6 March 2006 * Kathmandu

Association of Youth Organisations Nepal (AYON) launched Youth in Development Partnership (YDP) 2006 under the theme "Yuwa Aba Hamro Palo, Desh Bikash ko lagi Hatemalo" in partnership with Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource Centre. YDP is an award program that promotes youth involvement in development and supports innovative projects from youth-led organisations and groups from all over Nepal. The project aims to support 7 youth projects with a maximum grant amount of Rs 3,00,000 in the following thematic areas: Education; Health; Employment; Youth Participation; Agriculture; Conflict Resolution; Infrastructure and Environment.

Launching the programme amidst a function in the capital, Program Director of the YDP 2006, Sudyumna Dahal, said that the programme is first of its kind in Nepal in mainstreaming youth of Nepal within national focus as not only the beneficiary but also a key partner in development and planning. He also said that this was an opportunity for youth and youth groups and all the stakeholders to initiate and foster inter-agency collaboration as a vehicle for outreach and youth participation.

Rajeev Upadhya, the Focal Person for Youth in South Asia at the World Bank said that no matter how big the challenge is in development efforts in Nepal toady, the challenge can't be barrier to those who are really committed, transparent and inclusive in development efforts. Therefore he emphasized that as YDP is an opportunity for young people, it is also a challenge for young people to show whether they are really serious about development and nation or not. Madhav Ghimire, Secertary of Ministry of General Administration, inaugurating the program applauded young people's efforts in projects like YDP and said it is directly linked to HMG/N's three prong approach to development especially in creating space for development efforts. Rajendra Mulmi, President of AYON said that programs like this needs more support from the government and donor agencies to keep it going in the long run. He further added that young people should be encouraged more and more into youth service and development. There aren't enough opportunities for young people in the development field and the Youth in Development Partnership hopes to encourage the participation and involvement of more young people in development.


About Association of Youth Organisations Nepal (AYON)

Association of Youth Organisations Nepal (AYON) is an umbrella network of youth organisations in Nepal. It is a non-political, non-religious, non-governmental, not-for-profit, autonomous network of Youth Organizations and as such, a platform for collaboration, cooperation, joint action and collective endeavor between Youth Organizations in Nepal.

More information: www.ayon.org or email: ayon@ayon.org

The Millennium Campaign in undertaking a mapping of the key youth groups/ networks in all the regions of the world. The project would entail creating a database of the most important youth groups/networks in the MDG priority countries with an aim of laying the grounds for creating a true youth movement within the region.

My name is Rajendra Mulmi and I am coordinating this Youth Mapping for the Asia and Pacific region. At this stage, the mapping process has 7 priority countries in this region; namely Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines.

I would like to invite all the youth organisations from these 7 countries, working to achive the millennium development goals to take part in this mapping process by simply filling up a Mapping Form. Should you need the form please email me at rmulmi@youth.org.np. The form is to be completed by key youth groups/ networks (whose membership and leadership are composed of mostly young people based on the age range of youth in your respective countries/culture/region) in these respective countries. The form can also be submitted by regional youth groups/networks which are connected/ associated with these countries or youth group of these countries.

The form is divided in Part I and Part II. Part I is about organisational information which is mandatory and Part II is about the situation of youth in your country which is optional. However, I would really appreciate if you could also fill up the part II which will assist Millennium Campaign to design its strategies in your respective countries.

Please submit your application by email at rmulmi@youth.org.np or via fax at +(977-1-4497073). The completed form must be received no later than 15th of November 2005.

I would also appreciate your help in disseminating this information within your networks.

Thank you for your interest and help.

