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Theme: Education and youth

Southern African Alliance for Youth Employment

Issue

The Southern African region (SADC) has a large youth population and low levels of decent employment for its youth, resulting in high levels of youth unemployment and underemployment. The lack of formal employment, irregularity of work and social protection means that youth in the SADC region face poverty and inequality.

Researchers have described the effect of this insecurity on youth as a ‘transitional limbo’. Without a secure income, young people are unable to meet their social roles that accompany adulthood. These challenges are compounded by a lack of credible information and a lack of mobilisation around youth employment. Youth voices in designing and implementing prevalent national and regional youth employment strategies and policies has been limited.

Project

The Southern African Alliance for Youth Employment (SAAYE) was formally established in February 2016 by the Economic Justice Network with the Commonwealth Foundation’s support. The Alliance is made up of representatives from trade unions, church councils, student unions, and civil society organisations across nine Southern African nations. Trade unions, churches and the civil society organisations, cumulatively have considerable potential power to determine the shape of policy for youth employment in Southern Africa.

The Economic Justice Network (EJN) performs as the Secretariat of SAAYE. SAAYE aims to play a coordinating and facilitating role for youth formations to inform and influence public discourse about youth employment; contribute to reforming employment and youth related policy; and, to hold governments accountable to their commitments to address youth unemployment across the SADC region – both nationally and regionally.

The Commonwealth Foundation’s capacity development approach has facilitated training, engagement and development of structures within the Alliance. A six member Working Group serves as the highest decision-making body of SAAYE. They also represent the Alliance at events such as the SADC-CNGO Civil Society Forum and to plan regional actions.

Promoting education for all in Quetta

Issue

Pakistan is a pluralistic society with myriad of religious and ethno-linguistic identities. While freedom of religion is constitutionally protected, discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities is an ongoing challenge. Government initiatives have attempted to address this, however more focused attention on remote communities and young people is needed.

Project

Minority Rights Group International (MRGI), Human Friends Organisation (HFO) and Strengthening Rights and Equality by Empowering Teams (STREET) will together work with young people in schools to promote cultural respect and understanding. This project is promoting inclusive practises in communities and schools in Quetta, through the use of storytelling and theatre. Actor-activists are using story-telling and theatre to lead discussions on inclusive practices in schools through performance, guiding young people as they develop their own creative outputs on diversity and tolerance. The project is also supporting teachers to challenge discrimination in schools. In order to reach the wider community, performances will take place at festivals, focusing on the need for inclusive societies and the adverse impacts of discrimination

The project is also facilitating communication with local and national governments on the regional need for policy and practises that are more inclusive of minorities.

By the end of the project, it is hoped a generation of young people will have a better understanding of the importance of inclusion and be champions of these practices in the wider community.

Endorsed project title: Promoting education for all in Quetta, Pakistan

Photo: Flickr CC DFID Girls in school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Minority Rights Group International (MRGI), UK

Minority Rights Group International campaigns worldwide with around 130 partners in over 60 countries to ensure that disadvantaged minorities and indigenous peoples, often the poorest of the poor, can make their voices heard. Through training and education, legal cases, publications and the media and cultural programmes they support minority and indigenous people as they strive to maintain their rights – to the land they live on, the languages they speak, to equal opportunities in education and employment, and to full participation in public life.www.minorityrights.org

Strengthening Rights and Equality by Empowering Teams (STREET), Pakistan

Strengthening Rights and Equality by Empowering Teams is a group of professional psychologists, anthropologists, researchers, community mobilizers, social workers, teachers, doctors, volunteers and supporters trained rights based approaches, gender, street children issues, reproductive health/HIV/AIDS, project management and sustainable human development trained by different national and international agencies with expertise in Interactive Theatre Training & Performances.www.streetpk.org

Human Friends Organisation (HFO), Pakistan

Human Friends Organisation have partnered with MRGI to protect freedom of religion and challenge religious discrimination in Pakistan, implementing training activities for activists and community members, developing national level networks/dialogue spaces to build cross-religious support for religious freedom, conducting media and awareness-raising work, and local and national advocacy.www.hfopk.org

Preventing child marriage, retaining girls in school and developing gender awareness

Issue

Although child marriage in India is declining, more needs to be done to end it. It is recognised that strategies must have a broad appeal. Jana Sanskrit is working with communities in Purulia district of West Bengal using interactive, theatre-based approach known as forum theatre.

Project

Jana Sanskriti – Centre for Theatre of the Oppressed – aims to sensitise students, teachers, parents and the communities in the region to reduce underage marriage, and improve the retention of girls in school.  Jana Sanskriti is helping communities improve their understanding of the law and use the available government support systems. The project is establishing women’s and community groups to support affected families on a case by case basis. They are sharing the messages on the injustices of child marriage and the importance of girls’ education via local media outlets to increase awareness.

It is expected that the project will create better informed and supported communities able to appreciate and support girls’ aspirations, leading to an improved retention of girls in schools. It is also anticipated that the project will build closer links between communities, teachers, government officials and the police, enabling them to work together to enforce the laws on the rights of young women in marriage and education, which will result in a subsequent reduction in child marriage.

