ENGAGING YOUTH FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
Table of Contents About ADB’s Youth Engagement 01 | Introduction: Youth for Asia 02 | Youth for Asia Team
Key Partnerships 03 | AIESEC 04 | Plan International
Youth for Asia Projects 05 | About Youth Engagement in Projects 06 | Case Study: JobStart Program in the Philippines 07 | Case Study: Climate Change Resilience in Cambodia 08 | Innovation: Safetipin
Solutions Search: Knowledge Hub 09 | About Solutions Search: Knowledge Hub 10 | Examples: Youth Solutions
Youth for Global Goals 11 | About the Youth for Global Goals Initiative 12 | Capacity Building and Mobilizing 13 | Example: Youth and SDGs with Public Sector 14 | Example: Youth and SDGs with Private Sector
Events and Social Media 15 | Recent ADB Youth Events 16 | Asia-Pacific Youth Exchange 17 | Annual Asian Youth Forum 18 | Social Media Channels
About ADB’s Youth Engagement
01 | Intro to Youth for Asia Integrating youth engagement in ADB operations to achieve sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific TA 8595: Civil Society Participation for Development Effectiveness Asia’s youth bulge provides the region an opportunity to harness the strengths of its young people to support the continuing development of the region. The ADB recognizes the term youth to include the demographic of 15-30 years old, but also recognizes the importance of youth organizations, and youthfocused Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). To harness Asia’s youth as one of the region’s greatest assets in driving positive social change, environmental sustainability, technological innovation, and economic development, ADB’s NGO and Civil Society Center launched the YFA (fomerly known as Youth Initiative) in early 2013. YFA is currently supported through an ADB Regional Technical Assistance grant RETA 8595: Civil Society Participation for Development Effectiveness. By focusing on the needs of youth as important partners of development throughout Asia and the Pacific, YFA aims to increase the efficiency, inclusiveness and effectiveness of ADB projects and activities.
Overview YFA aims to empower Asia’s youth as development partners by mainstreaming their participation in ADB operations. YFA facilitates youth engagement with governments and with key stakeholders to increase opportunities and improve the capacity of young people to actively participate in policy discussions and implementation of innovative development-focused solutions. Youth networks and partnerships will be strengthened to increase the ability and willingness of ADB Developing Member Countries, CSOs, and other stakeholders, to prepare, implement, and monitor projects that support youth participation and development in the region. Key Outcomes • Enhance ADB project implementation • Improve knowledge activities for youth engagement in operations • Strengthen government-youth engagement • Improve innovative youth driven activities in ADB operations • Develop capacity of core youth team to support ADB operations Through the YFA initiative, youth will contribute to ADB’s Mission to help Asia and the Pacific reduce poverty, and improve the quality of life of their citizens. Integrated across key developmental outputs, this important partnership with youth, looking to the future, will also be a catalyst to supporting the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030) in across the region. Key Work Areas Projects: Connecting with ADB operational and knowledge departments include youth participation in different stages of project development
Youth for Global Goals: Activating youth to contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, initiated in partnership with AIESEC.
Solutions Search: Sourcing innovative, proven, and scalable youth-centric projects and programs to adopt and support through ADB operations
Knowledge, Events & Partners: Enhancing the capacity of youth and youthcentric CSOs through various activities, including social media
2 | Youth for Asia Team The youthful faces at ADB striving for an Asia and the Pacific free of poverty Youth Partnership Coordinators Jessica Herrera AIESEC-ADB Partnership Manager jess.herrera@aiesec.net
Juliet Rausch AIESEC Talent Coordinator juliet.rausch@aiesec.net Youth for Global Goals Mei Kok Youth for Global Goals Coordinator mkok.consultant@adb.org
Zahin Hussain Youth for Global Goals Partnerships Manager zhussain1.consultant@adb.org
Mariana Silva Youth for Global Goals Marketing Manager mariana.silva@aiesec.net
Richeline Mascarinas YFA Social Media Coordinator rmascarinas.consultant@adb.org
Chris Morris Head of NGO & Civil Society Center Sustainable Development & Climate Change Department (SDCC) cmorris@adb.org Ponce Samaniego Lead Youth Coordinator psamaniego.consultant@adb.org Projects Jecel Censoro Project Implementation Specialist jcensoro.consultant@adb.org
Shruti Mehta Youth Project Designer shurimehta.consultant@adb.org
Lee Lambert Youth Project Designer llambert.consultant@adb.org
Julia Safarova Youth Project Designer jsafarova.consultant@adb.org Solutions Search Vishant Kothari Solutions Search Program Coordinator vkothari.consultant@adb.org
Yichu Zhang Solutions Search Marketing & Partnerships Manager zhangyichu@gmail.com
Visit the Youth for Asia oďŹƒce on the first floor in Consultant’s Hotelling at Room 1129
Key Partnerships
3 | Key Partnership: AIESEC
AIESEC’s Reach
550 Universities across Asia and the Pacific
The world’s largest youth-led organization
About AIESEC AIESEC develops the leadership potential of young people through experiential learning, volunteer experiences and professional internships. ADB and AIESEC agreed to cooperate to contribute toward mobilizing youth leaders to support inclusive and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific. ADB supports the youth of Asia and the Pacific through a number of approaches including support to youth’s participation in major knowledge events and mobilizing youth to participate in project operations. Partnering with youth can be highly effective and scalable with new opportunities to actively participate in all aspects of the Asian economy and society. One of the ways AIESEC aims to harness its youth’s energy, passion and potential is by providing exchange opportunities, enabling youth to participate and build awareness about regional challenges. ADB’s financial, knowledge, and operational support for AIESEC’s exchange program have enabled youth to take tangible action towards the region’s development. he realization of Output 5 of TA 8595 centers on the partnership between ADB and AIESEC, focusing in large part on empowering and mobilizing youth to contribute to the achievement of the 17 SDGs.
