The Africa Commission, which first convened in April of 2008, spent the past year focusing on youth, employment and economic growth to develop new and creative strategies with the aim of revitalizing and strengthening cooperative international development. On May 6th the Commission released its final report of recommendations and initiatives.
The report describes the need for 5 specific initiatives in reaching African goals of economic development and youth strengthening:
- Benchmarking African Competitiveness
- Access to Investment Finance for Small and Medium Enterprises
- Unleashing African Entrepreneurship
- Access to Sustainable Energy
- Promoting Post-Primary Education and Research
IREX and IYF (International Youth Foundation) are pleased to invite you to the inaugural event for the Society for International Development's (SID) Youth in Development Work Group. A panel discussion addressing pressing questions in youth programming will kick off SID's newest working group, co-chaired by IREX and IYF. The panel will include key stakeholders from across the youth programming community, including youth, practitioners and government representatives.
Who should attend : practitioners, researchers and others with experience and/or interest in youth development programming.
What to bring: please bring your lunch and thoughts on the following questions:
- Leadership: What individuals have the greatest impact on the outcomes of youth programs?
- Culture and Tradition: What cultural/traditional influences are key influences in shaping youth programs?
- Institutions: What institutions have the greatest impact on the outcomes of youth programs?
- Political and Economic Environment: What political and/or economic factors are key influences in shaping youth programs?
Please RSVP by June 4th and direct any questions to Sulaiman Bah at sbah@irex.org. Please pass this invitation along to any interested colleagues.
The USAID-funded Community Action Program (CAP) III builds upon the successes of CAP I and II in strengthening local government institutions and grassroots democracy in Iraq. ACDI/VOCA and its sub-partner, International City/County Management Association (ICMA), are implementing CAP III in four of Iraq’s northern provinces: Kirkuk, Salah ad Din, Diyala and Ninawa. The goal of CAP III is to increase the ability of local government to identify, articulate and better meet the needs of its constituency.
The program’s objectives are:
- Communities better articulate their needs and mobilize resources within and outside the community to solve common problems;
- Local executive and representative government in CAP communities better meet articulated needs of the community; and
- Civilian victims of conflict assisted by the Marla Ruzicka Innocent Victims of War Fund.
Meeting the needs of local youth is important to achieving these objectives, so CAP III incorporates several youth components:
- Apprenticeship Programs for Youth in Private/Public Sector
The Apprenticeship Program was designed and implemented under the previous CAP programs to improve youth workforce capacity in areas of high youth unemployment. The apprenticeship program currently provides short-term jobs in combination with on-the-ground training for over 460 youth between 18 and 24 years old who are graduates of technical institutes and universities.
Under CAP III, supervisors are being trained in how to mentor and coach apprentices, which improves employers’ human resource management. This addresses the needs of youth in the community, and also has the benefit of strengthening human resource capacity within the local government, which will be critical as local government becomes more decentralized. In addition, CAP III is introducing an apprenticeship program targeted at public health outreach. Through this program, young graduates, will assist health specialists in developing outreach and training materials targeting maternal and child health, water-borne diseases, and other community-identified critical public health issues.
- Youth Civic Action and Governance Summer Camps
ACDI/VOCA will conduct two Youth Civic Action and Governance Summer camps for a total of 120 youth in the summer of 2009. The camps will bring together male and female youth from all four provinces who represent diverse ethnicities to engage them in activities that will teach community governance strategies through active simulation and participation. Through the camps, youth will be exposed to both diversity and commonalities among themselves, and they will learn how to effectively use conflict-mitigation strategies, team-building, and advocacy strategies as responsible citizens.
- Development of Youth Community Action Groups (CAGs)
Under CAP II, the Quratoo Community Action Group in northern Diyala developed a strong focus on advocating for youth issues and developing youth leadership. It formed a Youth Action CAG, predominantly composed of men and women under 30 years of age who work in the public sector as teachers and government employees, to support and inform its work with and for young people. Currently, the Quratoo CAG focuses on promoting and advocating youth leadership to their sub-district council and higher levels of government.
Brandie Maxwell
bmaxwell@acdivoca.org
October 2008 - March 2010
According to the African Development Indicators (ADI) 2008/09, a job-seeking African youth (age 15-24) — typically a poor, out–of–school female living in a rural area — will likely face increasingly greater challenges in securing employment on the continent. Arguing for a multi-sectoral approach, this report suggests several key areas to begin tackling the employment issue, including expanding job and education alternatives in the rural areas; encouraging and supporting entrepreneurship; improving the access and quality of skills formation; and addressing demographic issues.
Citing examples of interventions designed to integrate young people in the labor market, the study reinforces the point that comprehensive and integrated approaches tend to do better than fragmented ones. Given the challenges faced by the youth in labor markets, success in pursuing employment for young people will require long term, concerted actions, spanning a wide range of policies and programs.
Due to an increase in youth population, as well as the still very high fertility rate that characterizes the region, African countries will likely face an increase in job creation pressure for the youth over the coming decades. However, the report also highlights the valuable resource that young people are to their countries, and points out that helping them gain access to employment is a critical precondition for poverty eradication and sustainable development.
An initiative of the Youth Employment Network, the Databank offers information on over 300 organizations and 450 projects in 16 West African countries, including organizational profiles, contact information, and project overviews. The resource is intended to:
- Give organizations an online presence that enhances their networking opportunities and facilitates information sharing.
- Provide a useful starting point for stakeholders looking to design or support youth employment projects by providing information on activities already implemented in West Africa and the challenges faced by each organization.
- Facilitate efforts to bring together complementary stakeholders and the create synergies.
This Note from the Field provides an overview of the Norwegian Refugee Council's Youth Education Pack (YEP) program in northern Uganda. The YEP program provides war-affected youth with literacy skills, life skills and vocational training. While the program emphasizes basic literacy and psycho-social support, the livelihood skills offered are an integral tool in helping participating youth successfully reintegrate into their communities. The note describes the experience of one youth participant in the program in northern Uganda.
