Youth and the Global Goals

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Youth and the Global Goals

Olivier Serrat2016

Young People Today

The world is home to the largest group of 10 to 24-year-olds in history: they number 1.8 billion and 90% of them live in developing countries. India has over 350 million such youth, more than the total population of the United States (324 million).

More than 500 million youth aged 15–24 live on less than $2 a day.

Young people aged 15–24 are three times more likely than older segments of the population to be unemployed. Some 75 million youth aged 15–24 are currently unemployed. More than 600 million jobs must be generated by 2030. About 69 million adolescents of lower secondary school age are out of school.

Some 1.5 billion persons, the majority of them under the age of 30, live in conflict or fragile situations. In developing countries, one in three girls is married before her 18th birthday. Across the world, more than half of all sexual assaults are inflicted on girls younger than 16.

Young people are under-represented in decision-making processes: less than 2% of parliamentarians are in their 20s; only 12% are in their 30s.

Global Youth Population, Millions

Source: United Nations. World Population Projections: The 2010 Revision. New York.

1950 2000 2050 2100

Africa 43 164 391 505

Asia 263 670 631 502

Europe 95 101 75 76

Latin America

32 101 92 73

North America

26 44 55 61

My World 2015

From January–May 2014, the Office of the UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth convened a team from youth-led organizations and United Nations entities to flesh out concrete proposals for target areas on youth in the post-2015 development agenda. The Global Youth Call: "Prioritizing Youth in the Post-2015 Development Agenda" issued on 3 June 2014 was based on the top five thematic priorities of over 1.3 million young people who voted in the My World 2015 survey out of a total 2.1 million respondents.

EducationEmployment and EntrepreneurshipHealthGovernance and ParticipationPeace and Personal Security

Youth Priorities

Transforming Our World: Statements on Youth

• Unemployment, particularly YOUTH unemployment, is a major concern. (Para. 14)

Our World Today

Youth unemployment is caused by the state of the economy; the structure of the labor market; lack of relevant skills; insufficient experience; unawareness of job vacancies; constrained opportunities, e.g., health, location; stigma and discrimination, e.g., age, ethnicity, gender; and reactive approaches to gaining employment.

Transforming Our World: Statements on Youth

The New Agenda• Those whose needs are reflected in the Agenda include all children, YOUTH,

persons with disabilities (of whom more than 80% live in poverty), people living with HIV/AIDS, older persons, indigenous peoples, refugees, and internally displaced persons and migrants. (Para. 23)

• All people, irrespective of sex, age, race, or ethnicity, and persons with disabilities, migrants, indigenous peoples, children, and YOUTH, especially those in vulnerable situations, should have access to life-long learning opportunities that help them to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to exploit opportunities and to participate fully in society. (Para. 25)

• We will strive to provide children and YOUTH with a nurturing environment for the full realization of their rights and capabilities, helping our countries to reap the demographic dividend, including through safe schools and cohesive communities and families. (Para. 25)

• We will work to build dynamic, sustainable, innovative and people-centered economies, promoting YOUTH employment and women's economic empowerment, in particular, and decent work for all. (Para. 27)

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals

"Youth" in the Sustainable Development Goals

Quality Education—Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all (SDG 4)• By 2030, substantially increase the number

of YOUTH and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship (Target 4.4)

• By 2030, ensure that all YOUTH and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy (Target 4.6)

Decent Work and Economic Growth—Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all (SDG 8)• By 2020, substantially reduce the

proportion of YOUTH not in employment, education, or training (Target 8.6)

• By 2020, develop and operationalize a global strategy for YOUTH employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labor Organization (Target 8.10.b)

Climate Action—Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (SDG 13)• Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and

management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, YOUTH, and local and marginalized communities (Target 13.3.b)

"Youth" in the Sustainable Development Goals

Target 4.4 • Percentage of youth/adults with information and communications technology skills by type of skill

Target 4.6• Percentage of population in a given age group achieving

at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills.

