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Session Submission Summary

Investing in young people

Wed, April 17, 1:30 to 3:00pm, Hyatt Regency, Floor: Street (Level 0), Plaza

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

The objective of this session is to share, reflect and discuss how youth’s wellbeing, aspirations, livelihoods, learning and job readiness are being addressed as key aspects of education for sustainability in most complex environments. Today, young people in such environments are representing a large proportion of population. In Afghanistan, out of 27 million population, 63.7 percent is below the age of 25 and approximately 46.1 percent below age 15 (CSO, 2014b) . In India, the adolescent population is 253 million , i.e. every fifth person in the country, and every 5th adolescent in the world. Kenya’s ratio of youth to the population stands at 20.3 percent, above the world’s average of 15.8 percent and 19.2 percent for Africa.

This is a significant proportion of the population at a critical age range. Yet, many young people in these environments, especially in the most marginalized and remote parts of the countries do not have opportunities to break cycles of deprivation and face numerous challenges in their daily lives. Young girls, in particular are disadvantaged. While poverty, language barriers and rural geographies limit access to secondary schooling for many adolescents, distance from schools, risks of sexual and physical violence, the absence of gender sensitive school facilities, a lack of female teachers, early and forced marriage, and early pregnancy further constrain girls’ access to secondary education. In addition, young people become increasingly vulnerable during times of crisis and conflict, when the normal structures and systems that are meant to protect them from risks such as trafficking, forced labor, pretty crimes, and extreme actions associated with radicalization are more likely to break down.

What are some of the locally rooted and globally informed solutions that are addressing these barriers, in order for young people to realize their full potential and become contributing members of society? How countries with large youth populations can maximize the positive demographic dividend and avoid socio-economic disenfranchisement that has the potential to push young people toward socially disruptive activities? How young people can become “change agents” in their own lives and the lives of their peers? How local structures and communities support and promote youth development, especially for young girls? These questions will be examined by the session from the perspectives of the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and its partner, the World Vision experiences of working with young people. These issues are central to comparative international education and the conference theme.

For over a century, the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and its partners have been investing in providing access to quality education as a vehicle for empowering young people to become agents of change in their own communities. Across Africa and Asia, AKF and its partners provide access to market-oriented skills in vocational and technical trades to young people through direct provision of training, as well as through facilitating access to services provided by other public and private service providers. The programs are complemented by life skills training to help build young people’s awareness, agency, resilience to risks (including sexual and gender based violence and forced early marriage) and decision-making power for practical and strategic life choices. The approach includes transition support from training to employment through apprenticeships, career counselling, internships and employer engagement.

The session will present four papers after an overall framing of the panel. The first paper will present the work of AKF with out of school adolescent girls in most marginalized urban area in India focusing on building their capacity to continue their education through a holistic approach that also involves parents and community engagement. The paper will discuss the program impacts and discuss the challenges and opportunities, including stories from the girls. The second and third papers will share the learning experiences of AKF and its partner World Vision from Afghanistan in bringing together in school and out of school adolescent girls and boys to learn from one another and share their experiences through an innovative peer mentoring approach. Both papers will also share the voices of the young people through needs assessment conducted with young people and stories developed by young people. The fourth paper will share the insights of how through a market assessment and stakeholders analysis, a youth hub was established to create a space for young people and other stakeholders to jointly design an innovative local solutions to address social and economic needs of young people. The presentations will be structured to ensure adequate time for a full discussion of this rich topic.

Sub Unit

Individual Presentations