Phiona Nyamutoro

"Leadership seems straightforward from afar, but it’s entirely different when you're in the role. You start to appreciate the significant influence you have on people's lives. Unfortunately, you also witness how many take this power for granted, hindering development and human progress."

"One of my greatest challenges has been the assumption that, as a young woman in leadership, I am naive. People often sexualize my appearance and attribute my success to factors other than my skills and abilities. It is a very wrong perception that is very common. This stereotype and objectification can deter young people from pursuing political careers and exclude them from important discussions, despite their efforts to make their voices heard. It also distances young women from discussions that matter. Because you really have to have a thick skin to relentlessly have your voice in there and yet if you already have an environment that is disruptive of their existence, then you are not going to have many young women in leadership to be reaching out and advocating for affirmative action of women entering the space which should not be the case."

"Uganda is all that we have, you could change everything that you want in your life but being a Ugandan is something we should not take for granted."

"We are not short of intelligent young people. What we lack is the ability to transform that brilliance into action due to a gap in skills and information. Once we solve that, we will have addressed many of the challenges we face as a nation."

"Peer influence is a powerful tool. It’s through peer-led platforms like this that young people feel safe enough to open up about their experiences. Unfortunately, much of what they know today is tainted by misinformation, and that’s affecting the quality of our youth."

"Many young people are misinformed by the excitement of the internet. We need to create safe spaces where they can learn, share, and grow with accurate information."