Endorsed project title: Preventing child marriage in Purulia, India

Photo: Flickr CC Eduardo Sciammarella Pushkar

Jana Sanskriti Centre for Theatre of the Oppressed

Jana Sanskriti is a voluntary organization reaching more than 200,000 spectators each year through the performances of 30 satellite theatre teams in rural West Bengal, India. Using the forum of theatre in rural communities the organisation addresses issues such as awareness and policy advocacy for domestic violence, education, child marriage, child trafficking, illicit liquor brewing and selling, agricultural practices, implementation of rights.www.janasanskriti.org

Improving youth participation in public policymaking

Issue

The 2010 National Youth Policy of Ghana acknowledges the need for policies that empower young people to effectively participate in the national development agenda. A review of the National Youth Policy has been scheduled for 2016 – 2017.

Project

Youth Empowerment Synergy (YES Ghana) are improving youth participation in public policy making by training young people to advocate for an improved National Youth Policy. This project will take advantage of the upcoming review to strengthen leadership structures in youth organisations, increase youth participation in the political space, and galvanise broad-based youth research for input into policy formulation. This will be achieved by expanding the membership and building the capacity of youth organisations to engage with politicians at local and national levels.It is expected that the project will lead to the improved articulation of youth issues, perspectives and policy recommendations by the Ghanaian youth, and empower young women and men by giving them the platform to speak, be heard and engage.

“Over the next three years, we hope to benefit extensively from the experience and technical capacity of the Commonwealth Foundation and work closely with other partners to improve the profile of young people as capable actors able to contribute positively to the development of our nation”, Emmanuel Edudzie, Executive Director of Youth Empowerment Synergy.

Youth Empowerment Synergy (YES Ghana)

YES Ghana is a national youth organisation established in 2001. It works to promote a sustainable and productive future for all young people in the country. It delivers programmes in the three key areas of youth participation and active citizenship, youth employment and livelihoods generation and youth policy and governance. YES-Ghana implements these programmes by facilitating access to youth-inclusive financial services, building coalitions of youth organisations and advocating for pro-youth empowerment policies. YES-Ghana actively engages with the National Youth Authority, the main government agency responsible for youth development.

www.yesghana.org

Follow @VoicesofYouthGh on Twitter

The Voices of Youth coalition is a national platform for youth to input into the national development agenda. It comprises over 300 youth groups reaching over 500,000 young people across Ghana. Yes Ghana acts as convenor and provides secretariat support to the coalition.

 

Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers: Civil Society Forum

Issue

Civic voice dialogue with governance institutions is a critical element of participatory governance. The Foundation promotes constructive engagement as an approach to advocacy between governments and civic voices. Commonwealth Ministerial spaces, where open to civil society participation, provide an opportunity for civil society working on relevant issues on the Ministerial agenda, to engage with decision-makers and to put forward their positions.

Constructive engagement implies that governance institutions recognise that CSOs are independent development actors in their own right and offer a wide range of expertise and experience in development solutions and innovation.

Project

The Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) is held every two years. The Commonwealth Foundation, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat and host governments has, where feasible and relevant, convened a Civil Society Forum (CSF) as a pre-conference meeting.

The CSF enables the presence and participation of Commonwealth civil society to put forward a position on issues discussed at the Ministerial meetings. The Commonwealth Foundation has enabled the participation of civic voices from the margins which includes local leaders, subject experts or representatives of communities impacted by the policy under discussion.  The Forum also provides civic actors the opportunity to share good practises and build partnerships on issues impacting diverse constituencies.

Here is the statement of 12 key requests submitted by civil society to Education Ministers at the 19th CCEM held on 20-21 June, 2017 in Bahamas

Fostering a democratic culture in schools and local communities in the Caribbean

Issue

Democratic processes rely on the engagement and participation of an interested electorate if they are to succeed. In the Commonwealth Caribbean countries, there is generally an apathy towards the community engagement process – particularly at the local government level – largely due to a lack of knowledge and cynicism about civic participation and local governance.

Project

The Caribbean Association of Local Government Authorities (CALGA) is working with young people to help them constructively engage with local government. This project will work to develop student councils in secondary schools, which will send representatives to specially created Junior Councils that will provide a structured interface between young people and local government institutions.

The young people on these Junior Councils will be trained in the local government system, participatory governance and advocacy and lobbying techniques, giving them the capabilities and confidence needed to effectively engage with authorities.

The project will also work with government representatives to integrate the young people’s voices into local government processes. The project aims to eventually embed the Junior Councils into local governance processes, allowing it to continue beyond the duration of the grant.

The work has attracted a mix of trainers and project coordinators in the four countries, from the education and local government sectors. Councillor Examin Philbert from St Lucia – a Project Coordinator and school principal – explained: “The project is timely and will afford students the opportunity to actively participate in democratic processes. It will enable Student Councils to develop leadership skills, forge partnerships with the school administration, as well as, lobby and advocate on behalf of the student body. The Junior Councils will catapult our youngsters into meaningful participation in community and Local Government engagement.” 

 

CALGA

The Caribbean Association of Local Government Authorities is a not for profit organization established to facilitate the further development of Local Government within the Caribbean region.

Their mission is to promote good governance and local democracy through capacity-building, networking, advocacy, and effective representation of the interests and views of Local Government authorities.

www.calga.org