December 2008 - Feature Articles

• The IANYS 8^th Global Conference a Smashing Success!

• Youth Service Policy in Afghanistan

The IANYS 8^th Global Conference a Smashing Success!

By Elizabeth Brouwer, ICP Intern

The IANYS 8^th Global Conference on National Youth Service was an exciting conference in a beautiful city.  From November 19-22, 2008, participants from across the world gathered in Paris, France to celebrate and learn about National Youth Service.  By all accounts, from the participation and networking, to the shared knowledge, the IANYS conference was a success.

Although the weather was a bit grey on the day of the opening ceremony and special pre-conference session, spirits were high and participants were excited as the conference kicked off.  Over 140 participants from 6 continents and over 40 countries were represented, far exceeding the participation levels of any previous conference in IANYS history.  To recognize this feat at the opening ceremony, the attending countries were listed off and their citizens stood up to resounding applause.  Participants were then addressed by Pascal Lejeune, Head of "Youth in Action" Programme unit in the European Commission and colleague of M Laporte of the French Ministry of Youth, as well as Liberian President Johnson-Sirleaf, who gave encouragement to participants via a video address.

The following days of the conference were filled with round-table discussions, power-point presentations and group workshops designed to address specific issues surrounding national youth service. The round-tables and power-point presentations, which will be available soon on the ICP website, covered a host of topics including scaling up from local to national levels, how to measure the impact of national youth service initiatives, how to stimulate support from the private sector and examining the public cost of funding these programs.  The larger group of conference participants was then broken down into smaller workshops on subjects like service learning, regional networking and the millennium development goals; these smaller settings allowed participants more chances to participate, ask questions, and be involved in the discussions. 

The technical support at the conference was very impressive.  While the presentations varied between English and French, headsets were available with speakers giving simultaneous translation for participants.  There was also a camera crew filming many of the sessions and conducting interviews with participants.  This footage will be available on DVD in the upcoming months.  Shorter and more informal interviews will be available on the ICP website very soon.

The closing ceremonies on Saturday were bittersweet after three full days of instructive and enlightening presentations.  In addition to other speakers, Kumi Naidoo, honorary president of CIVICUS, gave an inspiring speech during the closing ceremonies about the importance of youth service and global citizenship.  The general sense as people left the conference hall after the closing ceremony was one of motivation to continue improving and expanding national youth service programs around the world with the knowledge gained from the meeting.  These international participants, sharing a sense of community that they were working together towards a common goal, were able to network, and share ideas during the four day conference.  The diversity of participants led to an even greater diversity of ideas and policies.  Over and over again, I was told how interesting and useful it was to hear how other organizations achieved their service goals.

Overall, the conference, the first conference since ICP took on the role of Secretariat for IANYS, was an enormous success. ICP is excited about continuing to build on the momentum generated by the conference over the next year with plans for a conference report and other reports, expanding the network and fundraising for future network projects, and improving the online resources for the network and increasing outreach.

Youth Service Policy in Afghanistan

By Veronika Schlecht, ICP Intern

Around sixty-eight percent of Afghanistan's population is under 25 years old.[i] Young people, with their social, economic and intellectual capabilities, are the future of Afghanistan and represent an important factor in moving forward through the peace and reconciliation process towards democracy, good governance, economic growth, and development. Afghanistan realizes the need of utilizing this enormous potential, the hopes and aspirations of its youth, to create a foundation on which the ongoing nation-building process can take roots and peace efforts can flourish.

Aware of the tremendous potential of youth as "a crosscutting issue for all governmental agencies and nongovernmental organizations"[ii] in the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS), eight government ministries, in association with UNDP and the support of UNICEF, UN-HABITAT, UNESCO, UNV, UNAMA, FAO, and ILO, signed the Joint National Youth Program (JNYP) at the end of 2006. The Program is comprised of four major components:

(1) "Strengthening the capacity of the Government to respond to the needs of the youth of the country";

(2)"Promoting non-formal education, increasing awareness and developing skills in young people to provide better quality of life and livelihood opportunities";

(3) "Engaging youth in governance, development and social-political processes at local, district, municipal, provincial and national level, ensuring the participation of young women and men in democracy and advocacy"; and

(4) "Promoting volunteerism for peace and development and establishing a youth volunteer corps for Afghanistan."[iii]

Concentrating on ownership and sustainability, the program will be headed by the Afghan government and will establish a functioning national youth program. Through this joint effort of different ministries working with interested UN-agencies and international organizations, the vision of a comprehensive Afghan youth program received the support of a strong alliance. While the implementation of the first three components is underway and achievements are already highlighted, the fourth component will receive more attention in the upcoming months. The high percentage of youth unemployment, the nation-building process, terrorism, poverty, and development challenges indicate the necessity of creating a program to empower youths to contribute their potential towards peace and progress in the hope of enhancing the opportunities of a promising young Afghan generation. The government of Afghanistan and the international community are called to stimulate hope and peace through "massive investment in youth employment, participation and leadership."[iv]

The Ministry of Information and Culture and the Government of Afghanistan, with the support of UN agencies, are establishing a "National Youth Volunteer Service" (NYVS) as part of the JNYP. Volunteerism has a long tradition in Afghanistan but decades of conflict disrupted the volunteerism culture and its positive social energies. The NYVS will be launched in 2009 and in the initial phase, 2000 youth volunteers will be selected from different provinces of Afghanistan. Each chosen volunteer will contribute four to six service hours per day for a total of nine months. The programme funded by UN agencies and international organizations will focus on increasing teaching resources, improving support in health services and agricultural projects, raising awareness about the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),[v] promoting youth skill development, and providing scholarships for volunteers to enhance and support their employment opportunities. Although the service will be voluntary, a monthly stipend will be provided to encourage volunteering. After completing their service, NYVS will provide assistance to volunteers by awarding diplomas and creating a tailored job market for them to increase their opportunities.

The service areas of engagement will focus on education, health, vocational training, and good governance. The programme will most likely start at the beginning of 2009 and university students will volunteer for it. Volunteers will be engaged in clinics, communities, training facilities and schools. For a time period of six to eight weeks, volunteers will receive training on health issues, education, JNYP programme objectives, the ANDS, and other respective areas. After serving for nine months in communities of different provinces, a summative evaluation of their work and experiences will be conducted at NYVS Headquarters.

The objectives of JNYP and NYVS are to strengthen youth participation in the socio-political process and to enable young people to participate in the socio-economic development of Afghanistan. The programme aims to harness young people's potential in Afghanistan to increase their job prospects and self-confidence for an auspicious and prospering future.[vi] With the help of the NYVS, Afghanistan will encounter its development challenges in rural and urban areas and begin to form a robust civil society.