When we first met Neno Shifters in 2022, they were a group of 15 secondary school and out-of-school youths based in rural Neno. Neno was a district with high rates of child marriage (49 in 2022), which was a prevailing norm disproportionately affecting young girls and their right to education. 

As of 2024, SHIFT has been used by over 90 child and youth-led groups in 22 countries - and this scale has enabled us to begin our work of growing the peer-to-peer exchange globally.

One of the newsletters in 2024 from our colleagues at CUBIC about Belief Perseverance struck a resonant chord with us; we have repeatedly heard that “SHIFT is mostly for youths”.

As we continue to scale up Shift and thereby expand our efforts to put young people at the forefront of change-making, we remain committed to not losing touch with the ground - that space where our incredible Shifters mobilise thousands of community members, impact policies on preventing teenage pregnancies, break gender stereotypes, build continental coalitions and even secure funding in the face of enormously complicated and child un-friendly systems. 

Imagine a space where a young poet from Uganda inspires a musician in Malawi, where a debate on SRHR in Zambia sparks a movement in Mozambique. This is the reality of 'Shifters Across Africa', our vibrant online community where we are learning, growing, and igniting change together.

What factors are critical when we look at successful movements led by youth people? This was one of the core questions that motivated us to revisit our Impact framework earlier this year. Subsequently, this also became one of the driving questions for a research project on Shift to study its long-term potential and impact.

Okay, you might wonder what the big deal is about a video with young people simply saying “Consenso” (Trans. Consensus); but to appreciate this, we need to go back a few weeks.

When we say meaningful participation in Shift, we mean that excluded and marginalised groups of young people get the opportunity to tell us what issues matter most to them. It also means that they then, get the guidance and resources required to design a campaign around their issue and eventually go out into the world to effect positive change.

If you told me that an informal group of young people from a rural district of Malawi, with mostly secondary school qualifications, would go on to win funding within two years of campaigning, I’d say, “That’s not possible”. This can no longer be said ever since Ntcheu Shifters came onto the scene. 

When we say someone is a 'Fun Adult', we mean that they are simultaneously a facilitator, mentor, partner, cheerleader, young-at-heart, believer and a cool uncle or aunt that young people look up to. We work very hard to create Fun Adults at Shift, but sometimes we find that some adults just get it. They are just born with it!

Yes, shifting power requires us to move the dial on power towards young people and track this movement; but before this can happen, it calls us to undergo a mindset shift first. It calls us to unlearn.