126
Countries & Territories
48
are ADB Members
ADB at AIESEC Conferences One of the key mechanisms for building youth capacity and disseminating knowledge is through AIESEC’s leadership conferences. These conferences are held throughout the year in different parts of the world, bringing together youth with varying levels of experience in development. ADB representation and consultations with youth at these conferences has e n h a n c e d A D B ’s p o s i t i o n i n g i n t h e yo u t h demographic, generated understanding of ADB operations, and built a two-way communication stream between development practioners and stakeholders. Some of the conferences ADB has attended in the past year include: • Asia Pacific Conference, South Korea 2015 • International Congress, India 2015 • Asia Pacific Leaders Conference, Thailand 2015 • Asia Pacific Conference, PRC 2016 • Asia Pacific Presidents Summit, Sri Lanka 2016)
4 | Key Partnership: Plan International Developing an inclusive youth environment with the Asian Development Bank
About the Partnership ADB’s NGO & Civil Society Centre has been partnering with Plan International since 2012 to empower young partners in development in Asia and the Pacific. Plan supported the initial establishment of the Youth Initiative (former name of YFA). Over the years, ADB and Plan have worked together in three principle areas: 1) Youth Participation and Engagement in Key Sectoral Knowledge Events and the Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors 2) Project Implementation 3) Greater Knowledge Generation & Sharing In 2015, YFA, Plan and AIESEC launched the Youth for Global Goals (Youth4GG) initiative - a global partnership that aims to active and mobilize young people to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The partnership went public in December 2015 at the AIESEC-hosted Youth Action Summit in New York. ADB, Plan and AIESEC committed to create awareness of, foster youth engagement in, and take action on the Global Goals. Upcoming projects in 2016 include an e-learning platform, the SDG Youth Action Mapper and an evidence-based research study.
Partnership Annual Report 2015 Youth Participation and Engagement in Key Sectoral Knowledge Event ADB and Plan worked together on key events including: • 48th ADB Annual Meeting, Azerbaijan • International Skills Development Forum, ADB HQ Philippines • 4th Greater Mekong Subregion Environment Ministers’ Meeting, Myanmar • 7th World Water Forum, South Korea • UN Disaster Risk Management Forum, Japan • Asian Youth Forum, ADB HQ, Philippines • Asia Pacific Urban Youth Assembly, Indonesia Project Implementation YFA has supported mainstreaming of youth participation in ADB operations by working closely with ADB project officers and ADB’s sector and thematic groups, especially in the education and skills development sector, where Plan provides strong thematic support. Greater Knowledge Generation & Sharing ADB’s Strategy 2020 promoted the importance of partnerships, especially to foster interchange of ideas and expand knowledge sharing. Knowledge, innovation and new modalities of development assistance were seen as crucial to address development challenges in Asia. 2015 witnessed greater knowledge exchange between ADB and Plan, sharing expertise produced substantial discussions on different issues of interest. Some of these products include: • ADB Youth Engagement Guide • Voice of Youth Debate Guide • Launch of Youth for Global Goals • Road-maps
Youth for Asia Projects
5 | Youth for Asia Projects Connecting with departments at ADB to include youth participation in different stages of project development About ADB has embraced the vital role that civil society participation plays in the fight against poverty in the region. Because youth and youth-led organizations are important members of civil society, ADB’s Youth for Asia projects team identifies opportunities for youth involvement in projects – from planning and design consultations to project implementation and monitoring. The work and achievements of ADB’s Youth for Asia projects team demonstrate that youth are innovative and effective development partners. For example, YFA has partnered with the Water Youth Network to support a pilot demonstration activity that enables them to test a quick scan tool for rapid assessment of water related issues in urban areas of Vietnam and the participatory mapping of possible interventions (through a $50,000 grant from ADB). Another mechanism for the YFA projects team to work with operations is to partner with youth projects and programs with possible adoption into an ADB project, if proven successful(see Safetipin innovation in following pages).
