Youth Employment Network - Youth Participation

In addressing the challenge of youth employment young people are now asking that their voices be heard, that their issues be addressed and that their roles be recognized. Rather than being viewed as a target group for which employment must be found, they want to be accepted as partners for development, helping to chart a common course and shaping the future for everyone. The Youth Employment Network recognises that past policy failures in the field of youth employment can be in part blamed on the inadequate consultation of youth organisations led to perceived notions of 'what was best' for young people. Such policymaking has consistently failed to address the underlying concerns of young people and causes of youth unemployment and subsequently the problem has continued unchecked.

The Youth Employment Network seeks to change this and views young people as partners in devising solutions to a common problem. The YEN sees its work as being youth driven rather than young people being passive beneficiaries.

Since this meeting youth organisations have continued to be involved in the work of the YEN with youth particpation in UN Expert group meetings on Youth Employment in Helsinki and Nairobi and in the work of the High-Level Panel's four Working Groups.

In June 2003 the CEO's of the Big Seven grouping of youth organisations sent a letter to Mr. Kofi Annan, Mr. Juan Somavia, and Mr. James Wolfensohn expressing their support for the Youth Employment Network (10 June 2003).

The World Bank, has also reached out to youth through its Youth Development and Peace consultations in 2003 (Paris) and 2004 (Sarajevo). Youth Employment, as one of the four pillars of the World Bank’s Children and Youth Framework for Action, was discussed at these events and recommendations were presented by youth participants.

At the 2nd High-Level Panel meeting in July 2003 the original Youth Focus Group' was expanded to a 13 member 'Youth Panel' . This expansion gave the youth representatives both numerical and institutional parity with the members of the High-Level Panel. The 13 panellists come from 5 continents and 13 countries. 8 out of the 13 came from developing or transition countries.

The Youth panellists were full and active participants for the duration of the meeting offering testimonials on youth employment issues, peer reviewing policy documentation and discussing the role of youth in the design and implementation of National Action Plans on youth employment.

“Normally when we need to know about something we go to the experts, but we tend to forget that when we want to know about youth and what they feel and what they want, that we should talk to them”

The development of a Youth Consultative Group (YCG) for the YEN

At the end of the 2nd High-Level Panel meeting the youth participants presented a proposal on their own involvement in the broader Network's activities and on how they proposed to organize themselves into a sustainable advisory group. There was a strong call for a coordinating mechanism between the YEN and its youth constituents in the form of a permanent standing and association with the Panel.

The YEN Secretariat responded to this with a proposal for the creation of aYEN Youth Consultative Group (YCG) and the group was launched in September 2004, in Washington, during the 3^rd meeting of the High Level Panel of the YEN.

Comprising 13 representatives of international and regional youth organizations the YCG is working to represent the concerns of young people on the function, direction and priorities of the YEN through interaction with the High Level Panelists and input into decision making processes.

At the national level, YCG acts as a catalyst and resource to support youth participation in the development, implementation and review of National Action Plans (NAPs) in the YEN Lead Countries and beyond.

The 4th meeting of the YENs High-Level Panel in May 2005 saw the Panel approve the YCGs terms of reference.

The YEN, in partnership with the YCG, is building linkages with youth groups in the 19 lead countries alerting them to the commitments of their governments to the NAP process, facilitating introductions and supporting the involvement of youth in employment policy making.

The YCG is playing an active support role for national youth groups through the provision of regional and international linkages that could help assist their effective and substantive participation in the NAP process.

The YCG in partnership with the YEN have developed a methodology to support the participation of youth NGOs in the development of NAPs. This model built on experiences in Uganda in 2005 and was field-tested in Egypt in February 2006. It is hoped that this model will be adapted for Indonesia and Ghana also in 2006.

In countries where the issue of youth employment is of critical public concern but the national government has yet to commit to the NAP process the YEN, in partnership with the YCG, will provide support to youth trying to motivate governments to recognize their United Nations commitments.

The YEN has been building contacts and identifying synergies with a significant number of youth organisations, representing youth from a wide range of countries and geographic regions and working at the international, regional, national and grassroots levels on issues including social and economic entrepreneurship, rural development, gender, indigenous / marginalized youth, HIV/AIDS and health, conflict, and migration.