Trade Union Training on employment policies with a focus on youth employment 11 July, 2007 Turin, Italy

The Youth Employment Network YEN Sara Spånt Technical Officer YEN Secretariat

Background YEN Established in 2001 as an Interagency partnership uniting the UN, the ILO and the World Bank to address the Millennium Declaration commitment on Youth Employment.

YEN Mandate UN Resolutions YEN High-Level Panel ILO-WB Aide Memoire

Structure –The Core Agency partners –A High-Level Panel (HLP) –21 Lead Countries (LC) –A Youth Consultative Group –A Network of Networks –The YEN Secretariat

Asia Sri Lanka Indonesia

LC Commitments Confirm Government commitment at the highest political level to decent and productive work for young people Prepare a national review and action plan on youth employment Contribute to international development cooperation in sharing national experience with other countries and with the international community Contribute to a broader political process in the overall framework of follow-up to the Millennium Declaration and within the ILO for a coherent and integrated international strategy on employment. For example, Lead countries may wish to support resolutions in the General Assembly on youth employment.

LC Benefits Support in the formulation of National Action Plans (NAP) on youth employment through YEN core partner agencies by way of technical guidance as well as assistance to build capacity for the implementation of the plans; Gaining knowledge through a network for youth employment and a constituency within the youth community, which is given full and equal participation in the YEN through a standing Youth Consultative Group; Assistance in the development and implementation of youth participation mechanisms; Access to political platforms to showcase leadership in regional and international fora. Opportunity to become part of a community of countries that have joined together to share knowledge and experiences on the challenges/successes

NAPs The preparations of action plans provide a framework for a broad-based national dialogue on youth employment. They provide a mechanism for priority setting and resource allocation in the face of competing resources and should stimulate improved performance and learning by doing. The HLP urges the UN, the World Bank and the ILO to support the completion of the action plans by the Lead countries.

Support to NAP processes Co-ordination Constituency-building Knowledge management Leveraging resources

Coordination Generating political interest, awareness and buy-in Assisting the creation of political and technical structures and networks Contributing to policy coherence between YEN Core Partners Facilitating the provision of technical support through YEN Core Partners and other Network Linking relevant stakeholders, donors and agencies

Constituency- building Promoting a multi-stakeholder approach Encouraging and supporting youth involvement in national and international policy development and implementation Capacity building Create and coordinate mechanisms for private sector partnerships;

Facilitating the exchange of good practices through: Disseminating knowledge on NAP progress, good practices and lessons learnt Developing Tools and Products Exploring development of indicators and benchmarks for M&E Exploring Peer Partnership mechanisms Knowledge management

Leveraging resources Supporting activities in YEN Lead Countries (BMZ) Leveraging Core Partner support (e.g. Sri Lanka, Indonesia) Leverage funds, pool and co-funding activities undertaken by a wide range of actors in Lead Countries Mobilising human resources (e.g. CIDA) Facilitating Regional Initiatives (YEN-WA) Build partnerships with on-going and new donors, so that resources are sustained

Generate commitments Assist lead agency Identify stakeholders including youth Support creation of technical and political structures Sharing knowledge and best practices Stakeholder support incl. youth Support institutional structures Coordination NAP and PRSPs, national development plans etc Preparation Design Implementation Support implementation strategies Sharing knowledge Peer partnerships Support institutional structures Support coordination with national development plans Support youth participation Support resource mobilization strategies Monitoring and Evaluation Sharing progress made and lessons learned Produce global analysis of NAPs and reviews Support peer partnerships for M&E Support youth participation in M&E Support development of indicators NAP Phases

Major current activities On-going support to activities in lead countries YEN Guide to Youth Participation YEN analysis of national policies, PRSPs and budgets in West Africa Support to the Youth Employment Unit for West Africa in Dakar incl. Private Sector Initiative Youth Consultations on Young Workers and HIV/AIDS to be organized in Rwanda UNIDO/ILO/UNDP/UNOWA/YEN Multi-Stakeholder programme for the Mano River Union + Côte d’Ivoire Finalizing the support for NAP development and implementation in Sri Lanka and Senegal (BMZ) Organizing a Lead Country information sharing meeting – launch of a peer partnership process Developing a database and inventory of good practices in West Africa Dissemination of World Bank Global Inventory of Youth Employment Projects and Programmes

YEN Secretariat value-added Political buy-in Policy coherence Network and multi stakeholder approach Youth participation Leverage resources - participating countries Knowledge sharing, tools and resources Support to M+E and ongoing improvement of NAPs Promoting key messages

LC Commitments Confirm Government commitment at the highest political level to decent and productive work for young people Prepare a national review and action plan on youth employment Contribute to international development cooperation in sharing national experience with other countries and with the international community Contribute to a broader political process in the overall framework of follow-up to the Millennium Declaration and within the ILO for a coherent and integrated international strategy on employment. For example, Lead countries may wish to support resolutions in the General Assembly on youth employment.

