Chapter 2. An inventory of common policies and programmes for youth
This section provides an inventory of youth policies and programmes frequently used around the world. Some work well in certain countries, but success factors are often context-specific. The following is a non-exhaustive list of policies and programmes in four sectors: employment, education and skills, health, and civic participation and empowerment. Distinction is made as to whether it is a second chance programme for already deprived youth or a preventive programme for youth at risk. While the evidence base may not be strong for all policies and programmes, many are well-established and promising. Impact evaluations have been carried out for many, and their results are mentioned when available.
Employment
A successful transition into the world of work can reduce youth poverty and economic exclusion. However, some youth either start working too early or are never able to enter the work force. Others may end up stuck in low-productivity, low-paid jobs leaving them no option but to leave their home or country. Facilitating the transition into the world of work through both demand and supply side interventions is becoming more and more central in the policy agenda of governments around the world. Active labour market policies (ALMPs) deal specifically with employment problems and include programmes such as subsidised credits, business start-up, training, wage subsidies and public work. Often, however, these programmes target people registered as unemployed, mostly in urban areas, and not necessarily youth, missing a majority of rural youth and those in informal employment. Youth-specific ALMPs can play an important role in filling those gaps, but impact tends to vary according to the nature of the programmes, design issues and country context.
Active labour market programmes
Employment services
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
BW Jobs 4 Graduates is a youth-led organisation registered under the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs of Botswana that offers various services to assist youth in finding employment opportunities. Job search and training services are offered free of charge to youth, while employers are charged a fee for advertising. A short message service (SMS) enables youth to receive vacancy announcements and interview reminders on their mobiles. BW Jobs 4 Graduates organises workshops and career fairs across the country to guide youth on what career paths to choose considering their profile and the current labour market situation. The seminars also reach out to potential financing agencies to support youth entrepreneurs. Young people can post their curriculum vitae, and employers can post job vacancies on a web platform. Beneficiaries are consulted on a monthly basis using qualitative and quantitative methods (document review, online or one-to-one interviews, and informal meetings).
Eligibility: Youth population
Similar initiatives: Nuorten Yhteiskuntatakuu (Youth Guarantee), Finland; The Werk (Work) platform, the Netherlands
Employment subsidies
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
Launched in 2010, the Youth Wage Subsidies programme in South Africa provided employment vouchers to unemployed young South Africans to reduce the wage costs for firms. Vouchers were handed out to randomly selected unemployed youth aged 20-24, entitling the holder to a subsidy with a total value of ZAR 5 000 (South African rand; approximately USD 650 [American dollars] in 2010), which could be claimed over a minimum of six months and until the total amount was used. The maximum monthly amount of the subsidy was half the wage or ZAR 833, and the subsidy was transferable between companies before exhaustion. After this pilot phase, in 2014, the government launched the Employment Tax Incentive Act, which introduced the wage subsidy nation-wide. This new scheme offers tax incentives for up to two years to employers who hire low- to mid-level wage earners (earning between ZAR 2 000 and ZAR 6 000) aged 18-29. The incentive amount differs based on the salary paid to each qualifying employee. An impact evaluation shows that young people who used the vouchers were significantly more likely to remain in employment one and two years after the voucher had been exhausted than those not benefiting from the vouchers (Levinsohn et al., 2014).
Eligibility: Low- and mid-level wage earners aged 18-29
Since 2011, ESPP for Youth is a comprehensive employment service programme targeted at young jobseekers at risk of dropping out of the workforce. The programme provides 12 months support in three stages: career guidance, training or work experience, and job placement services. Modest financial incentives and income support are also provided. Each participant is expected to develop an Individual Action Plan (IAP) to receive one of the following services: 1) fully covered vocational training; 2) 3-5 months of paid work experience in a non-profit organisation or government-organisation or a SME with wage subsidized by the government; 3) support to start a business through training and loans. Some 15 000 youth received training in 2009-10 in response to the economic crisis and 63% found jobs after completing the programme. Public spending on active labour market policies for youth increased from 0.02% of GDP in 2002 to 0.09% in 2007. ESPP is one of the few programmes that focus on disadvantaged youth as opposed to university students and graduates. The programme is also extended to low income people and long term job seekers.
Eligibility: people with low income, youth who are less educated and long term job-seekers
Similar initiatives: Subsidio al Empleo Joven (Subsidies for youth employment), Chile; Stage d’initiation à la vie professionnelle (Initiation Internship to Professional Life), Tunisia
Sub-minimum wage for youth
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
The 1996 Amendments to the Fair Labour Standards Act allow employers to pay employees under age 20 a lower wage (not less than USD 4.25 per hour) during the first 90 consecutive calendar days (not work days) after they are first employed. The law contains protections for employees that prohibit employers from displacing any employee to hire someone at the youth minimum wage.
Eligibility: Employees under age 20
Similar initiatives: Youth Minimum Wage, New Zealand, Tunisia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg
Entrepreneurship programmes
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
The Programa de Calificación de Jóvenes Creadores de Microempresas started in 1999 as an initiative of the Peruvian non-governmental organisation (NGO) Colectivo Integral de Desarrollo to counteract the lack of entrepreneurial skills among young people. A comprehensive package of training on developing business plans, individual counselling, internships, credit, and services after business creation were provided. The beneficiaries could obtain loans from an external financial institution. An evaluation of the programme indicated an increase of almost 40 percentage points in the probability of a business operating longer than a year and an increase in earnings of 40 percentage points compared to the control group (Puerto, 2007). An important secondary effect was the job creation. Beneficiaries employ 17.3% more workers than the control group.
Eligibility: Economically disadvantaged young people aged 15-25 who have entrepreneurial skills or own a small and/or informal business with less than a year of operation.
Similar initiatives: Giovani per la valorizzazione dei beni pubblici (Youth for the promotion of public Goods, 2013), Italy; aimed at promoting and developing public goods through youth social entrepreneurship in the regions of Calabria, Campania, Puglia and Sicily.
Public works programmes
☐ Preventive ☑ Second chance
The MGNREGS provides at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every member of a rural household over age 18 who volunteers to do unskilled work. Every volunteer is entitled to the statutory minimum wage applicable in the state. Volunteers register at the gram panchayat (local village or small town government) and receive a job card, the basic legal document that enables a rural household to demand work. If employment within a 5 km radius is not provided within 15 days, additional wages of 10% must be paid, and applicants are entitled to a state unemployment allowance of not less than one-fourth of the minimum wage for the first 30 days and not less than one-half of the minimum wage for the remaining period of the financial year. Evidence shows that, on average, MGNREGS boosts the growth rate of real daily agricultural wages and constitutes a potentially important poverty reduction tool. Participation in the programme also facilitates credit acquisition, increases money income and consumption, and reduces consumption variability for vulnerable families. Even though MGNREGS’s implementation has been far from perfect, it has provided very substantial additional wage employment at a wage no lower than the prevailing wage to the rural poor.
