National Youth Policy and Advocacy
Leah T Olu-King from Namibia, Namibia got a National Youth Policy since 1993 and it was reviewed in 2006. The new version of the ducument based on human rights and social justice while emphasising employment creation, financial support for young entrepreneurs and access to agricultural land.
Empowering young people means creating and supporting the enabling condition in which they act on their own terms rather than at the direction of others. These include an economic and social base political will , adequate resource allocation, stable environment of equality, peace and democracy.The policy illustrate's Namibia readiness to aproach youth -related matters from provinding practical support, training and financial assistance in enterprise development and to address the barriers to self employment for men and women and assist them into self employment.
The new policy has stated that, the private sector should get involved in the development of young people in education , training enterpreneurship, job creation and skills transfer. the Government intends to make micro- loans available to young enterpreneurs. The new policy also recognaises that the majority of young Namibians live in rural areas, and Agriculture is recognaises as employment , livelihood and food security therefore, land will be made available to young people for economical activities.
Leah, I find your presentation very interesting but I quickly want to find out about the political will of your government in pushing this agenda since 1993. Has there been any physical commitment by your government in relation to the policy both in 1993 and the reviewed on of 2006.--Kafuiaheto 09:54, 17 February 2011 (UTC)
Thank very much for the inspiring information and a very clear explanation about the current youth policy and all range of opportunity windows that do exist for thr youth. Zambian brothers lets face it. If am to challenge all of you to really provide examples of the youth movement that have made it using the suggested windows. C.E.E.C , or Youth empowerment Fund the truth is still stands that the clear link of a broad based strategic framework of deliberately empower the youth in Zambia is still not meant. Zambia has nine provinces and about 72 districts (many more districts being added) please kindly provide nominal figures in real terms that have accessed and are still accessing these funds. If the many brothers out there that us civil organization represent do even know about them. C.E.E.C funding when was established and for what purpose? has it met the intended objectives or not if not why do you think it has failed to deliver many Zambian youths from the bottom less pit of poverty.? Again the answer brothers is what i suggested there is no directly link between these wonderful policies for the youth and enterperenuership. If you read my posting earlier i was saying that , Zambia has had this policy as far back as....i did not say that , that is the current document in use... But then one point to note for sure is that the core ministry responsible with the youth affairs and empowerment have not really helped the young people to attain entrepreneurial dreams. May be because Issues of doing business and trade is in another ministry, and the Ministry to deal issues of the young people is also a different ministry. There seem to be a very big institution problem to realign.. sorry brothers i will be back for more comments Regards Isaac
Woderful comments Isaac, I hope that among us there is someone from the ministry, or someone who has knowledge about the 'Youth FUND' to comment. I would adge you to read the Zambia National Youth Police - 2006 I think its at page 35, 36 and 37. the police provides for to work with different stake holders such as Ministry of Science, Technology and Vocational Training, Ministry of Education they are many about 19 line ministries trying to adress this most important matter. Now I know that even this training we are accessing online subsquently for those who will make it at Siavonga, the responsible ministry must have a hand in this activity,so its the question of knowing what is their for the youth and inform the youth access it.
my own example is this; I work for the Chawama Youth Project and I do Instruct in carpentry and I also am a Trainer in ICTs. I took this oppotunity to read the Policy and found this qout about ICTs and Youth, Then we did a talk to an International Institute for Communication and Technology IICD about this policy and they got interrested and we walked to meet the PS at MSYCD and a programme was agreed and we commenced the ICT for Instructor programme. the Ministry may have put in place the good policies but there can not be a policy maker to be the very policy implementer. I think you and me has to take this same policy and implement if you need funds if you are a youth worker I think we can then convince the responsible ministry. Its just a matter of knowing your rights and what is put there on table for the youth.
You raise an important point about familiarity with the Youth Policy/entrepreneurship policy. Many surveys conducted indicate that young people are not familiar with policies that directly affect them. It is prudent that, in this instance, youth policies are disseminated as extensively as possible so that as many young people understand programmes and interventions in place to support them and how best to access opportunities available for assistance. Do young people in your respective countries know whether there exist policies/plans to support them in their entrepreneurship ventures?
Nellie, I agree perfectly with you that most young people are not familiar with policies that directly affect them. I am happy with submissions of our Nigerian colleagues who say their ministry started the distribution of the policy last year,awaiting the implementation of the content.My biggest hope is that, the policy would be read by the youth to the latter. In the case of Ghana, the policy after been launched in 2010, was put on the internet for easy access by everyone. It was is available on the government portal on the internet. Reading contributes largely to our knowledge base but it is something most youth hardly do.--Kafuiaheto 18:05, 17 February 2011 (UTC)
Experience in my Youth policy advocacy is very humble. I serious got engaged in the issues of advocacy when i was at a University representative for the International Forestry Student Association(IFSA)in Zambia . At this time though not very firm advocated for the youth participation in the management and utilization of natural resources at policy level coordinating activities that would influence policy decisions and demand. This initiative how ever could only be done half way through and it was abandoned because of lack of political will from the stakeholders involved. Two year later i was elected Copper belt University MDG Student Chapter president and hosted a series of activities aimed at pressuring government to prioritize issues of the MDGs in all the sectors of the economy as stipulated in MDG Charter of 2000. This events were so successful that the United National Millennium Campaign Policy Ad visor for Africa demanded to be part of the movement to deliver the petition on Behalf of the students to Government. Same of our demands were included in some of the policy documents that are being used today.(among them Fifth National Development Plan).During the same year advocated for enactment of the policy that reprimands people who deliberately infect young people with the virus. The list is endles. MDG Campaign Program Manager ....i will comment more later sorry iam going into a meeting
This a very important issue and i agree with most of the contributions especially from Zambia, in teams of having a the National Youth Policy, however i strongly think that for the Zambia of African countries to create enabling environments for youth entrepreneurship it must be beyond having a National Youth Policy and the Action planes. we need to start creating the enabling environment by promoting Entrepreneurship in schools so that the youth grow up with the motivation of creating jobs.
Thanks Leah for your response. I note that you mention your country has reviewed its National Youth Policy (NYP), it will be interesting to find out how effective the past policy was in terms of promoting youth enterprise and whether in fact the new policy has built on lessons learn't from the previous plan. I realise your current policy attempts to promote 'social inclusion' by giving prominence to sectors e.g. Agriculture that a majority of young people may not necessary explore as employment generating sectors.
