Plan International UK Report - Youth Governance in Fragile Settings

Marjoke Oosterom and Thea Shahrokh
Institute of Development Studies (IDS), September 2016
Commissioned by Steadman Noble, Plan UK

Contents 1
Executive summary 2
Key findings and implications 2
Recommendations for programming 5
Recommendations for organisational systems 6
1. Introduction 7
2. The Case for youth governance programming in fragile contexts 8
3. Methodology of the programme review 9
3.1 Programme selection 9
3.2 Analytical framework used for reviewing programmes 10
3.3 Limitations of this study 11
3.4 Countries included in the review 11
4. Synthesis of findings of the programme review 14

4.1 Youth participation and democratic governance 14
4.2 Basic services 17
4.3 Humanitarian programmes 22
4.4 Peacebuilding programmes 27
5. Synthesis of Findings from Organisational Review 30

5.1 Understanding context and conflict 30
5.2 Protecting children and youth within a programme 31
5.3 Child-centred Community Development (CCCD) 32
5.4 Youth-led programming components 32
5.5 Approaches to partnerships 32
5.6 Plan as an interlocutor in accountability relationships 33
35
6.1 Academic and policy literature 35
6.2 Plan policy documents reviewed 35
6.3 Plan programme documents reviewed 36
6.4 External agency programme documents reviewed 36
38
plan-uk.org Internal report 1

This report reviews existing programme options and strategies for youth participation and governance
programming in fragile settings, as well as the capability of Plan’s organisational systems to operate in these
contexts. Researchers from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) did a desk-study and reviewed
programme documents and evaluations of eight country programmes and a set of four humanitarian
interventions in fragile settings. These were implemented by Plan International and other international NGOs
and UNICEF. The desk-study was complemented with interviews with programme officers and in one case a
group of young people who were working in the difficult area of South Punjab. The findings of the programme
review then informed a reflection on Plan’s systems and organisational principles, focusing on Plan UK, to
see whether they are fit-for-purpose for working in fragile settings.
The selection of programmes was done to obtain a diverse set that would offer many different
approaches to youth participation, to gain insights on how the different approaches had worked. We
purposefully opted to focus on depth in a limited number of projects and going deeper into
understanding how youth participation was enabled in these contexts rather than breadth that would
involve reviewing a large sample of programmes for comparability and generalisation. The programmes
were also selected from diverse fragile settings: conflict and post-conflict, humanitarian (camp and
urban) settings, and contexts of protracted crises. The set of programmes spans a range of thematic
programme areas that include:
  youth participation and democratic governance,

  basic services (health, education and livelihoods),
  humanitarian interventions,
 peacebuilding.
Through this study we find that the programmes reviewed in fragile settings have a strong impact on
young people’s capacities to articulate voice and to build collective action skills through working with
youth groups, associations and networks. Apart from aggregating young people’s needs and
representing them to duty bearers at local and national level, these collectives can nurture civic
leadership and democratic decision-making skills if well supported and if inequalities among youth are
addressed by the programme. Programmes using a combination of informative and creative activities for
creating rights awareness and strengthening voice, like using arts and (online) media, were particularly
effective. Good and innovative practice includes using role models and peer-to-peer rights awareness.
The review found that the effective participation of young women and other marginalised groups,
including adolescents with disabilities remains a challenge. Programmes deliberately tried to increase
their numbers, but additional measures are required that challenge the exclusionary norms that limit their
participation, including prejudice among youth themselves.
In terms of state responsiveness, programme evaluations testified to the challenge of bringing about
responsive and accountable governance. Where state actors have responded this is often at the very
local level and within the local sphere of influence. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that
greater voice and increased frequency between young people and their organisations and state
agencies actors alone have led to an improvement in the quality and access of services, and allocation
of state funds to youth. Reports often do not analyse how (combinations of) strategies and other
contextual factors together have led to change, thus limiting the potential to make rigorous inferences
about how change has happened.
Key findings and learning

All programmes were reviewed using a framework that looked at how programmes strengthen the voice and
collective action capacities of young people; how gender equality and inclusion are addressed; the kinds of
interfaces used or created to engage with duty bearers (‘spaces’); how power was addressed; and the extent
to which government responsiveness was realised within fragile settings.

(i) Livelihoods and services allows embedding of participation in hostile environments
In contexts where states are particularly hostile or suspicious of youth participation, embedding strategies
to increase youth participation in basic services programme areas (like livelihoods, education, SRHR) is a
promising strategy.
 Of the programmes reviewed, innovative approaches were used by Oxfam’s My Rights My Voice and
ActionAid’s Arab Regional Initiative. Programmes truly ‘blended’ governance programming with basic
 services. Programmes developed strategic approaches to using and/or creating the
‘spaces’ for encounters between youth and duty bearers around services, and deliberate
strategies for involving state and customary authorities based on an assessment of their
 power vis-à-vis youth.
 Such an indirect approach still requires governance expertise; analysis of the political
context; and strategies for using/creating spaces and targeting state actors.

(ii) Strong focus on understanding context and conflict-sensitivity is required
Programmes that make use of thorough context and power analysis are more likely to develop
appropriate engagement strategies for accessing duty bearers, responding to the realities of
power, violence and control that restrict youth participation within fragile settings.
Programmes undertaking conflict-sensitivity analysis respond to social and political dynamics,

reducing the risk of harm to children and youth participants.
 Although all organisations have child protection policies in place, these seem not fit-for-
 purpose for assessing the specific risks for youth in speaking out in hostile environments.
 Participatory approaches to conflict analysis, involving all stakeholders, bring out specific risks
 to youth, and enable deeper relationships to be built with implementing agencies.
 The meta-evaluation of UNICEF’s ‘Learning for Peace’ programme found that those country
programmes that had done conflict sensitivity analysis were better able to adjust activities to the
context and have more impact.

(iii) Strengthening youth voice through building citizenship skills
Programme evaluations showed that organisations have developed a plethora of activities that
effectively raise awareness about rights among young people, strengthen their capacities to articulate
their needs to duty bearers (voice), and helps them to start claiming rights.
Organisations are generally well-aware of the cultural norms that deny young people voice. Programmes
explicitly address the self-confidence of young people, for instance through building life skills for
example in economic security programming. In relation to collective voice and action, most programming
seeks to strengthen or create youth groups, associations, and networks to represent issues to duty-
bearers on behalf of other youth. Best practices include:
 To use a combination of activities and strategies such as rights training at schools and in
youth networks, campaigns, use of (social) media, and the use of arts and culture to develop
 and spread key messages such as in community theatre.
 Youth journalism and participation in the media (like radio talk shows) offers young people a
 channel to practice voice, build skills in critical inquiry and reach out to other youth.
 Youth-led research has effectively informed (youth-led) campaigns and accountability
 actions, enabling young people to enter community discussions using knowledge gained.
 To use peer-to-peer rights education and (female) role models to encourage more
marginalised groups to participate.
Key insights:
 Strengthening the voices of young people in fragile and humanitarian contexts may require
measures that recognise they have experienced right violations and atrocities, and this can
 limit young people’s capacity for voice. Approaches may need to address trauma.
 Conflict and fragility may have created social and political divisions in communities and among
youth Programmes to support collective action among young people and therefore need to
work on rebuilding trust.

