This expert post comes from Lili-Marguerite Stern, Technical Advisor for Youth & Livelihoods at the International Rescue Committee and Co-Coordinator of the Economic Strengthening, Livelihoods and Child Protection Global Technical Group (GTG), a sub-group within the Care and Protection of Children in Crisis-Affected Countries (CPC) Learning Network.
I have just posted a presentation I gave a couple weeks ago at the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) Global Consultation in Istanbul, Turkey in the working session on “Comprehensive Approaches to Vocational Education & Training (VET) & Youth Livelihood.” For those of you who were not able to attend, the presentation sparked debate around the strategic decision taken recently by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to stop implementing VET programs directly, and transition to a more systems-based approach.
This paradigm shift, which represents a somewhat radical departure from our past programming affects the “who” in our work, as well as the “how” and the “what.” It means that instead of targeting our support to individual “at-risk” or vulnerable youth as direct beneficiaries, we are shifting our focus to strengthening weak or absent policies, institutions, processes and systems that should be supporting youth both directly and indirectly. It also means shifting our role from that of an implementer or direct service provider to that of a facilitator of things like VET curriculum reform, training of VET instructors, working with the private sector to establish apprenticeship and job placement schemes, improving accreditation and certification processes, and developing other public/private linkages.
This turning point reflects an acceptance that, under the old paradigm, certain obstacles and challenges may simply be insurmountable in conflict settings, not the least of which are the twin challenges of scale and sustainability. We are convinced that a systems approach will help us to overcome these. The burning question that remains is, “Can we sell it?” Do we have the evidence base we need to convince donors and policymakers to funnel resources toward these structures and systems, particularly when directly sponsoring or supporting young people seems so much more compelling and tangible? Following my presentation, this question was one of the principle challenges I heard. Another was, “This sounds great Lili, but can it really work in an emergency/post-conflict context?” Our answer to both is a resounding “Yes.” We have done it in Darfur where our efforts to build the capacity of the Ministry of Education are continuing to reach thousands of young people in North, West and South Darfur, even after IRC and other INGOs have been forced out of the country. Additionally, in other conflict-torn regions like Liberia and the tribal regions of Pakistan our work linking the private sector directly with Ministries of Education has resulted in VET programs that are more clearly aligned with private sector demand.
Debate was certainly not limited to the question of direct service provision versus a systems-level approach. Other questions included, “does life skills training really improve economic outcomes? (Many felt it does, but could not point to an evidence base to support their feelings),” “can we effectively link with the private sector and pursue ‘learning and earning’ strategies in areas of conflict?,” (A mixed bag of yeses and nos), “can youth create their own markets in these contexts?”, (Yes), and “can these programs really stem extremism?” (again, a mixed bag.) I will leave these questions for future posts or other bloggers but hope at this stage that you will join me in considering the implications of IRC’s new Youth & Livelihoods strategy, and our transition to a more systems-based approach.
Do you think we have the evidence we need? Do you think we can sell it? Do you think youth will be more secure economically as a result?
The file below is referenced in comments that follow from this post. It is a draft adaptation of DFID's sustainable livelihoods framework that was prompted by discussions at the INEE conference. The framework is intended for youth livelihood practitioners to use as a tool to analyze the context and appropriateness of a range of systemic interventions and to assess the initial conditions/enabling environment for particular approaches to youth livelihoods development in areas of conflict/crisis.
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The Women’s Refugee Commission is engaged in a three-year research and advocacy project aimed at improving the effectiveness of economic programming targeting refugee, internally displaced and returning women and youth.
The project includes ten field assessments covering camps, urban settings and early return contexts. Under the program, six innovative pilot projects have been funded to allow operational organizations to try out new approaches and capture new learning.
The American Refugee Committee (ARC) implements the pilot project in Southern Sudan. This project utilized an extensive value chain approach and analysis of market systems in areas of return to facilitate refugees’ preparations to engage in enterprises that would provide the greatest employment and income generation opportunities. These types of in-depth market analyses have traditionally been neglected by relief and development agencies. They provide an important learning opportunity to determine the impact of applying more sophisticated market techniques to refugee livelihood programs.
Based on market analysis, the project identified apiculture (beekeeping) and lulu nut processing as suitable high-return sub-sectors for refugees. Women process lulu nuts (also known as shea nuts) which are used in high-value goods such as oil, shea butter, soaps and body lotions. The goal of the value chain approach in both subsectors is to:
- Generate research through these pilot activities to identify innovative, commercially viable solutions for current obstacles to high-quality shea nut oil and honey production;
- Improve the information flow among value chain actors and between levels of the shea nut (lulu) and apiculture value chains, expanding and strengthening market linkages; and
- Encourage suppliers and processing firms to invest in new production areas and techniques.
Through facilitation of activities in the targeted subsectors, the project targets sustainable improvements in honey and shea nut oil production, leading to increased wealth for women and their families.
On-going evaluation has led to adaptations in order to reach the overall goal of facilitating sustainable livelihood interventions for refugees. For example, it was determined that the program can have higher impact on transferring marketable skill sets when participants have a “go-and-see visit” to their place of origin. The project capitalizes on these visits to include a vocational training component, since conducting trainings in areas of return not only transfers skill sets but also contributes to social cohesiveness.
Terrence Isert (terryi@archq.org) or Connie Kamara (conniek@archq.org)
American Refugee Committee International
430 Oak Grove Street, Suite 204
Minneapolis, MN 55410
August 2006 - October 2009
For more information on the whole program, see the Promoting Appropriate Livelihoods for Displaced Women and Youth activity profile, or contact Dale Buscher at daleb@womenscommission.org.