Best regards


Rajendra
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Rajendra Mulmi
President, Youth Initiative
President, Association of Youth Organisations Nepal (AYON)
Secretary General, Young Liberals and Democrats of Asia (YLDA)

Post: GPO 8973, NPC 430, Kathmandu, Nepal

Tel: +(977 1) 4488 300 - work, 4489 119 - home
Cell: +(977) 9851070891
Email: rmulmi@infoclub.com.np
rmulmi@youth.org.np
secretarygeneral@yldasia.org
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www.youthinitiative.org.np www.ayon.org www.yldasia.org

dear all,

if you want to get yourself heard at the national youth policy of nepal.. here's your chance.

please visit www.youth.org.np and give your inputs for the national youth policy.

regards

rajendra mulmi

12 August 2004

RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE
YOUTH CONFERENCE ON NATIONAL YOUTH POLICY

Reminding all people of Nepal of the celebration of the International Youth Day that recognizes the inherent dignity, equality, and inalienable rights of all young people of Nepal,

Recognizing that young people in all countries are both a major human resource for development and key agents for social change and transformation, economic development and technological innovation,

Bearing in mind, that the ways in which the challenge and potentials of young people are addressed by policy will influence current social and economic conditions, the well-being and livelihoods of youth today and the future generations,

Realizing the ongoing violence and conflict persecuting the youth of the country,

Agreeing that this is a outcome of small youth group which may not be representative,

Acknowledging the lack of coordination and integration among the various stakeholders,

Noting with satisfaction of the past efforts of different countries around the world,

Reaffirming the resolution 54/120 adopted by the General Assembly of UN on 17 December 1999, which had endorsed the recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth (Lisbon, 8-12 August 1998), in which it encourages governments to work on youth policy of their respective countries according to the World Programme of Action for Youth to Year 2000 and Beyond,

The youth participants of the
Youth Conference on National Youth Policy
organised by Youth Initiative
12 August 2004,

1. Adopts the Call for the formulation of National Youth Policy of Nepal;

2. Requests governments, non-governmental organizations, political organizations, local bodies, public and private sectors, schools and universities, religious organizations, international community and youth organizations both political and non-political, in particular, to be involved harmoniously in the process;

3. Emphasizes Youth policy to be developed with extensive process of youth consultation, actively involving them in the overall policy formulation and putting together the views and ideas of young men and women from all regions, strata, tribes and gender;

4. Urges to include priority areas namely; hunger and poverty, conflict transformation/management, education, employment and entrepreneurship, health, volunteerism, girls and women, ethnic, dalits, minorities and, differently-abled groups, environment, information communication technology, drug abuse, and effective participation of youth in the life of society and in decision making;

5. Emphasizes special programmatic focus on the conflict affected youths and their welfare for sustainable livelihoods;

6. Mandates establishment of independent and strong youth commission, youth parliament and other effective institutions for research, effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

National Youth Conference, 12 August 2004, Kathmandu

GENERAL OUTLINE AND INFORMATION

Youth initiative is on its way to preparing Youth Perspectives on Development to be presented in the Nepal Development Forum 2004 to be organized from 5-6 May 2004.

Consultation Workshops and Conference, E-consultation and Direct Mail are being used to assimilate young peoples (15-29 yrs of age) perspectives.

This is an open invitation to all Youth of Nepal to be a part of the e-consultation and contribute towards the development of the development policies and strategies in Nepal.

All the inputs from the e-consultation will be complied and incorporated in the final report that will be presented in the Nepal Development Forum 2004.

Please click here to go to the E-CONSULTATION

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Objectives of the program

- To bring together youths from various segments of the Nepali society to share their perspectives on the Development of Nepal
- To discuss about the situation of youth in the present development scene and brainstorm on their roles and responsibilities on Nepal's development
- To discuss about the youth issues addressed by the Tenth Plan/PRSP among youth and to get their perspective on policy address
- To advocate for incorporating youths in the national priority agenda as a significant and potential resource for the overall national development

Expected Outcomes

- Recognition of youths as potential partners for national development and the realization of the need of specific policy address
- Understanding of the perspectives of youth on the current state affairs and the overall Nepal's development
- Documentation of the perspective of Nepali youths on the development of Nepal and recommendation on the potential role and responsibilities of youths in development.