LC Benefits Support in the formulation of National Action Plans (NAP) on youth employment through YEN core partner agencies by way of technical guidance as well as assistance to build capacity for the implementation of the plans; Support for the establishment of a multi-stakeholder process; Gaining knowledge through a network for youth employment and a constituency within the youth community; Assistance in the development and implementation of youth participation mechanisms; Access to political platforms to showcase leadership in regional and international fora. Opportunity to become part of a community of countries that have joined together to share knowledge and experiences on the challenges/successes

NAPs The preparations of action plans provide a framework for a broad-based national dialogue on youth employment. They provide a mechanism for priority setting and resource allocation and should stimulate improved performance and learning by doing. The HLP urges the UN, the World Bank and the ILO to support the completion of the action plans by the Lead countries.

Support to NAP processes Co-ordination Constituency-building Knowledge management Leveraging resources

Coordination Generating political interest, awareness and buy-in Assisting the creation of political and technical structures and networks Contributing to policy coherence between YEN Core Partners Facilitating the provision of technical support through YEN Core Partners and other partners Linking relevant stakeholders, donors and agencies

Constituency- building Promoting a multi-stakeholder approach Encouraging and supporting youth involvement in national and international policy development and implementation Capacity building Create and coordinate mechanisms for private sector partnerships;

Facilitating the exchange of good practices through: Disseminating knowledge on NAP progress, good practices and lessons learnt Developing Tools and Products Exploring development of indicators and benchmarks for M&E Exploring Peer Partnership mechanisms Knowledge management

KM: Tools and products YEN Lead Countries Resource Directory (online at ) Report of the Secretary-General A global analysis and evaluation of national action plans on youth employment A/60/133 (August 2005) Review of NAPs – Putting Commitments into Action (Jan. 2007) YEN Youth Guide (draft online at Core Partner Resources

Leveraging resources Supporting activities in YEN Lead Countries (BMZ) Leveraging Core Partner support (e.g. Sri Lanka, Indonesia) Leverage funds, pool and co-funding activities undertaken by a wide range of actors in Lead Countries Mobilising human resources (e.g. CIDA) Facilitating Regional Initiatives (YEN-WA)

Generate commitments Assist lead agency Identify stakeholders including youth Support creation of technical and political structures Sharing knowledge and best practices Stakeholder support incl. youth Support institutional structures Coordination NAP and PRSPs, national development plans etc Preparation Design Implementation Support implementation strategies Sharing knowledge Peer partnerships Support institutional structures Support coordination with national development plans Support youth participation Support resource mobilization strategies Monitoring and Evaluation Sharing progress made and lessons learned Produce global analysis of NAPs and reviews Support peer partnerships for M&E Support youth participation in M&E Support development of indicators NAP Phases

Major current activities On-going support to activities in lead countries YEN Guide to Youth Participation YEN analysis of national policies, PRSPs and budgets in West Africa Support to the Youth Employment Unit for West Africa in Dakar incl. Private Sector Initiative Youth Consultations on Young Workers and HIV/AIDS to be organized in Rwanda UNIDO/ILO/UNDP/UNOWA/YEN Multi-Stakeholder programme for the Mano River Union + Côte d’Ivoire Finalizing the support for NAP development and implementation in Sri Lanka and Senegal (BMZ) Organizing a Lead Country information sharing meeting – launch of a peer partnership process Developing a database and inventory of good practices in West Africa Dissemination of World Bank Global Inventory of Youth Employment Projects and Programmes

YEN Secretariat value-added Political buy-in Policy coherence Network and multi stakeholder approach Youth participation Leverage resources - participating countries Knowledge sharing, tools and resources Support to M+E and ongoing improvement of NAPs Promoting key messages on wider international development arena

Questions?

Contact details Sara Spånt Technical Officer on Youth Employment The Youth Employment Network (YEN) International Labour Office 4 route de Morillons 1211 Geneva