Target 8.6 • Percentage of youth (aged 15-24) not in education, employment, or training

Target 8.10.b• Total government spending in social protection and

employment programs as a percentage of the national budgets and GDP

Target 13.3.b

• Number of least developed countries and small island developing States that are receiving specialized support for mechanisms for raising capacities for effective climate change-related planning and management, including focusing on women, youth, local, and marginalized communities

YouthSpeak, a global youth insight survey powered by AIESEC (the world's largest youth-run organization), has captured 170, 000+ responses from young people in over 100 countries and territories so far. The results confound stereotypes:• When asked about their top motivators, Millennials listed family,

purpose in life, and friends—in that order. (These are more important than, say, financial success, recognition, and personal achievement.)

• A majority (82%) of Millennials is willing to volunteer time and energy on purposeful projects abroad but many (52%) claimed that lack of resources is a main obstacle to doing so.

• Regarding the SDGs, a majority (55%) of Millennials confessed lack of awareness but most want to contribute to their accomplishment with a preference for SDG 4 (quality education), SDG 1 (no poverty), and SDG 3 (good health and well-being)—in that order. Surprisingly, they showed least interest in SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals).

Millennials are the SDGen!

#Youth4SDG Youth are both beneficiaries of the SDGs and crucial enablers of them. They must serve as change makers, communicators, critical thinkers, innovators, and leaders because the "youth bulge" implies they have a large stake in the present and future of the world. For that, they need recognition and the space to translate Agenda 2030 at local, national, regional, and global levels.

How might youth contribute to the achievement of the SDGs?

• Engaging with youth is no longer an option: the "Millennials" are a growing constituency that pushes an increasingly coherent agenda. The newly adopted SDGs are an unprecedented opportunity: they acknowledge youth, address issues that are of particular concern to young people, and invite updated approaches to youth engagement. How might the energy, creativity, and skills of "Millennials" be leveraged to co-create positive change?

The Kampala Principles on Youth-Led Development

• Youth define their own development goals and objectives;• Youth have a social and physical space to participate in

development and to be regularly consulted;• Adult mentorship and peer-to-peer mentorships are encouraged;• Youth act as role models to help other youth engage in

development; and• Youth are integrated into all local and national development

programs and frameworks.

Youth-led development draws on the energy, creativity, and skills of young people to create positive change at both small and large scale. It values young people as an asset of society, endowed with individual and group talents and strengths. The Kampala Principles on Youth-Led Development of UN-Habitat are that:

Note: To participate is to work with people, not work for them. Participation is the active, informed, and voluntary involvement of persons in information sharing, consulting, decision making, and taking action.

The Ambit of Youth-Led Development

• Policy—Youth are integral to policy planning, taking part in policy design, decisions, monitoring, and accountability processes.

• Advocacy and Campaigning—Youth advocate and campaign and collaborate with nongovernment and civil society organizations to make their voices heard and influence policy.

• Programming, Implementing, Monitoring, and Evaluating—Youth participate actively across the project cycle of programs that promote development and social transformation, contributing knowhow, skills, and ideas.

• Communication and Research—Youth search for answers and solutions, for instance by means of investigative journalism or action research, to better understand development issues and explain them to their peers and society at large.

Four places to start, not blueprints; youth-led development can connect to:

Enabling Youth PolicyYouth are a foundation of development effectiveness. If they are engaged, youth will help tackle the worldwide challenges we all face and link policy to practice. A commitment to remedying the injustice of ignoring youth in development and promoting #Youth4SDG will yield fruits: this commitment is best evidenced by organizational development.

Organizational development is the improvement of structures, systems, and processes by dint of reflection and learning (and of course negotiating).

To best work with youth externally, organizations must work with them internally. This means bringing youth into the organization and its core networks as volunteers, interns, and staff; collaborating with them and youth networks to make subtle adjustments to working culture; and ensuring their representation on decision-making bodies with guidance and training as necessary.

Work with young people in professional roles

Work with youth networks

Work with youth on boards, committees, and task teams

Questions to the YouthSpeak Forum

Glob

al G

oals What are

noteworthy and replicable examples of youth initiatives for policy, regulatory, and institutional improvements?What interventions best promote youth participation in development and how might they be scaled?

