By: Mwenya Chitambala
On 19–20 September 2025, Nairobi hosted the Annual Interfaith Youth Forum on Peace and Integral Ecology, organised by the Laudato Si’ Movement Africa in collaboration with JPIC Franciscans Africa and the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. This year’s forum was held under the theme Peace with Creation, drawn from the Season of Creation.
The two-day gathering brought together more than 1,700 participants from across faith communities, civil society organisations, the media, and government institutions, including the Kenya Wildlife Service, the Environmental Resource Centre, and the Ministry of Environment.
Day 1 featured the celebration of Laudato Si’ and the Canticle of Creatures, as well as a lively panel on renewable energy access in African communities. Young people from diverse faith traditions and NGOs led the discussions, focusing on how renewable energy solutions can help end poverty, address climate change, and drive sustainable development. The day concluded with a youth pledge to stand with sustainable solutions.
Day 2 culminated in a vibrant Climate Procession, aligned with the global ‘Draw the Line for Peace, People & Planet’ mobilisation. With world leaders preparing to meet at the UN General Assembly ahead of COP30 in Brazil, participants called for 2025 to be a turning point — drawing a line against fossil fuel dependence, inequality, and injustice, and marking a shift towards people power, democracy, and a safe, healthy future for all.
The weekend was graced by members of the global OFM Justice and Peace Committee from Rome, including Br. Taucen Girsang and Br. Eric Mutabazi, who also serves as our Chapter Leader in Rwanda. Collaboration was wide and diverse, with the support of Franciscan friars and sisters, Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Dominicans, ACWECA, Capuchin TV, Younib TV, Oxfam, 350.org Africa, and the Kenyan Chapter of LSM.
The Interfaith Youth Forum was a powerful testament that faith, youth, and ecology are inextricably linked, and that Africa’s young people are poised to lead the way toward justice, peace, and a future in harmony with creation.