Eligibility: Every adult over age 18
Similar initiatives: Productive Safety Net Programme, Ethiopia
Skills training programmes for youth
☐ Preventive ☑ Second chance
The Jóvenes Programme has been implemented in eight Latin American countries, adapted to the local context. The programme offers a comprehensive package, including classroom and on-the-job training, basic life skills training, job search assistance and counselling services. It involves the private sector in the design of the training content to ensure coherence between the skills taught and those needed in the labour market. In most countries, a letter of intention from the firm is required specifying the number of interns they will hire and an acknowledgement that the content of the training corresponds to their needs. Training and internships are organised and provided by public and private institutions, which are contracted through public bidding mechanisms.
Eligibility: Unemployed and economically disadvantaged young people (poorest and least-qualified) aged 16-29
The PEJEDEC project (2012-15) aims to improve access to employment and to develop technical skills of young unemployed or underemployed Ivorians aged 18 to 30 years. The project is implemented in partnership with the private sector and aims to strengthen the capacity of national institutions and to restore trust among youth towards employment services provided by the State. The PEJEDEC reached its objectives by providing training, apprenticeships, internships and jobs to more than 27 500 young people nationwide. In particular, the component THIMO (work requiring highly intensive labour) had positive impact on beneficiaries by 1) improving the quality of jobs through increased wage employment and productivity; 2) improving income by 40%; and 3) doubling the savings rate and increasing monthly expenditure of close to one third of the beneficiaries. The impact was felt most among young women. Satisfaction level among beneficiaries was also high. For example, 77% of interns declared that the work matched their qualification and 92% of apprentices were satisfied with their mentors. After the PEJEDEC programme, 28% found part-time jobs, 17% permanent jobs and 16% were self-employed. The project has been extended until 2019 with World Bank funding. The objective is to provide access to employment to 31 500 new entrants and to contribute to reform vocational training and support to public institutions. In this second phase, the project puts emphasis on self-employment and income generating activities. (OECD Development Centre, 2017)
Passive labour market programmes
Unemployment benefits for first-time job seekers
☐ Preventive ☑ Second chance
The objective of the Youth Allowance programme is to ensure that young people receive sufficient income support during their studies or job search. The programme encourages them to seek further education and training and to take up a range of activities that will promote their entry into employment. The allowance provides financial assistance to young people aged 16-21 who are looking for full-time work or undertaking approved activities. Payment rates are calculated using an income and assets test. The allowance also supports youth aged 18-24 who are studying full time; youth aged 16-24 who are undertaking a full-time apprenticeship; and youth aged 16-17 who have completed year 12 (or equivalent) or are undertaking full-time secondary studies away from home. Evaluation of the programme shows an increase in the participation rates of young beneficiaries in education and training, especially among those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The proportion of unemployed among recipients also dropped.
Eligibility: Full-time students, job seekers or full-time apprentices aged 16-24
Similar initiatives: Social assistance benefits for young job seekers, the Netherlands
Education and skills
Education and skills are crucial elements of youth well-being. Well-established and promising policies cover a broad range of interventions in the education sector. For instance, keeping (especially disadvantaged) children in the education system until at least secondary school is the most effective policy to prevent low literacy among young adults. Moreover, completing secondary school will help adolescents make informed decisions about life and career choices and build connections with adults who care and reward positive behaviours (Cunningham et al., 2008). Intervention through early child development (ECD) programmes is another area that has proven to have an impact on decreasing negative outcomes and risky behaviours in adolescence and young adulthood. Parenting skills training is a key component of ECD, especially for the very early years.
Early childhood development
Improving access to early child education (ECE)
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
An impact evaluation of an early childhood programme that took place in 1986-87 in low-income neighbourhoods in Kingston, Jamaica found that the programme allowed stunted (low height for age) children to catch up with their non-stunted counterparts, increasing income and reducing inequality later in life (Gertler et al., 2013). The programme selected 127 stunted children aged 9-24 months and randomly divided them into four groups that received different stimulations: psychosocial stimulation, nutrition, both interventions or neither intervention (the comparison group). Eighty-four non-stunted children from the same neighbourhoods served as an additional comparison group. The interventions included weekly home visits by trained community health workers, who encouraged and instructed mothers on how to interact with their children. Twenty years after the programme, the evaluation interviewed 105 of the original participants to assess the long-term impact of the programme on education and labour market outcomes. Stunted children who received psychosocial stimulation earned, on average, 25% more income than stunted children who did not receive stimulation. Children who received stimulation achieved the same average level of earnings as the non-stunted comparison group, which suggests that stimulation enabled stunted children to catch up with their non-stunted peers. In addition, children who received stimulation achieved more schooling than their non-beneficiary counterparts and were three times as likely to have had some college-level education.
Eligibility: Stunted children aged 9-24 months
Similar initiatives: ECE for children under age 6, Mexico; Maagan Early Childhood Service, Israel
Parental education programmes
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
MOCEP for young children began in Turkey in 1993. MOCEP is a home-based programme designed to support mothers of children ages 5 and 6 from low socio-economic backgrounds and without access to pre-school. The programme targets both mother and child. It aims to equip mothers with the knowledge and tools necessary to foster the development of their children and enhance their school readiness, while empowering the women within families by supporting them in their parenting role.
Eligibility: Children aged 5-6 and their mothers
Improving access to education
Conditional cash transfers (CCT) for education
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
Bolsa Família is a cash transfer programme which aims to reduce short-term and long-term poverty by conditioning the cash transfers on participation in education and health programmes. Bolsa Família targets poor families on condition that children are enrolled in school with minimum attendance of 85% for children aged 6-15 and 75% for children aged 16-17. In addition, parents must follow the prescribed course of vaccination for children aged 0-6. Pregnant women should participate in prenatal and postnatal check-ups, and women aged 14-44 who are breastfeeding should participate in health and nutrition classes offered by local health teams. The programme has four components: a basic benefit paid to all families considered to be in extreme poverty, a variable benefit paid according to the number of dependents, a variable benefit for adolescents and a benefit to combat extreme poverty in childhood (this benefit is paid to families with children aged 0-15, and its value depends on both family income and the total value of Bolsa Família benefits already being received).
Eligibility: Children and adolescents aged 0-17, poor families, women aged 14-44 who are breastfeeding
Removing indirect barriers to access primary and secondary education
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
The Todos a Aprende programme began in 2012 and adopts a comprehensive approach towards school change. It offers support to low-performing schools on various fronts. In order to guarantee that all students can go to and stay in school, it offers transportation and meals to disadvantaged students. The programme also provides new pedagogical material for teachers and teacher training with assistance tutors to develop classroom management and pedagogical skills. Support in developing school improvement plans is also part of the programme.
