Marta Tsehay is program manager for Mandela Washington and a MILEAD fellow. She played an important role in the preparation of National Life Skill Manual for high school students in Ethiopia, and has been a Lecturer for Central and Addis Ababa Medical University Colleges:
[ss_click_to_tweet tweet=”“There is a comparative improvement in the participation of youth in Ethiopia. Previously, young people were not leading the agenda and weren’t considered as developmental partners.”” content=”“There is a comparative improvement in the participation of youth in Ethiopia. Previously, young people were not leading the agenda and weren’t considered as developmental partners. The legal frameworks set at the continent and country levels foster a favorable environment. This has created a conducive environment for youth-focused international and local NGOs to implement programs that involve young people.”” style=”default”]
Viewing Young People as Equal Partners
Mwesigye: When engaged as equal partners, there is respect for the needs, contributions and voices of young people. Meaningful youth engagement must be reflected in policy and decision-making, planning and execution and budgets. Some partners are taking advantage of the vulnerability of young people to use them as tokens. At the global level, there is much talk of prioritizing young people in strategy documents but the actual implementation on the ground is a different story. The young people are on the sidelines or are only engaged with the CSO partners have a specific interest in meeting donor targets.
Mukherji: It is necessary that we in the family planning community get past the notion that young people are only thought of as a homogenized entity that can only provide inputs to issues which directly affect them and nothing more. In order to ensure that we are truly involving young people in programs and initiatives, it is necessary to see young people in all the identities they possess.
Securing Government Resources for Youth Engagement
Abid: Here in Pakistan government departments have begun using mobile applications in their interventions with young people, and the government has put effort into highlighting family planning. There are campaigns and programs like IYAFP, 120 Under 40, Women Deliver and others that have proven to be effective platforms because young people are able to implement their solutions and have a voice at the table.
Tsehay: Increases in resource allocation [in Ethiopia] are creating youth meaningful participation. Although the expectation for meaningful youth participation is yet to be met, there is an improvement and young people are being considered as developmental partners. This has been manifested by the establishment of a youth advisory initiative to support the national policy initiatives. For the first time, the Ethiopian government appointed a 28 year old female Minister for the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth. This shows how young people are taken seriously and getting support and space from the government.
Recognizing the Efforts of Young People
Mukherji: While more programs are being designed in conjunction with young people and are thus keeping their lived realities in mind, this cannot be singularly attributed to the Consensus Statement. A straight line from the Statement to the increase in the involvement of young people would dismiss the tireless work that many young people have done to convince stakeholders of their value.
Youth Mentorship
Mwesigye: There is so much that the world needs to learn from models like the Women Deliver Young Leaders Program because it’s a perfect example of a proper youth mentorship. We need to design more mentorship programs to support senior youth to mentor junior youth. We also need to create young professional positions in our organizations where we can identify and take on these senior youth leaders to mentor them into professionals.
Involving Young Men and Women Equally
Abid: Young women always find it difficult to be heard because of stigma on women’s empowerment and feminism. However, while participation of all sexes is equally important, we must focus on women so that the ratio remains balanced and women get to the table to raise their voices and concerns. Women leaders have a different lens and add a perspective to discussions on sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Mukherji: The engagement of young men is still very limited in the family planning arena, mostly engaging them in conversations about reproductive health. There is a large swath of issues which affect men and boys, particularly those affecting queer and trans youth, which are not brought to the mainstream of family planning programs. The intersection of masculinity and family planning needs to be explored further.
What Still Needs to be Done?
Tsehay: [To ensure that young people and adolescents are funneled into leadership positions in family planning,] the following measures are required:
- Intergenerational dialogue and platforms to foster learning and mentorship between senior leaders and emerging leaders;
- Creating neutral platforms for participation at all levels;
- Addressing the systematic barriers that limit youth participation;
- Creating trust for youth leaders to lead programs and also provide funding;
- Enhancing the skills and capacity of youth by providing the resources and tools for youth engagement.
Conclusion
While the Global Consensus on Meaningful Youth and Adolescent Engagement is important, it is only an aspirational statement. Clearly much remains to be done to ensure that is implemented at every level. Progress is rarely linear and often achieved in fits and starts. It is also clear from the young people interviewed here that there are varying perspectives on the impact the Consensus has had around the world. Has youth engagement made inroads in organizations at the regional, national, and global levels since 2018? Are youth leaders heard at the highest levels? What else remains to be done to accelerate progress? We would love to hear from you for a possible follow-up. Send your thoughts to Tamarabrams@verizon.net.