Focusing on Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire, this paper recommends that it is imperative to massively invest in youth development in post conflict settings in order to prevent reoccurrence of crisis and to ensure that their energies are channelled towards sustainable development. Recommended areas of investment include:

• education, especially girls' education
• effective vocational counseling
• non-formal education
• youth entrepreneurship
• an enabling environment for thriving businesses
• policies that protect youth in the workplace

The publication includes six articles on youth and livelihoods covering youth entrepreneurship, workforce development, youth in conflict and post-conflict settings, a case study from Nigeria’s oil producing communities, and the economic reintegration of ex-combatants. The introduction notes the importance of focusing on this age cohort (50% of the world’s population under 25 with 85% of them living in developing countries) and emphasizes the importance of serving this population.

The report covers economic program interventions being implemented by the international community in post-conflict Liberia and includes vocational training programs, cash-for-work programs, agricultural interventions, micro-finance and job creation programs. The report highlights some of the short-comings of the majority of the economic interventions and some of the missed opportunities. Promising practices are also referenced.

Young people are crucial actors in Liberia’s transition from war to peace; creating an enabling environment for youth is at the core of the recovery challenges. This study was commissioned by United Nations Development Programme-Liberia (UNDP) and the International Labour Office-Liberia (ILO).The aim of the study is to explore the employment opportunities that are currently available to the youth of Liberia and to recommend specific areas of intervention that can improve employment prospects in the short and long term.