Fiston NdayishimiyeAdvocacy, lobbying and organizing
Organizing in Concord, advocating at City Hall, lobbying in Washington, D.C. and remembering out loud. Here is the record, in one room.
Four verbs
People, not posts. Change for Concord was a group of young adults ages 18 to 30 who kept showing up.
Go where the decisions are made. City Council meetings, elected officials, public forums.
Carry local stories to national policy. With the Friends Committee on National Legislation, I lobbied in Washington, D.C. for community gun violence prevention.
Juneteenth and Gatumba: telling the full story is its own kind of activism.
Case study
The Keach Park youth field, Concord. Organized by Change for Concord with AFSC New Hampshire.
The full story →The record
Every entry comes from my own record on this site. This list lives in my CMS, so it grows as the work does.
I was a Grassroots Organizer with the American Friends Service Committee New Hampshire and Lead Organizer of Change for Concord, a group of young adults ages 18 to 30. We went to City Council meetings, talked directly with elected officials and pushed for fair access to city resources.
Change for Concord →We made safe lighting at the Keach Park youth field our priority. In March 2023 we held a community forum, testified and kept coming back. The lights were installed in December 2025 and came on June 3, 2026.
The long push →With FCNL, I joined community leaders in Washington, D.C. to lobby for community gun violence prevention. I went because local stories should shape national policy.
Advocacy trainings →YDN's first conference in Washington took place in 2025. Partners in Arizona raised more than $8,000 for the trip. It returned July 1 to 4, 2026, with training for young leaders.
About YDN →A letter of testimony on safety, dignity, community experience and long-term planning, with a full project proposal, so residents can decide from facts and lived reality.
Read both PDFs →My plan for a Youth Council Committee: building tomorrow's leaders, today. The full plan, the summary and the presentation are all public.
See the plan →I ran for City Council at-large. The campaign was a promise to turn belonging into policy.
The 2025 campaign →I founded One Concord to build belonging in our city. The Concord Monitor featured it ahead of the Multicultural Festival at Keach Park.
One Concord →I wrote My Turn essays on Juneteenth in 2023 and 2025. In June 2024, as a volunteer, I organized the Project S.T.O.R.Y. Juneteenth community event at Mill Brook School and spoke as a guest speaker.
Read the essays →I was honored to stand with survivors and community members as the youth representative for New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut, remembering what must never be forgotten. I wrote about it in the Concord Monitor on August 28, 2025: Building a future beyond the flames.
Read the essay →I guide refugee and immigrant young people, including my own Banyamulenge community, with trainings on mental health, leadership and advocacy.
Youth networks →How public service systems work, how to engage them and how to advocate alongside community leaders.
Trainings with YDN →For young leaders
Short, honest and learned the long way.
Change for Concord did not try to fix everything at once. We made safe lighting at the Keach Park youth field our priority in fall 2022.
“You cannot change what you do not understand.” That is why I joined Leadership Greater Concord and studied how this city works.
We held a forum, testified and kept coming back. The lights were installed in December 2025 and came on June 3, 2026.
I lobbied in Washington, D.C., because local stories should shape national policy.
No one builds alone. None of this work has been solo.
In the news
Trainings on civic engagement and advocacy, the Washington, D.C. conference, or a talk for your group.