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Harnessing the power of youthWorking together to build a better world

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Fighting poverty is theWorld Bank’s mission

• Two major pillars– Investment climate

• Finance, infrastructure, labor market reform, etc…

– Investing in people• Education, health, social protection, HIV/AIDS

• The MDGs provide the global framework– With a focus on children and youth

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Millennium Development Goals directly relevant to children and youth

•Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

•Goal 3: Promote gender equality

•Goal 4: Reduce child mortality

•Goal 5: Improve maternal health

•Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

•Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

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Participation is key

• PRSP, CAS– Experience shows that the best “ experts” are

those directly affected• People living with HIV/AIDS• Disability and development• Youth organizations

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And holistic approaches are essential

-70%

-60%

-50%

-40%

-30%

-20%

-10%

0%0% 3% 5% 8% 10% 13% 15%

% grwth govt health spending

% r

educ

tion

U5M

R 1

990-

2015

5% ec grwth& 2.5% female educ grwth& 2.5% roads grwth& 2.5% wat & san grwth& 2.5% grwth in all

Source: A. Wagstaff et al. 2004

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Two ways to see the future

• Change the Bank to make it easier for youth organizations to engage with it– It will take time in the face of “ high noon” pressing

problems

• Change the world together– And change ourselves in the process

• The second solution is the one we propose– Each party brings strengths– Each can learn from the other

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What the Bank can bring to the partnership

! Capacity to research across development borders: education, health, infrastructure, etc

! Existing portfolio of Bank projects and operations that help children and young people (schools, jobs, health, etc)

! Ability to combine financing with tried and true insights from developing countries

! Convening influence at both international and national levels

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What youth can bring to the partnership

• A fresh, experience based perspective on development issues

• A long-term commitment• Resources, experience, and capabilities• Creativity and enthusiasm for development• Willingness to participate and contribute• Global organizations and networks with global reach and

knowledge• Knowledge of and access to grass root realities and local

communities; experience with community-driven approaches

• Energy to build more inclusive, responsive, and effective public policies and program implementation processes

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A vision of the future

Empowered, educated,

responsible global citizens

Enabling policies, institutions and services

Inte

grat

ed in

vest

men

ts in

ch

ildre

n an

d yo

uth

Supp

ortiv

e fa

mili

es a

nd

com

mun

ities

You

th in

clus

ion

and

parti

cipa

tion

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Livelihoodsand

employment

Life-long learning

Healthy behaviors

EarlyChildhood

Development

Child health+ nutrition

Safe, healthyhabitat

Secondary + tertiaryeducation

Primaryeducation

Protection ofthe most

vulnerable(OVC)Pa

rtic

ipat

ion

and

Empo

wer

men

t

Supportive families and communities

Enabling policies and institutionsAge25

14

6

0

The building blocks of the visionStart early…

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Livelihoodsand

employment

Life-long learning

Healthy behaviors

Secondary + tertiaryeducation

Part

icip

atio

n an

dEm

pow

erm

ent

Supportive families and communities

Enabling policies and institutionsAge25

14

6

0

The building blocks of the vision… continue with youth

Investing in earlier life

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Issues and risks differ significantly…

Children Issues/Risks• Malnutrition • Childhood Illness• Getting into school/

staying enrolled • Unsafe home environment• Orphans and vulnerable

children (AIDS, war, street children, disability)

• Child Labor

Youth Issues/Risks• No voice in development

policies• Staying in school/high

dropout rates• Finding the first job/

staying employed • Risky behaviors (early

pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, violence and crime, drugs)

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… and so do potential solutions

• Children (0-14): Doing More and Better – We know increasingly what works – BUT: how to do it effectively and selectively?– And catch those falling through the cracks? (e.g. OVC)

• Youth (15-24): More Systematic Focus – Experience and analysis is new and uneven– How to build on pioneering work? (e.g. LAC and ECA regions)– How to move from advocacy to evidence? (research and analytic

work)– How to integrate youth voice in all levels of development work

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7 days

28 days

1 year

Birth

5 years

10 years

20 years

Primary healthcare and nutrition

Adulthood

Aging

Death

Families andcommunities

Participation

Protection

Safe, healthyhabitat

Healthybehaviors

ECDLife-longlearning

PrimaryeducationSecondary and

tertiary education

Policiesand

operationaltools

The life cycle approach provides the link

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From vision to action

• Build evidence of what works

• Target operations

• Build capacity

• Listen to the voice of youth

• Invent new methodologies to solve global issues

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• Build the evidence to: – Convince decision makers of the cost of inaction – Identify effective interventions– Deepen joint knowledge on selected themes: employment, education,

risky behaviors, conflict prevention, pro-youth growth strategies

• Improve data collection, systems, presentation:– Develop standard set of indicators, building on MDG’s– Disaggregate the 15-24 grouping to allow for targeted interventions – Build rigorous monitoring and evaluation systems

• Collect and disseminate “good practice”

Build evidence of what works

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• Build on the Bank’s existing portfolio of operations that benefit C+Y (schools, health, jobs, HIV/AIDSetc)

• Develop regional C&Y strategic frameworks

• Embed C&Y issues in national development policies

• Include C& Y issues into PRSP’s, CAS, and other Bank instruments

• Partner with youth as stakeholders from early stages of policy development

• Integrate C&Y monitoring and evaluation systems into national systems

• Support multi-sector collaboration

Target Operations

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Build capacity

• In youth organizations• In government agencies• In the Bank• Develop joint training modules

– Role of WBI• Use information technology to share

information and knowledge

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Listen to the voice of youth

• At the country Level:– Facilitate youth consultations and youth participation in Bank’s

operations and initiatives (PRSP, CAS, analytic work, projects, etc.)

• At the global Level:• Build a network for continuous dialogue between young people

and the Bank• Share information among the Youth community and the Bank

on poverty and development challenges• Disseminate information and knowledge on Bank work related

to youth issues

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Invent new methodologiesto address global issues

• The “ high noon” challenge• Use joint influence to get action• Youth as active citizens locally and globally• ???

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What we need to accomplish in Sarajevo…

• Establish a loose and informal network for dialogue and regular interaction to:• Disseminate information and knowledge sharing• Facilitate joint work on selected issues• Empower and strengthen youth organizations• Ensure inclusiveness

• Agree on a process to establish the proper institutional arrangements for such a network

• Find ways to engage other institutional partners• Be sensitive to local/global tensions• Set up a system to monitor progress on the Sarajevo

commitments

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Come senators, congressmen

Please heed the call,

Don’t stand in the doorway

Don’t block up the wall

For he that gets hurt

Will be he who has stalled

There’s a battle outside

And it’s ragin’.

It’ll soon shake your windows

And rattle your walls

For the times they are a-changin’

Bob Dylan