Methodology

- Workshop
- Focused Group Discussion
- Paper presentation
- Plenary discussion
- Brain storming
- Group Work
- E-consultation
- Direct Mail
- Secondary Sources of Information

Workshops

A total of 6 workshops will be conducted. These will consists of organising workshops with various groups of youths. Each workshops will consists of 15-20 youth participants. These has been categorized as follow:

- Youths in politics and governance
- Youth in business, entrepreneurship and professional fields (technical and non-technical professions)
- Youth in social work and activism
- Youth in arts (media, sports, music, arts)
- Young students (school/college going from private and government institutions)
- Youth in Media (Paper, Electronic and AV)

Focused Group Discussions, brainstorming, and group work will be used as tools to get inputs and perspective of the youths. In each workshop there will be 1 facilitator and 2 rapporteurs.

At the end of each workshops 1-2 participants will be identified and selected to prepare papers based on the outcomes of the respective workshop. These paper writers will use the workshop documentations prepared by the rapporteurs as their primary source of information. A close consultation with the facilitators, other workshop paper writers, coordinator and organiser will also be done to enhance affectivity.

A total of 6 papers will be prepared from the 6 workshops to be presented in the conference which will be organised after the workshops. In addition to these 6 papers, Youth Initiative will prepare one paper, based on their organisational experience to be presented in the conference.

Conference

After the 6 workshops, a national conference will be organised. The final outcome document report from the conference will be submitted and presented during the Nepal Development Forum (5-6 May 2004) which will take place at the Birendra International Convention Center, Kathmandu.

It will be participated by around 80 young people from various walks of life. At least half of the participants will be the participants from the previous workshops.

The conference will have paper presentations from the previous workshop participants. These papers will establish the base of discussion. Focused Group Discussions, Brainstorming, Plenary discussions and Group work will be used as tools to finalize the inputs from the participants and to make the final report to be presented to the NDF 2004.

In the conference there will be 2 facilitators and 4 rapporteurs. A group of participants along with the coordinator of the program and Youth Initiative will prepare the final report with inputs from the rapporteurs.

The final report will be submitted to the NDF 2004.

E-consultation

E-consultation will be done for 2 weeks through the online forum at Youth Initiative website and also through the existing email groups of young people. Click here to join the E-consultation.

An online facilitator/moderator will facilitate the online discussions and will compile a report of the e-consultations to be incorporated in the final report.

Participation

Youths from various parts: urban, semi-urban and rural Nepal will participate in the workshops and seminars. The participants will be within the age bracket of 15-29 years.

Diligence will be used to participate both male and female youths to bring up unbiased outcomes. Efforts will be made to ensure the participation and representation of youth from as many sectors as possible. Marginalized, underprivileged and youths with special needs will also be involved as equally important stakeholders. This will include youths involved in a variety of fields. These have been categorized under the following 6 sub-groups for our purpose.

- Youths in politics and governance
- Youth in business, entrepreneurship and professional fields (technical and non-technical professions)
- Youth in social work and activism
- Youth in arts (media, sports, music, arts)
- Young students (school/college going from private and government institutions)
- Youth in Media (Paper, Electronic and AV)

Contacts and Dates

Coordinator: Rajendra Mulmi 9851070891 (M) rmulmi@infoclub.com.np

Dy. Coordinator: Robin Sitoula 9841247054 (M) robs@mail.com.np

Workshop Dates and Contact Coordinators

Date Venue Workshop Group Workshop Coordinator
24 April Hotel Harati, Chhetrapati Students Sudyumna Dahal [Tel:4488064, 4444438]
dahalsudyuman@hotmail.com
24 April Hotel Mountain, Kantipath Youth in Arts and Sports
(Music, literature, Sports Athletes) Rajendra Ghimire [Tel: 9841242324]
ghimirerajendra@yahoo.com
25 April Hotel Harati, Chhetrapati Youth in social work and activism Sujata Thapa [Tel: 4495061] yinepal@wlink.com.np
25 April Hotel Mountain, Kantipath Youth in business, entrepreneurship and professional fields Bhanu Karmacharya [Tel: 4226903, 4472415] yinepal@wlink.com.np
26 April Hotel Harati, Chhetrapati Youth In Media Astha Rijal [Tel: 6632855] lovelyastha@hotmail.com
26 April Hotel Mountain, Kantipath Youth in Politics and Governance Prakash Pyakurel [4472415] yinepal@wlink.com.np

National Conference on 'Youth Perspective on Development'
- 29 April 2004 at Hotel Dwarikas, Battisputali