Programme design for sustainable futures: Enhancing resilience & self-reliance of youth and key stakeholders in crisis-affected settings

Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Civic Engagement International data shows that in crisis and conflict-affected countries, while 60% of the population is under 25 years old, the formal education system is often not... [ view full abstract ]

Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Civic Engagement
International data shows that in crisis and conflict-affected countries, while 60% of the population is under 25 years old, the formal education system is often not accessible. RET's 15 years of work in such contexts highlights the importance of implementing innovative non-formal and alternative learning programmes to meet the needs of these vulnerable young people. That youth are potential agents of positive social change is a central tenet of all RET’s educational programmes. Therefore, through innovative programme design, RET works to meet the learning needs of young people, in a manner which will build their own resilience, whilst promoting core values of tolerance, respect and cooperation. The paper will examine RET's youth leadership and youth empowerment programmes in the following contexts: for Somali young people in Dadaab refugee camps, Kenya; for Lebanese host-community and Syrian refugee youth in urban settings, Lebanon; for displaced and refugee youth in Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama and Costa Rica, as part of a regional response to the Colombian crisis. The paper will demonstrate that the participants engaged by these programmes have improved levels of self-esteem and motivation, are less likely to engage in harmful practices, and are assuming positive leadership roles amongst their peers and within their communities. RET can therefore conclude that carefully-designed learning programmes for youth are crucial, not only for unleashing individual creativity and self-fulfilment, but for future peace and stability, at local, national and regional levels.

Self-reliance through relevant livelihoods training for community resilience RET has worked since 2001 to provide relevant and meaningful learning opportunities for out-of-school and non-schooled adolescents and youth in... [ view full abstract ]

Self-reliance through relevant livelihoods training for community resilience
RET has worked since 2001 to provide relevant and meaningful learning opportunities for out-of-school and non-schooled adolescents and youth in crisis and conflict-affected settings. Working outside the formal education system, RET has designed and implemented successful livelihoods programmes to increase the self-reliance of this under-served group.
This paper will examine 3 different methods to increasing youth's employability skills and profiles in challenging settings: the first concerns a small-business approach used in rural Afghanistan; the second explores an apprenticeship training scheme for Somali refugees in Kenya; the third looks at an entrepreneurship programme for young women in Ecuador. All three methods have produced positive outcomes in terms of employability, income-generation, self-reliance, and also regarding participants' well-being, motivation and general resilience to harm.
RET concludes that even without much (if any) formal education, young people can become engaged in their communities in a meaningful way which will lead to greater stability through appropriate livelihoods training; that this should be a priority for the creation of sustainable futures in contexts of crisis.

Capacity-building at community and institutional levels for sustainable educational programming Capacity-building for sustainability has become a central element of the international community's education agenda in recent... [ view full abstract ]

Capacity-building at community and institutional levels for sustainable educational programming
Capacity-building for sustainability has become a central element of the international community's education agenda in recent years, both at local community and institutional levels. RET has involved local communities at all stages of implementation, so as to increase local ownership and facilitate transition and hand-over. It also ensures that the programme is culturally-sensitive and accepted. This paper will explore the community's role in RET's education programmes in the refugee camps in Eastern Chad and Kenya. It will demonstrate approaches to address community resistance, and to build the capacities of civil society to run the programmes after RET's intervention has come to an end.
RET has also been actively involved in capacity-building of formal and non-formal educational institutions and infrastructure a) Building the capacities of Colombia's Ministry of Education (regionally and locally) regarding Preparedness for Disaster Risk Reduction b) Strengthening of Afghanistan's rural Teacher Training Institutes to receive more female teacher c) Close engagement with Lebanon's Ministry of Social Affairs to manage relevant non-formal learning programmes for host-community and refugee youth and women in their Social Development Centres.
The paper will conclude that engagement at local and institutional level must be a priority for programmes to have a sustainable impact, regarding access to and quality of learning, in crisis settings.

The symposia will explore three elements of RET's programme design to create sustainable futures for young people made vulnerable by displacement, conflict, natural disasters and violence. While children remain the priority... [ view full abstract ]

The symposia will explore three elements of RET's programme design to create sustainable futures for young people made vulnerable by displacement, conflict, natural disasters and violence. While children remain the priority target group for most international actors, RET has advocated that carefully-designed learning programmes for youth are crucial, not only for unleashing individual creativity and self-fulfilment, but for future peace and stability. The crisis settings included in these papers will include: Somali refugees in Kenya; Sudanese refugees in Chad; young conflict-affected women in Afghanistan; a regional response to the Colombian crisis (Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica); Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
The first paper will explore RET's programmes for youth empowerment which are providing vulnerable young people with skills to pave the way to peace and social cohesion.
The second paper examines the importance of relevant livelihoods programming, for youth who have had little (if any) formal education, as a means to build individual and community resilience.
The third paper emphasises the need to support, and where necessary build, local and institutional capacities, to develop and manage quality learning programmes.
The symposia sets out to argue that educational interventions for youth are critical for sustainable futures; that while children are the leaders of the future, youth are the leaders today!