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10

Auust2011 Vol.29No.8THISISSUE

MonDa DeeLoMenTs Maazine

3

25 smll Butful t, Tht iThe enduring and unique value ofsmall-scale development funding.By Jennifer Lentfer

27 chd: ovlkdd o th BkIs Chad at the epicenter of aperfect storm?By Paul OBrien

29 a Hdd Tll f WSexual violence in the Libyancivil war.By Josh Doherty

32 am A new study debunks assumptionson pets, highlights importance ofincluding pet evacuation indisaster planning.By Suzanne McNabb

19 W Th TgthFive reasons why young people areneeded to solve the climate crisis.By Lisa Marika Jokivirta and

Dominic Stucker

21 cthg MdopptutNew inter-agency collaborationlooks to improve youthprogramming during and afteremergencies.By Anna Seeger and Kerstin Tebbe

22 uth d thlbl Lg cIts time to consider a globalcompact on learning.By Lauren Greubel

FeAtureS

10 Th ab spgWhat are the implications for theNGO community?By William S. Reese

13 Fg Md rpv TmThe unheralded benefits ofstudent journalism.By Susan Armitage and Clare Sheng

14 Fm thBl Wll t thab spgHistory lessons youth teach us.By Alex Sardar

17 Th cmg WvThe rise of youth unemploymentand the role of youthentrepreneurship programming.By Scott Ruddick and Leah Katerberg 14

AUgUST2011MONDAY DEVELOPMENTS

19

29

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Managing Editor/Creative DiChad Brobst

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Copy Editor

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News Editor

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Monday Developments Magais published by:

InterAction

1400 16th Street, NW, Suite

Washington, DC 20036

Tel: 202.667.8227

[email protected]

ISSN 1043-8157

Monday Developments Magazinelished 11 times a year by Intethe largest alliance of U.S.-based tional development and humanitargovernmental organizations. Wit

than 190 members operating indeveloping country, InterAction wovercome poverty, exclusion anding by advancing social justice andignity for all.

InterAction welcomes submissinews articles, opinions and anments. Article submission does nantee inclusion in Monday DevelopWe reserve the right to reject sions for any reason. It is at the diof our editorial team as to which are published in individual issues.

All statements in articles are topinion and responsibility of the a

Articles may be reprinted with prmission and attribution. Letters editor are encouraged.

A limited number of subscriptiomade available to InterAction magencies as part of their dues. Insubscriptions cost $40 a year (afor airmail delivery outside thSamples are $5, including pAdditional discounts are availabulk orders. Please allow 4-6 wedelivery. Advertising rates are aon request.

MonDa DeeLoMenTs Maaz

Ref lect ionsf romthePresident

The worlds population is young andgetting younger. According to WorldPopulation Prospects, half of theworlds population is currently underage 25, with 85 percent of these youth living indeveloping countries. This youth population bulgeis the new reality for the development and humani-tarian community. It is true that with high rates ofyouth unemployment, inadequate education anda high proportion of young refugees, the worlds

youth are becoming an increasingly large part ofour programming, but what would happen if wethought of youth as more than beneficiaries? Canwe harness the power and vision of the largest gen-eration of future leaders?

It is easy given the development statistics tobecome pessimistic about the future of the worldsyouth. Yet within the numbers are countless storiesof young peoples leadership and resilience. Yearsago while traveling in East Africa, I met a youngman named Michael on the banks of Lake Vic-toria. Most of Michaelscommunity had beenravaged by the HIV/AIDS virus and he suf-fered the loss of his ownparents. Michael sawthe needs of his com-munity and its orphansduring this crisis andtook on the responsi-bility to act. At age 17,he organized orphans toprovide sewing servicesfor the village and usedthe proceeds to feed103 orphans every day

without the help of anyadult or developmentorganization. Michaelsresilience and creativeproblem solving is notan exception but rather typical of the capacity ofyouth. We must feed the spark within every youngperson, empower them and spur positive socialchange.

To build the new generation of global leaders,we need to think of youth as equal partners inenvisioning a better future, nurture their leader-

ship abilities and channeltheir energy for change.Youth have a voice thatcan no longer be ignored.As the young leaders ofArab Spring have taughtand continue to teach us,an entire generation is nolonger content to wait forchange. Youth now expect

more and are more vocal in demanding participa-

tion; they want basic human freedoms and justicein their societies.

To take on some of the opportunities and chal-lenges that come with todays global youth bulge,a group of international NGOs, foundations andbusinesses have come together as the Alliance forInternational Youth Development to urge interna-tional donors, global businesses and governmentsaround the world to increase investment in youthprograms, create new jobs to engage youth in newindustries and increase youth access to educationaland financial resources. InterAction is proud tobe strategic partner and home to the Alliance as itseeks to promote effective policies, programs andresources to support youth worldwide.

The cross-generational desire to be heard is alsooccurring within our own organizations. A recentreport commissioned by Independent Sector con-cluded that much of the friction in the nonprofitworkspace is due to different expectations betweengenerations of employees. How can we providea better space for multi-generational leadershipand dialogue within our organizations? A focuson developing open-door, two-way mentoring,staff development training and social networkingis just one way to smooth some of the differencesbetween young and experienced professionals in

our organizations.As we evaluate and enhance our approaches todevelopment across the world, let us make the extraeffort to include the worlds youth, empower themand think of them as equal partners, includingwithin our own organizations. MD

Sam WorthingtonPresidentandCEO

InterAction

Youth as Equal Partners

in Development

W nd to

thnk of youth qulprtnr nnvonng bttr futur,nurtur thrldrhpblt ndhnnl thrnrgy forhng.

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In foBytes

Alliance for InternationalYouth DevelopmentlaunchedIn recognition of the critical needto more effectively suort youthin develoing countries, nearly 20leading .S. youth develomentractitioners have launched theall f ittl uth

Dvlpmt in artnershi withitat. Led by a council

co-chaired by Bll r of theInternational Youth Foundation andsu stud of Innovations inCivic particiation, the Alliancewill serve as a forum for identifyingand disseminating lessons learned,best ractices and evidence

from effective international youthdeveloment exerience tobetter inform rogrammatic and

funding decision-making amonginternational donors, host countrygovernments, the develomentcommunity, the rivate sector andcivil society organizations.

he founding members ofthe Allianceincluding theedutl Dvlpmt

ct, the ittl uthFudt, the admy fedutl Dvlpmt,amg d l am,chm ittl, theedut f emplymt

Fudt, ivt cv tpt, the itlFudt, the ittlru cmmtt, Mkgct ittl, Mycp, the ntl 4-H cul,l ittl Usa, rTi

ittl, the Wmrfug cmm anduthBuld ittl,

among otherswill work with theinternational donor community,global businesses and develoingcountries to ensure a better futurefor themselves and the youth of theworld by working to:y Signicantly increase

investment in rograms thatsuort the ability of youth toenter the workforce, engagein civil society and makeresonsible decisions forthemselves and their families.y Create 500 million new jobs

and livelihood oortunitiesthat can engage youngeole in new industries andsocial enterrises.y Increase oortunities for

youth to have access tomicronance, credit, new

technologies and relevanttraining to enable them toursue entrereneurshi

oortunities, launch theirown businesses and, ineffect, create their own jobs.y ultily oortunities for

youth to engage in organizedcommunity service within theirown countries and with theireers worldwide.y stablish alternative

education rograms in everycountry that enables youthwho have droed out ofschool (or not had accessto formal schooling) to gain

certied cometencies inliteracy, numeracy, life andwork readiness skills.y nable youth to have greater

access to adolescent andreroductive health servicesand to family life counseling

Clements has been helping embassies,corporations and other organizations

meet their international insurance needs

for over 60 years. For a free consultation,

visit clements.com/mondaydevelopmentsor call us today: +1.202.872.0060

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C A R P R O P E R T Y L I F E & H E A L T H S P E C I A L T Y & H I G H R I S K I N S U R A N C E

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Facebook www.facebook.com/interaction.org

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and guidance services.y stablish leadershi training

rograms that enable young

eole to begin leadingnow in their communities sothey may also become moreeffective leaders of tomorrowin their countries.

he Alliance/InterActionartnershi will be mutuallybenecial to both organizations.he Alliance will benet fromInterActions extensive exeriencein best ractices romotion,advocacy and collective action.Alliance members will take

art in several InterActionworking grous to bring a youthersective to discussions on

critical develoment issues suchas agricultural, food security, andclimate change, among others.

