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1. Why Youth?

Nothing about us
without us

Young Leader Alum Lorato Modongo speaking about gender equality during a regional workshop in Kenya. Credit: Brian Otieno

We live in unprecedented times, marked by the devastating impacts of climate change, an ongoing global pandemic, and pervasive poverty, conflict, violence, and gender inequality. These problems often disproportionately affect youth across the world.

Image 1.1: Problems that disproportionately affect youth

While definitions of "youth" and "young people" vary across cultures and contexts, Women Deliver defines youth as persons under the age of 30. This demographic constitutes half of the world’s population today and comprises the largest generation of young people in history. The majority of young people (nearly 90% of the total youth population) live in the Global South, where they are experiencing some of the world’s most pressing problems firsthand.1

As the generation that will inherit these problems, as well as the policies and programs we implement today to address them, young people have the most at stake. They are also uniquely positioned to develop innovative solutions and drive progress.

Young people’s civic and political participation is not only a known catalyst for social change but also a fundamental human right according to the United Nations (UN)2 and several other global and regional human rights frameworks (see end of this chapter). Yet young people's right to participate in public life has not been fully realized due to a myriad of systemic barriers. Studies show that young people are still excluded from high-level decision making forums, even though they are directly affected by the decisions made in these spaces. According to the Be Seen Be Heard Global Youth Report (2022)3, produced by the UN Office of the Secretary General's Envoy on Youth and the Body Shop, youth are vastly underrepresented in political institutions worldwide: less than 3% of parliamentarians are below the age of 30, while the average age of political leaders is 62 years old.

This must change. Young people and their communities directly bear the brunt of political inaction by leaders and decision makers who are out of touch with their needs. As we confront unprecedented challenges around the world, it is more crucial than ever to shift power into the hands of youth.

The human rights approach to equitably engaging youth recognizes the inherent value and agency of young people as rights-holders and active participants in decision making processes that affect them.

As stakeholders in the future of our planet, young people deserve to be in the driver’s seat on policies and programs that impact their lives, their communities, and the planet. And we know that when properly equipped with the resources, technical assistance, and funding to be agents of change, youth accelerate progress toward gender equality and sustainable development.4,5 In the face of pervasive structural obstacles, young people have continued to lead social movements and hold decision makers accountable. The Be Seen Be Heard Global Youth Report highlights that more than 69% of people believe that involving youth in policy development would improve political systems. In recent years, multilateral organizations and NGOs have launched initiatives recognizing young people as innovators, entrepreneurs, and important agents of change:

  • The theme of the World Bank’s recent, Youth Summit, From the Ground Up: Local Solutions to Drive Global Impact,6 celebrates the potential that youth-led innovations have to create significant social and economic impact, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
  • Since 2017, Youth Co:Lab, a joint project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Citi Foundation,7 has supported 28 countries in the Asia-Pacific region to invest in youth-led startups, centered around the principle that young entrepreneurs and innovators hold the key to accelerating progress on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • The International Youth Foundation’s Global Youth Resiliency Fund8 found that youth-led innovations can effectively address social and environmental challenges, with many young people developing practical, low-cost, low-tech, sustainable, and scalable solutions.

Innovation, creativity, and peer learning can help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds have greater agency in co-creating solutions to tackle urgent societal problems.

Youth-led innovations are already creating an impact around the world:

  • Nossa Horta9, an innovative youth-led grassroots movement based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, promotes urban agriculture through the cultivation of community gardens in low-income neighborhoods. Each of these gardens is tailored to support the needs of the local community. Nossa Horta also promotes environmental education, providing knowledge about climate change, medicinal plants, and unorthodox food sources to both children and adults in the communities where the gardens are located.
  • CHAVA,10 a youth-led sex education app in Latin America, seeks to address the systemic and cultural barriers that hinder access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education and services in the region.
  • Zvandiri11,12 is a youth-led community-based organization in Zimbabwe that provides support to children, adolescents, and young people aged 6-24 living with HIV/AIDS. The organization trains HIV-positive individuals between 18-24 years old, known as Community Adolescent Treatment Supporters (CATS), to provide clinical and digital services such as HIV testing, counseling, and antiretroviral therapy, as well as monthly community-based support groups. CATS also promote HIV prevention and awareness, SRH education, and life skills training through community outreach programs, and collaborate with social workers, community health workers, and health facilities under the Ministry of Health to offer comprehensive care and support for youth living with HIV/AIDS (YLHIV).

    Established in 2004 by YLHIV who recognized the need for peer support and empowerment in their community, the Zvandiri model has since been adopted by the Government of Zimbabwe and expanded by its Ministry of Health.
Image 1.2: Young people are already taking action on important issues around the world

There are many benefits of partnering with youth at the local, national, regional, and global levels.13 Young people’s advocacy, activism, and dissent have helped move the needle on issues from climate action to universal health coverage. Their lived experiences, contextual knowledge, and commitment to social justice make them uniquely qualified to disrupt deeply entrenched power dynamics and shape policies and programs to advance gender equality and sustainable development while facilitating systemic change.

