Youth Participation from Inspiration to Action

This 18-page paper describes the author's personal experience of working with young people living in under-resourced communities throughout Pakistan. Ali Khan sets out to define youth participation and offers in his words "srategies for promoting Youth
Participation, tools to measure Youth participation and key lessons learnt during the implementation of Youth participatory projects." His paper seeks to identify existing gaps in the theory and implementation of youth participatory projects.

from the Preface

"The time has come when Young people role [sic] should be seen as active citizens now, not citizens in waiting. Providing opportunities

to Young people of participation in decision-making has immense benefits. It means that the decisions being made are more relevant

to their lives. It allows the acquisition of valuable skills, which are relevant to other areas of young people lives. When they

are engaged in these processes, they develop a healthy self-esteem and enjoy respect within their communities, at the same time it

helps to meet the high-unmet service needs of the communities. The involvement of young people is also essential for the health of

communities. Providing opportunities of participation at an early age and at local level make it more likely that young people will

continue to be active citizens as they grow older and this pattern of behavior becomes a lifestyle."

The author is concerned about the issue of youth participation because according to his paper "Young people (10-24) comprise almost

30 per cent of the world’s population, the largest generation ever, and are growing in number. If we expanded the definition of

youth to up to 30 or 35 years, we will discover that more than 70% of the world population would be included (World Assembly of

Youth)." Khan points out that the census done in Paksistan in 1998 counted 56 million children under the age of 15. There were

another 13 million adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19, and 11 million youth aged between 20 to 24 years." Khan says that

Pakistan, at the present moment, is home to the largest number of youth in its history.

Khan asserts "our society has enormous unmet needs for service in such fields as health, education, environment, and care for

youth. Young people of Pakistan from all walks of life could meet many of these needs." In spite of this, as in other countries
"a common understanding of the concept of youth participation is lacking." Khan presents ten integrated phases needed in

establishing youth participation. These phases, according to Khan need to be part of a "cultivating and engaging process, which

enable young people to take complete ownership of the program gradually."

For the full 18-page paper contact Ali Khan at: ali@pnys.com