People Dialogue Festival (PDF) 2023 was a forum that provided citizens a chance to meet with their leaders on level terms to discuss issues pertinent both to them and to their country. This year’s dialogue was centered on the theme ‘Competition and Collaboration for Democratic Development.’ The productive four-day experience took place from the 8th to the 11th of March.
I was privileged to give a keynote address at the Official Opening Ceremony on behalf of all male students in Kenya. Having my audience in mind, I took the chance to write a speech that would speak on behalf of Kenya in general, with this I mean the government, citizens, political parties outside the government, and justice institutions. I took this as a chance to speak to the world and show them the journey that Kenya has walked, the position and state that it is in, and the future of the nation. The main idea of my keynote speech was understanding each other’s role in a democratic society.
It dawned on me that I would be delivering my speech before Hon. Moses Wetangula, Speaker of the National Assembly, Henriette Geiger, EU ambassador to Kenya, Ole Thonke, ambassador Royal Danish Embassy in Nairobi, Anna Mutavati, the UN Women Kenya Country Director, and the numerous Kenyan citizens present at the day. This population gave my keynote speech more significance. Therefore, I gave it my best!
Several statements in my keynote speech still echo in my head every single day. The most memorable part of my speech went;
“The government and citizens of the present day should consider taking care of this nation for the sake of us- the future leaders and citizens of tomorrow. With this rate of
responsibility, we are afraid that during our time, we shall not be building on the foundations you have left, but rather be assembling the ruins of your destruction.
Take this country, not as land you have inherited from your forefathers, but as land which you have borrowed from our grandchildren. With that, we shall learn to be pragmatic with our actions and learn to stabilize our politics.”
From the delivery, I felt a surge of accomplishment which motivated me to strive towards making an impact in Kenya because I am part of Kenya’s future. It’s sunshine, let’s make hay together.