Youth Engagement in Projects YFA’s projects team provides input on how youth can be key stakeholders in ADB projects primarily across the education, urban and agriculture and natural resources sectors. There are also efforts to extend youth support to the transport and energy sectors. The success of the projects’ team relies on youth engagement indicators between low, medium and high. The team is currently involved in 22 projects , with 11 projects demonstrating a high-level of youth engagement. A project with high youth engagement suggests: • Joint generation and sharing of information with youth stakeholders to meet shared objectives • Regular feedback from youth participants integrated during design and implementation • Stakeholder influence on project design body and agreement of role for stakeholders in project implementation • Significant stakeholder representation on project implementation body and participation in implementation activities • MoU/partnership agreement implementation, including financing and management, or stakeholders assume high level of ownership/ responsibility Youth engagement is high in the following projects: • Philippines: Facilitating Youth School-to-Work Transition Program, Subprogram 1 • Regional: Scaling Up Private Sector Participation and Use of Market-Based Approaches for Environmental Management • Lao People's Democratic Republic: Second Strengthening Higher Education Project • China, People's Republic of: Guangxi Modern Technical and Vocational Education and Training Development Program • Regional: Establishing the Future Cities Program in the Asia and Pacific Region • Regional: Knowledge and Innovation Support for ADB's Water Financing Program • Philippines: Secondary Education Support Program • India: Odisha Skill Development Project
6 | Case Study: JobStart Program in Philippines Youth-led stakeholder assessment for key youth issues Project 49117-001/002 – Facilitating Youth School-to-Work Transition Program
About the Pilot School-to-Work (JobStart), a program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in with ADB and the Government of Canada, aims to provide employment assistance to atrisk-youth or high school graduates and out-of-school youths to integrate in the labor market. It is a full-cycle employment facilitation service that helps increase the employability of youth by providing them access to technical and life skills training demanded by employers and by mentoring and tooling them to improve their job searches and outcomes. The program’s objective is to raise the youth job placement rate to 80 percent from the current 60 to 65 percent rate. YFA engaged with the program through stakeholder mapping to determine the individuals and groups who are affected and will affect the implementaEon of the Jobstart program for each key area of implementaEon, document and profile Jobstart’s stakeholders in terms of their interest, contribuEon, power, influences, relaEonships, and opportuniEes for e n g a g e m e n t a n d p r o v i d e recommendaEons and suggesEons on how to engage these stakeholders, based on Jobstart’s overall strategies. Status: Pilot Complete, Scaling
Conclusions from the Stakeholder Analysis Based on the results of the stakeholders analysis, recommendations to scale the project were proposed in terms of engaging current and upcoming stakeholders, improvements in systems and protocols, establishment of communication channels, and improvements in information dissemination and communication. Key recommendations include: • Strengthen ownership from stakeholders - The stakeholders of the program feel empowered and can sustain their support for the program whenever they feel their opinions and recommendations are addressed. • Systems and processes for Jobstart can be improved to ensure satisfaction of various stakeholders - This specifically includes monitoring of reporting channels; management of all information systems used to track Jobstarters at the different phases of their employment career; updating employment opportunities; and management of all knowledge products. • Establish standard communication and reporting channels for faster government action - Government agencies need quick and regular updates on the program - a standardized communication channel supplemented with timely information is important to ensure prompt government action. • Scale up information dissemination and communication on Jobstart - Advertisements and other innovative techniques can help mobilize new partnerships and reach out to more potential beneficiaries. A communication and information dissemination strategy may be developed specifically for this YFA successfully engaged the beneficiaries’ parents and youth through consultations within the project itself. The youth team proposed a communication campaign and plan to integrate community participation in the project.
7 | Case Study: Climate Change Resilience in Cambodia A multistakeholder approach to support CSOs in implementing climate change adaption activities in Cambodia TA 8179-CAM: Mainstreaming Climate Resilience into Development Planning About the Project In ADB’s TA 8179-CAM: Project Kingdom of Cambodia: Mainstreaming Climate Resilience into Development Planning, ADB, Plan International and AIESEC will build the capacity and mobilize youth to contribute to community-driven climate change adaptation in Cambodia. 8-14 long term youth interns will support local CSOs in implementing climate change adaptation activities supported by the ADB TA grant for CSOs. They will support English translation, documentation, and dissemination of good practices and inspiring stories of climate change adaptation implemented by the local CSOs. Youth will use their creativity in promoting climate resilience by creating unique and innovative knowledge products that when shared will inspire partners to sustain these successful practices across Cambodia and the Asia and the Pacific region.