 If supported well, youth groups and networks offer young people opportunities to develop
citizenship skills in ‘safe spaces’ and practice voice before engaging with duty bearers; they
offer peer support; help reach out to other youth; and foster mutual learning about young
people’s issues including gender equality.

(iv) Integrating gender equity and inclusion
While all programmes reviewed recognise gender equality, most have modest results in terms of
empowering young women to participate, and all have challenges in reaching and including socio-
economically marginalised youth, and children and youth with disabilities. It remains a challenge to reach
out to more marginalised youth, and to address power dynamics and hierarchies among young people
even within youth groups and associations. Programmes assume young people will easily collaborate
and neglect internal hierarchies based on gender and socio-economic backgrounds.
 Programmes that address inclusion only by increasing the number of participants belonging to
marginalised groups were less effective in attaining gender equality and inclusion. Programmes
that took additional measures were more active in strengthening the participation of marginalised
groups, like through mentoring, using role models, convincing parents and customary/religious
leaders that young women’s participation is essential, and tackling prejudices (including among
 young people).
 Insecure contexts cause parents and young people themselves to restrict young women’s
movement as a result of perceived and real risk of violence and sexual harassment. This may
require measures like short commuting distances, gender segregated activities, and activities
during day light hours.

(v) Navigating (closing) political space
Programmes vary in the extent to which they make use of formal spaces created by the state and in
which young people, and organisations are invited to participate; or create new spaces for youth
participation; or a combination. It is important to realise that this results in different dynamics between
young people and duty bearers in terms of who retains power and control, and the options require
different strategies for working together. Whether to go for formal (invited) or created spaces and at
which level is a strategic decision, which needs to be decided based on an assessment of the
governance context and the extent of political will to work with young people.
Key insights
 Where young people are organising collectively for example in peer support groups (livelihoods
or trauma) or youth networks to raise voice it is important to build on the strengths of these
collectives to create spaces for dialogue with the state (where a reasonable state exists). Youth
groups grown from the grassroots can hold legitimacy in representing other youth within
 spaces of interaction, at the same time it is important to analyse whose voices are missing.
 In repressive regime settings where youth mobilisation is perceived as a direct threat to
power then organic and youth-led mobilisation can entail high-levels of risk to the safety of
young people. As such, spaces at the local level were carved out by NGOs within community
forums with local government to engage on the provision of services.

(vi) Targeting powerful elites and state actors
All organisations have good knowledge of effective programming for strengthening voice. A major gap is
that organisations do not come up with strategies for targeting state actors and relevant, powerful non-
state actors on youth participation. How to best engage with state actors remains a challenge in all
programmes reviewed, and engaging powerful non-state actors is even more challenging. Only a few
programmes explicitly acknowledged and targeted these actors, mostly when customary and religious
leaders promote social norms that limit the participation of young women. However, their role and
influence in governance processes is less acknowledged and addressed (for instance their influence
over public officials).
Key insights:

 Programmes that developed clear strategies for involving governance actors, or for opening
up and preparing state and non-state actors regarding youth participation, were more likely to
 achieve collaboration between young people and duty bearers.
 Experienced programme staff have experiential knowledge for effectively liaising with state
officials. However, organisations do not articulate tactics and engagement strategies for
obtaining the buy-in from state actors: how should they interact with states to create an enabling
environment for youth participation, where to anticipate resistance and which are appropriate
 strategies for dealing with resistance.
 The report offers an ‘interlocutor matrix’ to help Plan UK reflect on its position and on how it
can best mediate between young people and duty bearers, which can be done as part of
context analysis. The interlocutor role goes beyond programme activities. It is about assessing
how to relate to youth and duty bearers, ‘engagement strategies’, and the ‘ways of working’, to
 remain neutrality but to respond to the politics in a given context.
 Thinking about partnerships and allies is essential to finding avenues into the state. Partners
that have good local knowledge on the actors within government that may be open to change,
and that cultivate relationships delivered better results.

(vii) State responsiveness and accountability
The evidence of which strategies and activities worked to bring about state responsiveness is still weak.
Programme evaluations do not tend to explain how change has happened, how strategies led to
outcomes, and often do not analyse other contextual factors that have contributed to, or limited,
change. Such insights are crucial for organisational learning.
 Positive results include the allocation of budget towards youth issues, and (modest) changes
in service delivery. Generally effects are localised and within the sphere of control of local
 governments, whereas bottlenecks at higher levels remain unaddressed.
 In places where the state is hostile to participation and suspicious of youth mobilisation, just
offering a platform for interaction will not be enough to forge responsiveness. Far less evidence
 is available on what works in these contexts.
 Obscure politics like clientelism and corruption interfere with state responsiveness, yet
 programmes tend to leave such challenges aside and focus on visible forms of power.
 For systemic change, local engagement mechanisms need to be complemented with
national level strategies, based on context / power analysis.
Summary of recommendations for programming

1. Embedding youth participation in thematic programme areas. Strengthening youth participation
and democratic governance in basic services programmes such as livelihoods, peacebuilding and
humanitarian programmes needs to be based on an assessment of which duty bearers matter,
where are openings for participation, how should these be mediated. In humanitarian settings with
limited state presence, humanitarian agencies are the duty bearers that need to open up for youth
participation. Embedding youth participation in these programmes requires clear engagement
strategies for working with duty bearers, dedicated resources and governance expertise.
2. Strengthening youth voice. Initiatives that support peer-to-peer awareness raising and using role
models can be used more, especially for reaching marginalised youth. Where trauma
undermines young people’ capacities to speak out and interact with others, programmes
may need to incorporate psycho-social support and life-skills development.
3. Strengthening collective action. Programmes need to be aware of social divisions among young
people, especially those caused by fragility and conflict, and address power dynamics and
inequality among youth. Programmes may need to foster understanding and trust among young
people and within youth associations before they engage with duty bearers. Youth groups and
networks offer
‘safe spaces’ for learning active citizenship and can be used more consciously to build and
nurture leadership skills, collaboration, and decision-making.
4. Gender equality and inclusion. Including higher numbers of more disadvantaged groups in
programmes needs to be complemented with (1) strategies that address the mechanisms that
exclude them, in particular negative stereotypes that limit their participation; (2) activities for
building the confidence, collective voice and influence of such marginalised groups.
5. Spaces for participation. Programmes need to consider whether it is more strategic to focus on
improving the use of existing, formal spaces (for instance local governance frameworks) or to initiate