Educ

ation What

interventions are the most successful in improving enrolment, retention, and achievement in secondary schools?How can education and training for young people be made more effective at preparing them for work?

Empl

oym

ent What inhibits

employers from investing in job creation and hiring young workers?Where opportunities for youth employment have increased, what have been the causes and what are some lessons?

Entr

epre

neur

ship Can

entrepreneurship have scaled impacts on youth employment?How might the gender gap in firm start-up and business ownership be bridged?

Video #1: Youth Perspectives on Global Development

Video #2: Purpose, Passion, and Participation

Video #3: Examples of Engagement of Youth

Video #4: Social Entrepreneurship

Further Reading• DFID. 2010. Youth Participation in Development: A Guide for

Development Agencies and Policy Makers. www.ygproject.org/guide

• Overseas Development Institute. 2013. Investing in Youth in International Development Policy: Making the Case. www.odi.org/publications/7473-investing-youth-international-development-policy-making-case

• ——. 2014. Youth Participation in Governance and Monitoring of the Post-2015 Framework. www.odi.org/publications/8756-youth-participation-governance-monitoring-post-2015-framework

Further Reading• United Nations. 2014. The Global Youth Call: "Prioritizing

Youth in the Post-2015 Development Agenda". New York. www.un.org/youthenvoy/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/The-Global-Call-on-Youth_3-June-2014.pdf

• ——. 2015. Switched On: Youth at the Heart of Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok. www.unescap.org/resources/switched-on-youth-heart-sustainable-development-asia-and-pacific

• ADB. 2016. Sustainable Development Goals. Manila. www.adb.org/site/sdg/main

Further Reading• AIESEC. 2016. YouthSpeak 2.0: Preliminary Report.

youthspeak.aiesec.org/preliminary-report/

• Business for 2030. 2016. www.businessfor2030.org/

• Restless Development. 2016. restlessdevelopment.org/

• United Nations. 2016. Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth. New York. www.un.org/youthenvoy/

• YouthSpeak. 2016. youthspeak.aiesec.org/

Videos• ADB. 1993. The Challenge of Development: A Career at the

ADB. Manila. vimeo.com/121748541• ——. 2011. ADB and Civil Society—A Historical Overview.

Manila. vimeo.com/92310867• ——. 2014. ADB's Youth Partners Part One. Manila.

vimeo.com/93379092• ——. 2014. ADB's Youth Partners Part Two. Manila.

vimeo.com/93379089• ——. 2014. Youth Debates at the Astana Annual Meeting

2014. Manila. vimeo.com/93379093

Videos• ADB. 2014. Communication with Young People. Manila.

vimeo.com/93379096• ——. 2014. Social Media. Manila. vimeo.com/93379097• ——. 2014. ADB Water Youth at Stockholm 2013. Manila.

vimeo.com/93379189• ——. 2014. Purpose, Passion, and Participation. Manila.

vimeo.com/93379190• ——. 2014. Social Entrepreneurship. Manila.

vimeo.com/93443196• ——. 2014. Youth Perspectives on Global Development.

Manila. vimeo.com/93591741

Videos• ADB. 2014. Engagement of Youth in ADB Operations. Manila.

vimeo.com/93594303• ——. 2014. Examples of Engagement of Youth. Manila.

vimeo.com/93595835• ——. 2014. ADB's Young Professionals Program. Manila.

vimeo.com/93977080• ——. 2014. ADB's Young Professionals Program—Overview.

Manila. vimeo.com/96466596• ——. 2014. ADB's Internship Program. Manila.

vimeo.com/93977081

Videos• ADB. 2014. ADB's Internship Program—Overview. Manila.

vimeo.com/96466597 • ——. 2016. The ADB Sustainable Development Timeline.

Manila. reflections.adb.org/• ——. 2016. ADB: Reflections and Beyond. Manila.

vimeo.com/user26371068

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