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Blog #3 in a special series for the 2012 Youth Economic Opportunities Conference
September 11-13, 2012 | Washington, DC
www.youtheconomicopportunities.org

Este blog fue escrito por Samuel González y Adrián Moreno de la Fundación E, una ONG que promueve el emprendimiento de jóvenes en Latinoamérica, Norteamérica y España. Se trata de su estrategia de emprendimiento para jóvenes. Este tema y otros relacionados con el incremento de Oportunidades Económicas para Jóvenes serán exploradas con ponentes plenarios, talleres interactivos y metodologías de sesiones abiertas dentro de la 6ta conferencia anual de Oportunidades Económicas Globales para Jóvenes la cual tomara lugar del 11 al 13 de Septiembre de 2012 en el Centro de Conferencias del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. Financieras, Fondos, Organizaciones no gubernamentales, Investigadores, Profesionales y otros agentes estarán trabajando en estos temas, estas invitado a registro en www.YouthEconomicOpportunities.org

Diana Rutherford, Research and Evaluation Specialist in FHI 360’s Economic Development and Livelihood Department, has been researching child well-being for five years as part of the STRIVE program, funded by USAID’s Displaced Children and Orphans Fund and managed by FHI 360.

This year, at the Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference organized by Making Cents International, UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), the Central Bank of Philippines and Child and Youth Finance International (CYFI) are joining forces to share their experiences, insights, and tools for influencing and adapting policies to improve youth access to financial services. 

This blog post was written by Branka Minic, the Director of Global Corporate Affairs at Manpower. She will be speaking at the Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference on Wednesday, September 12 within the workforce development track. Other tracks include enterprise development, youth-inclusive financial services, gender, and monitoring and evaluation.

These observations are provided by David James-Wilson (Making Cents International), an experienced youth work professional with a 25-year track record in the design and delivery of innovative youth livelihood and non-formal education services. Read part I of David's post here.

I like to cook. In my experience, there are not a lot of recipes that can be successfully developed and served anywhere in the world. Depending on where I am, certain ingredients can be hard to find. Context matters (it’s hard to get water to boil at high altitudes!). However, there are some key ingredients that make any dish a success. Personally, I have never had anything wrapped in bacon that didn’t taste delicious!

As I speak with young people from around the globe, I find striking similarities. They are full of innovation, creativity, and talent. People under 30 are the first generation of youth that can consider themselves a global entity. They see themselves as global citizens and want to connect and help one another.

Youth unemployment is a global problem.  A recent OECD report reveals that the average rate of youth unemployment in OECD countries is 16% while the troubled economies of Greece and Spain are struggling with youth jobless rates above 50 per cent.  In Africa, an increasingly youthful population needs more opportunities to make a living, an issue deemed so relevant to the future development of the continent it was the primary focus of this year’s Afr

We applaud USAID’s new Youth Policy for recognizing the central role that youth should play in development strategies.  Turning this policy into action at the mission and programmatic level is our next challenge.  USAID Feed the Future and rural development initiatives in particular should consider how youth can be better integrated into strategies and specific program design. 

As an active member of the Alliance for International Youth Development (AIYD), Plan International USA applauds USAID on the launch of the Youth in Development Policy! Along with many others in the development community, Plan has been anxiously awaiting the Policy’s launch. Plan’s work focuses on empowering children and youth in 50 developing countries, and this Policy offers an important reinforcement of the need to engage this population for lasting impact. We also congratulate Maame Yankah, a Youth Ambassador for Plan, for her participation in the Policy Launch Event, but more importantly for her many contributions to communities in Ghana and the US.