new spaces where youth develop their own campaigns that then interface with duty bearers.
Doing both can be appropriate in certain contexts.
6. Engaging state actors. Governance programmes in fragile settings need better-articulated
strategies for liaising with or engaging state and non-state actors, and for which purpose. Using the
proposed ‘interlocutor matrix’ Plan needs to consider which brokering role is appropriate in the given
context, how it should be played, and how it balances with the (increasing) participation and control
of young people.
7. Role of hidden power in state responsiveness. Far more consideration needs to go into
assessing forms of ‘hidden power’ by governance actors, and the ways in which higher-level politics
interferes with participation and state responsiveness at the local level, and how to mitigate these.
Even when mapped out in context analysis, programmes do not explicitly target, let alone, mitigate
hidden forms of power.
Summary of recommendations for improving

organisational systems
1. Reconfigure CCCD to take greater account of fragility- Particularly in relation to context analysis
in order to develop a deeper understanding of a fuller range of actors in ‘the community’ and at
higher levels, and their perceived accountability and responsibility With regard to non-state actors
(including civil society), there is a need to identify their role in enabling accountability
relationships where the state may not be functioning, for example the capacity of civil society or
the role of the corporate sector.
2. Context analysis. Adequate context analysis is needed at the start of a programme and periodically
during implementation, and programmes need flexibility to respond to changes in the context. Power
and political economy analysis is of crucial importance and more needs to be done to assess forms
of power of state and non-state actors, and develop programme strategies in response.
3. Plan as an interlocutor in accountability relationships. Plan’s in-country offices need to reflect
on how they can best play an interlocutor role between young people and duty bearers. Deciding to
represent youth raises questions about legitimacy, and accountability towards youth. Deciding to let
youth represent themselves requires careful consideration of how Plan paves the way for their
engagement with duty bearers and the risks and ethics involved.
4. Approaches to partnerships. It is important to reflect on the roles and complementarity of in-
country partners in relation to the nature of the governance context, and fragility dynamics.
Governance programming needs organisations that can play a game changing role with government
to open up political space, including for more informal actors, and grassroots networks of youth that
can mobilise diverse young people.
5. Contextualised do-no-harm principles. Programmes must identify the most important threats to
the safety of children and youth, and avoid that they might cause any possible harm to participants
and their communities. Plan and related-agencies have developed approaches that promote the
mobilisation of caring and responsive community-based child protection committees and networks,
these need to extend into the protection of youth of different ages, and consider the specific needs
of young women and girls.
6. Conflict sensitivity analysis. Programmes supporting participation in fragile settings, particularly
in humanitarian settings and repressive regime contexts, need to undertake participatory conflict
sensitivity analysis with youth and community stakeholders about the perceived risk of youth
mobilisation to engage with the state. This needs to be revisited throughout the project cycle.
7. Youth-led programming components. By giving young people leadership roles in certain
activities, and providing openings to youth to inform programme design and implementation,
programmes offer an additional safe space for practicing participation and strengthen accountability
towards youth themselves.
8. Approaches to learning. The review has identified that programmes tend to miss opportunities for
learning, especially on what works to promote state responsiveness. Approaches to learning need
to assess the enabling (or limiting) factors that brought about responsiveness (or not) both within
the programme and contextual factors. Multi-country programmes can convene learning around
how strategies address dimensions of fragility.

In response to the youth demographic worldwide and the awareness that large numbers of young people
feel politically marginalised, there is an urgency to come up with effective programmes that strengthen
youth voices and enhance their participation in governance. States, on the other hand, first of all need to
recognise young people as full citizens and, secondly, realise their rights and respond to their needs.
While this is important for any context, the need for inclusive governance and youth participation has
increasingly been linked to peace and security. With the adoption of Resolution 2250 Youth, Peace and
Security by the United Nations Security Council in December 2015 this is gaining real momentum, as it
urges Member States to engage young people in the prevention and resolution of conflict, and take
account of their needs. Moreover, the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda call for
inclusive and secure societies, and have explicitly named young people –and young women in particular-
as the group in society that needs dedicated support and engagement.
This calls for new interventions and programming that are suitable for and responsive to the particular
challenges and dynamics in fragile settings and contexts of protracted crises. It is recognised that
youth participation and governance programming in conflict-affected and otherwise fragile settings has
to be ‘different’. This realisation has not only emerged within Plan International UK, but also among the
wider community of international actors that implement governance programmes in fragile settings,
including those not solely focusing on children and youth (Wong 2014).
Plan International UK has commissioned this study to investigate how its approaches to strengthening
youth participation and responsive governance can be improved for working in fragile settings,
including in humanitarian settings and contexts of protracted crisis. Plan has a track record of
programming in the field of youth participation and democratic governance, underpinned by its
Citizenship and Governance Programme Strategy (2013-2017). The purpose of the study is twofold:
1) To inform programme design options for Plan International UK’s work in fragile contexts, which
includes an assessment of how youth participation can be supported in different thematic
programme areas; different strategies for promoting voice, gender equality and inclusion of
marginalised youth; and how to assess and address power dynamics.
2) To assess whether Plan’s CCCD principles and approaches to youth participation are fit-for-
purpose in fragile and conflict affected contexts, or how they might be adjusted. This includes
an assessment of existing models for ‘do no harm’ and conflict-sensitive programming, and
conflict analysis.
Researchers from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) carried out as desk-based review of a
range of programmes focusing on youth and governance in fragile settings that were implemented by
Plan, UN agencies and other international NGOs. Programmes were reviewed on how they strengthen
the voice and collective action capacities of young people, the kinds of interfaces and engagement
mechanisms used or created to engage with duty bearers, and the effects on government
responsiveness. IDS then reflected on Plan International UK’s systems and organisational principles to
see whether they are fit for purpose for working in fragile settings.
Outline of the Report

The report begins with a discussion of the concept ‘fragility’ and the reasons why youth and governance
programming in fragile contexts matters, in Section 2. Section 3 explains the methodology and
conceptual framework used to review the programmes, implemented by different international
organisations in different countries. The two objectives of the review have structured the organisation of
the substantive findings of this report. Section 4 presents the synthesis findings of the programme review,
structured by thematic programme area. Section 5 reflects Plan International UK’s organisational systems
and principles to assess how these are fit for purpose in more adverse settings. Where possible, the
report uses examples from other organisations and the codes of conduct and systems that guide their
operations. These findings have informed the recommendations listed at the beginning of this report.