Programmes to attend post-compulsory education
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
The NSFAS was established in 1996 to ensure that all academically able students without financial resources can attend higher education. The NSFAS provides income-contingent loans and bursaries to higher education students. While most of the scheme’s funding comes from the government, other sources include loan recovery, higher education institutions, the private sector and foreign donors. The loans are administered by the institutions themselves and are awarded to students based on level of need, i.e. based on annual gross family income, family size, distance from an institution, etc. Loans cover tuition costs and can also cover living costs and traveling expenses in cases of extreme need. Repayment of loans starts at 3-8% of the salary of an individual in permanent, full-time employment with a minimum annual salary at the threshold level of income (ZAR 26 300 in 2006). Apart from NSFAS loans, bursaries and loans are also available from private companies and commercial banks. State departments and provincial legislatures also provide tertiary funding in the form of bursaries. In most cases, these do not need to be repaid, but recipients may be required to work for the granting department or province for a certain period after graduation. Despite the large number of students who drop out of tertiary education, these schemes are considered a successful model of financial aid, as evidenced by students who receive such loans being more likely to graduate than those who do not.
Eligibility: Academically able students who qualify by a means test for financial aid
Similar initiatives: Fondo per lo studio (Study Fund) initiative, Italy
Youth inclusion programmes
Encouraging schools to take on disadvantaged children
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
The Ley de Subvención Preferencia allocates extra funding for each disadvantaged student enrolled in a school in return for a commitment to raise the student’s test scores. While schools can decide how to spend this extra money, they must adhere to certain regulations and accountability requirements. They must, for example, design and implement a student improvement plan, which is evaluated within five years. The programme is being progressively implemented; however, it is still difficult to assess its effectiveness or isolate its impact on variation in school performance.
Eligibility: Disadvantaged school-aged children
Reducing school drop-out by targeting students most at risk
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
The “Campaign to reduce dropouts” includes various measures to prevent pupils from leaving school early in the Netherlands. Since the qualification obligation that was introduced in 2007, young people must remain in education until the age of 18 (previously 16) until they have achieved at least upper secondary, pre-university or level-2 secondary vocational diploma. The Personal Identification Number (PGN) issued to every child over age 3.5 is an important source of information for research and monitoring in terms of education. Commonly referred to as the education number, it is used at once for tax and social insurance. Schools share the PGN and other data on pupils as the child progresses through education. In addition, all secondary schools pupils are allocated an education number and registered in the Basic Records Database for Education (BRON): a young person who is no longer registered in BRON is classified as an early school leaver. Statistics on early school leaving rates are available at national, regional, municipal and school level, and can be linked to socioeconomic data by region, town/city, and neighbourhood. Furthermore, since 2009, all schools must register school absenteeism via the Digital Absence Portal. Along with these monitoring measures, an action plan for career orientation and guidance has been drawn up to guide young people into the appropriate programme or occupation through information, mentoring, coaching and personal guidance. Finally, the provision of socio-educational services has become a basic facility in all schools to identify personal and social problems among pupils at an early stage, strongly connected to early school leaving. Since 2002, the programme has led to a decrease from 71,000 early school leavers in 2001-2002 to 27,950 in 2012-2013. Joint action by professionals in each region – schools, municipalities, youth care workers, business and industry – has also been essential in tackling the problem of early school leaving.
Eligibility: Every child over age 3.5
Promoting access to schools for girls
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
PROGE aims to improve retention and transition to the upper secondary level for marginalised girls by increasing their access to education and engaging communities in Malawi. PROGE uses a three-pronged approach in support of girls’ education, aimed at students, teachers and other community members. PROGE seeks to empower girls by increasing participation in life skills education, providing incentives for academic competition, and sensitising, motivating and mobilising community structures (teachers, village heads, school management committees/parent-teacher associations, mothers’ groups, initiation counsellors) to eliminate gender-based discrimination at school. To these ends, the project uses a combination of strategies, such as social and community mobilisation, scholarships, and mentoring and advocacy.
Eligibility: Marginalised girls in upper secondary education
Similar initiative: Female Secondary School Assistance, Bangladesh
School-to-work transition
Vocational education and training
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
In Ghana, the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) was established in 2006 to co-ordinate and oversee all aspects of TVET in the country. Upon completing lower secondary school, young people can choose to continue their studies at the upper secondary level by attending senior high school, secondary technical school or a technical institute. Informal training is also provided, mostly through apprenticeships with master craftsmen, while non-formal training is provided mainly by community organisations and NGOs. Ghana has pursued efforts to establish a TVET national qualification framework with the objective of improving the career progression of TVET graduates. COTVET is also responsible for implementing the National Apprenticeship Programme (NAP), a one-year training programme which pairs young people who have limited education with master trainers operating small businesses. The programme is mostly targeted at young people who are unable to continue their education beyond lower secondary. As with the traditional apprenticeship model, COTVET has committed to paying master trainers and to providing a toolkit to each participating apprentice. NAP incorporates an innovative performance-pay scheme for training providers that ties compensation to the skill level of apprentices and their outcomes. NAP will offer students the opportunity to carry out apprenticeships in the informal sector. The programme is ongoing, and evaluation results are forthcoming.
Eligibility: Young people with low educational attainment
In 2009, the Government of Malawi launched a vocational training program to increase employability and self-employment prospects of vulnerable youth. The Technical Education and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TEVETA) implemented the TVST-OVAY in 18 districts. The programme focused on apprenticeship training and TEVETA identified and trained a pool of master artisans in different trades (e.g. auto, clothing, construction, metalwork). In parallel, the districts and traditional authorities identified 1 900 OVAYS to receive the training. Each master artisan trained between 1 and 8 youth at their workshops for approximately three months. An impact evaluation showed that TVST-OVAY proved successful in developing both hard and soft skills of the trainees, such as their ability to calculate profits and their knowledge on how to start a business. In particular, trainees benefited from improved subjective well-being, such as self-esteem and happiness. However, the positive effect on skill development did not translate into significant gains in total earning or spending. The time, and sometimes personal savings, spent on training decreased the trainees’ opportunity for paid work and self-employment. A longer tracking period would be needed to make a fair evaluation.
Similar initiatives: Working agreements between employers and educational institutions, the Netherlands
Providing career guidance at school
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
In Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) work together to promote career education. MEXT promoted the establishment of Regional Career Education Support Councils that support career education within schools by organising visiting lectures by companies and making arrangements with those providing workplace experience and internships for the students. MEXT also implements a project to assign internship coordinators to senior high schools, and coordinates the “Assist Caravan to Promote Career Education” Programme for teachers of senior high schools in order to improve their understanding of career education. MEXT distributes brochures, videos and materials for career education training at elementary, junior high and senior high school. For its part, MHLW conducts the “Career Search Program” by dispatching instructors (people who work at companies) to high schools in order to help students better understand the realities of various occupations in the labour market. It also conducts the “Experts on Career Education Development” Programme, which offers short courses to train career education personnel. Finally, METI is sponsoring the “Career Education Award,” which honours companies and organisations that perform visionary activities in support of education.
