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Making youth power count in national development

Pascal Villeneuve
IN Bangladesh, there are an estimated 30 million adolescent boys and girls between the ages of 10-19 who represent 20 per cent of the population, while 40 percent of population comprises of children alone.In a country where nearly half the population is aged below 18, investing in young people cannot be over-emphasized.
At present, the situation of adolescent girls aged between 10 and 19 mirrors that of adult women. It is characterized by inequality and subordination of adolescents within the family and society, leading to widespread practice of child marriage, marginalization or exclusion from health, education and economic opportunities and a vulnerability to violence and sexual abuse.
But to tap the power and energy of youth, there is a dire need to make greater investments in the youth population in order to ensure that the positive energy of youth creates a visible difference in the country's overall development.
Meanwhile, over the past few decades urbanization in Bangladesh has progressed at a rapid pace. Urban slum areas currently have the fastest growing population in Bangladesh. Dhaka city's population jumped from 0.5 million to llmillion between 1961 and 2001 - a 22times leap in just 40 years.
Most adolescents in urban slums are or have been child labourers with little or no schooling.
Although they are born into a vicious cycle of poverty, many adolescent girls and boys dream of breaking free and eventually leaving the slums.
Changing Fortunes
Eighteen-year-old Sonia Akhtar, who was born and raised atTekerbari slum and 17-year-old Yasin living in Vasantek slum in Dhaka are among some glowing examples of positive change. Missing out on schooling when she was a child, Sonia is now in class VIII. She is not a typical child of the slum doing menial jobs and receiving charity.She is a member of an adolescent club and has received Life Skills Based Education.
Sonia learnt how to bake after a training programme organised by an NGO partner last year and has been able to set up her little bakery at home with an adolescent stipend of Tk 15,000 (USD 195). Her cakes and doughnutsare supplied to two nearby tea stalls. "The bakery has helped me contribute to my family's income which has helped delay my age of marriage" Sonia added.
Like Sonia, Yasin had dropped out of school when he was
in class VIII.Under the same stipend programme, he took training on mobile phone servicing last year. The stipend programme helps adolescents come up with innovative ventures that give them a competitive edge. As a result,adolescents like Sonia and Yasin are earningtheir livelihoods through various innovative ventures like tailoring, embroidery and opening beauty salons.
UNICEF and adolescents
Adolescent empowerment is, therefore a key focus of UNICEF's projects and activities. With our partners, the organisation is working towards building the self-esteem, confidence and knowledge of young people to ensure greater adolescent participation in decision making mainly through life skills-based education.
The idea is to give adolescents a sense of purpose by equipping them with new skills that they can pass onto others. The Swimsafe programme trains rural adolescents to become swimming instructors so that they can pass on their knowledge to younger children inorder to prevent drowning.
UNICEF also provides young people with an avenue for self-expression and has teamed up with a number of media organizations across Bangladesh to advocate the rights of children and adolescents. It encourages adolescents to speak their minds on television on shows like Our Voice (broadcast on BTV) where they quiz policymakers mainly on development issues.
Another example is Bangladesh's first online news agency for children titled, 'Hello'. This feeds child related news to the media by children aged between 10 to 17 years. For big events, such as when Cyclone Mahasen hit the coastal areas of Bangladesh or World Day Against Child Labour, child journalists have worked together to bring about a comprehensive view of the topic.
The key strategies of adolescent girls and boys empowerment include life skills based education,while community participation and involvement is strengthened through the establishment of local support groups with participation of parents, influentialcommunity members and young people.Institutional capacity building of secondary stakeholders in the Government and NGOs; stipends for income generation activities are also ways to strengthen adolescent development while Sport for Developmenta relatively recent initiative empowers and develops life skills and confidence amongst adolescents through sport.
The youth in Bangladesh accounts for all of its future, so they must be acknowledged as a continuing priority. The writer is the Representative of UNICEF Bangladesh.