National Youth Policies

An Overview

A questionnaire survey undertaken by ESCAP focused, among other things, on the current status of youth policies and their implementation among the countries and areas of the region. Here are some results of the survey.

Youth policy formulation is still a very recent phenomenom in the history of most countries and areas in the region, regardless of the subregion. Therefore, most countries and areas of the region, regardless of the individual level of national economic development, have had little experience in implementing their newly formulated youth policies.

Consensus building in setting the objectives and principles of a youth policy is the first step towards the formulation of a comprehensive national policy for youth. The major objectives of national youth policies in the ESCAP region may be categorized within the following five areas:

  1. To develop the full potential of youth, spiritually, morally, intellectually, vocationally and physically in order to produce good citizens, leaders and preservers of cultural heritage;
  2. To encourage active participation of youth in the socio-economic development of the country;
  3. To provide support for youth groups movements and to support youth exchanges;
  4. To provide protection and guidance for youth, especially for those in difficult circumstances, including economically disadvantaged families and juvenile delinquents;
  5. To ensure the full rights of youth as members of society, including their rights to adequate shelter, education, employment opportunities, and all other civil and legal rights.

Most of the countries of the ESCAP region recognize youth as a positive force. But only a limited number of countries clearly include participation of youth in the decision-making process as a part of the objectives of their youth policies. Further, only a few countries include societal responsibilities for youth in their policy objectives.

What appears to be lacking in many of the existing youth policies are strategies for promoting capacity-building governmental bodies and non-governmental organizations. Strong institutions, as well as links between them, are important for ensuring that the necessary mechanisms for youth development are established in society.

There has been an increasing trend in the 1990s towards promoting national youth policies and programmes through a specific government ministry or department of youth. Most of the respondents to the regional survey indicated that they had a national focal point ministry for the promotion of youth policies. Many countries have ministries of youth and sports, and some countries have established bodies to address youth matters within the presidential or prime minister’s office.

Based on the past regional experience, it may be concluded that the organizational location, that is, the level of government authority attached to the focal point agency, together with the level of budgetary support, are critical factors that influence the effectiveness of the agency as a coordinating body.

According to a 1992 report by the Commonwealth Secretariat, a “youth policy should spell out only the broad parameters of work and the general outline of action so that the implementing agencies, especially the NGOs, have adequate scope and freedom to evolve their own programmes and activities on the basis of their philosophy of work, objectives, needs of the beneficiary groups and position of resources.” By setting up a clear but broad framework for programme development, a youth policy serves as an effective instrument for mobilizing the different parties concerned in a country, particularly youth organizations, in planning and implementing youth programmes.

In short, it should be noted by policy makers that an “enabling” environment can be created by the articulation of a broad but clear policy framework that allows room for flexibility in programme development to tap the creative talents of the concerned parties involved in youth affairs, particularly youth NGOs. The important role of youth policy, in addition to providing an overall framework and direction for youth activities, is to promote the involvement of a wide range of actors, including government, NGOs, the private sector and youth themselves.

The implementation of a national youth policy requires close coordination among all the parties concerned. A typical case appears to involve more than five ministries, while in the case of Indonesia, 20 government departments are involved in implementation. Implementation often involves budget distribution among the ministries involved and only a few countries and areas (Bangladesh, Fiji, and Hong Kong) indicated that their total youth programme budgets were consolidated under one ministry or agency.

Experience has shown that the task of coordinating has been an overwhelming function for the national focal point agency, given that most are newly established and lack strong financial backing. In this connection, it may be useful to note the suggestions of the 1993 study by the United Nations on the global situation of youth in the 1990. The study points out that basic conditions have to be fulfilled in order for coordination mechanisms to function effectively. These include: (a) an adequate commitment to, and adequate instruments for, furthering youth policy objectives; (b) a capacity to coordinate ongoing activities and to identify areas requiring attention and developmental effort; and (c) development of the proper organizational balance by sufficient government, non-governmental and youth representation.

In addition to the issues of coordination discussed above, many countries of the ESCAP region appear to share five major obstacles in the implementation of youth policies.

  1. Inadequate legislation and policy direction for youth development;
  2. Inadequate quality of personnel from youth ministries and the scarcity of training opportunities available to them, and the scarcity of youth leaders at various levels;
  3. Inadequate financial support for youth policy implementation;
  4. Difficulties experienced in identifying the common needs of youth and the lack of up-to- date baseline data on such needs in general;
  5. Lack of a systematic monitoring and evaluation process in many countries.

In general efforts should be made to ensure better coordination, not only among government agencies but also between government agencies and NGOs. Existing youth organizations need to be further developed. Non-governmental youth organizations have played a key role in reaching out to young people with programmes and services as well as in representing their interests. A youth policy should aim, inter alia towards the promotion of non-governmental youth organizations, by setting up a clear framework for their activities.

Youth policies are among the newest type of legislation in many countries of the region, and there is a high demand for regional sharing of experience in their formulation and implementation. The possibilities for regional cooperation in this field, particularly through networking of youth organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, are tremendous. The time is ripe for governments and NGOs to forge ahead with such initiatives.

Taken from the publication: “Review of the Youth Situation, Policies and Programmes in Asia and the Pacific”, ESCAP, 1997

© 1997-2001 United Nations ESCAP.