Day two of the gender festival was very exciting. The theme of the day was movement building in a diverse society. There were various break-away sessions after plenary, all of which captured the spirit of movement building based on teh work that the various groups do. There are those that are in the business of mobilising people for poverty eradication such as Action Aid International Kenya, others working to end violence against women such as the Coalition on Violence Against Women (COVAW), those focusing on women and the media such the African Woman and Child Features, Peace Networks, the Green Belt Movement and of course young women's initiatives such as the Young Women's Leadership Institute (YWLI) among many others.

Some of the lessons learned from today's sessions include the fact that we are a diverse group as women and there are different categories of women. This is not a new phenomena but it tends to get forgotten often. Attending the gender festival, these differences are clear; we are different generations of women, from different ethnic groups, with different religious or spiritual beliefs, and there are also obvious differences based on class, rural/urban lines, sexual orientation and educational levels. Our strength as women lies in these differences as everyone has something to offer and/or complimentary visions in the movement. As we work with our diverse selves, we need to be very clear on how we engage when it comes to addressing specific concerns based on specific diversities as movement building can be very messy. This means that at times agendas tend to be misunderstood or certain groups may feel excluded thus leading to tensitions. This can also lead to fragmentation of the movement on all or some issues.

This gender festival had quite a good percentage of young women and fo rthose who have been a part of the YWLI open forums in the past, there was a lot of excitement at the Young Women's Village. There was dance, music, skits, discussions and the femZone talkshow. Women in Participatory Education Theatre (WEPPET) provided some edutainment to participants at the tent. The messages ranged from addressing domestic violence, sexual harassment/ human trafficking to the portrayal of women leaders in the media. Through participatory education theatre (PET), attitudes, beliefs and practices that relate to violations of women's rights were discussed.  These discusions were in line with the femZone talk show that had three panelists discussing how the media portrays women. By the end of the show, it was clear that the media, music and even advertisements are a reflection of what already exists in society. It was also agreed that they also shape and influence some of what happens in society. 

Just next to the YWLI tent, the African Woman and Child Features had a forum show casing some of the work they have been doing and notably, held discussions based on the stories of women in their various publications. One of the publications, 'In the Shadow of Death' captures the voices of women from post election violence. The Nairobi+21 review publication 'Promises and Realities: Taking Stock of the 3rd UN International Women's Conference' offers the best overview of the journey through and by the women's movement in Kenya. It is obvious that there is a continuing relevance to the work that began in 1975 during the first UN Women's Conference in Mexico. The Mexico conference was key in providing the guiding principles of  "Equality, Development and Peace" and also recommended to the General Assembly the idea of launching the UN decade for women: 1975-1985. This first UN decade for women brought attention to the continuing unjustifiable situation of women worldwide. 

Today, those three goals of "Equality, Development and Peace" remain relevant to advancement of the rights of women the world over.