The Drum Beat 158 - Voices of Youth on Unemployment

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

-from the Youth Emplowment Summit website (2002)

One of the major causes of poverty is insufficient opportunity for people to earn a living; young people are especially vulnerable to this problem. The numbers speak for themselves: 3 billion people live on less than US $2 per day. In many countries, especially in the developing world, half of those people are under the age of 24. One-third of the world's workforce of 3 billion people are unemployed or underemployed. Unemployment rates among youth are twice as high as the average. By the year 2010 an additional 700 million people in developing nations will enter the labour market. Over 850 million young people live in countries with limited work opportunities.

In short, "more than one billion jobs need to be created between now and 2010 to accommodate young workers entering the labour force and reduce unemployment..."

SOME CAUSES and SOLUTIONS

Gender

Streetwize Publications - Australia - the cyber-comic "technogirl" encourages young women to consider careers in science and technology. Uses stories from young people's lives and seeks to provide clear, credible information. Contact stwize@streetwize.com.au

Access to Technology and Training

African Information Society Youth Network - Africa - web-based network that develops, implements and coordinates youth ICT programmes. Includes link-ups with career-related networks and databases. Hosts a youth ICT journal and Internet-linked community telecenters, where young volunteers are trained in technical and social skills. Regional efforts to mobilise African youth to participate in the global information society inspired a global youth E-conference (Feb-March, 2000). Contact Andrew Nderitu andrewnderitu@usa.net

CDI Americas - Latin America and the Caribbean - the IDB, the MIF and the International Youth Foundation propose financing of youth ICT-related projects designed to foster business skills and enterprise development. Contact Fabian Koss fabiank@iadb.org

Promoting Youth Employment through Information and Communication Technologies (ICT): Best Practices Examples in Asia and the Pacific - highlights ICT-related employment opportunities for youth, discusses common misconceptions and obstacles, and offers recommendations - all in the context of different countries' technological and socio-economic capacities. Key findings: one need not own a computer to access ICT; mobile phones can generate income and secure access to the Internet; infrastructure constraints such as electricity supply should be addressed; Internet use is not limited to the literate or to English-speaking users. Contact Richard Curtain richard@curtain-consulting.net.au

Drugs

Drug Abuse Prevention with Youth People in Peshawar - Pakistan - worked to treat and rehabilitate young drug addicts; prevention efforts focused on employment training programmes for youth in schools and youth groups. Contact Dr. Parveen Azam Khan pak@dwf.pwr.sdnpk.undp.org

(In)Experience and Exclusion

European Youth Dialogue Youth Summit (Mar. 23-28, 2002) - Brijuni, Croatia - reaffirmed the UN Millenium Declaration's pledge "to develop and implement strategies that give young people everywhere a real chance to find decent and productive work" and reinforced the UN resolution to create a Youth Employment Network. Called for youth employment to be redefined as an overarching global goal by, for instance, involving youth in policy development. Marked the launch of a World Youth Bank. Presented "Global Youth Joint Vision 2002-2025", which invites the International Labour Office, the World Bank & the UN Secretariat to help design, monitor & evaluate national action plans.
Contact Croation National Youth Council nsmh@nsmh.hr

Reproductive Health Issues

Reaching Youth Worldwide - in some African countries, employers face a shortage of workers because of the number of youth who are sick with HIV/AIDS. Pregnant school-aged girls often drop out of school and are left with limited employment options. Contact ctrpubs@jhuccp.org

***

Global Health Communication

A group led by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP) has been awarded $127 million by the U.S. government to implement a 5-year global project designed to use strategic communication to fight infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria; improve maternal and child health; and reduce fertility in the developing world.

***

YOUTH VOICES

In Sept. 2001, a group of young people gathered at the YES Secretariat to write a Youth Vision Statement expressing both a commitment to working on their own to address employment-related challenges & a call for support: "We wish to declare our commitment to the Youth Employment Summit (YES2002) and its goal of launching a Campaign of action so that an additional 500 million young adults, especially youth facing poverty, can have productive and sustainable livelihoods by 2012. We endorse YES2002 because we identify with its vision, mission and objectives and reaffirm that they are modeled in the best interests of the world's youth...As never before, our voices are being heard...We believe that we are assets to our nations...YES2002 will be a springboard..."

YES 2002

More than 1,500 youth leaders, government officials, scholars and others will join together for the Youth Employment Summit (YES 2002) from Sept. 7 to 11 in Alexandria, Egypt where they will launch a 10-year campaign to create productive and sustainable employment for youth throughout the world.

Designed to address concerns of youth and other stakeholders, the agenda includes: the release of the State of Youth Employment Report 2002; youth-oriented, capacity-building, and thematic workshops; regional, networking, and "open" sessions; the presentation of discussion papers; and a ministerial declaration. For a complete agenda & access to background papers. Contact info@youthemploymentsummit.org

The Strategy

The Summit is part of a larger strategy to develop initiatives to supply young people with information, training & support needed to establish themselves in the economic sector. Includes:

The YES Campaign of Action - will be a global effort to ensure that youth throughout the world have access to the education and training programmes, skills development opportunities, resources, and credit that they need to build productive, decent, and sustainable livelihoods.

The Global Alliance for Youth Employment - creates partnerships through advocacy, networking & knowledge exchange.

The YES Country Networks - disseminate information about employment to peers, especially to those without access to the Internet or email. Create partnerships between youth-led and youth-serving organisations and other sectors, and will work to implement the outcomes of the Summit. Contact dumisani@youthemploymentsummit.org to launch a network.

The Global Knowledge Resource - includes successful approaches to youth employment, case studies of initiatives that highlight effective and ineffective strategies (contact jruiz@edc.org to submit a case study), and a discussion list, among other resources.

Pilot Projects

Developing Youth Advocates for Employment - Egypt - 10 Youth Leaders will be trained to help develop their peers' skills in leadership, activism, and entrepreneurship. Case studies examining youth leadership development programmes - from the perspective of the youth involved - in 2 countries will shape the development of a YES Country Network in Egypt. A national directory of economic development resources for youth, a brochure and poster, 2 toolkits, and a report assessing programme efforts will be produced. Youth Leaders will eventually work in other countries. Contact Jose Ruiz-Salas jose@youthemploymentsummit.org

Global Promotion of Youth-Led Enterprises in Off-Grid Renewable Energy - Global - an effort to correct environmental degradation caused by climate change while providing jobs for youth. 6 youth from rural communities in 5 developing countries are trained to create small businesses that will supply electricity to their communities; they then present their business plans to potential venture capitalists at a workshop. Outcomes include printed materials featuring best practices and training tools in English and Spanish. Contact Jose Ruiz-Salas jose@youthemploymentsummit.org

***

This issue was written by Kier Olsen DeVries.

***

The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.


Please send material for The Drum Beat to the Editor - Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com


To reproduce any portion of The Drum Beat, see our policy.


To subscribe, click here.