Thursday, October 29, 2009

Youth Participation Digest for October 29, 2009

My posts have been somewhat infrequent recently, but youth participation does not stop! So rather than a post about a single event or opportunity, here's a digest of recent youth participation-related articles and posts I have come across.

Opportunities

Young Canadians interested in community development have an opportunity to receive up to $1,500 in funding to plan and carry out a community project. Grants are provided by the Society of Educational Visits and Exchanges Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage. Projects must be youth-led and associated with a town/municipal council. The application deadline is Nov. 19.

Youth participation - growing up?
The Children's Services Network, a program of the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU), will hold a seminar on youth participation in London on December 12. The session will examine the extent to which existing youth participation programs and policies are effective, for both young people and local authorities. The session will conclude with a reception at "Youth participation - growing up?," a report written by the LGiU's youth advocate, will be released.

News

Rt. Honorable Speaker addresses the 121st IPU Assembly
Nepal's Speaker of the Legislative Parliament and its Chief Whip of the Nepali Congress addressed the 121st Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva on October 22. The Chief Whip, Hon. Laxman Prasad Ghimire, told the Assembly, “Though youth participation in political and democratic process has increased in quantitative terms, they still lag behind in influencing the core decision making process of the national as well as the international polity.” Mr. Ghimire stressed that “only through acceptance of youth as a critical stakeholders and ensuring their meaningful participation in sustaining the democratic process can institutionalize democracy." Mr. Ghimire called for the formation of Youth Parliamentarians Caucuses in member Parliaments and a Caucus of Youth Parliamentarians in the IPU.

Nigeria: Vision 2020 - Integrating Youth Concerns Into Development Agenda

The Nigerian Ministry of Youth Development recently held a workshop in Lagos on youth mainstreaming for government youth development officers, teachers, journalists, representatives of civil society organizations and other stakeholders. Youth mainstreaming is the process of involving young people in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and programs that affect them. The aim of this workshop was to support integration of young people into national and economic development planning.

We're Building a Global Movement
This post from the It's Getting Hot In Here blog describes some recent successes of the international youth climate movement. One example is the recent establishment of YOUNGOs, or youth non-governmental organizations, as a recognized observer constituency within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This will facilitate communication between youth NGOs and the UN secretariat.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

UNESCO to encourage member states to include youth in National Commissions

Pierre SanĂ©, Assistant Director General of UNESCO’s Social and Human Science Sector, announced on October 1 that the General Conference will try to introduce a resolution that will commit member states to opening up their National Commissions to youth participation. According to Marcio Barbosa, Deputy Director General of UNESCO,
"If it’s adopted, the resolution will mean that National Commissions have to reach out to youth organizations and integrate their representatives in the work of the Commissions."
Barbosa and Sané to push resolution on youth participation through General Conference

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

USAID supports Youth Mobilization Committees in Nepal

In 2006 the American international aid agency USAID began a program designed to support the transition to peace and democracy in Nepal. Among other strategies, the program supported the formation of Youth Mobilization Committees (YMCs) in villages in the Terai region where young people were most likely to join armed groups. These committees worked with their communities to select community service projects and engaged other youth in the projects.

Projects included reconstruction of community libraries and early childhood development centers and rehabilitation of roads, health posts and schools. Some 125,000 youth participated, including 4,000 as YMC members.

The popularity of the YMCs and their projects led to both financial and labor contributions from local governments and the community. According to USAID, the development of budgets by the YMCs ensured transparency and led to pressure for greater accountability in local government budgets. In some communities the YMCs obtained additional funding from the local government for larger projects. In one village, for example, the local government was so pleased with the YMC's work that it planned to continue funding local projects through the existing YMCs.

Mobilising Nepali Youth for Community Service

USAID/OTI Nepal Quarterly Report, January - March 2009