Piloting Youth Integration in the Project Phase 1 : Establish Youth Secretariat in Cambodia Long-term youth coordinators (international) from AIESEC will be placed with the Plan International office in Cambodia for 12 months from September 2016 – September 2017 as a part of a ‘youth secretariat’. They will provide support and coordination to youth capacity building in Plan international operations in Cambodia. With guidance from ADB, Plan International and AIESEC, the coordinators will be responsible for creating the program for capacity building and mobilization of further long-term international and national youth volunteers. Phase 2: Mobilize international and local interns to support projects executed by the CSOs The youth secretariat (mentioned above) will work with Plan International in coordinating with the grantees to offer gather support from additional youth volunteers. Short-term youth volunteers (6-12 months) will support the activities of 6 local CSOs mainly in translation, community engagement, communications, and dissemination of innovative good practices. YFA, AIESEC and Plan International Cambodia, or similar CSOs, will be responsible for the recruitment and selection of the volunteers with the guidance from ADB. Each stakeholder brings its strengths into the project. Phase 3: Review & improve program and materials To ensure the quality of the program, the youth secretariat will work with Plan International staff in Cambodia to prepare the outcome document with suggestions for future activities. They will also work on the showcasing materials which are captured through the local CSOs’ work. YFA will provide support in the review, consolidation, and quality control of the materials. YFA will also ensure the dissemination of the materials as appropriate.
Status: Pending budget approval
“This civil society support scheme will help the selected CSOs play a greater role in empowering Cambodia’s communities to cope with the impacts of climate change. - Dr. Ancha Srinivasan, ADB’s Principal Climate Change Specialist for the South East Asia Department
8 | Innovation: Safetipin Piloting youth-led innovative technology solutions for sustainable transport and urban sector operations About Safetipin With smart-phone users in Asia and the Pacific estimated to surpass 1 billion people, apps allow for a widespread target audience of users/consumers that can be active in using them to achieve specific developmentalfocused objectives. Safetipin, a trust initiative from India, have shown exactly that by creating and promoting usage of their apps to be used in safety audits of cities. These audits measure 9 different aspects of safety, namely: lighting; openness; transport; visibility; crowd; diversity; walk path; security; and feeling. The Safetipin app is focused on increasing safety for women in cities and has been used in a number of countries in Asia and the Pacific, as well as South America and Africa There has been considerable active participation from the general populations and Safetipin have formed partnerships with civil society, UN bodies and governments. The main impact of these apps, following rigorous data analysis of safety audits, has been the creation and usage of social accountability tools for informed advocacy for urban and transport legislative change. For this reason, the app highlights the scope for using innovative technologies for data collection in urban and transport sectors/projects.
Pilot Testing & Objectives YFA has proposed a collaborative effort in piloting data collection through the Safetipin app. As smart-phone usage is significantly higher for youth populations, it may be assumed that youth have greater access, and thus interest, in using apps for various reasons. It is hoped that this pilot, being directed at youth through our partnership with AIESEC, ASEAN Youth Leaders Association, and other youth-oriented organizations/institutions, will allow for an interesting case study of how youth can actively contribute to data collection, innovative technologies solutions and the urban and transport sectors in the region.
The pilot data collection has the following objectives: • Develop a strong example proving that youth are invested in creating positive change in the transport/urban road and safety sector; and will be proactive to hold governments accountable • Enable easier integration of innovative transport solutions where youth can be the creators or users of these solutions into existing/ future ADB transport and urban projects • Justify that youth led research, evaluation and planning helps meet the needs and empowerment of communities - youth go on to become lifelong contributors and take on a sense of ownership in development efforts • Showcase a youth led initiative at the upcoming transport forum in September 2016 that has potential to be integrated into existing and future ADB urban and transport projects • Enable youth to take innovative transport and urban solutions to low- income communities and build capacity through training
Solutions Search: Knowledge Hub
9 | Solutions Search: Knowledge Hub Sourcing innovative, proven, and scalable youth-centric projects and programs to adopt and support through ADB projects About Solutions Search The Youth for Asia team has created a web-based platform that aims to map and host proven youth projects, programs and social enterprises. The incentive for them to join the platform is to connect with ADB financed projects, learn from ADB technical experts and have an opportunity to scale their operations in the process. To populate this platform, YFA has launched various ‘Solutions Search’ campaigns to find and showcase the positive impact of youth activities in the development of Asia and the Pacific to ADB-based Sector and Thematic Groups (STGs), particularly with relevant ADB project officers and governments looking to include innovation and youth components in their projects. This youth knowledge hub aims to become the premier platform for s h o wc a s i n g , d i s s e m i n a t i n g a n d promoting youth development-related activity in the region. It presents opportunities for corporate organizations and venture capitalists to work with proven youth solutions, through both funding and capacity building. The website can be accessed at w w w.yo u t h f o r a s i a . c o m / yo u t h programs
Targeting Social Enterprises A social enterprise is a business-oriented not-for- profit, or a missionoriented for-profit enterprise. It has a social or environmental mission or both - at the core of its work and seek to operate in a financially sustainable manner. Social enterprises work in many sectors, including education, finance, rural development, health, water, and energy. Collectively, they have improved the lives of millions of people in developing Asia and the Pacific by creating livelihood opportunities and expanding access to affordable essential services. In recent years, ADB has supported research, analysis, awareness-building, and networking to promote social enterprises, impact investment, and inclusive business. ADB’s Strategy 2020 promotes private sector development, and recognizes that the development challenges of Asia and the Pacific are so enormous that businesses particularly SMEs and Social Enterprises must play a significant role in addressing them. In striving to become the premier platform for showcasing, disseminating and promotion youth solutions in the region, the Solutions Search team has engaged in various knowledge-sharing partnerships and events, such as the Sankalp Forum – one of the world's largest impact enterprise focused platforms supporting over 900 social enterprises with connections to over 400 investors, mentors, and business support providers. Over 40 social enterprises recognized by Sankalp have gone on to raise more than $120 million USD in funding. Sankalp engages Governments, corporations, influential platforms like the G8 and G20, media and civil society to drive a paradigm shift in inclusive development approaches. Over the past 6 months, the Solutions Search [Knowledge Hub] has conducted and sourced over 150 youth-related projects for Education, Environment, Sanitation and Governance. Our ambition is to include Transport, Climate Change and Green Business focused projects by the end of 2016.