For additional information onAIYD, lease contact mily Valk [email protected].

South African scientistsnd better way to purifytoxic wateroxic water is a byroduct ofmany industries, and urifying ithas been a source of vexationfor decades. Scientists in South

Africa, however, have found ananswer that could be imlementedwithin the next ve or six years.

he rocess is called eutecticfreeze crystallization, and involveschilling the water to a temeraturewhere the toxins crystallize andsink, and the water freezes on theto. According to the lead sci-entist on the study, the drinkablewater roduced constitutes over99 ercent of the original toxicwater used, roducing very littletoxic waste to disose of. hisrocess also uses a fraction of theenergy of current water urica-tion rocesses.

For more information, seehtt://www.isnews.net/news.as?idnews=56378.

Appeals court rulesanti-prostitution pledgeunconstitutionalA New York federal aeals courthas revented the .S. govern-ment from requiring an anti-ros-titution ledge from organizationsreceiving government funding inthe global ght against HIV/AIDS.

he all f op s-ty ittl, thdittl, the lbl Hlthcul, and itat have

he Grou of wenty (G20), ofciallyknown as he Grou of wentyFinance inisters and Central BankGovernors, was established in Se-tember 1999 at the behest of nanceministers from the Grou of Seven(G7) countries in resonse to the Asian

nancial crisis of the late 1990s. At the time, the G20 was conceivedas a new mechanism for informal dialogue in the framework of theBtt Wd institutional system to broaden the dialogue on keyeconomic and nancial olicy issues among systemically signicanteconomies and to romote cooeration to achieve stable and sus-tainable world growth that benets all.

eresentatives from 19 countries, the eup U, theWld Bkand the ittl Mty Fud met annuallyto informally discuss and forge consensus on issues related to theinternational nancial system. But because the meetings were held atthe nance minister level, the G20 was less rominent than what isnow the Grou of ight (G8), which includes the G7 countries lusussia and holds meetings (called summits) at the leader level.

he G20s secondary status changed dramatically with the 2008global nancial crisis. ecognizing the unrecedented nature of theeconomic downturn, then-.S. president g W. Buh invited

the G20 heads of state to Washington that November to coordinatea resonse, thereby creating the rst ever G20 summit. Following theSetember 2009 pittsburgh G20 summit, the G20 declared itselfthe remier forum for international economic cooeration, lead-ing many observers to suggest that the G20 would ultimately su-lant the G8 in global inuence.

As it sought to foster strong, sustainable and balanced growthbeyond the global nancial crisis, the G20 summit began engagingon develoment and humanitarian issues in a big way. At the Novem-ber 2010 G20 summit in Seoul, the attending leaders released their

ulti-Year Action plan on Develoment, which rioritized work on andmonitoring of the following areas for the then recently-created G20Develoment Working Grou: infrastructure; human resource devel-oment; trade; rivate investment and job creation; food security;growth with resilience; nancial inclusion; domestic resource mobili-zation; and knowledge sharing.

At this years G20 summit, scheduled for November 3-4 in Cannes,the French residency is slated to target nancial systems, global eco-nomic growth and develoment. nder nancial systems, the Frenchintend to discuss reforming the international monetary system toreduce imbalances and strengthen coordination and nancial regula-tion. Issues of economic growth include: combating commodity ricevolatility, articularly of agricultural goods; suorting emloyment andthe social dimension of globalization; and ghting corrution. Finally,the French governments develoment focus at the summit involvessuorting infrastructure and food security while seeking innovativenancing otions and a tax on nancial transactions.

itat has created a secialized webage (www.interaction.org/g8g20) to highlight ertinent G8 and G20-related information and,through its 8/20 Tk F, has roduced olicy briefs on innova-tive nancing and elimination of tax havens, anti-corrution and nancialinclusion. It has also begun sharing its olicy brief recommendationswith government ofcials in their G8/G20 interagency task force.

Finally, InterAction and Bd UK, as co-chairs of the lbl 8/20 Wkg up, have organized three civil society consulta-tions with the Bll & Mld t Fudt to resent NGOsviews on ofcial develoment assistance, otions for a nancial trans-actions tax and other innovative sources of nancing for develomentas Bill Gates reares to resent a reort on nancing for develo-ment at Novembers G20 summit.

he countdown to Cannes continues, and it will be a busy fourmonths for InterAction and other NGOs that closely follow the G20.Stay tuned

2011 Cannes G20 Summit and InterAction: A Primer
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=56378http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=56378http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=56378http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=56378

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been ghting the case since 2005.he organizations are rotestinglanguage in the Utd stt

Ldhp agt Hi/aiDs,Tubul, d Ml at

f 2003, which requires organiza-tions receiving government fundingto ublicly announce that they areoosed to rostitution and sextrafcking. he blanket ledgewould also extend to rivatelyfunded activities.

equiring the ledge wouldhave a major imact on theeffectiveness and reach of HIV/AIDS rogramming, and hasalready been shown to undermine

some of the most effective ro-grams.

Comelling seech as a con-dition of receiving a governmentbenet cannot be squared withthe First Amendment, the courtwrote. he right to communicatefreely on such matters of ublic

concern lies at the heart of theFirst Amendment.

he 2-to-1 ruling uheld a

lower courts decision. o read thefull ruling, visit htt://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/oinions.htmandsearch for anti-rostitution.

Mobile healthhe revalence of mobile honesin the develoing world hassurred the develoment of mobilehealth alications. One that islikely familiar to Dreaders is theractice of sending SS text mes-sages to execting mothers givinghealth tis throughout regnancy.

Now some develoers are takingthings a ste further.

A grou called Lfl hascreated an a to hel diagnosemalaria atients. According toLifelens, the current malaria testused in Africa (the raid diagnos-tic test) roduces aroximately

60 ercent false ositives, wastingmedicine and otentially helingthe malaria virus develo an immu-

nity to the treatment. he Lifelensa would allow a user to take aicture of a blood smear and doan analysis and diagnostic thatshould be more reliable. For moreinformation, see htt://thelifel-ensroject.com/blog/ .

eanwhile, researchers at MiThave develoed a hone attach-ment to hel diagnose cataracts,the leading cause of blindnessworldwide. he device is a scan-ner that attaches to a hone andmas the eye and any cataracts

that might be there. he devicehas no moving arts and is builtfrom easily accessible como-nents. Further, the way the diagno-sis works should allow for earlierdetection and the ability to monitora cataracts rogress. For moreinformation, see htt://web.media.

mit.edu/~amlona/CAA/.Both of these roducts could

have a rofound imact on eole

without reliable access to healthcare.

Technology fortransparencyhe government of Kenya haslaunched a website to rovideoen data to its citizens on toicsincluding education, energy, health,overty, and water and sanitation.he website not only rovides theinformation but also encourages itsuse in alications and analysis.

he data is resented in mas,

charts and raw data, and is brokenu by sector, county, and in lacesage and gender. It also hosts anarea for alication develoers tocollaborate with each other andregister their as.

Visit the oen data website athtt://oendata.go.ke/.

In foBytes

7AUgUST2011MONDAY DEVELOPMENTS

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In Cameroon, another oendata initiative has been released.One roblem that many eole

face is the lack of knowledge onadministrative rocedures andhow they are suosed to work,leaving citizens vulnerable toadministrators collecting bribes.

Software develoers havecreated a hone a calledNoBakchich, which gives users adescrition of how a governmentservice works, including necessaryrocedures, actual rices for ser-vices, and addresses for services.NoBakchich also allows usersto reort when someone tries to

collect a bribe. he roject sansmultile agencies and continues toexand its scoe.

For more information, visithtt://nobakchich.djiathink.com/ .(Note: the website is in French.)

InterAction welcomesnew membersInterAction is leased to announcethe following new members:

lbl Whgt isa broad-based membershiassociation that romotes andsuorts the global develomentsector in the state of Washington.Comosed of nonrotorganizations, foundations,businesses, government andacademic institutions, its members

work collectively to build amore equitable and roserousworld. Global Washingtonconvenes members to generatenew oortunities for growth,strengthens member organizationsto increase their imact andadvocates across key globaldeveloment issues at the local,national and global levels. It servesas a catalyst for strengtheningthe global develoment sector

and its member organizations by:leveraging resources; increasingvisibility; sharing best ractices;

convening the sector by country,issue and organization tye; andadvocating around education,global engagement and foreignolicy. hrough a wide variety ofrograms and services, GlobalWashington rovides its membersand the global develomentcommunity with benets such asnetworking and caacity building,fundraising and resources,rofessional develoment, andublic relations.