More than 600 million young people live in fragile and conflict-affected contexts (UNDP 2014). Young
people are a large segment in populations affected by fragility, hence they need to be centrally involved
in interventions that aim to bring sustainable peace and democratic governance. The common
assumption that ‘youth bulges’ in contexts with high unemployment can cause instability and violence has
provoked many international development actors to invest in youth livelihood programmes in order to
address economic grievances. This occurs, amidst mounting critiques that ‘security’ is not the right
reason to invest in young people, who deserve support to unlock their potential in their own right.
Recent analysis of youth and conflict highlights the role of young people’s agency and the importance of
creating platforms for youth voices to be heard in building stability. Where young people’s right to
participation (Convention of the Rights of the Child, Article 12) is realised then there is scope for inclusive
and empowering development that positions youth as agents of peace as opposed to a force for
instability (Hilker and Fraser 2009). It is important to recognise however that youth have the potential to
act as constructive and destructive agents, the construction of these pathways relates to the economic,
social and political policies within their environments, and therefore young people’s contribution to peace
should be in seen relation to the accountability and duties of governance actors (Schwartz 2010).
This report uses the term ‘fragile settings’ to underline that insecurity can be highly localised and occur within
otherwise relatively stable states. Conventional definitions of state fragility refer to the lack of state
performance in delivering the most basic services, protection of the population, and justice. In identifying
the causes of fragility, the distinction between state capacities and political This report is written from the point
will is of crucial importance: different definitions have emphasised the lack
of the ability of the state and its lack of political commitment to providing of view that, when working with
services and protection to its people. As debates about fragility evolved, children and youth, the implications
the importance of state-society relations has been increasingly
of ‘fragility’ for the lives of young
recognised. Thus a lack of state legitimacy in the eyes of the population is
one dimension of state fragility, which may be due to other reasons than people need to be understood from
the lack of capacities and/or political will to provide basic services and their perspective: in which ways do
protection. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) has settled its definition of fragility on: ‘a fragile region or state children and youth feel insecure,
has weak capacity to carry out basic governance functions, and lacks the and how does the significant lack
ability to develop mutually constructive relations with society’ (2013: 15). of capacities and/or political will on
Kaplan (2013) argues that also societal dynamics and a lack of social
cohesion can contribute to fragility. This implies that approaches to the part of duty bearers, as well as
address fragility need to target citizen-state relations as well as experiences of violence and violent
relationships among citizens. More recently, the OECD (2016) has
conflict, impact on their rights and
developed a multi-dimensional framework for understanding fragility. It
considers fragility in different dimensions: violence, justice, institutions, participation.
economic foundations and resilience. All countries can be relatively more
or less fragile in one or more of these dimensions.
Fragile settings pose a range of challenges to programmes supporting youth participation. The nature
of the state itself is often deeply problematic, making genuine engagement with state institutions a real
challenge. In certain contexts young people are targeted by the state: they may be actively mobilised by
state actors to help a regime maintain the status quo, or are targeted with repressive measures as
potential opposition players (Dzimiri 2014; Oosterom & Pswarayi 2014; LeBas 2006). This creates
sensitivities for interventions that seek to promote youth empowerment. Powerful non-state actors are
present, like customary and religious authorities, may interfere with the ordinary democratic processes
and have a strong influence over the extent to which young people can be part of decision-making. As
this report will show, it remains a huge challenge to incorporate an understanding of such governance
actors into programming, let alone targeted strategies and activities. Furthermore, deep social and
political divisions may exist, often as a result of violent conflict and the actions of political actors that
benefit from social fragmentation, which can hamper collective action, including among youth.

3.1 Programme selection
A wide array of interventions are implemented in fragile settings, with smaller or larger governance
components. The desk-study entailed a review of programme documents and evaluations of eleven
programmes in total, which were implemented by Plan International, other international NGOs and
UNICEF. The country programmes included two youth and democratic governance programmes; two
basic services programmes; two basic services programmes that blended with governance
programming; two peacebuilding programmes; and a set of four humanitarian interventions. These
programmes were purposefully selected from diverse fragile settings: conflict and post-conflict, and
humanitarian (camp and urban) settings, and protracted crises. The selection of programmes was done
to obtain a diverse set to gain insights on how different approaches to youth participation had worked.
The desk-study was complemented with interviews with programme staff linked to five out of seven
country programmes and three of the four humanitarian interventions; young people participating in
Building Skills for Life programming in Pakistan were also interviewed as a group.
Table 1 outlines the programmes that were included in the review, and their respective
thematic programme areas.
Table 1: Programme Review- Selected Countries and Themes
# Country Fragility Organisation Programme Thematic

context1 programme area
1 Iraq High Alert Mercy Corps Global Citizen Corps Democratic

governance
Lebanon High Warning
2 Uganda Alert Plan Promoting Inclusive Democratic

Participation of Children governance
and Youth (PIPCY)
3 Pakistan High Alert Plan Skills for Life Basic services
4 Uganda Alert Plan Youth Economic Livelihoods

Empowerment Project
(YEEP)
5 Afghanistan High Alert Oxfam My Rights My Voice Basic services,

Democratic
governance
6 Arab Region High Alert/Alert ActionAid Arab Regional Initiative on Basic services,
civic rights for women and Democratic
youth governance
7 Pakistan High Alert Plan Empowering Youth for Peacebuilding

Peace & Development
1 Aslisted in the Fragile States Index (Fund for Peace 2015), original data can be accessed
here: http://fsi.fundforpeace.org/rankings-2015

# Country Fragility Organisation Programme Thematic
context1 programme area
8 Kyrgyzstan High Warning Unicef Youth and Reconciliation Peacebuilding
Humanitarian intervention
9 Sudan Extreme High Plan Strengthening and Enhancing the Basic Education
Alert Services, Child Protection, Camp Management
and Coordination in IDP camps
10 Ethiopia Alert Plan South Sudanese Refugees in Ethiopia
11 Egypt Alert Plan Syrian refugee population in urban settings:

Education and Child Protection
12 Central Extreme High Plan Country Strategic Response

