As invited by the YEN High-Level Panel in their policy recommendations in 2001, nineteen countries have stepped forward to volunteer as Lead Countries for the YEN: Azerbaijan, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ecuador, Georgia Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, Uganda and the United Kingdom.

As Lead Countries they have committed themselves to take the lead in the preparation and implementation of National Action Plans for youth employment as outlined in UN GA Resolution A/57/165 and to submit them to the UN in 2005 as called for by a UN Note Verbale.

A total of 45 countries (both YEN lead countries and others)  have now prepared or reported on plans to prepare National Action Plans. A UN Secretary-General's report providing a Global Analysis and Evaluation of these submissions and of the YEN's recent activities is now available and was distributed to delegates at the 60th session of UN General Assembly in autumn 2005.

Activities have been undertaken or are planned in the nineteen lead countries, often resulting in concrete measures, both to develop projects and to support the mainstreaming of youth employment into national, regional and international policy frameworks:

• In Brazil, the Ministry of Labour in consultation with a broad range of stakeholders is consolidating its youth employment activites, including its Primeiro Emprego (First Employment) programme, under an overarching structure of a National Action Plan. This plan was submitted to the United Nations in February 2005.  A YEN-Brazil youth advisory committee has been created as a mechanism to provide youth input into the policymaking process.

• The Democratic Republic of Congo joined the YEN  in July 2005 following a letter to requesting Lead Country status being sent from his Excellency President Joseph Kabila to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In this letter the President stressed the need to focus on young people as a central catalyst in overcoming the civil conflicts in the DRC citing their energy and contribution as essential in the country’s struggle against poverty.

• Ecuador declared its intention to become a Lead Country of the YEN through a letter from his Excellency President Alfredo Palacio to ILO Director-General Juan Somavia in July 2005.

•In Egypt, the YEN, through the technical assistance of the ILO, as well as the support of the World Bank and the UNDP, is assisting the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower in drafting a National Action Plan. National stakeholders including a number of line Ministries, workers and employers representatives and youth have been convened by the Ministry in a political Steering Committee and a working level Technical Commission to gather develop the Plan. A final draft is expected in May 2007. The YEN the German GTZ, the World Bank and UNICEF are all to working together in Egypt to support youth engagement in this process.

• In Indonesia, under the direction of the Indonesia YEN (I-YEN) steering committee a National Youth Employment Action Plan for Indonesia (I-YEAP) has been drafted. This Plan was launched by the Indonesian Vice President, H.E. Hamzah Hazin on International Youth Day and is moving into the implementation phase in 2005. The IYEN supported by the ILO and the YENs Youth Consultative Group (YCG) is working to ensure that young people are provided with sufficient opportunity to participate and contribute in this implementation phase.

• In Iran, the Government through the Iran National Youth Organisation (NYOIR) has recently formulated a national strategy on youth employment and ICT. The YEN will work with Iran to integrate this strategy into other youth employment policy plans, in order to develop a holistic National Action Plan during 2005. 

• In Jamaica, The Youth Employment Network of Jamaica (J-YEN) was launched in September 2005 after the formal signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the President of the Jamaica Employers’ Federation (JEF), the President of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) and the Minister of Labour and Social Security. The JEF Secretariat will co-ordinate the work of four working groups which will be set up to research best practices and interventions on the YEN’s 4 E’s. The findings of these working groups will inform the process of developing and implementing a National Action Plan on youth employment for Jamaica.

• In Mali, the President has made youth employment is a priority for the country. A national Youth Employment Programme (PEJ) has been created and focuses on vocational training, entrepreneurship promotion, and micro credit schemes. A National Agency for the Employment of Youth (APEJ) and a National Youth Employment Fund (FNEJ) have also been created under the programme. The APEJ has developed job creation programmes specifically targeting youth including the development of labour intensive employment schemes and the promotion of self-employment initiatives. The FNEJ collects resources from the state, communities, companies, and other partners in order to provide funding for job creation programmes.

• In Namibia, the Ministry of Youth National Service, Sport and Culture has established a National Task Force on Youth Employment. The Task Force includes representatives of the government, international institutions, worker and employer organisations, civil society and youth groups and will lead the development of Namibia's National Action Plan.

• In Nigeria, the Ministry of Inter-Governmental Affairs and Special Duties has recently set up a task team, which includes youth representatives, which will take the lead in the development of the countries National Action Plan.

• In Rwanda, supported by seed money from UNDP and the World Bank, the Ministry of Labour finalised a draft of a National Action Plan in October 2005. The document sets out a five-year Plan of Action which focuses on the YEN policy E's and sets out a political framework within which all actors involved in the promotion of youth employment will work to enhance decent employment creation and poverty reduction for the most vulnerable groups of youth in both rural and urban areas.

• Senegal spearheaded Resolution 57/165, which garnered 106 co-sponsors and was passed unanimously in December 2002. Senegal's Plan D'Action National pour l'Emploi de Jeunes (PANEJ) has been developed in the context of the overall National Employment Policy. Senegal submitted this plan to the United Nations in January 2005 and plans are now underway to set up a national YEN Secretariat for Senegal. Senegal is being supported by the German Government to implement joint YEN-ILO-World Bank projects in support of National Action Plan developments.

• In Sri Lanka, A YEN Secretariat (SL-YEN) has been created under the Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational and Technical Education (MOSDVTE) and a Task Force has been appointed to formulate Sri Lanka’s National Action Plan. The process of formulating the NAP will involve broad consultation with significant national stakeholders, including the youth. The Task Force’s first meeting was in August 2005. Sri Lanka is being supported by the German Government to implement joint YEN-ILO-World Bank projects in support of National Action Plan developments. A website has been created by the SL-YEN.

• In Syria, a Youth Employability Strategy (YES), chaired by Her Excellency, Mrs Asad, has been launched. The YES will look into solutions need to build an entrepreneurial and business oriented young workforce particularly in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector. This initiative is being supported by the ILO and the UNDP. To further strengthen international linkages Syria declared its intention to become a Lead Country of the YEN through a letter from his Excellency President Bassir al-Assad to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in June 2005.

• Uganda held a national conference on youth employment in Kampala, 28- 29 June 2005 where the Government agreed to develop a National Action Plan as a vehicle to address the country’s youth employment challenges and decided to become a member of the Youth Employment Network through a letter from Minister Bakoko, Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MoGLSD) to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in September 2005. Under the leadership of MoGLSD a multi-stakeholder National Task Force has been created in order to draft the Action Plan.

• The United Kingdom, became the first G8 and the first European nation to join the YEN with an announcement made during a YEN High-Level Dialogue held on June 7 2005 during this year's International Labour Conference (ILC).

Many other countries have turned to the World Bank, ILO and United Nations Secretariat asking for assistance on youth employment in the framework of the YEN.

Countries where the development of National Action Plans are underway or are planned in the immediate future include, China, Colombia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Pakistan, The Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania and Vietnam.