The Young Professionals Network (YPN) is a non-profit hub of young people from various professions working together towards development. The network is made up of people ranging from 18-35 years who are passionate about various developmental issues. YPN began as an initiative of the Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD), after holding various youth-based competitions that aimed at enhancing youth participation in national affairs such as the people’s president competition, the people’s budget and my dream poetry competition. Young people’s keen interests in the different activities and an expressed desire to continue the work that this collaboration could do birthed the Young Professionals Network. The aim of YPN is to enhance meaningful participation of various young professionals in national affairs and to secure integrated development through youth participation. The goal of the network is to develop a lasting association with the different actors of development i.e., government, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, the private sector and civil society to enhance sustaintainable and equitable development.
Mission
To strengthen youth action and participation in all areas of national development, inspiring young professionals to take a leading role while creating an enabling environment for them to flourish in their various professions.
Objectives
To reduce youth unemployment
To support and capacitate young professionals to thrive in their areas of expertise
To enhance meaningful youth participation at all levels of national development
Core Values
INTEGRITY
Acting with strong ethics is a priority for everyone representing the network. We strive to be honest, transparent, accountable, trustworthy and conduct ourselves in a manner that earns the respect of colleagues, partners, and the public.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
We believe in bringing different lived experiences and a range of backgrounds into a shared environment where everyone has equal opportunity and treating everyone with the common decency, we all deserve and expect, with a firm principle of gender equity and equality
LEARNING
We acknowledge no one has all the answers and uphold a culture of humility and continuous learning and teaching
TEAMWORK
We promote teamwork to make the dream work and understand that When people work together, they can create something greater than themselves as individuals
PASSION
We work purely on the principle of passion, having a joy not just for the work itself but also the people around us, so that everyone can be bold, innovative, and creative