DFID CSO Donor Guide on Youth Participation » Reflections and Questions

Focus Groups with young people: Review and uptake of the Guide

sarahhuxley — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:38:58 +0000

In December 2009 and January 2010 the YGP Team (led by our Youth Participation Officers) conducted small focus groups in Nepal, Uganda and the UK.

The aims being to:

Raise awareness of the guide
Elicit feedback on format and content from a youth perspective
Generate ideas for next steps in maximising value of guide (uptake and use)

We hope that the reports will be useful for wider initiatives working with young people, as there are many useful reflections from across the three countries. Thank you to those that participated!

Sarah

Please click on the relevant country to access their draft report: Uganda-YGP FGD 2010, Nepal FGD report Dec 09 & YGP Jan 2010 FG Minutes – UK.

Posted in Governance & Accountability, Part 3: Our process, Reflections and Questions, Updates and News

Some YPO Reflections

derekoakley — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:00:01 +0000

It’s over 9 months since we began work on the Youth Guidance project and there has been an immense amount to learn; numerous meetings, phone calls, emails and late nights writing case studies have brought us this far. With a first draft completed and plans underway for the final version and its launch we are somewhere around three quarters of the way through the pilot process. This provides another opportunity to reflect on learning drawn from the experience to date.

Challenges & pleasant surprises include:

It has sometimes been difficult to locate thorough, balanced information once you scratch beneath the surface and marketing gloss, and probe for substantial evidence.
Sometimes our existing network from (youth participation circles) has proved useful, but the most rewarding contact has been with helpful people all over the world taking a few minutes to support the process and share the information we need. This reinforces the feeling of being part of something bigger internationally and broadens the scope of the project.
As a part time consultant to the project it has occasionally been difficult to keep up with the requirements of the project schedule, and to respond to strategic imperatives, particularly with so many important perspectives and ideas to consider from different stakeholders (for example colleagues, committee members, external NGOs and individuals).

Its certainly been an interesting experience and a fantastic opportunity to learn more about youth participation at an international level….

Posted in Part 3: Our process, Reflections and Questions

‘The Network’ and Progress so far

derekoakley — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:32:44 +0000

Hello everyone! As our project progresses there is a real sense of momentum around this work, especially now that our colleagues in Uganda and Nepal are on board and have commenced work piloting the guide. Thus I thought it an opportune time to write a couple of posts sharing some information and reflections on the process that has brought us to this point.

The DfID/Civil Society Organisation Youth Advocacy Network (or just ‘The Network for short!) is a collaboration between numerous NGOs working in International Development and Youth Participation and the Equity and Rights team of the UK Department for International Development. Partners including the British Youth Council, the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council, Student Partnerships Worldwide, Y-Care (the Development arm of the YMCA) V (A UK organisation developing young volunteers) and many more too numerous to mention here have been active in meetings, working groups and now projects focussed on driving the youth participation agenda into the collective DfID conscious; making sure that young people in the UK and the developing world get more of a proportionate say in the processes and decisions that affect them.

Over the past year or so I have participated as a delegate and a facilitator in numerous meetings of the network and witnessed a part of a number of positive changes. As a result of the ongoing dialogue the network has sustained DfID has

* Funded the production of our ‘Youth Guidance Project’ for National governments and international donor agencies showcasing best practice in youth participation projects across three areas: Governance, Voice and Accountability, HIV/AIDs and Sexual Reproductive Health and Post Conflict Transitions, currently being piloted in Uganda and Nepal.
* Commissioned two pieces of research on Youth Employment and Youth in Conflict and Post Conflict Situations to inform DfID practice.
* Recruited and trained ‘Young Reporters’ to document various key events, including the inaugural DfID conference and the G20, interviewing luminaries such as Bob Geldof (Former Pop star, media mogul and development campaigner, Krishnan Guru Murphy (National Television journalist and presenter) and David Milliband ( British Foreign Secretary) along the way.
* Organised a youth specific 1 day consultation, inviting representatives from various youth boards and organisations, including Oxfam GB, Plan UK, Peacechild International, Engineers without Borders, the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the DfiD Platform 2 Youth Volunteering scheme. Participants discussed the themes of the new DfID White Paper laying out new directions in Development policy and the G20 event that took place in London this month and presented their own views and recommendations to DfID staff and ministers. (Look out for a more detailed post on this to follow!)

I feel privileged to have been a part of this work so far and look forward to seeing the developments that lie ahead as the network continuines to push youth issues higher on the agenda of key decision makers in DfID.

Please stay in touch with our particular project wherever you may be in the world via this blog and share your feedback, ideas and suggestions on youth participation with us!

Looking forward to hearing from you

Derek

Posted in Reflections and Questions, Updates and News