A new 24-month partnership between The President’s Award–Kenya (PA-K) and The Dariu Foundation (TDF) will bring applied AI and digital skills training into youth development programmes across the country. The agreement, signed at a ceremony in Nairobi, embeds the Dariu Tech Club initiative within 60 PA-K-licensed award centres in the Nairobi, Central, and Eastern regions.
A 12-month pilot phase begins on 1 June 2026 and is expected to reach more than 6,000 young learners. Sixty Award Leaders and Heads of Institutions will be trained alongside 60 experienced PA-K volunteers, who will serve as master trainers within the system. Participants will engage in applied AI literacy and community-based innovation projects designed to address local challenges.
The signing brought together senior representatives from the Teachers Service Commission, the State Department for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy, Kenya Vision 2030, and the County Government of Kilifi. PA-K CEO Margaret Kiogora described the collaboration as a new step in expanding digital readiness among Kenyan learners, framing it as part of PA-K’s core mandate to prepare young people through non-formal education and life skills.
George Jilani, TDF’s representative in Kenya, framed the initiative as one of access. “Opportunity is what we are here to redistribute,” he said, adding that young people should not remain spectators in the AI era but active participants in shaping it.
The programme is aligned with Kenya Vision 2030 and the government’s broader youth empowerment agenda, positioning structured public–private collaboration as a route to expanding access to emerging technology skills.