Location
This paper explores the costs associated with youth exclusion in the Middle East by providing estimates of the economic costs to society related to youth unemployment, youth joblessness, school dropouts, adolescent pregnancy, and youth migration. The paper provides country-specific estimates of the costs of youth exclusion by using the human capital approach to valuing economic costs. In addition, the paper develops a new empirical methodology that benchmarks the costs of youth exclusion in Middle Eastern countries against a common hypothetical international “best-practice frontier” in which the overall costs of youth exclusion are comparable across countries. Results show that youth exclusion poses major economic costs to Middle Eastern societies, reaching in 2006 as high as US$53 billion in Egypt and about US$1.5 billion in Jordan. Moreover, Middle Eastern countries are among the group furthest away from the best practice frontier as it relates to reducing youth exclusion, and their performance has deteriorated in recent years. Middle Eastern countries could decrease youth exclusion by at least 60 percent if they were to use their available resources more efficiently.
This report seeks to capture some of the key learnings that have emerged from one particular life skills initiative that is being implemented by IYF partner organizations in four countries, and in a range of different settings and economic conditions. By highlighting some of the shared lessons, challenges and achievements of these varied programs, this report aims to contribute to the ongoing global dialogue around this critical youth development issue, and provide some specific suggestions for how to successfully adapt a life skills program to a wide range of locations and cultures.
The main objective of the report is to provide diagnosis on youth employment, which can provide the basis for future policy design.
In recent years, the topic of youth employment in Kosovo has been studied extensively. There are reports produced by Provisional Institutions for Self-Government (PISG) and international organizations and donors which compile information about youth employment trends, skills mismatches, employment promotion, and labor demand constraints for this segment of the population. Nevertheless, studies fall short on addressing issues related to youth employment quality, regional differences in youth employment outcomes, and relationships between youth employment and household poverty.
This report uses available micro-data (the Labor Force Survey, LFS; and the Household Budget Survey, HBS) and develops a more in-depth analysis of youth employment outcomes, trends, and determinants, focusing on the aforementioned information gaps. Our definition of youth includes individuals aged 15 to 24.
The report is structured as follows: chapter one provides a general background of macroeconomic and employment outcomes in Kosovo. The chapter then explains the framework, scope, and limitations of this study (Why youth? Why youth in jeopardy?). Chapter two develops a youth employment profile using data from the 2003-2006 labor force surveys and the 2006 household budget survey; analysis includes a profile of youth in jeopardy in Kosovo, employment trends, and assessment of youth employment quality and constraints. Chapter three provides an overview of the current youth programs and policies being implemented in the territory in the context of the Kosovo Youth National Action Plan (KYNAP).
This policy outlook examines how public sector employment policies in Syria affect the transition from school to work for young people. Framed within the context of Syria’s transition from a command economy to a social market economy, the analysis highlights how the country’s traditional socioeconomic model still holds sway and drives employment preferences among youth. Despite the country’s effort to shift away from government interventions to private sector solutions, incentives in the public sector – higher wages, benefits, pension coverage, and job security – continue to reinforce preferences among youth for public sector employment. The policy outlook concludes with a set of recommendations to aid Syria’s transition and create new opportunities for young people.
A growing number of organizations and government agencies are working to expand effective job and employability training opportunities among young people worldwide. One such effort comes under the framework of Youth:Work, a global partnership launched in 2008 between USAID and the International Youth Foundation (IYF), to facilitate the development of new public-private partnerships to support youth employment programs around the world. In furtherance of this aim, this issue of IYF's Field Notes series focuses on how developing alliances with the private sector is critical to a program’s success in providing youth with marketable skills and placing them in decent employment.
The Child Indicator is a periodic newsletter about the major developments within the child and youth social indicators field.
The web archive makes all editions since 1999 available for download in PDF form.
This guide provides brief descriptions of the ever-increasing number of data and information resources available to those who work in the child and youth indicators field. It is a resource useful to the novice and the veteran, to those who work in governance, advocacy, research, and the media.
Items covered include: books, journals, and other publications related to the identification, measurement, development and use of child indicators; professional newsletters focused on child indicator issues and products; web sites offering data at the national, state, and local levels; research centers focusing on child and youth well-being; and technical resources for those who would like to develop their own indicators web sites.
Application deadline for West Africa workshop: 20 April
The Women's Refugee Commission will be conducting three livelihood workshops this year in West Africa, East Africa and Asia. The workshops focus on the needs of displaced women and youth, and will include a session that addresses implications for child protection.
The first one will be a three-day, highly participatory regional livelihoods workshop in Accra, Ghana from May 12-14, 2009 designed to bring practitioners from throughout the region to learn new techniques, share experiences, and collect tools designed to improve economic programming practice on the ground. Two days of the workshop will focus on findings from the Women’s Refugee Commission’s three-year research project on livelihoods in refugee, IDP, and returnee settings and will include practice sessions on usage of the newly released Livelihoods Field Manual. The third day of the workshop will cover findings on the Commission’s project on livelihoods as a tool of protection against gender-based violence and how GBV and livelihood programs should complement each other to better protect women.
Participants will be required to cover their own travel expenses. Meals and materials will be provided. Participants attending from local NGOs can apply for financial assistance for partial coverage of travel and hotel expenses.
To request an application or for any questions, please contact Sonali at livelihoodsworkshop@wrcommission.org