10 | Examples: Youth Solutions
The Green Ribbon Campaign Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Sourcing and enabling youthful, innovative and scalable solutions for the region Amal Academy Lahore, Pakistan
Amal Academy is bridging the gap that exists between the education system and the skills needed for a successful career. The focus of the Academy is on developing soft skills using blended learning models, and quality teaching to achieve unprecedented impact and scale in Pakistan. The program is an intense, 3month job readiness program that works with 50 lowincome students in order to teach them skills such as communication, interviewing, professionalism, teamwork and problem solving. Amal Academy is one of the first professional academies in Pakistan, and we are using a blended learning model (video based lectures, group activities, class discussions, games etc.) to teach these skills. There has been a tremendous demand for this type of soft / business skills training from both employers and job seekers. After 6 batches in the Academy, there have been over 3,000 applications, from which nearly 200 fellows were selected. After 100 hours of training, Amal Academy has been able to achieve a job placement rate of over 90% within 3 months of completion (versus a control group of 23%).
The Green Ribbon Campaign is a social marketing campaign that seeks to raise awareness of the ills of littering. Its flagship activity is the Green Ribbon Handout – performed once per year, in cooperation with university student councils to hand the green ribbons out in the parking lots of each campus. Volunteers are asked to tie the ribbon on their motorbike mirrors, backpacks, etc., and explain their significance. Essentially, the green ribbon becomes a symbol of anti-littering nationwide. In 2015, an online pledge program was launched to target companies. It asks companies to mobilize their employees to sign up online to receive weekly environmental awareness emails. By signing up, they pledge to not litter and in turn receive a green ribbon that they can tie to their company lanyard or briefcase. Over the past two years (since in April 2013), with minimal financial investment (less then $2000USD) and human resources (560 volunteers), the Green Ribbon Campaign has handed out 66,000 green ribbons. 5-Cent Organic Lunch – ARK Inc. Capiz, Philippines ARK partners with communities to create a path for communities to sustain on their own as school-based feeding program and creates new and much needed income for parents. ARK’s 5-cent Lunch is codesigned by the community and is affordable for parents who make $3/day. To access the program, the community works together to identify problems and propose solutions, such as developing assets like kitchens, school and backyard gardens. The ARK’s 5cent Lunch program has seen attendance increase to above 90% (from 70%) as kids’ food intake becomes healthier and well-balanced. The kids are more attentive in class with substantial improvements in NAT scores. In turn, parents are given new income opportunities.
Youth for Global Goals
11 | Youth for Global Goals Initiative Activating youth to contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, initiated in partnership with AIESEC About Along with founding partners PVBLIC Foundation, Kinetic, Mekanism, and UN Habitat, and ADB - AIESEC launched the “Youth for Global Goals” in February 2016. Youth for Global Goals (Youth4GG) is an initiative that aims to activate young people to contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Background Success or failure of the SDGs will be experienced by the youth who are disproportionately affected by insufficient infrastructure, poor public services, high unemployment, and poor quality education. Participation of young people in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the SDGs is critical to their achievement. Output 5 seeks to collaborate through knowledge-partnerships to catalyze their achievement. The commitment of youth to raise awareness about the SDGs and to monitor its progress have been amplified through discussions, projects and events.