Hlpg Hd f rlf d

Dvlpmt (HHD) is a glob-al humanitarian relief and develo-ment organization resonding tohuman suffering in emergency anddisastrous situations around theworld regardless of race, gender,ethnicity, class, location, religion,color, cultural diversity and socialbackground. It articularly focuseson countries with large oula-tions living below the overty linesuch as Afghanistan, Bangladesh,India pakistan, Kenya and Sudanand many others. Its artnersrange from small community su-ort grous to national alliancesand international networks onissues such as education for all,

justice and action against overty,and ending class and gender

discrimination. In addition to itsemergency relief efforts, HHDalso conducts long-term relief anddeveloment rograms in areassuch as livelihoods, economic em-owerment, orhan and widowssuort and skills develoment.ather than imosing solutions,HHD works with communitiesover many years to strengthentheir own efforts to overcomeoverty. HHD believes in offering

a heling hand, not a handout, tocreate conditions in which eoleactively articiate in the develo-

ment rocess.

he Utd ntFudt was created in1998 with entrereneur andhilanthroist ed urnershistoric $1 billion gift to suortnited Nations causes andactivities. As a ublic charity,the Foundation advocates forthe N and connects eole,

ideas and resources to hel theN solve global roblems. NFoundation ofces are locatedin Washington, D.C., and NewYork. Although the Foundationdoes not maintain regional ofcesinternationally, it achieves a globalreach through its grantees andartners, and esecially throughN agencies, with which itcoordinates through the N Fundfor International partnershis. heFoundations work is centered onbuilding artnershis, growingconstituencies, mobilizingresources and advocating olicychanges to suort the Ns workfor individual and global rocess.his objective is aroachedthrough numerous rogramming,camaign and advocacy activitiesand is suorted by artnershis,grant-making and fundraising,always with suort for the N asthe foremost goal.

Wt f sud, i., worksto increase the quality of life and

health of families in South Sudanby drilling dee water wellsto rovide fresh, safe, otablewater to remote villages. Its localknowledge, contacts and on-the-ground insirational leadershiof its founder Salva Dut (a formerLost Boy) and its drilling teammanagers gives the organizationa unique oerating advantage inthe always-challenging environ-ment of South Sudan. Although

a small organization, Water forSudans work was been receivedas excetional and outstanding. In

arch 2009 the grou receivedglobal recognition as a nalist inthe Kyoto World Water prize Com-etition. Between late 2005 andmid-January of this year, Water forSudan has drilled 83 successfulwells with hand-uming systemsin remote villages roviding themthe rst clean, otable water. Serv-ing tens of thousands SouthernSudanese daily, the wells rovidefresh, otable water daily to fulllbasic human needs.

Wld ct suortsinnovative, community-led rojectsto imrove the health and well-being of women and youth that areled by grassroots communityorganizations. It bring togetherindividuals, communities,innovations, artners, suortersand doers to serve women andchildren. World Connect trusts inthe ability of community changemakers and their neighbors todecide for themselves what worksbest. Its rojects are identied andsonsored by currently servingpeace Cors volunteers whoartner with grassroots communityorganizations and local leaders.World Connect offers funding andtechnical assistance to thesegrassroots community organizationsto imlement romising rojects forwomen and youth to build thecaacity of these community

organizations and in turn increasetheir ability to create ositivechanges among their targetoulations, which will ultimatelylead to hay and healthy women,youth and communities. WorldConnect currently works in 13countries around the world: Belize,Costa ica, Dominican eublic,cuador, l Salvador, Haiti, Kenya,ali, orocco, peru, philiines,wanda and Senegal.MD
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10 MONDAY DEVELOPMENTSAUgUST2011

WE CAN ILD, WE CAN LANT, WE CAN Ecreative, we can invent, a young Jordanian announcedrecently to an assembled group of dignitaries in Amman.This desire to shape ones futureto have a voice, to con-

tribute to the community, to support oneself and ones familyisuniversal. Most recently, it has been the young people of the MiddleEast and North Africa who have grabbed the worlds attention bydemanding the full rights of citizenship and, in some cases, by over-throwing authoritarian regimes that have kept citizens on the marginsfor far too long.

Those of us in the development communityparticularly organiza-tions that have significant programs in many of these same countrieshave watched this powerful pro-democracy movement unfold with acombination of surprise, excitement and admittedly some nervousness.Rarely has our collective message of the need to invest in todays youthseemed so relevant. Yet questions abound about how best to respondto such fast-changing conditions on the ground. How do we sup-port Arab youth during this unpredictable period? What should our

development priorities be in the region as we move forward? Whatare young people saying are their greatest concerns and hopes? Howwill current events impact our programs?

I would like to share a few insights my organization has gained inrecent conversations within the NGO, corporate and internationaldonor communities, as we all grapple with these remarkable but some-times unsettling times.

Why w w upd?As many of the organizations working in the Middle East and North

Africa well know, there were plenty of signsand plenty of researchthat pointed to an increasingly restless, unemployed and voiceless seg-ment of the youth population in these countries that was ready to burst.

In 2004, for example, the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD),an NGO based in eru, published a report detailing the marginaliza-tion of Egyptian entrepreneursmany of whom are young people.The report underscored the enormous barriers to starting up a smallbusiness in that country and the deep frustration of Egyptians who feltincreasingly disempowered as a result. As ILDs director, economistHernando de Soto said recently, All of this helps explain why so manyordinary Egyptians have been smoldering for decades despite hardwork and savings, they can do little to improve their lives. Similarwarnings about marginalized youth in this region have been mademore recently. Last year, a SAID assessment of youth in the West ankand Gaza not only revealed persistently high unemployment amongalestinian university graduates but also the lack of opportunityanda paucity of role modelsto support or encourage the development

of young people as leaders in their communities.Similar findings were reported in a community assessment of youthin some of Jordans poorest neighborhoods, carried out by IYF in 2010.Here again, there was evidence of soaring youth unemployment cou-pled with an astonishingly low level of civic engagement. In manyneighborhoods, a mere 4 percent of young people on average wereinvolved in community volunteer projects. Not only do such activitiesoffer valuable training opportunities for emerging civic leaders, skillslearned in community activities such as teamwork, decision-makingand program management are also skills that young people can bringwith them to future jobs.

Three Palestinian boys cool down after aparade through New Askar Refugee camp

to celebrate and mourn child martyrs.

Photo by Shawn Duffy

8/4/2019 MD Aug 2011 Small


The

ArabSpringWhat are the

implications for theNGO community?

ByWilliam S. Reese,PresidentandCEO,InternationalYouthFoundation

araB srin

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araB srin

12 MONDAY DEVELOPMENTSAUgUST2011

These issues of unemployed, disengagedyouth always need to be viewed in the largercontext of the historic explosion of young

people across the Middle East. In Egypt,Jordan and Tunisia for example, nearly one-third of the population is between 15 and 29.When huge numbers of youth are forced tothe margins of society, alienation, violenceor political upheaval are often the result. AsGeneive Abdo, an analyst with the NationalSecurity Network and the Century Founda-tion admitted recently, Its almost become aclich that theres a youth bulge in the Arabworld; we never realized what the effect ofthat would be, until now.

Wht ut pt f yuth

dvlpmt th g?There is no question that the high jobless

rate among Arab youth must be addressedif there is to be any real progress in the eco-nomic development of the region. ut manyof the young people we have recently spokento say that having a role in shaping their ownfuturesand reforming or replacing their gov-ernmentsis of even greater importance tothem. Many Arab youth talk about how theyhave little sense of dignity or self worth leftafter years of being unemployed and havingfew opportunities to connect with their com-munities. Those with college degrees feel aparticularly deep sense of shame and hope-

lessness. Clearly, they want to regain theirself-respect and ability to realize their

full potential. And we can help by investingin effective citizenship and youth leadershipinitiatives.

