Assessing Youth Development Potential During Active Conflict in South Sudan

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Wednesday III)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Youth employability at scale: lessons from national TVET systems in Mozambique and Tanzania

Proposal

A population of 72% below the age of 30 years coupled with high illiteracy rate exposes South Sudan youth to overwhelming challenges. During the ongoing conflict, instances of young people joining government and opposition forces as well as using cattle raiding and other criminal activities as a means for economic opportunity has been high.

A multisector youth assessment was conducted to assess current and future potential for transformative change.

The primary purpose of the youth assessment was to understand better the challenges and opportunities facing young men and women and to identify the critical roles they can play in South Sudan’s social, economic, cultural and political recovery and development.

The secondary purpose of the youth assessment was to capture information on current youth programming, gaps, and new directions to inform donors in South Sudan. In doing so, successful models and document lessons learned both in South Sudan and from other countries in the region with similar challenges as South Sudan. The assessment went beyond existing desk reviews/program reports and investigate individual and institutional perceptions at national, sub-national and community levels by eliciting views on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with youth-focused programs. Findings and recommendations of the youth assessment will be discussed in the session and include all sectors and the feasibility of a specific youth-focused- intervention.

In support of both formal and informal peace processes and conflict mitigation, donors continue to try and strengthen civil society capacities to effectively advocate for quality service delivery, transparent and accountable government, and human rights as critical to South Sudan in this time of conflict. However, the majority of South Sudan’s civil society organizations are relatively underdeveloped; as a result, they have not been able to fulfill their potential to influence government policies and decisions to deliver services to its people effectively. Thus, South Sudanese youth have limited means to express their views on how best to address the long-standing grievances and issues driving conflicts in their communities as well as in the country. Young women constrained because of their social status and cultural norms assigned to them by society.

In the current context, the international community is poised to support the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. Despite the complicated situation created by the conflict, which may continue for some time, it is possible to take steps to consolidate peace by grounding a coordinated, holistic and sequenced approach in lessons from previous international engagements in South Sudan. The assessment prioritizes mitigating the war’s human, economic, and social damage; enabling South Sudanese to rebound from this trauma, and laying the foundation for a durable and just peace. Some of the key questions included:
What are the challenges and opportunities facing youth in South Sudan as a result of the recent conflict?
What are the unique needs of the youth sub-groups (e.g., young/older, female/male, urban/rural, disabled, separated from families, youth groups exposed to direct/indirect violence and others)?
What are donors, international and national actors doing to address youth needs in South Sudan, and how effective are existing programs in treating young people’s needs?
To what extent do current programs maximize the potential for youth to contribute to more stable and cohesive social, economic, political and democratic communities (and the nation at large)?
What improvements can be made to current programming to enhance the integration of youth?
What specific opportunities should be prioritized for new activities to pilot or bring to scale?

Authors

• Wendy Wheaton, US Agency for International Development (USAID)

• Nitika Tolani, MSI

• Michael McCabe, US Agency for International Development (USAID)