Activating youth will happen in three stages: Awareness, Understanding and Action. As the first year of the Global Goals, the initiative aims to achieve the following at the end of 2016 in AsiaPacific: Awareness: 10 million youth know that the SDGs are due in 2030; we need to work collaboratively to achieve them; and that they will make the world a better place Understanding: 15,000 youth know at least one of the SDGs and some of its targets and indicators; and they know their contribution to it Action: 10,000 youth take measurable activities towards achieving an SDG
Youth Leading Youth Development As the largest youth-led organization in the world, AIESEC has taken up a responsibility to not only advocate for youth engagement in the 2030 agenda but to drive concrete action by young people towards the achievement of the SDGs. The Youth4GG, initiated by AIESEC, essentially seeks to establish youth-focused partnerships consisting of CSOs, private corporations and governments determined to support youth participation in the achievement of the SDGs. In the following pages, you can see how with the support of ADB, AIESEC has enabled more young people to contribute to the SDGs and how collaborations with other youth-focused organizations and projects have sparked innovative youth-centric value addition across sectors.
The Youth4GG initiative provides a platform to convene and showcase youth efforts and achievements towards the Global Goals. The simple f ra m e wo r k c a n b e a d o p t e d by partnering organizations to activate youth.
12 | Youth4GG Capacity Building & Mobilizing Developing AIESEC’s capacity, access to resources and monitoring practices to map youth contribution towards the SDGs Youth Action Summit In order to engage global stakeholders around youth and their role in achieving the SDGs - AIESEC, ADB, and the Office of the UN Secretary General Envoy on Youth hosted the Youth Action Summit, on December 9 - 11, 2015 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Youth Action Summit brought together more than 400 young leaders, CSOs, private sector representatives, and key development partners from more than 100 countries under the theme of “Youth for Global Goals.” The summit featured capacitybuilding sessions, workshops, and training sessions focused on the action on-the-ground to ensure effective implementation of the goals. YouthSpeak Forums in Asia and the Pacific The YouthSpeak Forum (YSF) aims to create an environment where people from diverse backgrounds can cross-pollinate ideas, share insights and gain new perspectives to create actionable outcomes to push the world forward. We make this happen by taking our delegates through the unique and interactive framework of Inspire, Engage, Act. In 2016, as part of the Youth for Global Goals initiative, ADB supported YSFs in 20 countries in Asia and the Pacific, inclusive of 31 cities. These forums engaged 8068 participants, 102 private enterprises, 28 government institutions, 311 educational institutions, and 58 CSOs.
SDG-Aligned Community Development Projects AIESEC develops community development projects across Asia and the Pacific and and mobilizes global volunteers through an open-web platform. In February 2016, ADB brought together 30+ youth leaders (project designers) from 20 countries across Asia and the Pacific to assess, analyze and align AIESEC’s community development projects in the region to the SDGs. Some highlighted projects include: • PRC: SDG 5 - Live the Same (http://bit.ly/2avL3E3) • Philippines: SDG 4 - Smile Art (http://bit.ly/ 2baigop) • Sri Lanka: SDG 3 – Beyond the Ability (http://bit.ly/ 2aHVDX2)
Acting on the SDGs through Exchange From January 2016 – July 2016, AIESEC has mobilized 5188 global volunteers into SDG-aligned community development projects across Asia and the Pacific. The top SDGs and targets in AIESEC’s community development projects, are: • SDG 3: Good Health & Well-being (3.3) (3.7) • SDG 4: Quality Education (4.5) (4.6) (4.7) (4a) • SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth (8.3) • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities (10.2) (10.3) • SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production (12.2) (12.5) (12.8)
5188
Youth Actions
13 | Example: Youth & SDGs with Public Sector The Infomediary Campaign: contributing to the SDGs on poverty reduction, quality education, economic growth & job opportunities, and gender equality About the Infomediary Campaign The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) is a government corporate entity attached to the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture. PhilRice has been engaging young people in rural communities as climate-smart, rice agriculture information providers, through the Infomediary Campaign. The Campaign aims to achieve three objectives: create alternative communication pathways for delivering climate-smart rice agriculture technologies and practices; promote agriculture as a viable career option; and promote the love for science of rice farming among young people. These objectives are pursued through three key ICT strategies: providing reading materials on rice in campaignparticipant schools; introduce the students to the Pinoy Rice Knowledge Bank – a website that contains massive information on rice production in the Philippines; and introduce students to an SMS platform that responds to all queries on rice. Combined with interactive activities such as rice gardens in schools, ‘quiz bees’, field days and competitions, the Infomediary Campaign has enabled youth to bring together their parents, communities, and local government representatives to enhance food security, quality education, economic opportunities, and gender representation in farming.
Outcomes of the Campaign After over 3 years of implementation, the Infomediary Campaign collaborates with the Technical Vocational Unit of the Department of Education to mobilize 108 high schools across the country. Evidence of successful outcomes of the project include: • 94% of students surveyed reported that they served as infomediaries via ICT tools such as reading publications, sending SMS, or surfing the net for rice farming information • Teachers promoting the campaign in their respective areas, including parent-teacher meetings, further training of teachers, and field days • Farmers asking for seeds, ie. increased use of certified seeds • Decreased pesticide usage in areas such as Bulacan
Awareness about the SDGs The Infomediary’s Campaign will link its existing work to the SDGs to raise awareness around them, and contextualize the local development project within the global agenda. The Campaign’s established network of schools, teachers, and students, alongside government support, presents an ideal platform for young people to collaborate with governments to enhance the country’s capacity to achieve the SDGs, and make the world a better place by 2030.