Jordans former Minister of Social Develop-ment, Hala Lattouf, explains the importanceof such investments to address these feelingsof alienation and disempowerment: eingengaged civically helps young people form a

vital connection to their community, to eachother and to a shared vision of the future this focus on inclusion and empowermentsends a powerful message: that every youngperson has the right to live in a safe and car-ing society.

To support these important objectives inthe Arab region, we remain committed to acomprehensive and integrated approach toyouth development. That means, for example,that we will continue to combine job trainingand internships with life skills and entrepre-neurship opportunities to better prepare youngpeople to support themselves and their fami-lies. We will also make sure that employ-ability training and citizenship programsgo hand in handrecognizing that youthempowerment means having the skills and

opportunities to be both civically andeconomically engaged.

Hw wll uphvl th ab wldmpt u wk?

While it is too soon to predict the outcomes

of these tumultuous events, we already knowthat in most places everything will take lon-gerwhether it is launching new projects,sending out proposal requests to local orga-nizations, or recruiting participants for jobtraining or community improvement ini-tiatives. That is simply a fact of life, in partbecause government ministries that we haveusually worked with are either undergoingleadership and structural changes or simplyno longer exist.

Ironically, however, even as our work maybe slowed down for bureaucratic or politi-cal reasons, there appears to b e far greater

urgency to fulfill our commitments to theyouth of this region and to do so in ways thatare both visible and real to them and theircommunities. Awais Sufi, IYFs vice presidentfor programs, helped lead the discussion at arecent symposium at rookings Institutionin Washington D.C., on how best to fosterpolitical reform and democratization in theemerging Egypt. As part of that dialogue, hesaid, We need to find concrete paths forwardand focus on initiatives and efforts that showreal impact, do it quickly, and build momen-tum to show young people they have a rolein creating the future.

A Middle E ast program director offerssimilar advice: Engage young people inmeaningful waysby going beyond thetraditional and often superficial approachof community projects. uild greater trustbetween adults and youth, by ensuringthat structures are in place to give youngpeople a significant voice in shaping thedecisions, policies, and programs thataffect them. Get serious about model-ing youth citizenship if you want to see

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IN A WORLD WHERE REAMS OF INFORmation flows along multiple pathways, itis increasingly necessary for citizens to beable to think critically, analyze informationand contribute creatively to their societiesdevelopment.

Freedom of speech creates fertile groundfor critical thought and encourages analysis

of societal issues and expressions of dissent.When freedom of speech is taken away, criti-cal thinking is stifled. When this happens,youth, who should be preparing for leadershipthrough active involvement in civic issues,may fail to realize their potential as criticalthinkers. ut as we see from the youth-ledcitizen journalism through social media plat-forms such as Twitter during the 2009 Iranprotests disputing the presidential electionresult, critical thinking and activism do notperish in repressive regimes; they simmer

underneath and ought to be nourished.Even where the press is not free and pro-

fessional reporters must self-censor, journal-ism can be an effective tool to develop criticalthinking skills and create a forum for freerexpression within a highly restricted environ-ment. Scholastic journalism teaches youthhow to ask questions, think critically andcarefully decipher the media messages that

they consume. Students develop journalisticskills by writing about what is important tothem: from analyzing a new school policy tothe latest news from a basketball game. Insteadof reporting the official line, students learn toget different sides of a story, gather varyingviewpoints and report objectively. These bal-anced stories do not necessarily threaten theauthorities, yet they still develop importantcritical thinking skills.

When education is participatory and stu-dents actively produce news, youth can createa forum for themselves to discuss issues ofimportance to them. Research has demon-

strated that scholastic journalism at the highschool level positively impacts academic per-formance, as well as civic engagement andcritical thinking and leadership skills.

Recognizing that international standardjournalism can be threatening to those inpower in repressive environments, emphasiz-ing the positive impact on academic achieve-ment and well-rounded youth developmentcan help to ease skepticism about the valueof student journalism in schools. Once aninstitution buys into scholastic journalism,the battle is half won. Now begins the hardwork of teaching international-standard newswriting, the principals of accuracy, fairnessand clarity. Critical thinking skills cannot betaught in a lecture style in one semester; it isa long process of constant engagement andmentoring.

Through student journalism, youth cancritically analyze developments in their ownlives, in their schools and in their communi-ties. They formulate and ask questions, syn-thesize and critically assess the informationand report the facts. These young people arethe key to a freer future for their countries. MD

The unheralded benefits of student journalism.

Fg Md rpv Tm

BySusan Armitage,ProramOfcer,andClare Sheng,ProramOfcer,IREX

IX has alied the model of studentjournalism in schools to establish successfuland sustainable newsaers. hese ro-grams emower youth as media roducersand consumers, and romote well-roundeddeveloment by fostering analytical thinking,communication skills, teamwork and a strongsense of resonsibility. IXs student jour-nalism rograms have reached over 10,000youth readers to date.

Students brainstorm feature stories atLanzhou No. 1 Railroad High School, China.

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HE ARA SRING IS TRLY HISTORIC. EOLE AREstanding up in a region where customs have required deference tothe wise and elder. This is nothing short of a socio-cultural quake.Todays mostly youth-led revolt is new for the Middle East but not

for the world. In 1989 and 1990, young activists saw the culminationof their Leipziger Montagsdemonstrationen as they peacefully chal-lenged the status quo and proved to be smarter than the CommunistEast German state.

Just about the only difference between the youth activists of Tashkentand Tunisia, Yerevan and Yemen, or erlin and ahrain, is the waythey communicated their aspirations for change.

Instead of VHS tapes in 1989, today YouTube spins the picturesto the world; for every carbon-copied newsletter distributed out ofa church basement, thousandsof email names are put into thecarbon copy lines of emails inmosque computer centers. Theimages, words and essence ofthe message, however, remainthe same.

Likewise, as the developmentcommunity comes face-to-facewith the surge of the youthenthusiasm that has fueled theArab Spring, we can draw on the more than 20 years of program-

matic experience in the former Eastern loc nations and the NewlyIndependent States (NIS) of the former Soviet nion.It is here that a myriad of initiatives helped us refine our work with

youth groups, activists and champions of change in the institutionswe have come to know as the linchpins of sustainable development.

In the mid-1990s, the floodgates opened and international NGOsbegan working with youth activists (most of whom were in their lateteens/early twenties) to assist them in setting up NGOs and mobiliz-ing their communities.

Today, we find those activists firmly grounded in two distinct estab-lishments.

First, there is the nonprofit establishmenta solid grouping of civil

History lessons youth teach us.

ByAlex Sardar,VicePresident,CounterpartInternational

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15AUgUST2011MONDAY DEVELOPMENTS

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ab spgsociety organizations, which are, for better or worse, mainstays in theirsocieties and on donor rosters.

Second, there is the state establishment. Youth leaders sought change

by eventually taking seats in government. (In some unfortunate cases,NGO leaders became part of this category when their independentorganizations became extensions of the state apparatus and began wear-ing ONGO (political NGO) and GONGO (government-organizedNGO) badges).

In hindsight, during the rush to support young activists and theexcitement surrounding the spark of change for the former Sovietbloc, donors and international NGOs made a number of mistakes:

They neglected or did not have the resources to ensure that therewould be a succession plan in place for the next generation ofyoung leaders in local NGOs, in government posts and as activists.

There was a lack of investment in deepening the capacity formanaging short and long-term change among these erstwhileyoung leaders, who over time have become as entrenched in thebusiness of public life as they once were in the ideals of public life.

Little attention was paid to sustainable forms of ongoing youthdevelopment and ad-hoc camps and leadership exchanges litteredworkplans and proposals.

In the development context, youth is fleeting. As a mindset, it hasa shelf life of about a decade.

The clock is ticking in the Middle East. As the Obama administra-tion shores up international support for the change process that hasbegun in the region, the development community must also retool withsharp focus on meaningful and long-term interventions to build onthe courage that has been on display in actions of these young activists.

nlike our experience with the former Soviet loc, international

NGOs and development organizations have several decades of work inthe Middle East that can allow us to forego the niceties and missteps ofnew guests. Today, with our fundamental understanding of institutionsand their role in the emerging Middle East, we are able to continuebuilding on conversations with long-time civil society collaboratorsand show some tough-love to young activists, so that their ta lents andlife investments today continue to bear fruit a few decades down theline. Moving forward, we may consider the following starting pointsfor a new wave of development work in this region, particularly withyoung people.

