Working with and for youth as lead actors in sustainability

• In Event: Youth and civic development

Proposal

Placing youth at the center of sustainable development means increasing the attention given to all activities done with, for, and by young people. In recent years, key global discourses on the role of education and training have broadened to move beyond utilitarian aims of economic development toward a vision that recognizes education as essential for building the knowledge and skills needed for sustainable development (UNESCO, 2018). Universal undertakings such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the newly agreed United Nations 2030 Youth Strategy, and the Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action (the Compact) – an initiative under the Agenda for Humanity – each have placed focus on youth as contributors to the common good. While the SDGs only specifically mention youth in relation to quality education and decent work and economic growth, it is clear that young people are implicated in all 17 goals. Alternatively, the UN Youth Strategy explicitly seeks to put young people at the center of UN work across its three pillars – peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development in all contexts (UN General Assembly, 2018). Similarly, the Compact emphasizes the importance of meaningfully engaging young people at local, national regional and global levels in line with principles outlined in the Agenda for Humanity (UNFPA, 2016; Agenda for Humanity, 2016). Given these new imperatives along with changing demographics, many organizations have begun exploring approaches and practices which better engage young people in ways that recognize their transformative potential.

Reach Out to Asia (ROTA), a program of Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, is a Qatar-based, non-traditional donor agency which is working with each of these agendas from the SDGs, to the Compact, to the Youth Strategy to promote global citizenship education and action among young people. ROTA takes a transformational, capabilities based approach to youth-focused initiatives both in Qatar and across the MENA region with the recognition that education and development programs can promote sustainability far beyond the classroom. This paper draws upon ROTA’s experience by presenting case examples from two initiatives which highlight how ROTA works with and for young people. The first example is from ROTA’s work with the Compact where the organization chairs the global taskforce on strengthening young people’s capacities and capabilities to be effective humanitarian actors and has launched a regional initiative – MENA Youth Capacity Building in Humanitarian Action (MYCHA) – to promote this aim. Through this initiative, ROTA hosts a series of regional and national trainings to provide young people with action focused training. Upon completion of the trainings, they receive six months of ongoing support and mentorship through local NGOs in their home countries to help them deliver youth-led humanitarian actions which they plan themselves. The goal is to catalyze local youth-led responses and generate an evidence base on appropriate capacity building methodologies which are effective at helping youth gain the capabilities to take action. The second case presented is of the ROTA Youth Program/ROTA Youth Model (RYM) being implemented locally in Qatar. This model uses the SDGs as an entry point for building leadership and service skills among young people and empowering them to design and deliver their own action projects to bring about change at the community level. The model employs a capabilities approach which supports participants in building the skills and sense of agency they need to generate valuable outcomes for themselves and their communities. Three components form the core of the model: 1) knowledge and skill building through leadership trainings, 2) addressing issues in sustainable development through youth-led clubs 3) knowledge sharing and showcasing youth action through an annual youth-led conference.

The paper draws on data collected through the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the two initiatives. These include multi-faceted data collection processes which use mixed methods approaches such as participant surveys, participant focus groups, and interviews. Findings and lessons learned are presented through exploratory case studies which seek to synthesize lessons learned for sharing with partners, stakeholders and the CIES audience of researchers and practitioners. Learning drawn from the MYCHA and RYM initiatives show promising approaches in introducing youth to global agendas which may prove transferable to other contexts. Findings indicate that participation in, and leadership of, action projects can cement skills and support desired outcomes in youth perceptions of their own agency. Evaluation findings also reveal that youth gained knowledge on global issues and developed positive attitudes about the role they can play in their communities and in the world. These cases provide examples of practical ways to help youth acquire the knowledge, skills and values necessary to cooperate in resolving the interconnected challenges of the 21st century.

Authors

• Esker Copeland, Reach Out To Asia/Education Above All Foundation

• Samah Al-Sabbagh, Reach Out To Asia/Education Above All Foundation