Eligibility: High school students
Similar initiative: Career Guidance at school, Botswana; Key Information Sets (KIS), United Kingdom
Second chance at education
Second chance programmes for school-age children
☐ Preventive ☑ Second chance
Since 2015, the National Youth Institute (Instituto Nacional de la Juventud) has implemented the Youth Network Programme (Jóvenes en Red), which aims at supporting young people living under conditions of social vulnerability and exclusion in Uruguay. The programme promotes the professional and social integration of vulnerable teenagers and youths aged 14-24 who are disconnected from the educational system and the labour market. The 18 months programme targets youths who have not completed basic education and are not studying, as well as young people who are unemployed, informal workers, unpaid family workers or living with an income below the poverty line. Interdisciplinary technical teams are deployed in the targeted regions (Montevideo, Canelones, San José, Artigas, Cerro Largo, Tacuarembó, Rivera, Salto and Paysandú) to develop individualised social and educational projects, which aim at providing the participants with the necessary skills to enter the labour market or return to school. They organise cultural, sport and artistic group activities, conduct life skills and literacy courses, and provide pedagogical support, job placement services and career guidance to the participants. Participants are also sensitized on workers rights, discriminations in the labour market, corporate culture, job search etc. Specialised teams take in charge youths with problems of substance abuses, mental health or violence. The technical teams work in close cooperation with the families, the communities and the local institutions (local businesses, educational centres, youth organisations etc.) The methodology applied is based on the work of proximity, from a territorial, local and decentralized approach. Since its inception, more than 5500 young people have participated in the programme. According to the first results, more than 70% of the young participants returned to school or find a job.
Similar initiative: Initiative pour le Développement des Jeunes (Out-of-School Youth Livelihood Initiative) (IDEJEN), Haiti
Qualification frameworks and certification schemes
☐ Preventive ☑ Second chance
South Africa implemented a national qualification framework in 1998. It was designed as an integrated system with a transformational agenda to promote lifelong learning for all South Africans in a non-racial and non-sexist democracy. The framework intends to create a single integrated national framework for learning achievements; facilitate access to mobility and progression within education, training and career paths; enhance the quality of education and training; and accelerate the redress of past unfair discrimination. The government conducted recent reforms in the framework to simplify it and limit the proliferation of different qualifications. The new qualification framework distinguishes ten levels of learning achievement and identifies three sub-frameworks (General and Further Education and Training Qualifications; Higher Education Qualifications; and Trades and Occupations Qualifications). These reforms aim to improve school to work transitions and to support more effective career guidance and recognition of prior learning. Another objective of the reform is to enhance co-ordination among the different institutions and stakeholders involved in the educational system. Policies have been developed and assessments completed on the recognition of prior learning, the registration of qualifications, the recognition of professional bodies, credit accumulation and transfer. A national career advice service project has been developed to help users navigate the education and training system, while a repository for information on learner achievements (National Learners’ Records Database) provides insights into the status of the system.
Eligibility: Children and young people, public agencies responsible for education and training, education and training staff
Quality of education
Evaluating and monitoring the school system
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
In 2009, Mexico introduced a national system of upper secondary education, with a common curricular framework, monitoring system, academic guidance and other educational services (including scholarships to improve access). The National Institute for Educational Assessment and Evaluation was granted autonomy in 2013 to develop a strategic vision of assessment and evaluation in collaboration with the Secretariat of Public Education. As an independent body, it defines the process for teacher and student evaluation. In this context, the “Programa Sectorial de Educación 2013-2018» (Sectoral Education Programme 2015-2018) aims to ensure the quality of learning in basic education and to strengthen the quality and access to upper secondary education, higher education and training for work. The challenge is to ensure greater coverage, as well as inclusion and educational equity among all groups of the population to achieve a more inclusive society.
Eligibility: School system
Improving the quality of the teaching staff
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
Singapore has actively pursued policies to maintain a high-quality teaching force. Prospective teachers are carefully selected to be trained, and they receive a monthly stipend that is competitive with the monthly salary for new graduates in other fields in exchange for a commitment to teaching for at least three years. Initial training is based on close connections with schools and has a strong emphasis on pedagogical content. Salaries are regularly adjusted for new teachers to ensure that teaching is as attractive as other occupations for new graduates. Teachers are entitled to 100 hours of professional development per year in order to keep up with global changes and to enable constant improvement in their teaching practice. An annual performance appraisal against 16 competencies is conducted by a panel. Teachers who do outstanding work receive a bonus from the school’s bonus pool.
Eligibility: Teaching staff (teachers, school leaders)
Health
Youth-friendly health policies and services are believed to play an important role in strengthening a health system’s responsiveness to young people’s needs. It is now well-established that to support youth health outcomes effectively, particularly those of the most disadvantaged, health programmes should begin with maternal health and nutrition at early age. During adolescence and early adulthood, youth-friendly health services become crucial in addressing reproductive health and psychological needs through non-judgemental counselling and practical services, such as testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), access to contraceptives and HIV/AIDS prevention information. When advice on nutrition and mental health problems are included in the services, it can ensure a balanced life and improve the overall well-being of young people. Early pregnancies can have devastating consequences, especially on girls. A UNFPA report on adolescent pregnancies states that pregnancies before age 18 violates the rights of girls, with life-threatening consequences in terms of sexual and reproductive health (SRH), and causes high development costs for communities, particularly in perpetuating the cycle of poverty (Loaiza and Liang, 2013).
Access to health services
Providing access to youth-friendly health services
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
YFHS began in 2002 with three pilot centres. They were progressively integrated into the state health care system as part of primary health care centres. Today, 38 primary health care centres provide YFHS and reach approximately 70 000 young people annually. They are supervised by the Ministry of Health and co-ordinated by the NGO Neovita (Kempers, 2014). Most are financed by the national health insurance; the rest is financed by external donors. YFHC provide integrated services to adolescents, including SRH services, general health services, psychological counselling, information, education and communication activities, referrals and outreach work. Programmes are conducted by health professionals but also include some elements of peer-to-peer learning. The clinics guarantee privacy and confidentiality and provide non-judgemental care in a comforting environment.