Tapping into this potential requires new ways of engaging and partnering with youth, starting with recognizing that youth have the most expertise on their own lives and that their knowledge and contributions are as valuable as those of other experts and demographic groups. When institutions co-create and co-design programs with young people, those programs represent shared interests and are more likely to be effective, sustainable, and reflective of young people’s experiences. Mutual learning can occur from intergenerational partnerships as we move from capacity building to knowledge exchange and reciprocity. Partnerships with youth can then serve as a diplomatic and negotiating tool. Engaging young people as program designers, researchers, evaluators, advocates, and more can also improve the quality and relevance of data collected and increase program accountability.

 Examples 
Young people’s civic and political participation is codified in several global and regional human rights frameworks

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes the right of children and young people to express their views and participate in decision making processes that affect them.14

Action 6.15 of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) affirms that young people should be involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of development activities that have a direct impact on their daily lives.15

In 1995, on the tenth anniversary of International Youth Year, the UN General Assembly adopted the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY), which identified the “full and effective participation of youth in the life of society and in decision making” as one of fifteen priority action areas.16

In 2003, the General Assembly reiterated its commitment to “the importance of the full and effective participation of young people and youth organizations at the local, national, regional and international levels… bearing in mind that [young people] are active agents in decision making processes and for positive change and development in society.”17

The UN’s Youth Strategy (“Youth2030”) includes advocating for “expanded and meaningful youth participation in intergovernmental forums at the global and regional levels… including through extensive and streamlined support to youth delegates and representatives” as one of its top priorities, along with supporting young people’s civic and political engagement.18

Article 16 of the 2006 African Youth Charter notes that states have a responsibility to secure the full involvement of youth in identifying their reproductive and health needs and designing programs that respond to those needs.19

The 2012 Bali Global Youth Forum Declaration identifies issues and priorities facing young people within the context of population and development, noting recommended actions for the outcome report of the ICPD +20 review and the post-2015 UN development agenda. It highlights the importance of putting young people’s rights at the heart of development.20

The 2013 Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development follows up on the implementation of ICPD in relation to state obligations and features a section on the rights, needs, responsibilities, and requirements of children, adolescents, and youth.21

Citations

1. United Nations Population Fund. (n.d.) Adolescent and Youth Demographics. Retrieved May 2, from https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/One%20pager%20on%20youth%20demographics%20GF.pdf 

2. United Nations General Assembly. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved April 28, 2023, from https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child 

3. The Body Shop. (2022). Be Seen Be Heard Global Youth Report. The Body Shop and the UN Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth. September 2022. Retrieved May 2, from https://thebodyshop.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/UPDATED_UN_REPORT_TBS_Accessible_Version_09.06.22

4. Tony Elumelu Foundation. (n.d.). Impact. Retrieved April 28, 2023, from https://www.tonyelumelufoundation.org/impact

5. International Youth Foundation. (n.d.). World youth report: Youth civic engagement. Retrieved April 28, 2023, from https://iyfglobal.org/sites/default/files/WW_Youth_Participation_1.pdf

6. World Bank Live. (2023). World Bank Group Youth summit 2023. Retrieved at June 10, 2023, from https://live.worldbank.org/events/world-bank-group-youth-summit-2023-from-the-ground-up

7. Youth Co:Lab. (n.d.). About. Retrieved at June 10, 2023, fromhttps://www.youthcolab.org/about

8. The Global Youth Resiliency Fund (n.d.). Youth-led solutions in action. Retrieved at June 10, 2023, fromhttps://iyfglobal.org/youth-led-solutions/

9. CSA Nossa Horta. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved April 28, 2023, from https://www.csanossahorta.org/

10. Chava. (n.d.). The app. Retrieved April 28, 2023, from https://www.chava.app/the-app

11. Zvandiri. (n.d.). Zvandiri youth. Retrieved April 28, 2023, from https://zvandiri.org/who-we-are/zvandiri-youth/

12. Pepfar Solutions. (2018). Zvandiri: Peer Counseling to Improve Adolescent HIV Care and Support. Retrieved May 15, 2023, from https://www.pepfarsolutions.org/adolescents/2018/1/13/zvandiri-peer-counseling-to-improve-adolescent-hiv-care-and-support

13. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2013). Fact sheet on youth participation. Retrieved April 28, 2023, from https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/documents/youth/fact-sheets/youth-participation.pdf

14. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 12. (1989). Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child

15. International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). Action 6.15. (1994). Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://www.unfpa.org/events/international-conference-population-and-development-icpd

16. World Programme of Action for Youth. (2004). Policies and programmes involving youth: resolution / adopted by the General Assembly. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/509202

17. United Nations General Assembly. (2003). A/RES/58/133. Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, 2003. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://international.vlex.com/vid/res-58-133-resolution-861211279 

18. The UN’s Youth Strategy. (n.d.). Youth2030. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://www.unyouth2030.com/_files/ugd/b1d674_9f63445fc59a41b6bb50cbd4f800922b.pdf

19. African Youth Charter. Article 16. (2006). Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/7789-treaty-0033_-_african_youth_charter_e.pdf 

20. United Nations Population Fund. (2013). The 2012 Bali Global Youth Forum Declaration. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/Bali%20Declaration%20English.pdf 

21. United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. (2013). Montevideo consensus on population and development. Retrieved May 2, 2023, https://repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/21860/S20131039_en.pdf