Youth Rising: From Reporting the Story to Writing Policy - Nasif’s Journey to Leadership
In every community, there are those who tell the stories and those who make the decisions. For years, Nasif Abudalah was a storyteller—a community journalist who amplified the voices of the unheard through the Community Journalist Program with Network for Active Citizens (NAC). He shone a light on youth unemployment, service gaps, and civic disconnection.
The Turning Point: From Voice to Vote
Nasif reached a vital realization: journalism can highlight issues, but policy actually resolves them. To shift from influencing opinions to shaping outcomes, he needed to step into the space where decisions are made. But how?
The journey began with more than ambition—it was built on skill, access, and community. Through the Community Youth Parliament and established Green Democratic Spaces, Nasif didn’t just find a platform—he found a classroom. He learned to analyze district budgets, monitor service delivery, and navigate the formal mechanisms of power.
Then came the SLOGBAA Project, a game-changer.
“The training demystified the Kampala Capital City governance system,” Nasif reflects. “I moved from asking general questions to proposing specific, actionable solutions. I realized that to turn community priorities into budget lines, I needed to be inside the council.”
The Blueprint: How Grassroots Structures Fuel Leadership
Nasif’s journey is not just an inspiring story; it’s a replicable blueprint for youth leadership across Uganda. It demonstrates three powerful truths:
- Grassroots structures like Youth Parliaments are more than talk shops—they are cost-effective, locally-owned platforms for civic practice, where young people learn democracy by doing it.
- Targeted capacity-building, like SLOGBAA, provides the technical confidence to engage meaningfully with city governance structures, hence transforming observers into insiders.
- Together, they empower young leaders to develop locally-generated manifestos and transition from activism and advocacy into formal policy making, shaping futures from the inside out.
Nasif Abudalah’s story proves a powerful point: when young people are given the right platforms and tools, they don’t just report on history—they step forward to lead it.
This is precisely the change the SLOGBAA program was designed to ignite. We didn’t just want to train journalists or activists—we tried to cultivate leaders. Leaders who understand budgets, who master policy, and who know how to move priorities from community meetings into council minutes.
We believe in a Uganda where young people are not just beneficiaries of governance, but architects of it.