Youth Service in South Asia

South Asia is home to one of the largest and fastest-growing youth populations on the planet, a cohort challenged by high levels of poverty and unemployment, malnutrition, lack of education, and gender inequality. It is critical to enlist young people in addressing these social needs, while also providing them with opportunities for job-training, skill-building, and personal development.

Youth service – structured, intensive youth civic engagement through community service – is an effective strategy to promote youth civic engagement and participation in community development.

Youth service and youth civic engagement policies and programs are at different stages of development throughout South Asia.

In

India

and

Pakistan

, promising youth service models are in place but obstacles to scaling up these initiatives remain. In

Nepal

and

Bangladesh

there is an interest in encouraging youth service, but the capacity and technical expertise to develop effective programs is often lacking.

Please check ICP’s database for more policy and program information.

ICP is currently undertaking a research project to learn more about youth service programs in South Asia. If you know of programs that should be included, please contact Alex Etra at etra [at] icicp.org

ICP's South Asia Program

Working closely with partner organizations in

India

Pakistan

Nepal

, and

Bangladesh

, ICP is supporting innovation in youth service policy and program development through a series of integrated initiatives, including:

Mapping the Youth Service Field
Conference on scaling up youth service
Capacity-Building

Please check back soon for more information about this initiative.