political processes.

What Next?

➡️Strategic interventions must be adaptive, conflict-sensitive, and inclusive, with sustained collaborative actions across the full electoral cycle.

➡️There is an urgent need to move beyond civic awareness towards strengthening meaningful youth civic agency, while simultaneously addressing misinformation, disinformation, and AI-related risks.

➡️Electoral integrity requires shared responsibility among the IEBC, political parties, security agencies, civil society, faith actors, and citizens, backed by greater transparency, accountability, and citizen empowerment.

These evidence-based insights will directly inform adaptive programming, policy engagement, and peacebuilding efforts in the lead-up to 2027.

01/06/2026

Happy Madaraka Day!

Today, we celebrate the spirit of freedom, unity, and resilience that continues to shape our nation. May we all play our part in building an inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous Kenya.

27/05/2026

Eid Al-Adha Mubarak 🌙✨

The Act! fraternity wishes you and your loved ones peace, blessings, and joy during this special celebration.

20/05/2026

🕊️ Women's peace work is not a side agenda. It is THE Agenda!

Against the Nairobi skyline, Act! through the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Programme funded by the Embassy of Denmark in Kenya, supported the National Steering Committee (NSC) on Women, Peace & Security in convening its quarterly coordination meeting bringing together the State Department for Gender Affairs & Affirmative Action (SDGAA), National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), the National Police Service - Kenya, The National Gender and Equality Commission-Kenya(NGEC) , Inter-Religious Council of Kenya (IRCK), Rural Women Peace Link, Kenya Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security and grassroots peacebuilders under one roof.

Backed by Denmark in Kenya, the meeting was a candid audit of where Kenya stands on KNAP III and UNSCR 1325, and where it is falling short.

Twenty-five years after UNSCR 1325 placed women at the centre of peace and security, the conversations in that room refused to be polite. Partners named what data and lived experience confirm: Kenya's hate speech law, still rooted in ethnic discrimination, offers no legal shield against gender-based cyberbullying, online harassment, or political targeting of women in leadership.

Meanwhile, 611 gender desks and 1,363 trained officers exist on paper yet survivor referral pathways still collapse at the last mile, and County Action Plans remain chronically underfunded and gathering dust.

Clarion calls from the room pointed to a need for:
📌 Permanent national and county dedicated budget lines for GBV response and women-led peace work for institutionalisation of responses and sustainability.
📌 Amendment of hate speech definitions to protect women from digital and political violence, not just ethnic targeting.
📌 Walking the survivor's journey, auditing of GBV referral pathways from the community to the courtroom, and fixing every broken step.
📌 The need to broaden participation beyond the “converted” by intentionally engaging county executives, emerging local structures, and men as credible allies .

The WPS Coordination agenda in Kenya needs more hands on deck, localisation of the CAPs by further translating them into local dialects, and strategic linkages; with the County engaging strategically with the Council of Governors for sufficient buy-in and collaboration with the national government. With 2027 closer than it looks, election preparedness, women mediator training and the ‘Enhancing Accountability in the WPS Agenda Initiative’ are essential.

Act! is proud to support the infrastructure that keeps this agenda honest and the conversations moving forward.

19/05/2026

Meaningful public participation remains at the heart of effective Devolved Governance!

Join the Kenya Devolution Civil Society Organizations’ Working Group (KDCWG) tomorrow; in collaboration with the State Department for Devolution and Act Change Transform, for a Learning & Strategy Forum on the Dissemination of the Revised County Public Participation Guidelines.

The forum will bring together stakeholders to unpack the revised guidelines, explore practical approaches for domestication, and discuss strategies for strengthening inclusive, transparent, and participatory governance across Kenya’s counties.

📅 20th May 2026
⏰ 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
🔗 Join using this link: https://tinyurl.com/pp-webinar

12/05/2026

🌍 A major milestone for Women, Peace & Security (WPS) in Kenya!

In the hills of Limuru, Act! hosted a WPS Programme Design Clinic and Validation. In partnership with the Royal Danish Embassy, National Cohesion and Integration Commission, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission(IEBC) Kenya and the State Department for Gender, we launched the 2026–2028 Programme funded by the Embassy of Denmark in Kenya to embed women’s leadership in peace and security governance across ASAL counties and informal settlements. Twenty-five years after UNSCR 1325, symbolic gestures are no longer enough; women’s safety and influence should be the norm.

Partners rigorously interrogated data on representation gaps, GBV prevalence, CAP operationalisation challenges, and the persistent localisation deficit. Baseline findings exposed the localisation gap: policies exist, yet women remain present in peace structures but unheard; GBV referral pathways break down at the last mile; and County Action Plans too often gather dust and remain underfunded.

Partners moved beyond tokenism to demand measurable influence, refining Theories of Change to address patriarchal norms, climate-driven conflicts, and the 2027 electoral risks.

The Act! CEO emphasized, “A safer country for our women is the only promise for our future; we have to take responsibility for safeguarding it.”

