Shujaaz Inc

Bridget Deacon: Empowering Youth Through Media This week, Connect X is proud to highlight Bridget Deacon, a leader whose passion for storytelling has shaped her career in media and youth empowerment. From her early days producing youth television drama at the BBC, to her impactful work in Kenyan educational media, Bridget has always believed in the power of stories to inspire and create change. Since joining Shujaaz Inc. in 2010, Bridget has focused on designing campaigns that address critical social issues, such as health and education. As Managing Director since 2018, she has dedicated herself to fostering youth empowerment across East Africa, with a particular emphasis on listening to young voices and providing them with the tools to take action. One of her most notable contributions is the #LindaFam campaign, which successfully reached over 18 million young people, encouraging informed decisions around COVID-19 vaccination. Bridget’s leadership is defined by her belief in the potential of young people to drive meaningful change. Her journey reflects a deep commitment to harnessing media as a tool for empowerment, proving that storytelling can be a powerful force in shaping the future. As a key female leader in East African media, Bridget continues to champion the next generation, paving the way for youth to thrive and become agents of transformation. #WomensWednesday #WomenInLeadership #YouthEmpowerment #StorytellingForChange #LeadershipInAction #SocialImpact #CreativeLeadership #MediaForGood #EmpoweringYouth #AfricanYouth #CultureAndChange #ConnectX 

This #MashujaaDay, we celebrate Kenya’s everyday heroes—from the freedom fighters who fought for independence to today’s young Shujaaz who are shaping a brighter future for our country.    To mark this special day, we’ve launched a powerful new comic that takes us back to the 1950s, telling the story of courageous women and men who stood up and took control of their destiny.     Our talented writers, Kevin Mbugua and Neema Atemi, had the privilege of sitting down with two Mau Mau veterans—both nearing 100 years old—to hear firsthand stories of life in 1950s Kenya. Their experiences and wisdom helped inspire this special edition of our comic.    What struck us most was their unwavering compassion for today’s youth. They stand in solidarity with Gen Z, who are actively and peacefully driving change, advocating for a democratic Kenya where systems work for them and future generations.    You can find the special comic online in the link in comments.     Thanks to our network of SuperFans and to Nation Media Group for helping distribute 400,000 of this comic to young people across Kenya.     #MashujaaDay2024 #Heroes #Kenya #Shujaaz #MauMau #GenZ #Storytelling 

🌾 Coming together to champion food culture and ignite a movement for nutritious, sustainable foods that society truly craves.      🌍🌱 This #WorldFoodDay, we're sending a heartfelt shoutout to our amazing friends and partners at The Food Culture Alliance and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) We're truly grateful to be part of this dynamic alliance of global and local changemakers. The knowledge and strategies we've gained from collaborating with this powerful alliance are helping us drive meaningful impact at scale.    A special thanks to Akili Network, AGRA, and Slow Food Kenya for the inspiring conversations and collaborations. Excited for what we’ll achieve together! 🚀 #WorldFoodDay2024 #ImpactAtScale #FoodSystems #Partnerships

📢 Exciting Announcement! We’re super excited to introduce the Gender Advisory Board for our landmark youth-led mass media programme ‘Surround Sound Kenya: Changing the Gender Story Together’ in partnership with The MTV Staying Alive Foundation Our all-star board is composed of passionate leaders and experts from diverse sectors, all united by a shared commitment to building a more inclusive and gender-equal future for young Kenyans. With their strategic guidance and oversight, we are confident that our program will have a deeper impact, ensuring that our design and activities stay true to our mission. Stay tuned for more updates! Anne Mitaru - LL.M. Caroline Armstrong Allan Achesa Maleche Janet Mbugua Maryanne Ochola Muthoni Ndungu Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Impact Echidna Giving Imaginable Futures #MediaForSocialChange #GenderEquality #SurroundSoundKE