Eligibility: All young people aged 10-24, young couples with and without children, vulnerable adolescents aged 10-19, and their families and communities
Similar initiatives: Profamilia, Colombia; Youth for Youth centres, Burkina Faso; Youth-friendly centres, South Africa
Free health services for youth
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
Marie Stopes International Uganda (MSIU) established a voucher scheme for young people in 11 districts in Uganda to improve access to high-quality health and reproductive health services that are sensitive to young people’s needs. The voucher package consisted of family planning, STI management, HIV counselling and testing, and the provision of male and female condoms. Each voucher granted two visits for HIV testing, three visits for family planning and three visits for STI management. All services were provided free of charge. The programme was communicated with youth-tailored messaging under the campaign slogan “Stay on top of your game, be safe”. MSIU trained 80 service providers (clinical officers and nurses) from 37 BlueStar (NGO) facilities and three Marie Stopes Uganda clinics on the competencies and attitudes needed to work with vulnerable groups of young people. A total of 70 community-based distributors have been trained on SRH and HIV and are now able to reach out to peers, distribute vouchers and follow up with clients. A total of 35 000 vouchers were distributed during the year-long project (2014-15). Of those receiving services, 27 002 were aged 10-24.
Eligibility: Young people, with a focus on vulnerable groups (men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who use drugs, transgender, people, and young women and men living with HIV)
Similar initiatives: Youth voucher programme, Madagascar; Health insurance for students, Viet Nam
Early marriage and early pregnancy care
Increasing the minimum age for marriage
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
The governments of Rajasthan, Karnataka and Haryana in India have established an incentive programme for low-income families to increase a girl’s age at marriage indirectly. In Haryana, a small sum of money (Rs 2 500) is put away for five year by the Government into a savings account for a girl at her birth. At age 18, if she is still unmarried, she is eligible to collect the accumulated sum (Rs 96 000). This economic incentive to postpone girls’ marriage is complemented by support for girls’ education. The intention is to encourage parents to postpone marriage until daughters reach and can use the grant for their dowry (Sekher, 2010).
Eligibility: Girls aged 0-18
Preventing adolescent pregnancy
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
In 2001, UNICEF initiated a pilot project to improve the lives of adolescent girls in Bangladesh by transforming the social environment in which they live. The Kishori Abhijan project aims to inform girls, boys and their parents about gender roles, discrimination, health, hygiene, nutrition and their legal rights. It also offers adolescent girls the opportunity to acquire life, livelihood and leadership skills. The primary topics concentrate on child marriage, dowry, child rights, reproductive health, HIV and STI prevention, family planning, birth and marriage registration and domestic violence awareness. According to a 2008 UNICEF evaluation of child protection interventions, Kishori Abhijan was the third most highly rated intervention for evidence quality, receiving excellent scores on all evaluative measures.
Eligibility: Married and single boys and girls aged 13-22
Sexual and reproductive healthcare
Providing reproductive health services to young mothers
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
Complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the second cause of death for 15-19 year-old girls globally. Effective interventions during pregnancy and breastfeeding therefore have strong potential to affect positively the health of both mother and child throughout their lives. Prenatal care services should focus on diagnosing and treating anaemia in pregnant adolescents, improving their nutritional status, preventing and treating STIs, treating for malaria, detecting gender-based violence, preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV and reducing smoking and drug abuse. During the post-partum period, health services should pay special attention to providing support for breastfeeding, delaying or preventing repeat pregnancy and visiting young mothers at home.
The First-Time Parents Project by Population Council was conducted in two settings in rural India: Vadodara Block in Gujarat and Diamond Harbour Block in West Bengal. The project aimed to increase young women’s social support networks and use of reproductive health care services, including pregnancy care, in rural areas. It was based on the hypothesis that the periods following marriage and surrounding the first birth offer a unique opportunity to improve the prospects of young mothers and foster more equitable relations with their counterparts. The project consisted of three components: providing SRH education and information; modifying existing pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum services; and establishing groups of married girls to reduce their social isolation and increase their agency. The project provided young women and their husbands with information through home visits, educational materials, counselling in clinics, group discussions and community activities. The project staff also worked with government and private sector health service providers to educate them about the special needs of young and first-time parents. Findings in both sites showed that the intervention had a significant, positive net effect on most indicators reflecting married young women’s autonomy, social support networks, partner communication and knowledge of SRH (Santhya, 2007).
Eligibility: Young women who were newly married, pregnant or postpartum for the first time and their husbands, senior family members and health care providers
Establishing HIV/STIs treatment programmes
☐ Preventive ☑ Second chance
NGO Pathfinder’s projects aim to prevent the spread of the virus and to care for those who are infected or affected. With funding from the Swedish International Development Agency, projects aim to contain the spread of STIs and HIV/AIDS, reduce stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), improve the quality of life of PLWHA and their families, and increases access to quality reproductive health services through diversified service delivery approaches and geographical expansion of programmes. Interventions include peer education to in- and out-of-school youth, skills training and income generation activities, and the establishment and strengthening of youth centres and youth-friendly reproductive health services. The programme also contributes to building the local NGOs and youth-serving organisations’ capacity to strengthen community-based HIV/AIDS activities and enable them to manage integrated, quality HIV/AIDS, family planning, and family health programmes and services toward sustainable strategies and accountability.
Eligibility: PLWHA, with a focus on young people
Healthy lifestyle and behavioural change
Promoting road safety
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
The helmet law passed in 2009 increased helmet use in Phnom Penh from 8% to over 50% within one month of the law being enforced. The law is the result of coordinated efforts between the government and civil society, including Handicap International Belgium (HIB), to develop and implement a National Helmet Action Plan. The plan follows a systems approach with multiple elements focusing on: public information and education; enforcement including training of police; development of tougher helmet standards; subsidised helmets programme for police and school children. This example shows that a combination of legislation and increased public education and enforcement can have a significant positive affect on changing behaviour.
Eligibility: Whole population, secondary school students
Similar initiatives: Road safety legislation, Kazakhstan
Life skills programmes to prevent unhealthy and risky behaviours
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
In 1998, the Ministry of Education and Science, in collaboration with UNICEF and the International Institute of Global Education at the University of Toronto, introduced Life Skills into the core curriculum of the Armenian education system. The project was piloted in the first and fifth grades in 16 schools in 1999/2000. In 2000/01, the project was expanded to 100 schools and to the second and sixth grades. A Canadian team trained a core team of curriculum developers and teacher trainers to write a curriculum tailored for Armenian students and train teachers in implementation. The life skills taught included decision making, problem solving, creative thinking, critical thinking, effective communication, interpersonal relationship skills, self-awareness, empathy and coping with stress and emotions. Evidence shows the positive impact of the programme (Ashton, 2001). Students were enthusiastic about the curriculum and wanted it expanded to more of their classes. Teachers and principals reported positive changes in the students participating in the curriculum, such as development of self-assertion, self-expression, self-esteem and self-awareness. The programme also tended to improve teacher-pupil relations and enhanced parent interest in the school.
