Global Agencies Map Out Development Index for Youth

Dr Meena Shivdas, Gender Adviser, Commonwealth Secretariat, speaking at Marlborough House.

A two-day consultation advocating youth issues took global prominence as officials from the Commonwealth Secretariat, United Nations agencies, World Bank and the World Health Organisation gathered together to formulate a plan of action for the development of a youth index. 

Governments and development agencies have been implementing numerous youth programmes run at the local, regional and international levels in response to the difficulties and challenges faced by young people globally. Those in the developing world are most vulnerable to poverty, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, discrimination and inequality, and lack of access to proper education and health services. But at present, there is no adequate instrument to measure how well these youth development programmes are performing. An Inter-Agency Consultation on the Formulation of a Youth Development Index was organised by the Secretariat in London, UK, from 11 to 12 July 2005 to address this issue.

The Youth Affairs Division (YAD) of the Secretariat brought key partners in youth development to discuss ways to put together a youth index that can be used as a mechanism for policy-makers to measure, evaluate and help shape the direction of youth development programmes run by governments and development agencies in various countries. The index will focus on youth participation, health, employment and education, among other socio-economic issues.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said: "To help young people, we have to ensure that they can play an active role in their communities and that they be able to participate in shaping policies that affect them. The Youth Development Index will provide a tool to measure critical aspects of youth development."

Jacqueline Groth of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) hopes the index will be useful for data analysis on the issues and problems faced by young people. 

Ignatius Takawira, Director of YAD, believes a collective approach is needed to put the Youth Development Index in place. 

"We need assistance from other agencies to help define and shape this index. We also need to look at the vital information that should be included in it and how much and how best we can speed up the development of this tool to ensure that the index would make a difference in the lives of young people," said Mr Takawira.

Dr Turiman Suandi, Professor and Senior Fellow at the Universiti Putra Malaysia, stated that young people are the prime movers in society in the quest for social change. Although the challenges of illiteracy, health issues, drug abuse and unemployment continue to plague the youth population, the index will be useful to formulate better plans for the development of young people.

Armstrong Alexis, Regional Director of the Commonwealth Youth Programme for the Caribbean, said: "There must be a defined method to determine the extent to which young people are making progress in education, employment opportunities and health. The index, as a social indicator, can measure their progress and development so that society can recognise the value of young people and their contributions."

 

Secretariat Links:

• Commonwealth Youth Programme CYP