BackHome
Refresh: OffView Personal Schedule
Session Submission Summary

Active youth engagement in program design, data collection, and analysis: strong positive data

Tue, April 16, 8:00 to 9:30am, Hyatt Regency, Floor: Bay (Level 1), Bayview B

Group Submission Type: Refereed Round-Table Session

Proposal

Implementing and Research Organizations on this panel are making essential investments to actively engage youth from the outset in program design involving their own development, and foster youth leadership and entrepreneurship skills in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030. This panel is comprised of three organizations working in deep rural regions with limited resources, where it is essential that that the MEL process be lean, effective and with the greatest “ground truth” possible.

Panel Objective: This panel will share creative and innovative results and experiences from three unique approaches on achieving program goals with peak community engagement, deep ground truth, and youth developing skills enabling them to become active effective members of their communities, access available opportunities and become attractive to future employers.

One of the organizations on the panel work with vulnerable teen youth of East Africa providing them with skills and opportunities for the rapidly changing and expanding East African economic landscape. The vision is that the youth who graduate are prepared to transition successfully from school to life beyond the classroom as self-confident leaders, entrepreneurs and skilled workers, widening their career choices and improving their chances of creating and sustaining successful businesses. To prepare for future jobs, entrepreneurship opportunities and community engagement, youth first need to develop the skills needed to contribute to a growing economy.

A second implementing organisation has at its guiding principle that adolescents and youth should be an integral part of everything they do. This includes participatory action research with young people as researchers and engagement of youth in their own activities and in the life of their communities. Given the multiple constraints faced by girls and young women, their involvement and vision have been key to the development of TAMASHA programs which address issues of entrepreneurship, sexual and reproductive health and community engagement. In all of these fields, TAMASHA has built a solid reputation and worked with multiple international and national stakeholders but in and out of Tanzania.

The third organization represented is a research body who specializes in active engagement in the rural community members, including adults and children, utilizing their deep knowledge of the family, community, and leadership of the villages. This presenter will share results indicating schools may be an excellent resource for efficiently collecting information about rural households and farm families in developing countries, further exploring the notion of involving the youth in the community in data collection.

In addition to sharing outcomes and best practices from the presenter’s programs, the panelists will seek to generate a conversation amongst the participants about similar approaches to improve the impact and sustainability of their youth programs.

Panel session format: Introduction| Individual panel insights and observations | World Café type Group activity | Group Discussions| Q & A.

Sub Unit

Chair

Individual Presentations