Young Arab activists are the means and the end of the changeprocess. Disenchantment with social change in the former Soviet

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HisTor Lessons

loc has been occurring as moreyoung people have seen them-selves as having become mere

tools to a larger agenda. To agreat extent, young people havebeen excluded from the decision-making process and their seat atthe table has been occupied bythe formerly young.

Todays individual youngactivist is an institution ontoherself. She has the worlds atten-tion through social networkingand communication technology,and does not necessarily need anorganization to legitimize her aspi-rations. We need to develop smart

strategies for institutions to betterunderstand and further comple-ment this reality. We also need tounderstand how we tap into thepower of networks without neces-sarily needing to formalize theminto organizations and coalitions.

Consequences of young activists actions are exponentially morepalpable given their reach to the masses. Their ability to feel and actresponsibly in that context is just as essential. Our work must focus

on leadership capacity development that combines focus on effectiveshort-term activism, value-added advocacy and long-term account-ability and follow up in the context of the shorter-term action.

Government and nongovernment institutions must come togrips with the role of the young in their organizations, and facilitatethe space for youth engagement in positions of power. (Mirroring ingovernance circles the monopolies that may exist in economic lifehas proven detrimental to the longevity of organizations in otherplaces.) And to be clear, coming to terms with youth also meansadopting youthful thinking and the capacity to absorb internal andexternal change.

Donors and international NGOs can no longer not treat in-depthorganizational development as an after-thought. In the Middle Eastand North Africa, engaging with an international program must mean

that the national counterpart institution is willing to make organiza-tional development (including change management, strategic leadershipand governance) a top priority.

If the grandeur of this moment of opportunity is lost on any of us,we simply need to consider what the headlines will be 20 years fromnow if the institutional foundations of civil society do not reflect sus-tainable and well-grounded tenets of a just and free Middle East. MD

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W H E N T H E A R A S R I N Gerupted across the Middle East,many cited youth unemploymentas a major catalyst. Young people, tiring ofdouble-digit unemployment and poor pros-pects, took to the streets. As protestors clashedwith security forces in running battles, theworld community came to see this as one ofthe predominant challenges of our time.

With this sudden and dramatic focus on thedestabilizing effect of youth unemployment,many in the aid community were quick to pro-pose efforts to foster youth entrepreneurship.ut using youth entrepreneurship to tacklepoverty can be controversial. While some aidpractitioners see it as an underutilized sourcefor job creation and economic development,others are not convinced by optimistic pro-jections and prefer to focus on adult-basedentrepreneurial programs.

As the debate on the effectiveness of youth-focused entrepreneurship continues, all agree

that the number of unemployed youth contin-ues to swell. Globally, there are 1.5 billion peoplebetween the ages of 1224, 1.3 billion of whomlive in developing countries, a historical high.

The challenges in absorbing such an unprec-edented influx of new entrants into the laborforce are staggering. Jennifer Denomy, whoheads up youth programming for the Men-nonite Economic Development Associates, isblunt in her appraisal. The demographics andeconomics are about to collide in a spectacularway, she states frankly. Statistically, the deck

is stacked against young people, particularlyin developing countries. [They] are likely tobe unemployed; and if they do find work, it ismore likely to be in unsafe working conditionsand for lower wages than other workers.

It is a view shared by a growing segment ofthe aid community. The reality is that thereare not enough jobs, says Reeta Roy, CEOof The MasterCard Foundation. In m anydeveloping countries, formal sector jobs arefew and largely inaccessible to young people,especially disadvantaged youth.

Most worrisome is that this looming youthbulge, which is already fostering unrest, hasyet to peak in the more troubled areas of theworld. Sub-Saharan Africa, Afghanistan, Iraq,the West ank and Gaza, and Yemen will allhit their peak number of young people in thenext 15 years or more. If you look at sub-Saharan Africa, the region has the h ighest

proportion of youth out of its total popula-tion. In addition, it has the highest rates ofyouth living in poverty, the largest populationof out-of-school youth and the highest rates ofyouth unemployment, explains Roy.

The MasterCard Foundation is one of severalphilanthropic organizations that have throwntheir support behind youth economic develop-ment as one of the answers to solving systemicpoverty. Says Roy, Investing in young peopleis an opportunity to invest in long-term growth

and prosperity. [Youth] form the basis of thecurrent and future workforce, and are leadingimportant change in their communities.

While youth entrepreneurship has promisein becoming a key part of poverty alleviation,it is not without its challenges. Youth entrepre-neurship is more difficult to ignite and pro-grams focusing on youth entrepreneurs facehurdles that adult-targeted programs do not.Youth have more limited skill sets; they faceproblems of access to resources such as capital;and the potential for exploitation is consider-able, with often-substantive power imbalancesbetween youth entrepreneurs and adults.

Many of the systemic challenges facingyoung entrepreneurs are rooted in culturalnorms. The International Labour Organi-zation (ILO) has taken an interest in youthentrepreneurship and produced a number ofinformative studies. For example, a 2006 ILOworking paper pointed out that social and cul-tural backgrounds inf luence an individualsapproach to entrepreneurial activity and enter-prise culture. The paper notes that a culturalenvironment in which entrepreneurship isrespected and valued, and in which businessfailure is treated as a useful learning experience

rather than a source of stigma, will generally bemore conductive to entrepreneurship.Cultures that are more traditional and

risk adverse, that stress formal employmentover business, are difficult environments foryoung people to establish businesses in, saysJulie Kantor, executive director of Network forTeaching Entrepreneurship and a veteran in thefield of youth entrepreneurship programming.

Hand in hand with a cultural openness toentrepreneurship is the significance of positiveenabling environments for youth entrepre-

The rise of youth unemployment and the role ofyouth entrepreneurship programming.

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ByScott Ruddick,DirectorofInteratedSupportService,andLeahKaterberg,ProramManaer,MeasurementandEvaluation,MEDA

A combination of entrepreneurial training and

access to nancial service can enable young

people, like this young seamstress involved in the

MasterCard Foundation supported YouthInvestprogram, to start their own businesses.

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neurship: business climates and governmentregimes that are conducive to youth-runbusinesses. Heavy institutional and regula-

tory frameworks intended for large enterprisesoften dampen entrepreneurial creativity.

As daunting as these systemic issues mayseem, aid organizations can do much to spuryouth entrepreneurship. Indeed, entrepre-neurship education, improved access tofinancing and stronger linkages to establishedbusinesses and markets are all achievablemeans of promoting an enabling entrepre-neurial environment for youth without theneed for significant policy-level adjustments.

Though the vast majority of young entre-preneurs in developing countries enter busi-ness through econom ic necessity, aid pro-

fessionals who work in youth enterprise arequick to point out that youth entrepreneurstend to fall into one of two classes: the choiceentrepreneur, who makes an active choice togrow his/her business; and the default entre-preneur, whose economic situation negatesthe option of obtaining formal employment.The latter start up small micro-businesses as

a fall-back, scratching out a living selling cell

phones cards or other products at street level.Not surprisingly, the choice entrepreneurs aremuch more likely to succeed in growing theirbusinesses, providing for their householdspast a subsistence level and employing others.

Fostering a successful mindset can becritical to ensuring a young persons suc-cess. Entrepreneurial skill building can be an

important part of that. In addition to giving

young people the requisite skills to succeed,it can also help shape their perspective on theopportunities that exist in business.

Kantor believes that entrepreneurship skillsare a missing component in formal educationsystems, both domestically and in developingcountries. Even if young people who learn thekey principles of entrepreneurship never go on

70 years ago,Dominga* was a ve-year-old girl

suffering from malnutrition in Peru.

Then Plan International arrived.

Plan worked with Domingas village

to install a borehole and grow

sustainable gardens. Today, Dominga

is a great grandmother, and she

teaches new mothers proper hygiene

and cooking skills to improve the

health of their children.

Plan is a $750 million organization

operating in 48 countries changing

the lives of children for the better

every day.

Promising Futures,

Community by Community

*Domingas story is an amalgam of the stories of

thousands of girls like her who Plan has helped

over the past 70 years, enabling them to grow and

become successful, productive adults in ways that

otherwise would not have been possible.

