Reviewing Progress of Youth Development Work

"Youth workers play an important role as agents of change in the development process." Raka Rashid, CYP Asia's Regional Director

Enhancing opportunities for distance education and developing quality programmes in youth development work were topics of discussion at the Sixth Progress Review Meeting of the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP) Asia region in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 18 to 22 April 2005.
 
The event was opened by Dato' Raja Ruslan bin Raja Samah, Director-General of Malaysia's Ministry of Youth and Sport. Dato' Raja Ruslan, a CYP Diploma in Youth Development Work alumnus, said: "There can be no compromise on the inevitable question of professional qualifications to become youth workers so that there is a high standard of service."
 
Representatives from the Bangladesh Open University; the Annamalai University, Indira Gandhi National Open University and SNDT Women's University of India; the Open University of Sri Lanka; the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM); and CYP Asia Centre attended the event.
 
The delegates reviewed strategies for effective delivery of programmes for the professionalisation of youth development work. UPM, which has been administering the CYP Diploma in Youth Development Work since 1998, has been approached by the Association of South-East Asian Nations to offer its course to the 10 member states in the region. The UPM has a Youth Development Studies Unit in its Department of Professional Development and Continuing Education.
 
Raka Rashid, CYP Asia's Regional Director, said youth workers play an important role as agents of change in the development process. She joined other delegates on visits to UPM, the Melaka Youth Museum and to a youth association known as Beduma.

CNIS - the Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 232, 27 April 2005

 

Secretariat Links:

• Commonwealth Youth Programme