African Alert
Republic
This diversity in contexts and types of programmes implies they cannot be compared on ‘which
strategy worked best’. Rather, each programme in itself offers insights about how youth participation
can be approached in a given context, through which channels, how duty bearers are engaged, and
how to respond to challenges and opportunities
3.2 Analytical framework used for reviewing programmes

The conceptual framework is informed by approaches to power analysis, to help understand the specific
and contextualised power relations among state and non-state actors and young people, as well as
between children, youth and adult generations. Below are the elements of the conceptual framework
against which each programme was reviewed, which included the impact of the programmes as
outlined in programme documents.
Youth voices
The programmes were assessed on how young people have been enabled to build self-confidence, or
‘power within’ and how this relates to strengthening their knowledge and awareness of rights; and
citizenship skills and capacities such as leadership. The analysis of voice also looked at how
programmes built relationships among young people to enhance their collective capacities and voice
(‘power with’), and how this contributed to the ‘power to’ act in violent contexts.
Gender equity and social inclusion

Important for understanding whose voices are strengthened and why, the analyses asks to what extent
gender equity was addressed through the programme with the aim of achieving gender equality. The
focus on equity emphasises the importance of young women and men not only being given equal
access to participation, but also the means of benefiting from this equality. The analysis also look at to
what extent programmes targeted more marginalised groups (e.g. disabled youth, single parents). This
includes looking at the efforts for addressing the barriers to their participation and to redress inequality.
Spaces
The review looked at how programmes enhanced interactions between young people and duty
bearers, using the framework on ‘spaces for participation’ (Gaventa 2006). Many programmes facilitate
interactions between young people and duty bearers. This can be organised in different ways. Some
programmes make use of the existing frameworks that provide for/ allow youth participation. Some of

these decision-making processes are, in theory, open to all (e.g. local council meetings). Sometimes
participation is by invitation only (‘invited spaces’) when state actors may invite young people and their
organisations to inform a policy process (e.g. processes and events such as the drafting of policies
relevant to youth). When working with formal open and invited spaces, programmes have strengthened
young people’s capacities to use these spaces effectively, and tried to enhance the buy-in of state
actors to listen to young people.
Governance actors
The review looked at how different governance actors (formal and informal, state and non-state)
exercised power a) in relation to the programme, and b) in relation to young people. Again using
Gaventa’s (2006) framework we look at: visible power (observable decision-making mechanisms also the
use of violence); hidden power (influencing the political agenda behind the scenes, including through
intimidation); invisible power (norms and beliefs including ‘cultures of fear’). Linking this to a discussion
on the ‘spaces’ the review looked at to what extent programmes and staff developed ‘engagement
strategies’ for bringing such governance actors or duty bearers on board, and helped create an enabling
environment for youth participation.
From voice to outcomes

A comprehensive analysis of all strategies, activities and events that led to responses by governance
actors, or meant to provoke a response. The analysis extends to actions taken by youth or programme
staff that were not formally part of the programme’s planned procedures, but that were taken in
response to situations and events in order to implement / facilitate the programme and make it work.
3.3 Limitations of this study

Quality of the evidence
This review is based on the in-depth review of programme documents and evaluation reports of eleven
programmes, and a more light-touch review of an additional three programmes. The review thus
depended on the quality of reporting. Many reports lacked detailed explanations about how activities
led to outcomes, or attributed outcomes to a project without considering contextual factors. Where
possible we interviewed programme staff, but in various cases they were no longer working for the
organisation, and institutional memory was weak. This has affected the quality of the material that we
worked with. Therefore the report only present modest claims about what really works to promote
government responsiveness and accountability.
Selection of programmes
IDS purposefully selected programmes that reflect different thematic entry points and options for supporting
youth participation (e.g. livelihoods, basic services, peacebuilding, democratic governance, and
humanitarian interventions) in diverse contexts. This means that programmes can be compared on the
different ways in which they embed a focus on participation and governance, but one cannot infer claims
about which kind of programme ‘works best’ in a given setting. This is a limitation in the depth. Furthermore,
the selection of programmes led to more information on certain issues than others. For instance, few
programmes specifically focused on youth with disabilities, single parents or adolescent girls, hence this
review cannot give recommendations that apply specifically to these groups. Also, the review did not include
programmes supporting youth in national level peace processes, whereas these offer viable entry points for
youth participation. This is a limitation concerning the scope of the study.
3.4 Countries included in the review

In the table below we summarise the country contexts, which helps understand how programmes had
to respond to differences in fragility and the presence and role of state and non-state actors.

Table 3.4: Contexts of fragility
Country list Fragility Description
index
Pakistan, Plan High Alert Pakistan has low economic stability and high expenditure on defence
(Country negatively impacting social development. Gender injustice, a lack of
strategic plan implementation on legislation, weak governance and increasing
2015) fundamentalism are also challenges. The post-9/11 environment
amplified a sense of isolation for youth making them targets for
messages of hate and violence.
Uganda, Plan Alert Overall the state is relatively stable. The legal provisions for youth
councillors at every level of local government offers opportunities for
strengthening youth participation. Fragility in the districts affected by the
conflict involving the Lord’s resistance Army (1988-2006) is caused by
lower technical capacities, and higher levels of poverty, while many youth
still suffer from trauma.
Iraq Lebanon, High Alert In Iraq young people have suffered from repression and isolation and
Mercy Corps High where they continue to have limited opportunities for self-expression or
(Program Warning activism, whether through recreational activities or political participation.
documentation In Lebanon, traditional power structures based on client-patron
2014) relationships have alienated many Lebanese youth and undermined their
faith in their ability to change society.
Arab Region, High A region scarred by conflict and occupation. The youth bulge in the
Action Aid Alert/ region is increasing, however one in three young people are unemployed
(Arab Regional Alert and restrictive laws surrounding participation in governance and public
Initiative 2016). protest are making it increasingly difficult for people to advocate for
change at a local and national level. The region is largely patriarchal, and
women make up only 15% of political/governmental bodies.
Afghanistan, High Alert After more than three decades of war, the challenges facing Afghanistan
Oxfam remain immense. The destruction of core institutions of state and a war-
torn economy have led to very high levels of poverty and gender
inequality. Across Afghanistan’s patriarchal society, awareness of
children’s and young people’s rights is low, and social and cultural
barriers prevent children and youth participating in public life.
Kyrgyzstan, High The country's first two post-Soviet presidents were removed from power
Unicef (Unicef Warning by popular discontent. Widespread poverty and ethnic divisions fuelled
2015) conflict, and in 2010 violence erupted between Kyrgyz and Uzbek
communities. State institutions are weak. Ethnic minorities, youth and
women face barriers to participation.
Humanitarian crisis
Sudan Extreme Internal displacement occurs as the result of ongoing violence and food
(South Sudan), High Alert insecurity. Humanitarian access is restricted in many areas of the
Plan (Extreme country, and a lack of protection partners on the ground hinders the
(Morsy 2015) High response. The humanitarian community is moving away from short term
Alert) needs to sustainable interventions centred on the interests of affected
populations.
Ethiopia Alert Ethiopia’s refugee response to the conflict in South Sudan is constrained
(South Sudan) , (Extreme by restrictive integration policies, particularly regarding education and
Plan High employment. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a high number of male
(Plan Ethiopia Alert) youth routinely travel back to South Sudan to join the fighting. There are
2015). a number of agencies within refugee camps providing disparate services
for youth yet there is no overarching strategy.
Egypt Alert Egypt hosts many Syrian refugees. Local governments have limited
(Syria) , Plan (High capacity to cater to their needs. Thus, refugees remain heavily
(Zamalah Alert) dependent on humanitarian aid. Refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt
Programme face many of the same difficulties as the Egyptian urban poor population,
Design 2016). alongside a number of protection issues, including the risk of arbitrary
arrest or deportation. A negative media campaign in the turbulent period
of 2011-2014 impacted the safety of Syrians.

