Empowering Youth



OBJECTIVES


1. Introduce the public to the efforts made by the State to empower young people and the opportunities available to intensify and strengthen these efforts.
2. Involve young people in the decision-making process at all levels so that they may fulfill themselves, allowing society to benefit from their views.
3. Strengthen the personal capacities of young people so as to facilitate their integration into society and the labor market.


ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES


P9. A1Youth Capacity Building on Community Service And Conflict Resolution

Partner with educational institutions and/or local governmental and non- governmental entities and local police to train young people on community service, local needs assessment, volunteerism, and leadership. This activity shall be done in coordination with Pillar 6 activities if the target youth are enrolled in formal education. Otherwise, it shall be designed separately for youth outside of formal education. It shall also consider the specific gender characteristics and needs.
Training programs shall be followed by local initiatives which aim at solving local social or developmental problems.
The aim is to ensure that young people’s voices are heard and that they are active contributors to solving their communities’ local problems. Emphasis shall be on role models and community champions who successfully helped their respective communities overcome crises. One key example is the role of young people in rescue and relief of damaged areas due to the Beirut port blast.
It is important that young people are involved with the key stakeholders in the design and implementation of the local interventions to guarantee a true sense of ownership and self-fulfillment. MOSA And MEHE can provide support by cooperating to include young people into their case workers And community mobilizers to identify vulnerable groups/ former extremist/violent persons to register for trainings.


P9.A2 National Youth Policy Update with Focus on Vulnerability

The government shall update the national youth policy, based on the updates in the Lebanese context. The new policy shall take into consideration that one cannot tackle youth issues without clear consideration to the link between gender and youth, since gender issues are core concerns for most youth. “Gender” should apply to all youth, and “youth” should relate to both female and male youth. The new youth policy shall focus on eliminating youth vulnerability and increasing youth resilience on all fronts.


P9.A3 Involving Youth in Conflict Mediation

Based on the results of the social conflict assessment map, organize initiatives in partnership with relevant NGOs to involve young people in intercommunal conflict resolution and mediation. Youth can lead dialogue sessions on reconciliation and integration between regions.

Facilitation, mediation, conflict analysis and resolution trainings shall be delivered to targeted youth in vulnerable communities.

Provide a framework for encouraging intercommunal dialogue, awareness raising and tolerance building at a local level, responding in an inclusive fashion to the vulnerabilities and concerns of ‘at risk’ youth populations. It also provides an accessible platform for students themselves to discuss their interests with ‘decision-makers’ and helps empower otherwise often marginalized voices.

These actions shall happen in coordination with the activities mentioned in Pillar 1 on dialogue and conflict prevention.


P9.A4 Research Agenda for Youth And PVE

The following areas shall be covered by research to provide evidence which could guide policy and program design:

- How do youth gain social acceptance as adults and what happens if they fail?
- The divisions within youth populations. Elite and non-elite youth often are at odds with each other. Understanding tensions and conflicts between subgroups of youth helps to define and explain local youth terrains.
- The impact of youth unemployment in radicalization.
- Vulnerability assessment for young Lebanese.

Mixed research approaches are recommended. However, it is suggested that research conducted should be trust- based and involving trusted local actors.


manganelo