The Why Of Youth EntrepreneurshipResearchshowsthatyouthentrepreneurshipproramminachievessubstantialimpact,

reachinbeyondtheincreaseinincomesandassetainfortheentrepreneur.Youthentrepreneurship: Creates jobs for young people.Inadditiontotheworkcreatedbytheyounentrepreneur

forthemselves,researchshowsthattheyaremorelikelytohirefellowyounpeopleaswell. Creates a better quality of life.Youthwhoareself-employedhaveahiherlife

satisfactionthanyouthofsimilaraes. Heals communities in conflict.Inareaswithalarenumberofmarinalizedandat-risk

youth,itisaneffectivetoolforreinteratinmarinalizedyouthintothecommunityandtheeconomicmainstream.

Fosters high economic growth areas.Younentrepreneursareparticularlyresponsivetoneweconomicopportunitiesandtrends;andyounpeoplearemorepresentinhih-rowth,emerinsectors.

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W E WERE RECENTLY LOWNaway by a young woman fromSiberia who singlehandedly tookon a group of white-haired experts on climatechange. The group of scientists were lauding theuse of GS in monitoring land use change when

this young woman politely raised her hand.ut what use is the GS to poorer ruralcommunities? The reindeer herders of mynative Sahka Republic already know theirland. Why develop a dependency on yetanother piece of technology, when it seemsto me that there are more important develop-ment issues at hand?

Silence around the table; one of thosesilences that speaks louder than words. Sud-denly, this twenty-something year-old defiesall the connotations that might come with

her youth status. She is not apathetic, inex-perienced or nave. She has seen the directimpacts of climate change on her homelandand knows the finger has been pointed inthe wrong direction for too long. She doesntbelong to the almighty old boys club, but

that is precisely her greatest asset. She alsoisnt scared to take them on.And this young woman from Siberia is not

alone. She is part of a larger, global body ofyoung peoplestudents, graduates, research-ers, educators and environmental activistsbetween 18-25 years oldwho are taking onthe world.

Some are even younger. At 15, MohamadAxam Maumoon of the Malidives was selectedfrom among participants in the Childrens Cli-mate Forum, organized by NICEF and the

Five reasons why young people are needed to solvethe climate crisis.

ByLisa Marika Jokivirta,DoctoralCandidate,FinnishNationalgraduateSchoolofEnvironmentalSocialSciences,andDominic Stucker,Coordinator,SustainabilityLeadersNetwork

to start their own business, the skills they learnand the perspective they gain sets them up forsuccess in the working world. They learn how

to read the business landscape and how to be astrategic partner. Such alignment with the realworld can also translate into vastly improvedschool retention rates. Research by Kantorsown organization reveals that over 80 percentof students who leave secondary educationprior to completing cite lack of relevance asa major reason for abandoning their studies.

As critical as capacity building is to suc-cessful entrepreneurial programming, otherinterventions are equally important.

Access to financial services has proven tobe a key component of successful youth pro-gramming. Microenterprises, like any busi-

ness, depend on banking services and creditto allow for expansion and investment. Youngpeople often lack access to credit; establishingconnections to financial services that are fairand affordable is another conduit aid practi-tioners can introduce. In some cases this is assimple as linking youth with existing micro-finance banks. In other circumstances wheremicrobanking is unavailable or the existingbanks will not work with young people, cre-ative work-arounds need to be introduced.

uilding equitable market linkages, allow-ing youth to gain an understanding of marketdemand in order to identify opportunities, isanother important piece of the youth entre-preneurship puzzle. This includes trainingyouth to look at the entire chain of productionand delivery of goods and services, and todetermine how and where they can add themost value and in turn build their business.

While youth entrepreneurship program-ming offers a promising set of interventions toaddress burgeoning unemployment forecasts,it is not a panacea. eople working with youthare hoping that youth entrepreneurship willprovide opportunities for growing numbersof youth who need work but cannot find

jobs in the formal system. ut we also haveto recognize that entrepreneurship is onlyone answer to a large and growing problem,declares Denomy.

That large and growing problemunem-ployment among young peopleis shapingup to be one of the definitive challenges foraid in the 21st century. Empowering youngpeople and equipping them with the skill setsand resources to enable them to pull them-selves and their families out of poverty is acritical part of the solution. MD

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City of Copenhagen to participate in the 2009N climate change negotiations. In this role,Axam was interviewed by radio host Amy

Goodman of Democracy Now! Concerningthe impacts of climate change on vulnerablecountries, cultures and peoples, he pointedlyasked listeners and negotiators: On the basisthat you know what you are doing is wrong,and you can see that the victim is beggingfor mercy would you commit murder?Reminiscent of then 12-year-old SevernCullis-Suzukis impactful speech at the 1992Rio Earth Summit, Axam represents the firstof all generations to come that she invoked.

If you think we should include young peo-ple for tokenistic purposes, think again. Thereis an unprecedented need to engage them and

collaborate across generations for effectiveclimate action. Here are five reasons why.

The numbers speak for themselves. Thereare more than 1.2 billion people under theage of 25. If they all formed a country, theywould be the second largest one in the world.For those who ask why we should take onboard their needs, experiences and views, weinstead ask: How could we not? There is greatpower in numbers; and it will be necessaryand beneficial to include young people inthe mobilization efforts for effective climatechange mitigation and adaptation. This is par-ticularly true in the Global South. Almost 90percent of the worlds young people live inpoor countries, those least responsible for and

most adversely impacted by climate change.The educational attainment of young people,their decisions about lifestyles, sexual behav-ior and childbearing, and the transmission ofecological values, knowledge and practiceshave profound effects on their own lives andon generations to come.

The green economy is largely in youngpeoples wallets. Young men and womenconstitute close to one-fifth of the worldspopulation and their combined purchas-

ing power translates into significant marketcontrol. Youth in the .S. spend or influencethe spending of an estimated $300 billion per

year, or one-third of all consumer expenses.It would be a mistake not to include youngpeople in the design and implementation ofsustainable lifestyles campaigns and awarenessraising efforts. eyond consumption, youngpeople need to be encouraged to take up greenjobs. This can simultaneously address unem-ployment and disenfranchisement among thelarge youth demographic, and turn linearproduction systems into sustainable cycles.The N Environment rogram estimates theglobal market for environmental products andservices will double by 2020.

Science alone hasnt been the solution.

Young people and future generations havethe most at stake in the climate policy debate.ntil now, science-based arguments alonehave not produced strong policies. Wide-spread appeal from young people couldmake policy-makers reframe their interestsin the spirit of intergenerational responsibilityand respond with more meaningful climateaction. Data coupled with narrativesciencewith storymay help inspire sound climatepolicy. Youth represent and can articulatethat story, a story that bridges into a futurethat many current policy-makers will neverexperience. In so doing, young profession-als should not remain outside of decision-making processes but get involved in envi-ronmental governance.

Young professionals are a largely untappedresource. Globally, there is a largely untappedresource base of young professionalshighlyeducated students, educators, and environmen-tal and social activists who want to get moreinvolved. At Earth Charter International, theCosta Rica-based sustainability NGO where weboth previously worked, the volunteer-basedyouth program quickly became the most activearm of the organization. Young people from

around the world took initiative to translatepolicy documents, organize climate rallies,launch tree-planting programs and inspireother volunteers to act both online and on thegrounda diverse range of climate changeaction at multiple levels of impact. We seesimilar enthusiasm and talent among youngprofessionals in the International nion forConservation of Natures Commission onEducation and Communication, where wevolunteer as members of the Young rofes-sionals Leadership Team.

They still think outside the box. erhapsthe greatest power of young people is theirtendency towards creativity, innovative think-

ing and notsimply accepting older ideas. Likeadults, not all young people are destined oreven interested in b ecoming sustainabilityleaders. ut todays youth are perhaps themost technologically savvy, socially connectedgroup in history; and their power to envision asustainable world, identify high leverage strat-egies, mobilize individuals and affect positivechange should not be underestimated. Thepoint is not to train young people to workwithin the system. The challenge is to openup new spaces for them to share their uniqueperspectives and transform the systems theyhave inherited.

