A study of a network of agency centers located in eight of Chicago's most deprived neighborhoods reveals a great deal about inner-city children and the difficulties of reaching them and holding their ...attendance. It also points up sharply the funding and staffing necessary to enable the centers to realize their potential for services to these children.
This report responds to the growing concern over issues facing Maldivian youth today, and specifically, to a request made by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to examine the status of youth in the ...Maldives. Such concerns are certainly warranted, particularly in light of a regional youth bulge which is taking place in South Asia, as well as an observed increase in at risk behavior such as youth drug use and membership in gangs. While a number of studies have sought to examine youth issues in the Maldives, a comprehensive and holistic assessment is lacking. This report was aimed at helping to fill this knowledge gap. This report examines issues affecting young people in the Maldives as they transition from adolescence to adulthood, and based on this analysis and a review of international good practice, recommends a number of actions for the Government s consideration. The analysis focused on youth experiences as they pertain to: health, education, labor, family structure, gangs and violence, and civic engagement and participation. A youth development framework, based on public health literature and adapted to the Maldives, serves as the organizing structure of the report. The report draws on original data collection and analysis, as well as an extensive review of existing literature. With regard to data collection, the study involved field-based research including a household survey and in-depth interviews, and focus-group discussions with youth and stakeholders in the Maldives.
In partnership with the EYCG these institutions organized the capacity building workshop Youth: linking policy to participation, from November 23 to 27, 2007. The workshop was planned as a response ...to the needs articulated by EYCG members. But it also aimed to follow up the recommendations developed at the youth sessions of the fifth MENA Development Forum, held in April 2006 in Beirut. At this forum youth discussed obstacles and solutions for more youth participation in economic, social and political reforms in the region and the lack of knowledge on how to interact with decision makers was one of the key needs identified. To strengthen the exchange of local and regional experiences the workshop brought together members of Egyptian youth organizations and youth groups and youth representatives from youth organizations from Algeria, Jordan, Yemen and Djibouti. Objectives of the workshop: Provide youth organizations with knowledge on the conceptual framework and process of national policy development in general and on the potential of young people s participation in the process in particular. Provide skills and tools for channeling national youth participation in policy formulation, implementation and monitoring and thus consolidate youth representation in decision making committees. Provide knowledge on important concepts such as Human Rights, Good Governance and Asset-Based approach. Provide a platform for regional exchange on youth participation and its possibilities to contribute to development in the MENA region. Strengthen regional youth networks and their capacity to cooperate and exchange relevant information.