Eligibility: First, second, fifth and sixth grade students
Similar initiatives: The Better Life Options Programme, India; National Life Skills Education Programme, Nepal; Life Skills Programme, South Africa; Integral Education, Colombia
Promoting health education and health care in schools
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
Therapeutic After-School programmes are extra-curricular courses, which are offered after class in Israel. The programmes provide scholastic courses and support for homework preparation, social activities, as well as individual and group therapy to elementary school pupils. These programmes aim to strengthen social skills of children, providing them with emotional support and reinforcing parent-child relationships. A total of 216 children aged 6-11 benefited from the therapeutic after-school programmes in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. According to the first results, there was a moderate decline in the number of problems faced by the children who participated in the programmes. There was a decline in the incidence of risky situations, such as low scholastic achievements, exposure to dangerous behaviours in the family, illegal or non-normative behaviours and physical abuse. However, there was no significant change in the number of children with more complex problems or with less complex problems. The choice of services in the localities indicated a preference for providing care through universal services (schools, preschools, mother and child healthcare centres), which allows providing assistance to families and children in a non-stigmatising way.
Similar initiatives: The Shokuiku initiative (promoting food education), Japan; National School Health Policy and Guidelines, Kenya
Providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education (CSE)
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
COPEITSA is supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and aims to provide young people with CSE and information on gender equality and empowerment using a peer-to-peer approach. Representatives from local health centres visit classrooms to recruit young volunteers for the programme, and each peer educator receives training on SRH through the COPEITSA programme. The programme receives broad support among civil society organisations and government representatives. Since its launch in 2013, the programme has trained over 1 500 adolescents as peer educators, and they have in turn reached more young people by presenting information at fairs, movie theatres, concerts and on the Internet; by handing out flyers from parade floats; even by performing educational puppet shows.
Eligibility: Adolescents aged 12-18
Similar initiatives: Adolescence: Time of Choices, Chile; Teens on Smart Sex, Thailand; Planeando tu Vida, Mexico; CSE, Zambia
CCT programmes to promote children’s and young mothers’ health
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
Prospera helps poor families in rural and urban communities improve the education, health and nutrition of their children. Originally a rural programme, known as Oportunidades, it has slowly been expanded to poor urban areas. Currently 6.8 million families are beneficiaries of this program. Cash transfers to households are linked to regular school attendance and health clinic visits, and payments are given to the female head of family. The three chief components of programme are education, health and nutrition. Under the education component, grants are provided for primary to high school and increase as children progress to higher grades. Beginning at the secondary level, grants are slightly higher for girls than for boys. The health component provides basic health care for all members of the family through public health institutions, with a particular emphasis on preventive health care. The nutrition component includes a fixed monthly transfer of approximately MXN 155 (or USD 15.50) for improved food consumption, as well as nutritional supplements for children aged 4-24 months, malnourished children aged 2-4 and pregnant and lactating women. Various studies (González de la Rocha, 2008) demonstrate the positive impact of the programme on school enrolment rates and education levels, significant improvements in nutritional status and better preventive health. Data suggest that the programme has had a large impact on increasing child growth and in reducing child stunting. Several studies show positive effects on the number of prenatal procedures recommended by the Ministry of Health and provided during antenatal visits.
Eligibility: Poor families in urban and rural areas
Discouraging risky health behaviours through social marketing
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
Con S de Sexo is a radio programme hosted by adolescent peer educators and aimed at adolescents aged 15-19 in urban and peri-urban Asunción. It was developed and executed by Arte y Parte, an adolescent reproductive health communications initiative implemented to address the high risk for unwanted pregnancy and STIs, including HIV/AIDS, among adolescents. Con S de Sexo has two main goals: to increase knowledge of SRH among adolescents to promote responsible sexual behaviour, and to improve communication and negotiation skills related to SRH issues among adolescents. The programme is based on three main interventions: using peer educators, developing adolescent-specific media product and promoting increased media attention to adolescent SRH issues. Adolescents are involved at all stages of Con S de Sexo, from design to implementation. All peer educators go through 80 hours of training in SRH, communication and negotiation, journalism, drama and sexual abuse. Con S de Sexo became a mainstay of the reproductive health landscape, airing two live shows a week in Greater Asunción. Each episode of the radio show is interspersed with 10-second info spots containing facts, news and interesting items on sex and reproductive health. In addition to the radio programme, Arte y Parte develops several mass media products to disseminate SRH-related information to youth, including booklets, videos, school workshops, street theatre aimed at out-of-school youth, news flashes, articles and interviews, etc. Evaluations show that the radio programme reaches approximately 20% of the youth living in the three cities targeted; one evaluation suggests that the project increased knowledge of selected SRH issues among adolescents, as well as the proportion of adolescents who subscribe to safe sex practices, and most likely contributed to the significant increase in the proportion of adolescents reporting having used a condom in their first sexual encounter.
Eligibility: Young people aged 15-19
Similar initiatives: Horizon Jeunes, Cameroun; LoveLife, South Africa; Twende na Wakati, Tanzania
Reducing youth’s access to alcohol and tobacco
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
In 1988, California voters approved a ballot initiative that increased state cigarette taxes by USD 0.25 per pack, with 20% of the new revenues (over USD 100 million per year) earmarked for health education against tobacco use. California launched its new Tobacco Control Programme in the spring of 1990. Despite increased levels of tobacco marketing and promotion, a major cigarette price cut in 1993, tobacco company interference with the programme and periodic cuts in funding, California’s comprehensive approach has reduced youth and adult smoking significantly. Adult smoking declined by 49% from 1988 to 2011. Smoking prevalence among high school students decreased by more than 50%, from 21.6% to 10.5%.
Target: Whole population
Similar initiative: Restrictions on the purchase of alcohol and tobacco products to minors under age 20, Japan
Civic participation and empowerment
Several countries around the world have developed policies and programmes to support active youth citizenship and encourage youth participation in political and social life. Fostering cultural and creative activities is getting increasing attention among policy makers as a means to respond to youth needs and aspirations and to boost job creation. Investments in violence prevention programmes and juvenile justice services are also gaining ground in an increasing number of countries. The rationale is that citizenship cannot be fully exercised in areas where crime rates are high and social capital is low. Therefore, policies related to safety and juvenile justice systems have been included in this section.
Civic and political participation
Voting
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
California introduced an online registration system in 2012 before the general election to increase the number of voters and to encourage young people in particular to vote. In one month, more than half of the 1.2 million voters who registered did so through the new online system. Online registration was particularly effective at pulling young people into the state’s voting pool. Citizens under age 25 represented 30% of all online registrants, contributing to an 8% increase in voter registration in this age group (aged 18-25). According to a study by the University of California (Davis, 2012) general voter registration in California grew by 2.1% over 2008 to 76.7% of all eligible voters, and youth registration grew by 13.9%. In addition, voters who registered on line turned out at a higher rate (by 8 percentage points) than those who registered through other methods.
