Empowering Young People as Promoters 1 Naomi Radke, seecon international GmbH

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Empowering Young People as Promoters Find this presentation and more on Contents 1.Why Involve Youth? 2.Barriers and Challenges to Involving Youth 3.Skills Needed by Youth 4.Tools Commonly Used by Youth 5.Facts to Consider 6.Youth Projects and Programmes 7.Advantages and Disadvantages 8.References 3

Empowering Young People as Promoters Find this presentation and more on As promoters for sustainable sanitation and water management, they: Get opportunities to develop skills and support organisational work without a lot of experience Often have a lot of extra time and energy, and are creative Have access to tremendous amounts of information (e.g. internet based social networks) but often do not know what to do with it Will be able to assure sustainability by taking what they learn into the future 4 1. Why Involve Youth? Youth working to protect mangroves in Thailand and youth awareness campaign in India. Source: ANDAMAN DISCOVERIES (2010); SHIMRAY (2010)

Empowering Young People as Promoters Find this presentation and more on Traditional leaders and decision makers are frequently reluctant to involve young people in their plans This resistance is partly due to a lack of tools to involve youth Adults treat youth as adults – which they are not!  wrong methods which make it more likely that programme will not be accepted by youth 5 2. Barriers and Challenges to Involving Youth

Empowering Young People as Promoters Find this presentation and more on For Promotion of Water and Sanitation Issues Awareness building, training and skills transfer from specialists in key areas: Internet-based social networks Policy aspects of the right to water and sanitation Social justice and equity Rhetoric and debating skills Decision-making and group facilitation tools Marketing skills Environmental health Problems related to water and sanitation 6 3. Skills Needed by Youth Source: [Accessed: ]

Empowering Young People as Promoters Find this presentation and more on For Promotion of Water and Sanitation Issues Door-to-door campaigns Water forums and brigades School environmental groups Art contests Online and printed publications Educational radio and theatre shows Concerts Amongst others Tools Commonly Used by Youth Source: WSP (2007)

Empowering Young People as Promoters Find this presentation and more on Young people are empowered if they know they have the capacity to influence change. E.g.: when they identify that their actions can directly influence the quality of water that they consume Measuring water quality Researching improvements in health or biodiversity  Action plans should have small, reachable goals 8 5. Facts to Consider World Youth Parliament for Water from Europe examining water and other elements of environment. Source: [Accessed: ]

Empowering Young People as Promoters Find this presentation and more on Youth groups can break down If from needy or poor communities, young people may need to contribute to the family economy Romantic involvement and pregnancy Solution: Introducing small stipends for more mature and experienced youth Access to training and certification 9 6. Youth Projects and Programmes Problems

Empowering Young People as Promoters Find this presentation and more on Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages: Youth create appealing campaigns Youth are prepared to work as volunteers Opportunities to develop technical and communication skills Attraction to green technologies Easily mobilised Cooperative learning Teamwork strategies Disadvantages: Youth lack work experience Youth can sometimes be easily distracted Youth can sometimes lack seriousness Youth require more supervision and support Youth do not have much respect of older people When coming from poor families, they have financial demands

Empowering Young People as Promoters Find this presentation and more on ANDAMAN DISCOVERIES (Editor) (2010): Youth Act. Kura: Andaman Discoveries. URL: [Accessed: ] SHIMRAY, I. (2010): DYSoC Day 1: Delhi Youth’s Eco-Rendezvous on Environment Day. Dehli: Dehli Green Blogs. URL: environment-day/ [Accessed: ] environment-day/ WSP (2007): October. Cartoon Calendar. Washington: Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP). URL: [Accessed: ] References

Empowering Young People as Promoters 12 “Linking up Sustainable Sanitation, Water Management & Agriculture” SSWM is an initiative supported by: Created by: