Youth in Action Around the World

March 6, 2009—Whether it's finding solutions to youth unemployment, or keeping an eye out for corruption, youth everywhere are getting involved and making a difference. Here are a few recent inspiring stories:

Philippines

Students at Silliman University have been learning how to use the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS)—a type of software that gives them access to all the procurement activities of the Philippine government. This means they can help combat corruption and ensure transparency by identifying any irregularities. The project, organized by the university's Knowledge Development Center, is a great way to empower youth to take part in decision making. In addition to involving college students, the project also reaches out to youth everywhere through two other components:

• I SpeakNow, an online discussion board where young people talk about current issues and their role in improving governance
• Focus group discussions among out-of-school youth on local, national and global issues, and workshops to help empower them

Burundi

Talking about day-to-day issues can help generate solutions or at least start a helpful discussion. A recent project in Burundi lets young people do just that. Combining Africa's two most powerful technologies—the radio and the cell phone—a team made of World Bank representatives, Burundi government, civil society and a local radio station has created an innovative interactive radio program. The program airs discussions of major issues, and invites call-ins from young listeners around the country. It even has its own rap song!

The World Bank's Susana Carrillo, who is in charge of the project, said: "It's enabled us to reach hard-to-access areas in this post-conflict environment. But more importantly, the program provides a safe space for young people to express frustrations and worries, and to come away with a sense that people are listening."

Cameroon

The country's National Youth Day was on February 11. More than 100 aspiring young economists from high schools in Yaoundé, and the national chapter of the Youth Development and Peace Network, commemorated the occasion by participating in a discussion about the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The EPA is a trade agreement that the EU has proposed to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, and Cameroon signed an interim EPA on January 15, 2009.

Students raised many concerns during the discussion, including:

• Would goods imported from Europe to Cameroon be duty free, and therefore potentially weaken local producers?
• What quality standards would the EU implement to ensure that imported goods do not pose a threat to public health?
• Will the global economic crisis have any impact on EPA negotiations?

And some expressed outright skepticism of the agreement, which they saw as a one-way deal benefitting the EU at the expense of Cameroon.

Turkey

Youth unemployment is one of Turkey's biggest challenges. After a series of local workshops, the Turkey Youth Voices Group decided to raise the discussion to a national level by organizing a national youth employment summit in November 2008.

The two-day event focused on various themes, including:

• Supporting registered youth employment
• Improving youth entrepreneurship
• Improving education opportunities and strengthening school-to-work transition
• Labor market adjustment policies for youth
• Equal opportunities in access to education
• Improving efficiency of job-counseling and career planning services

This initiative by the Turkey Youth Voices Group shows how young people can make an impact on development by voicing their ideas to policy makers and turning them into tangible actions. Youth groups closed the summit with an optimistic joint statement: "This summit is only a start; we will be closely following up on the actions and increasing our collaboration with different stakeholders to help improve the life of youth in Turkey."

Ukraine

104 young people took part in a recent essay contest on "Corruption in Higher Educational Institutions," which aimed to raise youth awareness of the negative influence that corruption has on lives of citizens as well as society as a whole. The contest also promoted youth engagement in anti-corruption programs in Ukraine. Participants focused on the following points:

• Does corruption influence the value and quality of education?
• In what way does bribery affect the quality of learning?
• Can one rise in the higher education system without "connections?"
• Can standardized external testing decrease the level of corruption during the admission process to higher education institutions?
• What can I do to counter corruption in higher education institutions?

You

What's going on with young people in your part of the world? What are you doing to make a difference? Tell Youthink! your stories and inspire other readers (use the form in the right bar).

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