Eligibility: Whole population over age 18, with a focus on young people
Youth opportunities to participate in policy making
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
The 2010 Constitution of Kenya reserves seats for two young people – a man and a woman – aged 18-35 in the Upper House, allocated by political parties based on the number of seats won in the election. In addition, the National Assembly has 290 elected members, each elected by voters of single-mandate constituencies, and 12 members nominated by political parties to represent special interests, including youth, people with disabilities and workers, with the relevant list to be composed of alternating male and female candidates.
Eligibility: Young people aged 18–35
Similar initiative: Desayunos Públicos (Public Breakfast), Chile
National Youth Councils
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
The State Council of Youth Affairs is a collegial advisory institution under the Department of Youth Affairs established in 1996 by the Lithuanian Parliament. It consists of twelve members: six government officials and six youth organisation representatives delegated by the NGO National Youth Council of Lithuania (LiJOT). The LiJOT president automatically gets a mandate to participate on the State Council, while the government representatives are appointed by the Prime Minister. The chair of the council is a representative of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, whereas the vice-chair is a member of LiJOT. LiJOT’s representatives are delegated by the General Assembly, which elects them for a two-year term by secret ballot. Although decisions of the State Council of Youth Affairs are advisory in nature only, LiJOT implemented a unique system of co-decision making through this co-management structure, where young people have an equal say with government representatives. The council oversees the development, implementation and evaluation of the national youth policy. The council’s representatives set up guidelines in designing youth projects, give suggestions to the Department of Youth Affairs on the implementation of youth policy and provide inter-ministerial recommendations to ministries dealing with youth.
Eligibility: Youth organisations
Participation in the media
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
Curious Minds is a youth radio programme about children’s rights broadcast on Ghanaian National Radio. It was started in 1996 by an independent group, Women in Broadcasting, and several organisations joined the initiative over the years, including UNICEF. A group of young people aged 8-18 organise this radio programme and act as presenters and producers of the show under the supervision of a professional journalist, who co-ordinates the activities of the group. More than 60 young people are part of the group, as well as resource people, who help them in framing the discussion from their point of view. Two programmes are produced per week: one in English and one in Ga, the local language. The programme has now expanded to the entire country with the support of Save the Children. The radio programme explores a broad range of educational and developmental topics pertaining to young people and aims to raise awareness about issues related to children’s rights. The programme is divided into parts. First, a “Letter to the one who cares”, written by a young person, addresses a pressing issue from a youth perspective. Other youth then discuss the topic and offer suggestions. In the second segment, the fact corner explores issues in a specific subject area chosen for the week. Children and young members of the radio programme also participate in other community activities, such as visiting rural areas to talk about the importance of education and health and meeting with local adult community leaders and governmental officials to discuss the necessity of including children’s and young voices in development projects.
Targets and eligibility: Children and young people aged 8-18 as producers and the whole population as an audience.
Volunteerism and non-cognitive skills development
Youth service programmes
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
Youth Star is a full-time national youth service programme. University graduates are placed for a year in marginalised rural areas to work on local development issues. With the support of community-based partners, the volunteers identify the vulnerable groups and assess priorities of the community to formulate together an action plan. The leading component of the volunteer work is enhancing literacy at a village level and equipping local vulnerable young people with the tools and skills to participate meaningfully in improving life in their communities. The programme focuses on local children at risk and aims to prevent them from dropping out of school or to reintegrate them back into the school system when they have dropped out. In some cases, volunteers teach in schools and provide support to teachers and administration. Such an approach aims at empowering communities, as well as creating lasting collaborative relationships. Youth Star’s major sources of funding are the Cambodian government and international organisations.
Eligibility: University graduates
In Chile, the Red de Voluntariado (Network of Voluntary Work) aims at offering a forum for discussion between civil society organisations and public authorities on the promotion of volunteerism among young people. In this context, the government organised the Encuentro Nacional de Organizaciones de Voluntariado (National Workshop for Voluntary Organisations) in 2015, gathering more than 70 organisations to develop voluntary activities for young people. Over the last years, the Chilean government established different volunteers’ programmes to foster youth participation in society. Young people can participate in diverse community work programmes that aim to engage youth in the development of Chile and to build their social capital. For instance, the “Cultiva Tu identitad” (Cultivate Your Identity) programme targets students aged 15-18 who present a high level of school vulnerability. This programme gives disadvantaged youths the opportunity to discover the natural heritage of their own country by taking part in environmental education activities in some wild protected areas (Áreas Silvestres Protegidas del Estado). The participants are sensitised on environment protection issues while learning to work as a team. In the same vein, the volunteers’ programme “Vive Tus Parques” allows young people aged 18-29 to participate in a ten days summer or winter camp in the wild protected areas. The participants work to maintain and improve the recreational and public areas, build infrastructures and equipment, and develop environment protection activities.
Eligibility: Youth aged 15-18 and 18-29
Extra-curricular activities
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
The Open Schools Programme was created in 2004 by the Ministry of Education and now operates in all Brazilian states. Public schools are open on weekends for workshops and events on oral communication, artistic expression, physical development, academic support, learning to live together, sociability and citizenship, among others. The Open School Programme provides an opportunity for youth and families living in vulnerable communities to access cultural activities. Youth participation in drama, arts and crafts, music, dance and play-based activities broadens horizons, strengthens self-esteem and can help youths discover a new feeling of belonging to their school and community. Young people play a central role in the programme, since they themselves co-ordinate activities and mobilise the community to participate in the programme. The programme is cost-effective, as it maximises existing public spaces and activities are incorporated into educational practices, utilising their equipment and materials. In addition, it is staffed by volunteers and older young people. In exchange for their commitment, young people receive tuition waivers at private universities throughout the state. The programme adopts a decentralised approach, giving states, municipalities and schools the flexibility to adjust it to local needs. According to UNESCO, schools participating in Pernambuco State’s Abrindo Espaços experienced a 60% reduction in violence, as well as reduced rates of sexual aggression, suicide, substance abuse, theft and armed robbery. Participating schools in other states are also showing positive results (World Bank, 2007b).
Eligibility: School-aged children and their families and communities
Similar initiatives: The After-School Plan for Children, Japan
Mentoring programmes
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
Big Brothers/Big Sisters is the largest volunteer-supported mentoring network in the United States. It promotes positive youth development through one-to-one mentoring for youth aged 5-18 who come from single-parent and/or low-income families. The programme assigns children volunteer mentors from families, schools and businesses. The programme aims to improve the self-confidence, social skills and life aspirations of mentees and to reduce risky behaviours. On average, mentors and mentees meet for four hours, three times a month for 12 months. Impact evaluations found that the programme reduced substance abuse and violence, improved parent and peer relationships and improved school attendance and performance. Compared to their peers in the control group, after 18 months in the programme, mentees were 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs, 27% less likely to begin using alcohol, 52% less likely to skip school and 37% less likely to skip a class (Grossman, 1998).