14 | Example: Youth & SDGs with Private Sector Microsoft’s YouthSpark Initiative, DigiGirlz– contributing to the SDGs on gender equality, quality education and decent work and economic growth About YouthSpark - DigiGirlz Microsoft understands and acts on the importance of young peoples’ contribution in today’s rapidly evolving economy – it is one of the few private corporations to power a youth-centric sustainability program. Microsoft’s YouthSpark is a company-wide initiative, empowering millions of youth around the world with greater opportunities in education, employment and entrepreneurship. DigiGirlz is program under the YouthSpark initiative - investing in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education for young women, and builds a pipeline of future workers ready for the challenges of the global economy. The experience provides high school girls with opportunities to learn about careers in technology, talk with employees about their experiences, and enjoy hands-on computer and technology workshops. On 12 August 2016, at the 4th Asian Youth Forum, Microsoft and the ADB will host the Philippines’ leg of DigiGirlz. In celebration of the UNs’ International Youth Day, this year’s theme – Youth4GG – focuses on enabling youth to contribute to the SDGs, among which is promoting gender equality, quality education, and decent work and economic growth.
Enhancing YouthSpark with the SDGs The overarching objective of the partnership is to leverage the Youth4GG initiative as a channel to enhance the reach and impact of Microsoft’s YouthSpark Programs and vice-versa. As a starting point, the engagement will focus on girls’ and women's’ issues through regional initiatives such as DigiGirlz. The rationale driving the partnership include: • Microsoft’s YouthSpark reached 307 million young people across the world in 2015. Asia and the Pacific is home to 60% of the world’s youth. There is an urgent need to engage youth in this region towards a sustainable future • The SDGs targets mention ‘technology’ 29 times. YouthSpark has the unique opportunity to enable youth through computer science education and prepare them for a career in technology • The SDG targets mention ‘women’ 19 times, ‘girls’ 8 times, ‘youth’ 5 times and ‘young people’ once. DigiGirlz (and its counterpart TechFemme) together these key stakeholders alongside technology to tackle key issues in development Outcome of the Partnership • Raise awareness and understanding on the SDGs, focusing on those relevant to Microsoft’s YouthSpark programs (potentially targeting 1 million young girls) • Attract and empower young women to be value-driven leaders in the workplace and in their communities • Leverage Youth4GG framework to enhance Microsoft’s sustainability targets and reporting on the 2030 global agenda
Events and Social Media
15 | Recent ADB Youth Events
Urban Youth Meeting – PrepCom3 Habitat III 24 July 2016
In 3 years, hosted 80+ events engaging 8000+ youth from 30+ countries in Asia and the Pacific 49th Annual Meeting: YouthSpeak Report Launch 3 May 2016
The World Urban Youth Meeting took place in Surabaya, Indonesia on 24 July 2016, with around 400 youth participants and a host of exciting speakers and topics. It was an official parallel event of Habitat III (the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Urban Development)’s PrepCom3, the last of important inter- governmental step towards agreement on the New Urban Agenda, which will be done in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016. The conference was expected to lay out a vision of sustainable and inclusive cities for the next twenty years. In support of the 49th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of ADB hosted in Frankfurt, Germany, ADB livestreamed the launch of the YouthSpeak Report on 3 May 2016 at ADB's Headquarters, and 15 Resident Missions, in partnership with AIESEC, the world's largest youth-led organization. This edition of the YouthSpeak report gathered more than 170,000 youth responses globally of which more than 62,000 came from Asia and the Pacific. The report aims to provide insight on the situation, challenges, and aspirations that today's young people face especially in the context of the new global agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals. At HQ, the livestreaming was preceded by roundtable discussions gathering representatives from ADB’s sector and thematic groups, 100+ youth leaders from the Philippines, and 10+ partner organizations including Save the Children, World Vision, and the Department of Education. S e e t h e f u l l Yo u t h S p e a k R e p o r t 2 0 1 6 a t h t t p s : / / i s s u u . c o m / a i e s e c i n t e r n a t i o n a l /d o c s / report_youthspeak_2016/1
In order to maximize diverse urban youths’ voice in the process, the organizers of World Urban Youth Meeting (IYMM, Kota Kita, Surabaya City, and UN-Habitat), with the help of Microsoft Asia, UNTAG university, AIESEC, ADB and UN institutions, offered meetings in select cities in Asia, where local youth participants could join via live streaming and other technological means in real time. The cities were: Bangkok, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Manila, Phxanom Penh, and Ulaanbaatar. The selection of cities was mainly based on UNHabitat’s partnerships during the research phase of its Global State of Urban Youth Report (GSUYR) 2015/16 “Urban Equity and Youth Development.”