Central African Extreme The recent sectarian conflict has exposed children and youth to
Republic (CAR), High Alert widespread violence, resulting in a large number being either directly
Plan (CAR Real involved in armed groups, or suffering from their activities. The security
Time Evaluation situation in CAR is very volatile the recent change in political leadership
2016). of the country may influence the current situation, towards restoring
peace.

The following sections discuss the different approaches to strengthening voice, enhancing gender
equality and inclusion, using or creating spaces for participation, and the engagement strategies for
bringing duty bearers on board, for each thematic programme area. Analysis was carried out based on
four categories of programming that are relevant to contexts of fragility. These are:
4.1 Youth Participation and Democratic Governance

4.2 Basic Services (health, education and livelihoods)
4.3 Humanitarian Programmes
4.4 Peacebuilding Programmes


 4.1 Youth participation and democratic governance

Democratic governance programmes seek to improve youth participation in existing state systems,
or mobilise young people to interact with state actors in order to increase visibility of youth issues
and needs, and promote responsiveness. The review looked at three programmes:

Table 4.1: Youth participation in democratic governance
Plan International The Constitution of Uganda provides for the existence of Youth Councils, and
Uganda: Promoting elected youth councillors at all levels of local government. In practice, many are
Inclusive Participation for inactive. PIPCY encouraged youth to participate in local council meetings;
Children and Youth strengthened the capacities of the elected youth councillors; and supported youth
(PIPCY) journalists and media to influence district council decision-making on youth issues.
Mercy Corps: Global Civic participation and youth leadership development are at the heart of Mercy
Citizen Corps (GCC) Corps’ Global Citizen Corps (GCC) approach. GCC engaged youth through
programme in Iraq, training, action-taking, and dialogue. In-person and online trainings helped youth
Lebanon and Pakistan build critical life skills and leadership capabilities, advocacy and organising skills to
successfully mobilise their peers and communities. Participants also learned about
critical global challenges and explored how those issues relate to their own
countries and communities.
ActionAid: Arab The Arab Regional Initiative is a governance programme that aims to ‘harness the
Regional Initiative (ARI). leadership of youth as agents of change for the future of the civil state to demand
accountability from duty bearers on youth specific issues and equality, equity and
gender responsive public services’. This involved working with young activists and
youth groups to act on, challenge, and influence social and political processes
with a focus on promoting youth participation and gender responsive public
services.

 Strengthening Voice
To prepare young people for encounters with duty bearers, programmes undertook rights awareness
activities and trainings on participatory governance, including in how to monitor state actors and
ways of holding them accountable. ActionAid ARI found that many citizens and leaders were not
familiar enough with concepts of participatory governance to be able to engage effectively on it. ARI
started off with a large-scale awareness raising on governance and civil and political rights, and training
for CSOs. They involved civil society organisations and local government in a joint training on human
 rights based approaches to governance and participatory planning.








PIPCY encouraged ordinary youth to attend council meetings at sub-county and district level by
offering training about children’s rights at schools. PIPCY supported elected Youth Councillors to make
better use of the councils as spaces for raising youth issues. At the midterm review, participation levels
by ordinary youth remained low (reasons unspecified), but elected youth councillors were better able to
raise issues in council meetings. At district level, PIPCY built capacities of local youth organisations at
district level to advocate for child-friendly policies and bringing youth issues into the district
council. Plan partnered with a media partner to organise youth journalism and radio talk shows, which
effectively helped young people to articulate their views and sent messages to the district council.
Gender equity and inclusion

PIPCY aimed for the inclusion of young women, CWDs and children out of school. However, the
midterm review noted lower levels of engagement among these groups in council meetings at sub-county
and (especially) the district level. Barriers to their engagement included norms and ideas (invisible
power) about women’s roles in the household rather than the public sphere; and about disability as seen
as a curse on a family. This required an active response by PIPCY.
In ARI, youth were supported to address inequalities among young people. Young people from
Jordan and Syria were then jointly trained good governance and advocacy. This resulted in refugee youth
being elected onto the Zarqa City Shadow Youth Council and a commitment from youth leading this
advocacy platform to promote inclusive governance, and influence decisions on issues that affect
national and refugee youth. Initially it was challenging to encourage refugee youth to participate, however
through the provision of psychosocial support and also referrals to other services this has been possible;
these youth now act as role models to other young people. However, challenges remain for young people
in establishing how to make demands for refugee youth who are living without civil and political rights.
Spaces for interaction

