Youth mainstreaming is a public policy

Policy

A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...

 concept. The Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 describes it in this context:
It is modeled on gender mainstreaming

Gender mainstreaming

Gender mainstreaming is the public policy concept of assessing the different implications for women and men of any planned policy action, including legislation and programmes, in all areas and levels...

, which the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 defined in the 1990s as:

Strategy

Youth mainstreaming is a two-fold strategy for pursuing youth development. Inspired by the experience of gender mainstreaming

Gender mainstreaming

Gender mainstreaming is the public policy concept of assessing the different implications for women and men of any planned policy action, including legislation and programmes, in all areas and levels...

, it involves ensuring youth is reflected in policy and project stages in various sectors and ensuring there are specific projects addressing youth. Together these add up to a youth responsive approach.

By reflecting, addressing, being sensitive to, and being responsive to youth issues, mainstreaming is meant to both looking at the impact of a policy/project on young women and men, and involve young women and men in order to ensure youth participation

Youth participation

Youth participation is the active engagement of young people throughout their communities. It is often used as a short-hand for youth participation in any many forms, including decision-making, sports, schools and any activity where young people are not historically engaged.-Coinage:Youth...

 in the decision-making of those policies and/or projects that affects them.

Advocates of youth mainstreaming point out that young people represent a disadvantaged and marginalised social group, being over-represented among the global poor and unemployed. As such it is argued that "pro-poor" strategies must be "pro-youth", and that any development intervention seeking sustainable impact must address the youth cohort.

Purposes

The purposes of youth mainstreaming include:

• Avoiding perpetuating and/or reinforcing the marginalisation of young people
• Confronting society's stigmatization of young people
  Adultism
  Adultism has been defined as "the power adults have over children". More narrowly, 'adultism is prejudice and accompanying systematic discrimination against young people'...
  
   as deviant, criminal, incapable etc.
• Maximising the positive impact of policies and/or projects upon young people
• Promoting inter-generational transfer of knowledge and positive cultural values
  Intergenerational equity
  Intergenerational equity in economic, psychological, and sociological contexts, is the concept or idea of fairness or justice in relationships between children, youth, adults and seniors, particularly in terms of treatment and interactions. It has been studied in environmental and sociological...
  
  
• Investing in young people: realise the benefits of engaging them as a human resource
• Respecting the right of young people
  Youth rights
  Youth rights refers to a set of philosophies intended to enhance civil rights for young people. They are a response to the oppression of young people, with advocates challenging ephebiphobia, adultism and ageism through youth participation, youth/adult partnerships, and promoting, ultimately,...
  
   to participate in decision-making (for under 18s this is enshrined in Article 12
  Article 12
  Article 12 was a youth-led children's rights organisation based in England. Its main aim was to ensure the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child UNCRC.- About :...
  
   of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
  Convention on the Rights of the Child
  The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children...
  
  .
• Benefiting from young people’s knowledge, skills, ideas and practical contributions
• Empowering young people
  Youth empowerment
  Youth empowerment is an attitudinal, structural, and cultural process whereby young people gain the ability, authority, and agency to make decisions and implement change in their own lives and the lives of other people, including youth and adults....
  
  , which is a Commonwealth
  Commonwealth of Nations
  The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
  
  objective under the "Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment".

Process

The basic steps in youth mainstreaming are to factor youth impacts and youth participation into all stages of a project, of whatever size and sector:

• Situation Analysis: Young women and men’s condition and position need to be researched. Young people can act as peer researchers, informants in the process.
• Planning: Young people should be a target population, and young people’s views and aspirations should be taken into account.
• Implementation of Activities: Young people should be maximally involved, consistent with their informed consent and their education, livelihoods and leisure needs.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: There should be youth-specific indicators, including those related to the quantity and quality of youth participation in the project. M&E should also involve asking young people’s view of how much progress has been made and what the challenges are.
• Budgeting: Specific line items should cover youth-specific activities and the mechanisms to be put in place to secure their participation in all stages of the project.

The steps that institutions can take toward youth mainstreaming are:

• Capacity-building on youth mainstreaming
• Designation of youth mainstreaming focal points within each department
• Integration of youth mainstreaming in planning, budgeting and Monitoring and Evaluation procedures.

Essential questions

1. Are young women and men part of the target population?
2. Will the situation analysis disaggregate data by age-group as well as gender, socio-economic, ethnic group etc?
3. Have existing youth structures (e.g. National Youth Councils, youth NGOs and youth clubs, secondary schools, colleges) been consulted as part of background research?
4. Will young people be given a role in conducting the Situation Analysis?
5. Will young people’s views be canvassed and taken into account when setting goals and objectives?
6. Do young people fall under the general goals and objectives?
7. Are there youth-specific goals and objectives?
8. What are the youth-specific line items in the budget? Will control over any of the budget be shared with/delegated to young people?
9. What are the youth-specific activities likely to be?
10. How is flexibility built into the project design, so that young people’s decision-making will be given expression?
11. What are the youth-specific performance indicators?
12. How will young people be involved in monitoring and evaluation?

External links

• "Youth mainstreaming", UNESCO.