Key takeaways:
📌 Stop counting seats, start measuring real influence: do women set agendas, change decisions, and see their proposals adopted?
📌Treat male ally engagement and 2027 election preparedness as core programme pillars, not cosmetic add-ons.
📌Audit the respective county’s GBV referral pathway by walking through the survivor’s actual journey and fixing the broken steps
📌Make County Action Plans work by securing dedicated budgets, giving grassroots women named seats on monitoring committees, and producing simple local-language scorecards.

The clinic also inducted partners on programme expectations across Grant Management, Monitoring & Evaluation, Communications, Compliance, and Reporting, laying the foundation for accountable, coordinated, and impact-driven implementation over the next three years.

The road ahead demands collective ownership and the embedding of women’s leadership where conflict, climate shocks, and exclusion collide hardest.



Rural Women Peace Link Kenya Community Support Centre (KECOSCE) Community Safety Initiative - Kenya Pastoralist Girls Initiative

01/05/2026

From communities to counties, the work continues.

Today we celebrate the everyday changemakers building peace, accountability, and inclusive governance.

Happy Labor Day!

01/05/2026

🔔 Update: REDI Programme EOI

A Responses & Clarifications document has now been uploaded to our website to address queries received.

We encourage all interested applicants to review it alongside the EOI document.

🔗 Access it here: https://act.or.ke/call-for-proposals/request-for-expression-of-interestrfeoi-ref-redi-rfeoi-2026/

📢 Call for Expression(s) of Interest (EOI) – REDI Programme

Act! invites national and county-level Civil Society Organizations (NGOs, CBOs, and non-profits) to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for innovative initiatives under the Reformed Elections for Enhanced Democracy and Inclusion (REDI) Programme, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

The EOI seeks proposals that will contribute to credible, inclusive, and peaceful electoral processes ahead of the 2027 General Election, focusing on national cohesion, strengthened electoral institutions, enhanced citizen participation, and effective election monitoring and observation.

📍 Prospective Target Counties: Nairobi, Kajiado, Kiambu, Uasin Gishu, Trans-Nzoia, Nakuru, Kericho, Kisumu, Homabay, Kisii, Mombasa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Garissa, Laikipia, Nyeri, Mandera & Bungoma

📅 Submission Deadline: 04 May 2026 | 5:00 PM (EAT)
📧 Submit to: [email protected]

Learn more and access the full EOI guidelines on our website: https://act.or.ke/call-for-proposals/request-for-expression-of-interestrfeoi-ref-redi-rfeoi-2026/

22/04/2026

📢 Call for Expression(s) of Interest (EOI) – REDI Programme

Act! invites national and county-level Civil Society Organizations (NGOs, CBOs, and non-profits) to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for innovative initiatives under the Reformed Elections for Enhanced Democracy and Inclusion (REDI) Programme, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

The EOI seeks proposals that will contribute to credible, inclusive, and peaceful electoral processes ahead of the 2027 General Election, focusing on national cohesion, strengthened electoral institutions, enhanced citizen participation, and effective election monitoring and observation.

📍 Prospective Target Counties: Nairobi, Kajiado, Kiambu, Uasin Gishu, Trans-Nzoia, Nakuru, Kericho, Kisumu, Homabay, Kisii, Mombasa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Garissa, Laikipia, Nyeri, Mandera & Bungoma

📅 Submission Deadline: 04 May 2026 | 5:00 PM (EAT)
📧 Submit to: [email protected]

Learn more and access the full EOI guidelines on our website: https://act.or.ke/call-for-proposals/request-for-expression-of-interestrfeoi-ref-redi-rfeoi-2026/

16/04/2026

✨RPS 2026 Design Clinic✨

Representatives from the Royal Danish Embassy, Act! and partners from Samburu, Laikipia, Nakuru, Baringo, Kisumu, and Nairobi Counties came together for a 4-day Design Clinic under the Resilience, Peace & Stability (RPS) Programme funded by Embassy of Denmark in Kenya, laying the foundation for peaceful elections in 2027.

Over the four days, teams collaborated to refine project proposals, grounded their interventions in clear theories of change, and aligned around a shared goal: strengthening community resilience and social cohesion to prevent election-related violence.

The conversations moved beyond concepts to concrete planning. Partners developed results frameworks, refined activities, and ensured each intervention aligned with the Programme’s priorities, directly contributing to what matters most: building trust between communities and institutions and addressing key drivers of conflict. These initiatives aim to curb misinformation and hate speech, strengthen early warning and response systems, and expand meaningful participation for youth and women.

The Act! Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation (PBCT) Platform Manager emphasized that strategic implementation grounded in localized responses and linked to broader initiatives is critical to building sustainable, long-term pathways for peace.

With the design phase complete, the focus now shifts to implementation—driving forward peaceful, inclusive, and credible elections in 2027. 🕊

Community Safety Initiative Pamoja for Transformation MIDRIFT HURINET GAME Ceed