16 | Event: Asia-Pacific Youth Exchange
Overview of 2nd APYE Leadership Development Training Development experts from partner organizations were invited to share lessons on the history, relevance and prospect of the SDGs and its relationship with youth. Emerging knowledge, skills and tools were shared to prepare youth delegates to immerse themselves in local communities, learn about development issues and brainstorm solutions.
An integrated experience for youth to learn and apply development knowledge towards the SDGs About APYE 1 – 12 August 2016 The Asia-Pacific Youth Exchange (APYE) is a program that responds to the global need of meaningfully including the youth in SDG initiatives. By simulating policy formulation and project execution, youth delegates are given a unique opportunity to learn and hone the skills necessary to contribute to the SDGs. To achieve this, the APYE has three main components: (1) Leadership Development Training, (2) Local Immersion and (3) Asian Youth Conference. With the success of the first APYE held in January of 2016, the Urban Youth Academy, ADB, UN Habitat and several other partners came together for a second time in August 2016. The second APYE hosted 120 participants from around Asia and the Pacific. By the end of the program, youth delegates are: • More knowledgeable about the basis and nuances of the SDGs • Able to understand youth’s role towards achieving the SDGs • Knowledgeable about the challenges of implementing SDG projects • Able to expand his/her network locally and internationally to enhance youth-led SDG initiatives • Able to identify opportunities for inclusion of young people in decision-making and implementation of the SDGs
Local Immersion In partnership with municipal governments, CSOs and communities, the immersion component exposed youth delegates to SDG initiatives being implemented in a given community. This exposure is a unique chance to understand the practical side of achieving SDGs.
Internship Fair To extend the growth of each youth delegate beyond the APYE, the project featured a component where participants got the opportunity to work with universities, governments, local and international NGOs, private sector organizations, and media outlets that address specific SDGs. Asian Youth Forum At ADB’s annual Asian Youth Forum, APYE delegates got the chance to pitch their ideas for community-based solutions through the lens of a particular SDG. The Forum also dedicated a space, hosted by The Ashoka Foundation, to allow delegates to reflect on their 2-week intensive journey and identify the actions to follow upon the completion of the program.
17 | Event: Annual Asian Youth Forum Celebratingthe potential and achievements of youth across Asia and the Pacific About 4th Asian Youth Forum In 2016, the 4th Asian Youth Forum (AYF4) will be held on 10 – 12 August 2016 in the ADB Headquarters in celebration of the 2016 UN International Youth Day on 12 August. Under the theme, “Youth for Global Goals”, AYF4 will be focused on enabling youth to contribute to the new global agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals. Recognizing that the current generation of young people will mature during the period covered by the SDGs, YFA has committed to empower youth to contribute to the new set of goals. Youth for Global Goals also refers to the initiative launched in partnership with AIESEC. In addition, AYF4 will also serve as a culmination of the 2nd Asia-Pacific Youth Exchange, an innovative capacity-building program for youth on the SDGs. In celebration of the first year of SDG implementation, AYF4 will be building partnerships with governments, private sector, academia and civil society to form the foundation and driving force for youth’s contribution to the achievement of the SDG’s. AYF4 will draw on knowledge and skills of these partners in developing a better understanding of youth’s potential and forging a path forward supporting youth’s contribution to the SDG’s throughout Asia and the Pacific.
450 Youth and Stakeholders from 26 Countries 70+ Speakers and Panelists 6 Pre-events, Side-Events & Field Trips A Cross-Sector Platform In 2015, the United Nations Development Group Asia-Pacific Thematic Working Group on Youth (TWGY) produced a youth and development-centered knowledge product titled: “Switched On: Youth at the Heart of Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific”. Using the ‘five Ps’ of the report as a foundation — people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership - AYF4’s agenda is structured to consider the social, economic and environmental dimensions of development and stresses the need to create conditions for youth to be engaged, active and integral parts of the solutions we need. To enable an inclusive environment, AYF4 hosted various pre-events, side events and field trips including: • Leadership Development Training (1 – 3 August) • Local Immersion (4 – 9 August) • ADB-NEDA Philippine Youth Forum (9 August) • Digital Media Zone (10 – 12 August) • DigiGirlz with Microsoft (12 August) Highlights of AYF4 A fully youth-driven experience • Designed and managed by YFA Team • Youth speaker in every session and panel Gender-inclusive participation • Speakers and panelists – 52% Female, 48% Male • Participants – 78% Female, 22% Male Marginalized and People with Disabilities • 40+ youth from marginalized rural communities mobilized by Plan • International and Government of the Philippines • Sign language available for hearing-impaired youth Homestay and local immersion • 100+ youth immersed in local communities in the Philippines as part of AYF4 side-event
18 | ENGAGING YOUTH FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
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