Eligibility: Disadvantaged and other youth aged 5-18
Similar initiatives: African Women in Agricultural Research and Development programme; Mentor Me India Programme, India
Civic rights and citizenship
Civic education for young people
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
Uraia Trust was established in 2011 as a successor to Kenya’s National Civic Education Programme phase I and II. The programme began as an umbrella under which 57 Kenyan civil society organisations supported the training and deployment of civic educators and the dissemination of a national civic education curriculum in Kenya. The programme was designed to respond to the hate campaigns that preceded the 2007/08 post-election violence and to enhance national reconciliation and cohesion, include youth and marginalised groups in the political process and develop leadership accountability. The programme provided civic education to help Kenyan citizens pursue their rights under the new constitution. Before the 2013 election, the programme used a national civic education curriculum, The Citizen Handbook, to disseminate information on the electoral process and system. A total of 359 trained civic educators from 57 civil society organisations helped to disseminate the curriculum. Each civic educator covered at least eight organised groups (youth groups, women’s groups, etc.) in his or her community. In 2013, the Uraia Trust, in partnership with the Kenya Institute of Education, developed an online civic education module for primary and secondary schools. In addition, the programme supports the dissemination of civic education through radio and television programmes. The Uraia Trust continues to carry out civic education programmes, with a focus on citizen participation in the implementation of devolution and promoting social accountability at the county level.
Eligibility: Whole population, with a focus on youth
Similar initiatives: Comprehensive Course of Study, Japan
Registering undocumented youth
☐ Preventive ☑ Second chance
In Bangladesh, the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives undertook significant efforts towards universal birth registration in the 1990s through the creation of a low-cost and accessible birth registration system. It adopted a new legal framework in 2004 (the Birth and Deaths Registration Act); built the capacity of various stakeholders (registrars, local government officials, teachers, health workers, etc.) through training and orientation; improved inter-institutional co-operation among the health, education and birth registration systems; supplied administrative materials; established a national electronic birth registration system; and raised awareness on the importance of birth registration through newsletters, posters, leaflets, audio-visual resources for mass media outlets and interactive popular theatre. The government also declared July 3 Birth Registration Day to highlight the importance of birth registration for every child and adult and the fact that registration is free. Birth registration has become linked with immunisation services. If an unregistered child comes to receive immunisation, the health assistant can report the child to the local registrar to start the process of registration. A similar process occurs in schools, where birth registration is now required for enrolment and where teachers can initiate the process of birth registration for any unregistered children they encounter. Special initiatives have been introduced to register vulnerable and out-of-school children, such as those living in brothels, refugee camps or slums. All these initiatives have resulted in a dramatic increase in birth registration rates. The birth registration rate for children under age 5 increased from 9.8% in 2006 to 53.6% in 2009.
Eligibility: Whole population
Safety and juvenile justice systems
Guaranteeing safe neighbourhoods for youth
☑ Preventive ☐ Second chance
In the Dominican Republic, the Mi Barrio Seguro programme was a pilot programme established in 2005 with the aim of reducing and preventing violence in the Capotillo neighbourhood and then extended to 13 surrounding neighbourhoods. The programme promoted an understanding of citizenship and security as interdependent based on the premise that, by increasing the participation of responsible citizens in security, the security services would also be transformed and develop a greater sensitivity to citizen concerns. Mi Barrio Seguro consisted of increased police patrols in crime “hot spots”, infrastructure improvements (e.g. road entries and exits, public recreational areas), more community policing, neighbourhood security improvements (e.g. street lighting), new classrooms in schools, literacy and civic education programmes, and cultural workshops and sports clinics for young people run by neighbourhood organisations. The government took significant steps to exclude officers with backgrounds of corruption or abuse from working on the programme. Police assigned to the programme received 15 days of pre-service training and a bonus of USD 31 to USD 413 per month over salary, as well as a food bonus. The programme was based on an intensive cross-sectoral co-ordination led by the Ministry of Interior in collaboration with the Ministries of Education, Health, Youth, and Social Protection, the police and community leaders. The programme focused on strengthening community organisations in selected areas to serve as partners in security. Initial evaluations showed a 68% reduction in homicides in pilot neighbourhoods after only six months and an increased sense of security in the neighbourhoods. In 12 of the 13 high-violence neighbourhoods, opinion of the police force improved, which contributed to a further expansion of the programme to other neighbourhoods and cities (World Bank and UNODC, 2006). In addition, the increased policing presence and quality boosted residents’ confidence in the effectiveness of the criminal justice system; the number of complaints to the local Public Prosecutor’s Office from those neighbourhoods rose from approximately 900 to almost 1 200.
Eligibility: Communities in high-risks neighbourhoods, police officers
Enhancing youth juvenile justice systems
☑ Preventive ☑ Second chance
In 2004, Tajikistan introduced JJAP for youth aged 10-18 to provide alternatives to prosecution and detention for youth charged with criminal offences. Five JJAP projects provided non-residential, community-based rehabilitation programmes that used both state-run child and youth centres and NGOs as resources to provide support and assistance. Each project was staffed by a project co-ordinator, lawyer, a minimum of two social workers and one psychologist, who provided tailored psychosocial programmes and practical assistance to each participant and his or her family. Prior to each programme, all staff received comprehensive training from an international social work specialist. The aim of JJAP was to provide a holistic service to the young offender and address the root causes of the actions and prevent recidivism. Interventions included psychological assessment and support; therapy and family work, including parental skill development; legal support; social services support; and remedial education. A programme was developed following an assessment of the young person’s needs and the needs of his or her family. Some prescribed activities were those offered to all local children through the child and youth centres, such as on civic education and healthy living, and vocational training, classes in soft skills, as well as recreational activities. Basing JJAPs in existing centres allowed for a greater diversity of activity and gave young offenders the opportunity to form relationships with the wider youth population and disassociate with those who were having a negative impact on their lives. The JJAP projects accepted over 250 youth who would otherwise have been charged with a crime and prosecuted. Results showed an average drop of 42% in the rate of juvenile offences in districts where projects operated, while juvenile offences rose by 3% in areas not offering a JJAP (O’Donnell, 2015).
Eligibility: Young offenders aged 10-18
Similar initiatives: Community Accountability Boards, United States
The Laureus Sport for Good’s goal is to help young people overcome the limitations imposed by challenging social issues including juvenile crime, gangs, gun and knife violence, HIV/AIDS, discrimination, social exclusion, landmines awareness and health problems like obesity. The mission was inspired by the words of the first Patron of Laureus, Nelson Mandela who said: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.” The impact of Laureus Sport for Good is to change over 500 000 young lives through sport, to include widened social networks; improvements in physical and mental health; access to accredited qualifications, training placements, or employment; reduced risky sexual behaviour; reduced discrimination or stereotyping; increased confidence and self-esteem.
Source: www.laureus.com
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