According to Albert Einstein, No problemcan be solved by the same level of thinkingthat created it. erhaps this can be extendedto question why the old boys club that islargely responsible for our present socio-envi-ronmental crises remains the dominant voiceat the climate policy table. Opportunity lies incultivating young peoples abilities to engagein systems thinking and analysis, coupledwith visioning new ways of being and doingthat bring balance to our relationships withone another and our environment. We mustgive each other permission to be creative andexperiment, make mistakes and learn our waytogether into a sustainable future.

The good news is many organizations, cor-porations and governments are waking up tothe potential of young people to contribute toclimate action. Much work, however, remains.The rights and decision-making capacities ofyoung people remain largely unrecognizedand they are often denied participation in(particularly higher-level) governance pro-cesses where their unique perspectives andinnovative ideas could help shape more effec-tive policies.

This is a defining moment, a defining

opportunity. We encourage you to ask yourselfwhat your organization is doing to engageyoung people in climate change action. Whatopportunities might exist for increasing youthengagement and intergenerational partner-ship? MD

The authors can be contacted [email protected] [email protected] .More information on the IUCNs related workis available athttp://intergenerationalpartner-ship.wikispaces.com

rhp th grttpowr of young popl thr tndny towrdrtvty, nnovtvthnkng nd notmplyptng oldr d.
mailto:http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/8/would_you_commit_murder_15_yearmailto:http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/8/would_you_commit_murder_15_yearmailto:http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv=uZsDliXzyAYmailto:http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv=uZsDliXzyAYmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://intergenerationalpartnership.wikispaces.com/http://intergenerationalpartnership.wikispaces.com/http://intergenerationalpartnership.wikispaces.com/http://intergenerationalpartnership.wikispaces.com/http://intergenerationalpartnership.wikispaces.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv=uZsDliXzyAYmailto:http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv=uZsDliXzyAYmailto:http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/8/would_you_commit_murder_15_yearmailto:http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/8/would_you_commit_murder_15_year

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In response, INEE undertook a mapping exercise in March andApril on behalf of itself and colleagues such as the Center for eaceuilding International, the International Rescue Committee, Searchfor Common Ground and the N opulation Fund (NFA). Thegoal was to better understand what inter-agency collaboration coulddo to: (a) complement ongoing activities; (b) bridge gaps; and (c)strengthen attention to youth issues throughout the humanitarian anddevelopment communities. Through extensive interviews and othermethods, the exercise identified agencies interested in collaborationand reasons why youth issues have fallen through the cracks in the past.It also identified current gaps in funding, policy, evidence, program-ming and practical guidance, youth participation and coordination

In the process, it highlighted several key challenges: Coordinating across sectors.Agencies often target youth through

issue-specific programs (e.g., education, employment, sexualand reproductive health). Few agencies have distinct units onyouth that could bring such efforts together into a comprehensiveresponse to their needs and overcome thinking and working inissue silos. Education is a promising starting pointfor integratedcross-sectoral efforts, using that framework to then also considerthe needs of youth in others areas.

Limited evidence base. The evidence available to design responses,justify funding and measure impact remains very thin, with a par-ticular shortage for countries affected by conflict and disasters.This shortfall includes very limited research on matters suchas good practice and lessons learned or practical tools to guideprogram design and implementation.

Need for policy-level work. Working with youth in small-scaleprograms, the wider policy context is often neglected. ut such small-scale programs have only limited impact when, for example, there isa chronic misalignment between education systems and employmentmarkets as there is in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Youth as active partners. More and more international actors

acknowledge that youth need to play an active role in programand policy-making processes. ut commitments to engage youthgroups as equal partners are often unfulfilled, leaving young peo-

ple without a voice in addressing their own needs. Inclusive andrepresentative structures for youth engagement and particularlymarginalized youth are still lacking.

Inter-agency collaboration and knowledge-sharing. While agen-cies are increasing their work with youth, the development ofmuch-needed coordination mechanisms is lagging behind. Andexisting partnerships do not document the linkages and outcomesof collaboration. Across all sectors, more effort is needed to fosterSouth-South initiatives and knowledge transfer. Regional net-works like the South African or the Middle East Youth Initiativesdemonstrate the value of sharing knowledge on how to addressissues related to youth unemployment, civic participation, genderequality, housing and marriage.

Mvg fwdased on conclusions from the majority of the agencies involved, the

findings indicated that increased collaboration could produce manybenefits including: enhanced commitment (particularly at higherpolitical and organizational levels); increased funding for and betterfinancing of youth programs; more coordination and less duplication;incorporating youth issues more substantively in the humanitarian anddevelopment architecture, such as the Inter-Agency Standing Commit-tees cluster system; more effective programming; and institutionalizedmechanisms for engaging youth. To further these ends, many of theagencies involved in the mapping have since come together to formthe core of a new informal youth coordination group that others havejoined as well. The group has developed an action plan with activitiesto undertake together and approximately 30 individuals representingaround 20 agencies have agreed to participate.

For the remainder of 2011, the group is focused on two key activities.First, it is organizing a side event to the N High Level Meeting onYouth in late July. The event will focus on challenges and solutions tointer-agency collaboration for youth programming in emergencies andpost-emergency situations. Second, beginning in the autumn, the groupwill conduct a large-scale survey of youth in a range of emergency andpost-emergency settings to identify their programming priorities andto inform collaboration agenda. The survey will use partners existingnetworks to reach effected youth. It will aim to increase the knowledgebase for programming and to strengthen the role of youth as activepartners. To coordinate these activities, the group meets about once amonth via conference call. Further directionincluding whether the

group should formalize and institutionalize itselfwill be drawn fromthe July side event and the youth survey. In the meantime, the groupwill continue to foster momentum around a critical and difficult areain humanitarian and development work.MD

For more information about the coordination group and to get involved,please contact Kerstin Tebbe at [email protected]. More information onINEEs 2010 Policy Roundtable on youth can be found athttp://ineesite.org/

post/policy_roundtable_youth_2010/. More details including video clips fromthe symposium can also be foundhttp://www.youthpolicy.org/. Additionalinformation can be found at the Network for Youth in Transition websiteathttp://networkforyouthintransition.org/.

New inter-agency collaboration looksto improve youth programming duringand after emergencies.

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ByAnna SeegerandKerstin Tebbe,Inter-AencyNetworkforEducationinEmerencies(INEE)
http://ineesite.org/post/policy_roundtable_youth_2010/http://ineesite.org/post/policy_roundtable_youth_2010/http://www.youthpolicy.org/http://networkforyouthintransition.org/http://networkforyouthintransition.org/http://www.youthpolicy.org/http://ineesite.org/post/policy_roundtable_youth_2010/http://ineesite.org/post/policy_roundtable_youth_2010/

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HERE IS A GLOAL LEARNING CRISIS. THE LAST SImonths have witnessed its tell-tale signs in the revolutions thathave rippled throughout the Arab world. Among the factors that

led to the Arab Spring, one that has stood out as both alarming andpreventable is the high level of youth unemployment. Egypts youthunemployment rate is 25 percent and Tunisias is a stunning 30 percent.

nemployment is partially due to a lack of jobs, but is also a resultof young people entering the workforce without relevant skills. Yet thenumber of out-of-school adolescents is astounding. Worldwide, approxi-mately 74 million adolescents of lower secondary school-age are not inschool. Of those in school, millions leave without the basic knowledge,skills and competencies needed for improved lives and livelihoods.For example, in emerging economies three out of 10 youth cannot dobasic arithmetic and in some sub-Saharan Africa countries, children

with five years of education have a 40 percent chance of being illiterate.While significant progress has been made in increasing access toprimary schools, it has been highly uneven across and within countries.oor girls, children from rural households and young people affectedby conflict are often the most educationally marginalized.

A new study, A Global Compact on Learning: Taking Action on Edu-cation in Developing Countries, by the Center for niversal Educationat the rookings Institution, identifies three priority areas essential toaddressing the global learning crisis: (1) helping young children get an earlystart on learning through quality early childhood development programs;(2) prioritizing literacy and numeracy skills in lower primary grades; and(3) ensuring young people transition to relevant post-primary education.

The three priorities are inextricably linked. Youth suffer throughoutadolescence and secondary school if they have not received qualitylearning opportunities early in life, increasing the risk of repetitionand dropping out.And children in primary school who do not learnfundamental reading, writing, math and critical thinking skills havea harder time transitioning to and succeeding in secondary school.

