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Mano River Union (MRU) Project: Involving Youth Key to Success
About this event: 4th World Youth Congress - Quebec City 2008
Related to country: Canada

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Delegates at ReGénération 2008 are a testament to the dynamism and creativity of youth. Inspirational stories and innovative projects are characteristic of this year’s Congress, but were especially evident at a workshop held in the Papillion this afternoon.

Co-sponsored by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), and moderated by Guinean journalist and human rights activist Alpha Bacar, the workshop entitled, “Youth Job Creation Programme: How to create jobs for youth in developing countries, with a special focus on least developed and post-conflict states,” featured several young presenters from Africa discussing youth-led approaches to creating employment.

Youth un(der)-employment is endemic in many countries. More than a billion young people worldwide are entering the job market, and with less than 300 million jobs awaiting them, it is clear youth job creation should be a major priority of this generation.

The interactive workshop aimed to address these issues by allowing youth to present and discuss their personal experiences with youth-led strategies to job creation, and how the UN can support their initiatives. In particular, it focussed on how youth can become successfully self-employed, what the conditions and obstacles may be, and what elements of social dialogue can facilitate the process.

Although it was not presented at this particular workshop, and despite its arguably bland title, the Multi-stakeholder Programme for Productive and Decent Work for Youth in the Mano River Union (MRU) countries is an example of a pioneering employment creation program devised by a young person.

The Programme was the brainchild of Bacar who pitched his idea to Peace Child International President David Woollcombe several years ago. Bacar’s plan was to give young entrepreneurs small grants to start their own businesses, while providing training and support to ensure the sustainability of these initiatives. Woollcombe loved the idea from the get-go, and with UNIDO and ILO providing their support, the Programme has launched successfully in recent times.

UNIDO representative Doris Hribernigg and ILO Knowledge Sharing Technical Officer Catherine Vaillancourt-Laflamme shed some insight into their motivation to support the Programme.

Hribernigg asserts that youth unemployment is directly linked to security issues. She cites Guinea as an example of a country that underwent political unrest because the youth were unhappy about their situation. This, in turn, causes a “spillover” effect that creates instability in the neighbouring MRU regions of Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Vaillancourt-Laflamme adds that, “employment is the best way to create wealth,” as well as stability and democracy.

“Creating employment is much more sustainable [and creative] than oppressive measures to contain social [ills].”

Both Hribernigg and Vaillancourt-Laflamme stress the importance of inclusiveness and a participatory approach. They emphasize that youth groups in addition to governments and UN partner agencies all had a say in the direction of the Programme. This approach, which Vaillancourt-Laflamme describes as “one unit delivering one goal” gives youth the chance to discuss, be heard and be very active partners.

And from what Hribernigg and Vaillancourt-Laflamme have seen from delegates at the Congress, they “only have positive prospects and great hopes” for not only the Programme, but also for youth activism on a global scale.

- ANITA LI





August 15, 2008 | 12:20 PM Comments  0 comments

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