ASEAN Youth Leadership Forum E-consultation - Groups - Action Tools

Message

From:	Bernise Ang [ profile ]
Subject:	Set Two questions! - Philippines
Sent:	Mar 26th, 2007 - 12:17:26

	Dear all, Greetings. My apologies for the late response as I was stuck in a workshop in KL concerning youth values development. The workshop was also a good opportunity for the youth leaders on our region to discuss values that should guide the design and implementation of programs and policies for young people. It was also a good venue for some of the delegates to talk about the on-going consultation related to ASEAN and I have shared with them information concerning your e- consultation initiative. Please find my responses to the Set 2 questions below. Sorry if these are very short and brief. Regards, Ryan === SET TWO QUESTIONS === â€¢ How do you think youth, and youth engagement in MDGs, can be supported by ASEAN governments and other stakeholders? What kind of mechanisms/processes should be recommended at the planning and implementation level? There should be a body within ASEAN that would coordinate and support both government and non-government led initiatives related to youth development. That body should also be mandated to provide grants or any other form of assistance for youth projects. â€¢ How do we make sure that youth inputs are represented in national development strategies in ASEAN countries? There should be transparency and a strong sense of participatory spirit in the design of the process. Some clear proposals: --- Prior to the AMMY, governments should have a national consultation process with the youth. In the Philippines, for example, a round table discussion will be held with the National Youth Commission and some youth NGO's. Such meeting however was an initiative by NGO's and not by the government. --- ASEAN should ensure that there are NGO observers in governmental meetings. --- ASEAN should be more proactive in ensuring that young people in the region are knowledgeable of the different decision-making processes within ASEAN. This is a critical factor to ensure youth participation. â€¢ To what extent do you think youth leadership plays a role in the achievement of the MDGs? How could the development of youth leadership be supported towards these goals? There are already a lot of youth organizations in the ASEAN regon. What is important is that there are venues for these organizations to meet each other, determine the common efforts and come up with concerted actions. If possible, efforts should be consolidated on common issues. â€¢ There have been many declarations and documents in the past and recently promoting youth engagement in development. Where can this outcome framework add more value to what's already been said and declared? What are the areas lacking where we can add focus? The outcome framework should contain statements calling for the recognition of children and young people as an important sector that has rights and are entitled to protection and participation. Such statements should be reflected in the proposed ASEAN charter and on the on-going processes related to the creation of the ASEAN Commission on the Rights of Women and Children. â€¢ Which youth issues should be included in a national development plan of an ASEAN country? The determination of what particular issues that should be reflected in the national development plan has to be subjected to a participatory and comprehensive consultaton process. Most of the time, issues that are determined are only reflective of the agenda of youth organizations who have an access to meetings and consultations. We should be aware that certain countries in our region lack the facility for dialogue and that in some countries, the political context restricts freedoms of people to voice out their opinion (e.g. Myanmar). Some proposed issues I wish to put forward are the following: --- the vulnerability of young people who are affected or are involved in armed conflict --- the situation of young people who have been displaced or are seeking refugee status (e.g. young people from Myanmar/ Burma who are seeking refuge in Thailand) --- the situation of youth migrant workers, especially those whose right to protection are not guaranteed by their host country's labor laws, e.g. the situation of youth domestic workers from Indonesia and Philippines working in Singapore and Malaysia. â€¢ How do you think the ASEAN Charter could be strengthened to support the ASEAN progress in MDGs with the harnessing of youth inputs and social + economic capital? What message should we include or improve on? --- The ASEAN charter should have provisions related to "children"and "youth" that are consistent with human rights standards such as the UN CRC. --- YOung people should not only be viewed as "human capital" but stakeholders of government's plans and programs. The problem is that there is a tendency to look at young people's potentials that need to be harnessed only because they could have significant contributions to the development of their countries. Youth have rights and that should be addressed by the governments in order to protect and promote their well-being. Any program for the youth should also address their current needs and contexts. â€¢ Do you know of any "best practices" that have worked (within or beyond ASEAN)? --- ASEAN have organized several cultural-related events and projects such as exchange programs and gatherings. This should be maximized as opportunities for young people to get to know each other and share common aspirations and issues. These gatherings should also be maximized to mobilize youth engagement in development work and not simply as gatherings to promote and share each other's cultures. --- Gatherings and events organized by ASEAN should be inclusive and should be geared towards increasing access for the poor. My observation is that those who were able to participate are those who have an influence to the government youth agencies in the respective ASEAN countries. --- Explore a possible project to map out youth organizations and programs in the region, both government and NGO-led. Some NGO's have already started doing their mapping exercises. Such undertaking have been helpful to our organization when we need information on possible partners and networks we could work with. Ryan V. Silverio Happy, living, breathing, seeing and thinking being and does not intend to prove something Activist and NGO Worker Student of life who reads but does not depend solely on books and theories as sources of knowledge Need Mail bonding? Go to the Yahoo! Mail Q&A for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users.

		Groups Powered by TakingITGlobal