There is also a serious need to ensure equity in access to learningopportunities. Only 36 percent of girls enroll in lower secondary schoolin sub-Saharan Africa; and the gender gap in secondary enrollmenthas actually grown wider since 2000.

ut how to address these daunting challenges and ensure allyoungpeople receive quality education?

The report calls for a Global Compact on Learning to raise the profileof education on the international policy agenda, to ensure quality learn-ing is the minimum standard we strive for, and to make worthwhile

the sacrifices that many familiesmust make to send their childrento school. The Global Compactrecommends specific actions awide range of actors should take toachieve learning for all. Coordina-tion amongst all stakeholders is also

crucial.Developing country governmentshave the responsibility to ensuretheir citizens receive a quality edu-cation. Leadership and commitmentto learning for all at the highestpolitical level is critical. Govern-

ments should establish clear, equity-based learning targets applicableto all children and youth, including timebound and quantitativetargets for ensuring access to high-quality learning opportunities forout-of-school children. Strategies to achieve these targets should beevidence-based and linked to the three priorities above. Additionally,

Its time to consider a globalcompact on learning.

ByLauren Greubel,ResearchAssistant,CenterforUniversalEducation,BrookinsInstitution

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governments should systematically collect data on financing sources foreducation and learning outcomes to use in tracking learning progress,creating policies and evaluating the allocation of resources. Data should

be disaggregated based on education level and existing disparities, suchas income, gender, ethnicity, linguistic status and location to accuratelydepict the quality of education available to all. Finally, governmentsshould ensure resources are used most effectively. Evidence shows thatsuccessful governments in low-income countries typically spend 5percent or more of their gross domestic product on education.

High-level leadership is also needed from multilateral actorsincluding the N agencies and World ank to ensure that the sharedinternational agenda and the multilateral aid architecture supportsdeveloping country governments efforts to improve learning for all.The five agencies participating in the Education for All (EFA) move-mentNESCO, NICEF, the N Development rogram, the Nopulation Fund and the World ankmust lead these efforts. yDecember 2012, multilateral actors should develop a shared vision

and concrete plan for advancing the goal of learning for all as centralto the post-2015 global agenda and develop a small set of interna-tionally comparable, widely accepted indicators to measure learning.To strengthen the core of the multilateral aid architecture, the EFAFast-Track Initiative (FTI) must build on its existing reforms to serveas a centerpiece for international cooperation in education, findingways to engage new actors and facilitate coordination with developingcountry national education plans. New financing mechanisms should

be developed by January 2012 to facilitate private sector investmentin education, particularly to improve learning for the most marginal-ized children. Management of these mechanisms should sit outside

the World ank and the FTI board to ensure flexibility and efficiency.To accomplish these steps, the FTI secretariat leadership must beempowered to engage at a senior international level.

Additionally, high-level political leadership from developed countrygovernments and the G20 is paramount in making learning for alla top priority on the development agenda. Donors should prioritizequality learning in their own education strategies and education for allmust be elevated on the G8 and G20 shared growth and developmentagendas. ilateral donors should invest in building the evidence baseof what works and collaborate to minimize repetition and maximizeeffectiveness. ilateral donors also need to focus on results-basedfinancing and significantly increase their contributions so as to gen-erate an additional $4.1 billion annually to education. This can bedone by finally fulfilling the G8s commitment to increase total aid

by $50 billion by 2010. If all donors spend at least 60 percent of theircurrent aid on basic education, it would produce another $2.2 billionfor education. At a minimum, $3 billion of this should be channeledannually to the FTIs EFA pooled fund, with designations for the threepriority areas above.

Foundations should devote more of their resources to educa-tion in the developing countries. Among .S. foundations, only 4percent of international giving went to education, while 55 percent

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went to health and 22 percentto democracy and governanceprogramming. Improving learn-

ing for all should be seen as anecessary strategy for successon other development issues.Foundations supporting edu-cation in developing countriesshould devote at least half theireducation portfolio resourcesto improving learning for all,focusing on the most marginal-ized. At least 10 percent of theireducation portfolio resourcesshould go to monitoring andevaluation.

Corporations shoulddevote

at least half their philanthropiceducation resources to improv-ing learning for all. They shouldalso leverage their m arketingskills and global networks toadvance the cause of improvedlearning through cause market-ing or corporate-wide initia-

tives that harness the energy, talent and resources of employees andconsumers in developed and developing countries. They should useproduct design capacities to produce better, low-cost technologies for

improving learning in low-resource environments and increase theircoordination with other education actors to ensure that investmentsmeet the greatest need, leverage existing initiatives, and align with theeducation plans of developing country governments.

NGOs and civil society actors should work together to use theiradvocacy expertise, grassroots networks and ability to hold govern-ments accountable and to create a global movement for improvinglearning. They must build support among governments and multi-lateral agencies for interventions that enhance learning achievementand mobilize public opinion on the importance of learning for all.

The increased demand for high-quality, relevant post-primary edu-cation is occurring against the backdrop of a demographic explosion.In South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa alone, an average of 1 and 2.2million young people,respectively,are expected to enter the labor

market every year between 2010 and 2015. A recent rookings studyon education in akistan noted that for each additional year in theaverage schooling of a country, there is a 3.6 percent decrease in thelikelihood that a country will engage in civil war. Without a qualityeducation that teaches relevant skills, employment prospects are dimin-ished and the health and well-being of families and communities arecompromised. No development issue merits more urgent attentionand now is the time to address it. MD

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HOGH NOW DISCONTINED,the former aid agency for which I usedto work had a small grants fund as a partof each of its country programs. This fund wasnot tied to any specific project or any sectoralfocus, e.g., health or agriculture, but was rathera pot of money to address priorities as commu-nity leaders identified them. They came to uswith unsolicited requests and individual staffmembers could make funding decisions anddisburse money quickly. Grants were $500 orless, had an open application process, neededtwo positive independent references, andrequired only one-page proposals and reports.

Many colleagues still talk about providingthese small bits of money as some of the mostmemorable, impactful and fun projects theyever worked on. So why not do more?

The Arab Spring has many wondering how

the aid industry can do more to enable grass-roots movements to emerge and gain strengthand in the process increase the demand forhuman rights and development at local andinternational levels.

The rise of and access to Internet technol-ogy in the developing world makes alternativesupport mechanisms to seemingly invisiblelocal leaders and initiatives more possiblethan ever before. In fact, there are a growingnumber of small foundations and NGOs thatspecialize in offering direct funding to local

initiatives, grassroots leadership and small,often informal movements.

Massachusetts-based GHETS disseminatesmicrogrants in the range of $3,000-$5,000annually to doctors, nurses and professors ofhealth sciences to enhance local capacity andinfrastructure all over the developing world.For example, a GHETS microgrant in Egyptinitially funded a workshop that was requestedby a faculty member at Suez Canal niver-sity. Dr. Amany Refaat noted a gap in the careoffered to women coming into communityclinics with complications related to femalegenital mutilation (FGM). Dr. Refaat observeda lack of training at the medical school thatprepared students to treat and be sensitive topatients issues regarding FGM. What startedout as a single workshop funded by GHETS isnow part of the schools curriculum and Dr.

Refaat has been brought on as a national-levelconsultant for the World Health Organization.In our experience, promoting the micro-

grants model promotes scalability, local own-ership and a training/service component, saysGHETS Executive Director Caroline Mailloux.

Smaller sums are easily wired directly fromGHETS to [grantees] and dont get lost in thebudget lines of huge corporate or foundationalgrants. The funds are accessible and partnersare able to reapply to continue to grow thesmall, community-based initiatives.

y creating broad guidelines, focus areasand selection criteria that respond to whatlocal stakeholders identify as necessary andsensible in their context, organizations likeGHETS demonstrate how feasible it is tolocate grassroots associations and organiza-tions to offer flexible, unrestricted funds thatgo directly into the hands of those able to usethem immediately and effectively.

The gap for direct funding of local orga-nizations and movements has been exploredcontinually by a wide variety of donors over

past decades. As part of its history of civil soci-ety engagement, the World ank has run asmall grants program since 1983 that directlyfunds civil society organizations.

Most international small grant-makersengage a thorough process of review whengrassroots organizations first apply to them.efore and throughout the grant-making rela-tionship, these funders verify that the organiza-tion exists, has dee

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