PIPCY focused on formal spaces offered through Uganda’s Constitution and decentralised
governance framework, which provides for youth councillors and earmarked youth budgets.
 An advantage of using an existing framework is that local officials are aware that youth have the
 right to participate, although they are not used to interacting with youth a lot and consider them
‘ignorant’. Over time, mutual understanding on roles and responsibilities increased and councils
started to appreciate the input from youth, leading to (some) allocation of the budget earmarked
for youth. However, the programme did not extend into accountability actions as it had not
foreseen that it also had to support youth councillors to monitor the commitments made by the
council.
The other programmes initiated their own spaces for youth participation: ARI initiated the Youth
Shadow Councils, and GCC the Youth Municipalities. An advantage of claimed spaces is that the
programme and participants themselves have freedom to choose the issues they want to engage the
state on, and how they want to express themselves. More efforts may be needed to bring state officials
on board: unlike for formal spaces like those in Uganda, officials may not consider it their duty to
engage with youth through programmes.
 GCC’s Youth Municipalities in Lebanon functioned as a shadow body to develop youth agendas,
enhance knowledge on mechanisms for promoting transparency and accountability, and to take
action through community projects that were designed and implemented by youth. The project
cultivated youth leadership to set up and manage Youth Municipalities; and trained them on
rights and democratic process.
In both the GCC and ARI programmes youth engaged in research on issues affecting their
communities, namely service provision and used the evidence to go into dialogue with state actors.
Particularly accountability actions need to be backed up by knowledge of service standards, evidence on
the state of service provision, and how gaps impact on different groups of people.
 The evidence generated in ARI is being used to scale up campaign work by Shadow Youth
Councils to report on the progress of local governments on the priority issues identified by
young people and holding them accountable on meeting basic rights. In Jordan this has included
reporting on how the leadership responds to youth needs such as unemployment, the limited

space to participate in decision-making, as well as the needs of urban refugee youth. The official
government councils have responded positively to this monitoring role by the young people. As
community-based structures the Youth Councils then fed back the information on
responsiveness to communities.
 In youth-led research in GCC in Pakistan, youth undertook a thorough needs assessment of
post-flooding context leading to the development of a cross-community petition advocating for
prioritisation of certain issues in the response by municipal government. Youth used the
evidence as a tool to leverage dialogue with government leaders which resulted in funds being
committed. This approach was also successful in Iraq, where GCC youth collected evidence on
health services. They engaged with the Ministry of Health and UN, who pledged commitments
to address inadequate services.
Engagement strategies and state responsiveness

One engagement strategy for bringing state actors on board was
by involving them in trainings, as ActionAid did in the ARI A number of programmes
programme. Also experiences from a different Mercy Corps
highlighted the importance of
programme (the Engage program and Youth for All program in
Timor Leste) show that joint workshops through joint workshops in work with young people that
civic education with young leaders and government officials, helped
inspires a next generation of
create strong relationships after years of isolation. Youth also
received mentoring and small grants that helped them apply leaders that will create and
their newly developed skills in implementing community participate in responsive political
development activities with the support of the local councils.
systems free from corruption,
In Jordan, the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs has nepotism and other dynamics
approached ActionAid to engage youth in a rights awareness
campaign to open political space for youth around the that limit progress for citizens.
upcoming election. This was a result if ActionAid’s close
engagement with local communities and different youth
networks, councils and community groups.
Implications for youth participation and democratic governance programming

Democratic governance programmes seek to improve youth interaction with state actors in order
to increase visibility of youth issues and promote responsiveness. They can do this by:
 Undertaking rights awareness activities and trainings on participatory governance for interaction on
youth rights and accountability issues. Activities include young people shadowing council meetings,
building advocacy capacities of local youth organisations, implementing youth journalism and youth-
 led research initiatives to support young people in voicing youth concerns.
 Engaging with gender inequalities and social exclusion in governance processes by
analysing who is participating and how. Work has been done with young people to address
these inequalities by explicitly engaging youth from different backgrounds in training on good
 governance and advocacy and working with them to act as role models to promote inclusion.
 Cultivating relationships with governance actors at the local level to create an enabling
 environment for youth to use formal frameworks and platforms for youth engagement.
 Supporting youth to initiate their own initiatives and spaces for interaction with governance
actors for example through youth shadow councils. Youth have more autonomy to raise the
 issues important to them, but more effort is needed to bring duty-bearers on board.
 Engaging youth in participatory research on accountability issues affecting their communities
and building knowledge of service standards in order to provide an evidence base for advocacy
 towards and dialogue with state actors.
 Holding joint workshops with youth and government officials help to build relationships and
understand the context, issues and government accountability issues from citizen and state
perspectives. This can also support youth leadership skills for future responsive governance.

4.2 Basic services
In some contexts it may be a challenge to explicitly frame a programme as a governance intervention. In
certain countries the state is hostile or suspicious about governance programming, or a notion of youth
empowerment is associated with youth mobilisation against a regime. In such contexts, basic services
programmes offer opportunities for working with children and young people to strengthen voice and
rights awareness, as well as building strategies for responsive governance. Similarly, a meta-evaluation
of UNICEF’s education programme ‘Learning for Peace’ concluded that basic services offers a suitable
entry point for peacebuilding (UNICEF, 2015).
Table 4.2: Basic services programmes

Plan International The largest component of YEEP supported vocational and business skills training
Uganda: YEEP for young people, whereas one component supported youth associations at sub-
county level to participate in local council meetings and pursue youth funds.
Through a Public Private Dialogue Platform at district level, Plan Uganda secured
the buy-in from local government.
Plan International The programme focuses on education, life skills and sexual and reproductive health
Pakistan: Building rights and includes advocacy for policy change component. Young people within the
Skills for Life governance component of the programme mainly engage in education advocacy.
Youth networks were established and provided with tools and techniques to analyse
and advocate for the importance of girls education with multiple stakeholders
including parliamentarians.
Oxfam GB: My In Afghanistan, MRMV concentrated on improving health services and education
Rights My Voice. and to enhance gender equality. MRMV supported local-level youth groups, which
In-depth underwent (peer-to-peer) rights training. MRMV had well-articulated strategies for
reviewed: enhancing youth voice, youth collective action, and gender equality; facilitating
Afghanistan interactions between youth groups and district and provincial governments, and
strategies for bringing state and non-state authorities on board.
ActionAid: Arab Youth organisations were mobilised in alliance with other movements and civil
Regional Initiative society organisations to demand accountability from duty-bearers for improving the
(ARI). enabling environment for youth participation and for gender-responsiveness in
public services. In closed political environments initiatives targeted local level
service provision as an entry point for longer term democratic engagement.
Especially at sub-national level, basic services programmes can offer avenues for collaborating with
state actors and building trust, which can then create an opening for youth participation.
Offering capacity building that includes state officials may strengthen their ability to listen to and work
with young people, and create mutual understanding of needs and roles. The review included three
basic services programmes.
 Work on education promotes working together as Plan and government teams engage in
joint problem analysis, project design, implementation and even monitoring and evaluation, as
seen in Plan CAR. This has led to a high degree of influence of local government practise and
 the establishment of spaces for democratic engagement such as student representative.
 The extension of service provision components into advocacy on the right to education, in
 particular for adolescent girls, led by young men and women in Pakistan Plan International P’s
Building Skills for Life programme highlights how service provision programmes can extend into
 more informal and ‘claimed’ spaces for engagement on key human rights issues.
 In the Arab region budget deficits, corruption, and lack of trust between citizens and government has
created a large service delivery gap. Local governments have seen how engagement with civil
society and international NGOs has reduced their burden and helps them respond to the impact of
corruption at the national level. ActionAid has used its relationship with local governments to start
youth participation processes. Training through ActionAid has enabled youth councils and
youth engaged in community centres in Jordan and Lebanon to mentor local government on
community issues, and enhance the coordination capacity of the state in engaging different groups
 on service provision issues.
 Not all types of services will be suitable entry points for supporting youth mobilisation, depending on the
context. Certain issues may be so sensitive that state actors, and also customary and religious leaders,
are unlikely to respond positively. In Pakistan, Plan’s Building Skills for Life programme has worked with
young people to focus on advocacy on the right to education as opposed to addressing

