| The Drum Beat – 629 – Youth Programming in the Arab States/MENA Region |
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| The material highlighted below was shared at, connected to, and/or inspired by presentations at the Regional United Nations Development Group (R/UNDG) Capacity Building Workshop on Programming for Young People in the Arab States/MENA Region, held December 3-7 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey. The agencies that are part of the UN development system are committed to accelerating programming assistance focusing on adolescents and youth. With the goal of incorporating the adolescent/youth agenda in UN programming in the Arab States/Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, the conference sessions sought to strengthen the practical skills of participants to develop, enhance, and/or evaluate adolescent and youth-centred programming in MENA. Participants joined together in the belief that the extent to which this large group of young people will become healthy and productive members of their societies de! pends on how well governments and civil societies invest in social, economic, and political institutions that meet the current needs of young people. |
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| YOUTH ACTIVISM & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT |
| 1. #SupportYemen: Break the Silence |
| This team of young female and male activists, journalists, videographers, photographers, web designers, and bloggers works on advocacy through making and posting video clips on issues affecting the majority of Yemenis – including the humanitarian and economic situation – by highlighting messages on how to support Yemen to become the peaceful civil society envisioned by the team. Information formats include video clips, reports on Yemen, photos, blogs, and links to websites related to the revolutionary movement in Yemen, as well as a list of ways to support Yemen from abroad. |
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| 2. Mouvement Byrsa |
| Byrsa is a youth-led movement of reflection and social media activism that brings together young Tunisian citizens to speak out for their rights and for the future of their country. Byrsa uses Facebook to organise citizen consultations. Social media was used to organise a broad debate among citizens, encouraging discussion of what citizens want for themselves and for Tunisia, resulting in, for example, 12 filmed lectures in October 2010 that addressed the main concerns of Tunisians in various areas of public life: employment, health, education, purchasing power, justice, culture, transport, religion, language, identity, sports, etc. |
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| 3. Our Priorities – Our Future – Yemen |
| In 2011, Resonate! Yemen launched this project to inform youth about the 10-points reform plan developed by a team of reformers within the Yemeni government. The project was designed to encourage youth to debate its benefits, share their reservations over it with its designers, and finally enrich it with their own ideas of how can it be executed on the ground. The 10-points plan «promised to restore the government’s credibility and to prevent any further deterioration of Yemen’s economy.» Resonate! Yemen created a 3-step framework with corresponding digital portals to stimulate debate, questions, and comment. |
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| 4. MY World |
| Carried out from late 2012 through early 2014, this youth-centred initiative revolves around a global opinion survey being carried out by the United Nations (UN) and partners which – through online web, mobile, and offline paper survey methods – allows people across the world to tell the UN and, in particular, the Secretary General’s High Level Panel, the most important issues they would like the post-2015 agenda to address. Key to this initiative is giving youth-led organisations and networks opportunities to influence and actively participate. |
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5. Shaping Public Policies in Favour of Young People
by Robert Thomson |
| From youthpolicy.org, this presentation is motivated by the question: why youth policy? Part II explores what underpins youth policy, including topics such as data and access to it. Guiding principles in making youth policy include: recognise all young people as a resource to society; triangulate youth work, research, and policy; uphold the right of young people to participate in the development of programmes, research, and policies affecting them; carry out structured dialogues with young people and youth organisations; and ensure co-management of youth-related bodies and of the budgets concerning programmes for young people. |
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| 6. Youth Autumn School in Morocco: Youth and Political Engagement for an Alternative World |
| From October 12-14 2012, nearly 200 young participants from Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Mauritania, and Tunisia gathered in Bouznika, Morocco, for the Youth Autumn School on «Youth and Political Engagement for an Alternative World». The seminars and workshops were designed with the objectives of enhancing their capacity to: conduct policy analysis; build alternative models of society; and lead advocacy actions. This is a project of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). |
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| 7. International Youth Leadership Academy in Turkey |
| Youth Association for Habitat (YFH) is working to develop the capacity of local youth leaders and to support them to actively contribute to their own communities. The first phase of the training, focused on theoretical learning combined with various case studies from Turkey and the participating countries, aims to develop the capacity, skills, and experience of the participants on human rights, youth and child rights, and participation. The participants are then supported to make an action plan to follow through a monitoring and mentoring process, in order to prepare for the second phase. |
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| MEASURING YOUTH PARTICIPATION |
8. Adolescent and Youth Participation
by Gerison Lansdown and Ravi Karkara |
| When participation is seen as a fundamental right, strengthening the evidence base of associated outcomes of participation becomes central for demonstrating the case for political and financial commitment of governments and donors, e.g., measure the adolescents’ experience in participation initiatives: (i) Scope – what degree of participation has been achieved and at what stages of programme development – in other words: What is being done? (ii) Quality – to what extent have participatory processes complied with the agreed standards for effective practice – in other words: How is it being done? (iii) Outcome – what has been the outcome – on young people themselves, on families, on the supporting agency, and on the wider realisation of young people’s rights within families, local communities, and at local and national governmental level – in other words: What has been achieved? |
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9. Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (What, Why and How?) on Programming for Adolescents and Youth in the Arab States/MENA Region
by Awny Amer |
| This presentation looks at the importance of the participation of children and youth in the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of child/youth programming. The key objective in promoting participation for young people/youth programming is to: empower young people to advocate more effectively for the realisation of their rights; ensure greater accountability and transparency; and provide demonstration models of good practices in young people’s participation in M&E processes, especially for the adolescents’ and youth programmes. |
