Nairobi, Kenya 8 December 2023 - Students from 8 universities in Kenya discussed how to unlock the power of migration in a knockout debate competition celebrating International Migrants Day 2023.

The students from the Catholic University, Daystar University, Jomo Kenyatta University, Kenyatta University, Strathmore University, Technical University of Kenya and the University of Nairobi debated whether migration benefits all groups of society, migration is the most powerful driver of economic empowerment for youth in Kenya, and migration is the number one pathway for innovative and creative solutions to climate change in teams of three, with each speaker given three minutes to discuss.

The students presented their best arguments on: migration benefits all groups of society in round one, migration is the most powerful driver of economic empowerment of youth in Kenya in round two, migration is the number one pathway for innovative and creative solutions to climate change for the coveted title round.

The students discussed how academia, private sector, development partners, government, and civil society can harness the power of migration to find solutions to today’s most pressing issues such as climate change, economic exploitation, and unemployment, among others, demonstrating that youth are key in finding solutions and inspiring others.

International Migrants Day (IMD) aims to advocate for migrants’ rights, and to encourage the international community to work together to harness the power of migration. This year, in recognizing youth voices, IOM Kenya took the celebration to the universities awarding the winning student: Noella Muziranenge, Nobert Odull, and Stephanie Wangeci Kingori from Technical University of Kenya, nine-month internship with IOM Kenya.

The event organized by International Organization for Migration (IOM-Kenya) in partnership with University of Nairobi, Skyward Express, Kenya Airways and Safaricom, was a call to action to students, academia, private sector, development partners, government and civil society to “Think of Tomorrow, Act Today”, leveraging on untapped potential of migration towards finding solutions to global challenges.

“The youth are our future. As a country, we have an ever-increasing youthful population, that is well trained, highly skilled and innovative, full of energy who are eager to pursue opportunities beyond our borders. As a result, we have developed the Global Labour Market Strategy that targets to increase the number of Kenyans joining the International Labour market” - PS Roseline K. Njogu, State Department for Diaspora Affairs, Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Republic of Kenya

“We have a key role to play in connecting people to opportunities through transporting them. We commit to ensuring that there is a safe ecosystem that promotes the safety of migrants. KQ has zero tolerance for human trafficking and smuggling of immigrants” - Mr. Allan Kilavuka, CEO Kenya Airways.

"Migration tells stories of a people seeking new opportunities, forging connection and reuniting with loved ones. Skyward Express is a beacon of hope connecting diaspora with their families and carry lifesaving supplies to those in need"- Capt. Mohamed Abdi, Chairman Skyward Express.

“We are celebrating International Migrants Day to recognize and celebrate the contributions of migrants. We are living in a global village - we need the ideas of everyone” - Ms. Dimanche Sharon, Chief of Mission, IOM Kenya.