Today is International Day of the Girl Child, a day when we reflect on how well we are doing towards creating a world in which women and girls can thrive. According to Tom Levitt from The Guardian, we're not doing well at all...he writes "More than 850 million women and girls are living in countries rated as “very poor” for gender equality...subjecting them to a litany of potential restrictions and abuses, including forced pregnancies, childhood marriage and bans from secondary education." It's these very restrictions and abuses that we are addressing in our new programme 'Surround Sound Kenya: changing the story about gender together" in partnership with The MTV Staying Alive Foundation Together we are leveraging the power of storytelling and mass-media to tackle the restrictive, harmful gender norms that perpetuate inequality in Kenya and prevent a generation of young women and girls from thriving. We will be sure to continually share our learnings as we deliver this programme, to deepen our collective understanding of gender equity and equality and the most impactful drivers in positively influencing gender norms and outcomes for young people in Kenya and beyond. https://lnkd.in/dHEuqvfC #DayOfTheGirl #MediaForSocialChange

The CORE Group Global Health Practitioners Conference 2024 is coming to Nairobi from 28th to 31st October! We’ll join fellow Social and Behaviour Change experts to explore ground-breaking strategies that can revolutionize health systems worldwide.      #GHPC2024     Register through the link in the comments and see you there! 

Big announcement! 🎉🔊 Today Shujaaz Inc is excited to launch a landmark youth-led mass media programme across Kenya in partnership with The MTV Staying Alive Foundation to tackle restrictive and harmful gender norms. ‘Surround Sound Kenya: Changing the Gender Story Together’, will combine the reach and impact of the internationally recognised MTV Shuga brand and the national reach and local networks of Shujaaz to regularly engage 70% of 15-24-year-olds with award-winning media and innovative community engagement.    Reaching both boys and girls – including those hardest to reach - the distinct content from each of the partner organisations will be complementary and mutually reinforcing delivered through a range of touchpoints. We are determined to unlock the life-changing power of media in Kenya to change the gender story and enable young people to feel free to make different choices about their bodies, their relationships, their education, the work they do – and the lives they want    We’re grateful to our friends and partners at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Co-Impact, Echidna Giving, and Imaginable Futures for funding the programme's first phase. Learn more about the programme in the link in comments.

  Far from the ‘apathetic youth’ stereotype – this generation’s belief in the values of democracy and participation remains incredibly high.    In 2022, 58% of young people believed they could personally play a role in local governance and registered to vote. In our Genz Z protest youth pulse, 73% of young people say they will register to vote in the next election due to the protests.  Young Kenyans still believe in the power of democracy to change the country for the better.     #SocialBehaviourChange #Governance #Democracy 

One of the lightbulb moments we had when we started engaging young people was that they already hold the solutions to overcoming the barriers they face. On this #WorldContraceptionDay, we reflect on what contraception means to young Kenyans. We share some of the top insights we’ve learned after 10+ years of conversations with young people to inform our #normshifting media in our latest blog: https://lnkd.in/dJyaHgN7 One such 💡from the blog is this… Words matter when it comes to talking about #SRH with young people. For instance, a young Kenyan might say, “I don’t use contraceptives”, and, in the next breath discuss their preferred type of condom.  🤔 Why is that? Many young people use the word ‘Protection’ to mean easy-to-access methods such as condoms or P2 emergency pills. 💊 ‘Contraception’ on the other hand is what people who are planning a family use. #MediaForSocialChange

While community-led change is beginning to take root in Kenya, we still need to inspire, motivate, and accelerate change leaders in our communities. Thus, we're excited about our partners, Nguvu Collective, and their work empowering women changemakers. Durga Nandini, co-founder of Nguvu Collective, shared an excellent opinion piece on the importance of systemic reforms and goodwill to support the work of grassroots campaigners and create nationwide change for all. Her article was about the recent cuts in Kenya’s healthcare budgets, but the conversation is the same about other systemic problems. (Link Below) This is why Shujaaz Inc is working with Nguvu Collective to create community support and amplification for women leaders across Kenya. We're excited that they are a #UNGA meeting with friends like the Skoll Foundation and for the potential of our partnership in scaling change in Kenya. Community changemaking requires the support and goodwill of the larger community and policymakers to make a lasting change in society.   Durga Nandini Preethi Herman Olga Mugyenyi Danny Hutley   #BehaviorChange #CommunityEngagement https://lnkd.in/dhVDhfpd