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| ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES |
| 10. Teen Channel Programme and Ek Mouka Employability: CAP Foundation |
| This presentation of the work of the Indian foundation CAP includes a model for employability, adapted into the MENA region and implemented by different international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) including Plan International Egypt. It was chosen as a cross-regional model for youth employment programming. The employability model includes what is called «Teen Channel Program» (part of a programme called Ek Mouka) that links learning and livelihood for adolescents at risk (out of school, in school, and post high school). |
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| 11. UNV Arab Youth Volunteering Initiative |
| Launched in August 2012 by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV), this initiative aims to build the skills and capacities of young people in the Arab States and enhance their participation in the socio-economic development of their communities through volunteering. Online volunteers, for example, can participate in translating such things as facilitation tools and consultation reports. |
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| SPORT FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT |
12. Sport for Development
by Ian MacLeod |
| Sport is characterised here as: a child’s right; the foundation for healthy development; and a means of increasing active citizenship, participation, and inclusion amongst children and youth. This is evident, for example, in conflict situations and humanitarian emergencies, where sport can promote a safe environment to teach young people how to resolve differences and restore normalcy in times of stress. In a plenary discussion, the participants agreed that even in many conservative cultures in the region, S4D was appropriate and acceptable as a strategy for supporting young people’s health and development, and that its potential was highly underutilised. |
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| 13. International Inspiration |
| As part of this international legacy programme of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Jordan, using interest in the Olympics as impetus for furthering the cause of youth sports and physical education (PE), International Inspiration, partnering with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), works with local partners and schools to plan more designated outdoor playing areas for students and provide all young people, particularly girls and children with disabilities, with access to high-quality and inclusive PE through the training of teachers and young coaches on the importance of inclusion. |
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| 14. Galz & Goals Project |
| This Namibian programme uses sport as a platform to promote individual health and social responsibility, as well as to empower girls and young women to achieve their goals. Girls become Galz & Goals members on school or community teams and receive a G&G Passport containing an oath and tips on living a healthy life and encouraging dreams and aspirations, as well as a booklet with tips and interactive games using female Namibian and international role models. G&G is a partnership between UNICEF, the Namibia Football Association (NFA), SCORE (Changing Lives Through Sport), and SPAR Group Western Cape/Namibia. |
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| ADDRESSING YOUTH HEALTH & SEXUALITY |
15. Addressing Adolescent and Youth Sexuality
by Rafael Mazín |
| This bilingual English/Arabic presentation explores youth sexuality and politics, particularly the recognition of sexuality as a political force in the new political agenda. It shares contemporary views on sexual health as an indivisible element of individual and social health and wellness, reviews the relevance of promotion and care of sexual health in the adolescent health agenda, and discusses sexual health from public health, political, and programmatic perspectives. |
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16. MARA: HIV Prevention, Care and Protection for the Most Vulnerable
by Nina Ferencic |
| This presentation on most-at-risk adolescents (MARA) gives an intimate picture, through a personal story of a young Russian person named Sasha, of the barriers faced by individuals in need of services and how building what presenter Nina Ferencic calls Circles of Solidarity might look in a support system for them. |
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| 17. Puppetry Theatre Training Course of Trainers (PTTT) – Oman |
| This video describes a project called the Puppetry Theatre TOT – Oman 2012 (PTTT), which explored new possibilities in the art and craft of puppet theatre and sought to equip the participants with new tools to maximise their outreach to several segments of the community, particularly children, adolescents and youth, and people with special needs. It was designed with a focus on reproductive health, civic engagement, peer education, youth empowerment, and women’s empowerment in line with the mandate of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Area Office. |
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18. Young People and HIV/AIDS
by Susan Kasedde |
| Here, Susan Kasedde shares statistical trends in new HIV infection in adults and children in the MENA region. The presentation offers: information on adolescent key affected populations including injecting drug users, men who have sex with men (MSM), and sex workers; an investment framework on basic programme activities of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), treatment, care, and support of people living with HIV (PLHIV), male circumcision, behaviour change programmes, and work with key populations; and a graph showing predictors of future investments from «Modeling of Cost & Impact of application of HIV Investment Framework for Adolescents», followed by recommended resources. |
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19. Adolescent Health and Well-Being
by Nina Ferencic |
| This presentation shows the health effects of urbanisation on young people through: statistics; personal stories; graphs; and facts on the effects of poverty, early pregnancy, HIV, physical and mental abuse, and drug abuse. Ferencic shows relationships of health and social problems including dropping out of school, risky behaviours, injury, and physical problems. Further, she: charts risk and protective factors of common determinants for various behaviours; illustrates building an enabling environment for youth, an ecological framework for health, and domains of adolescent well-being; and begins to answer the question: «How do we put this into practice?» |
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| This issue of The Drum Beat was written by Kier Olsen DeVries. |
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| The Drum Beat is the email and web network of The Communication Initiative Partnership – Partners: ANDI, BBC Media Action, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Breakthrough, Calandria, DFID, FAO, Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs, MISA, Oxfam Novib, PAHO, The Panos Institute, Puntos de Encuentro, The Rockefeller Foundation, SAfAIDS, Sesame Workshop, Soul City, STEPS International, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNICEF, USAID, The Wellcome Trust, World Health Organization (WHO), W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.
Chair of the Partners Group: Garth Japhet, Founder, Soul City garth@heartlines.org.za
Executive Director: Warren Feek wfeek@comminit.com |
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| The Editor of The Drum Beat is Kier Olsen DeVries. |
| Please send additional project, evaluation, strategic thinking, and materials information on communication for development at any time. Send to drumbeat@comminit.com |
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