gender-based violence. For strengthening youth mobilisation the choice of sector needs to respond
to the context.
Strengthening Voice
 In Afghanistan, MRMV carefully sequenced strengthening youth’s capacities for participation in their
own, safe youth space, before engaging with duty bearers. They either strengthened existing youth
forums or created them at the community, district level and provincial level, and youth were also
mobilised in a university network; a similar approach was taken by Plan Pakistan in Building Skills
for Life. The MRMV forums underwent intense rights awareness training. Social media activities
 connected the youth forums to discuss common issues.
 YEEP explicitly addressed the need for psychosocial support to young people in the areas that
were affected by the war between the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Government of Uganda
(1986-2006) and conflict-induced displacement into internal displacement camps. Plan Uganda
commented that their trauma ‘affect[s] all social interactions and how engage with the world around
them, including in relation to duty bearers’. Learning from this Plan Uganda seeks to include
psychosocial support in all programmes in the war-affected districts.

 The advocacy component of the Building Skills for Life programme with Plan Pakistan aimed for
free and compulsory education for all, including marginalised youth, young women, and those living
in deeply sectarian contexts, up to the age of 15. The youth networks reached out to more
marginalised youth and researched the barriers to effective implementation of services. This
has been the basis for inclusive advocacy and accountability; and it enhanced young people’s
 understanding of social differences among themselves.
 Young men and women in the Building Skills for Life programme highlighted that it was important
that young women and men worked together. Where these egalitarian relationships were established
within youth networks, this led to an equity approach in advocacy for equal education. A young
woman represented the youth network to meet with the Ministry of Education where an official
committed to working with the network on their advocacy goal. However, there has been a blockage
 in follow-up highlighting the need for further strategic analysis and engagement by youth.
 MRMV Afghanistan used female role models to strengthen the confidence among female
participants. A young woman within the Building Skills for Life programme in Pakistan
emphasised that young women within the youth network are acting as role models with parents
and young women to sensitise them to the possibilities of youth participation. Gender
segregated spaces were also highlighted for building confidence, healing from trauma and
ensuring the participation of adolescent girls and young women.
Spaces for interaction

To extend basic services into youth participation and governance programming, the programmes
reviewed facilitated and/or strengthened interaction with service providers and state actors:
opportunities for youth to articulate their needs and rights in ‘spaces’. In some cases, programmes also
targeted customary authorities because they have a strong influence on social norms around women’s
participation. This engagement also helped build intergenerational alliances.

The youth participation and governance component in Plan International Uganda’s livelihood
programme (YEEP) was relatively small, and well-focused. Since Uganda is a stable setting with
a functioning local government institutions (although with flaws and weaknesses), YEEP could
easily link up with the decentralised governance system that provides for (modest) youth funds.
Young people were supported to attend local council meetings (as a formal, open space)
and request the funds earmarked for youth to be disbursed to youth associations. In many cases
they successfully claimed a share of the local council budget. Through encouraging young
  youth associations YEEP increased participation of these youth
people to form and register
in the council meetings.

From the interview with the MRMV staff, it transpired that state actors at decentralised level are
generally not averse to young people’s issues, but they need to be more aware of them. However, it
is uncommon for youth to discuss public issues with adult authorities discuss public issues. After a
thorough process of rights awareness activities, MRMV Afghanistan organised numerous
dialogue forums (created spaces) at the district, provincial and – to lesser extent – national
level. The youth groups functioned as interlocutors with the local

administration. In the extension phase, youth were trained in monitoring services and data
collection. In a few cases they used this as an engagement mechanisms to discuss gaps in
services with authorities in these meetings. The local state was subsequently willing to
allocate available resources to some of the issues raised by youth.

MRMV Afghanistan noted that the programme had to initiate and facilitate the meetings with youth
and local government during the first two years, but that youth groups took over the organisation of
meetings as experience grew. The evaluation notes that youth felt  comfortable discussing the
quality of education and health care services with authorities.
Acknowledging that local processes need to be supported by processes at national level, programmes
also targeted national level actors. It was also the case that national governments reached out to the
programmes, and linked them to a formal process at national level. The examples underline the
importance of the interlocutor role played by organisations: mediating and facilitating relationships
between young people and the state in order to open up space to engage.

In Pakistan, Plan’s Building Skills for Life’s approach promoted youth interaction with duty
bearers through the development of autonomous initiatives of youth collectives. These networks
undertook youth-led research on education, leading to the knowledge and understanding
necessary to interact with the state and lead rights-based campaigns at local and national levels,
  the youth to analyse which
including with the Ministry of Education. Plan worked with
stakeholders to target and how to foster relationships.

Building Skills for Life involved parents, teachers and community leaders in encouraging youth to
value human rights and create non-violent solutions. Where Plan Pakistan was seen as
 partnering with the youth this enhanced their perceived credibility and built trust with
these stakeholders which helped their openness to young people’s ideas and rights claims.

MRMV’s work in Afghanistan led to representatives from implementing CSOs being invited by
the government to take part in the policy formulation process of the National Youth
Policy (invited space). The process was supported by UNFPA and the Ministry was itself open
to civil society involvement. Due to security arrangements, young people themselves could
not attend: they are not registered to certain organisations and cannot submit the
necessary documents for entrance. Hence, MRMV partners organised a consultation with their
 with youth
youth and their views were incorporated into the policy. In Pakistan Plan is working
networks to support formal registration to overcome these shared challenges.

When basic services programmes seek to enhance youth participation and state responsiveness to
young people’s issues, this requires dedicated strategies for how to best bring the relevant duty bearers
on board. Of the programmes reviewed, there is great variation in how they do this. Some programmes
explicitly and consciously design strategies for targeting state actors (and other duty bearers like carers,
customary authority) based on context-analysis, while in other programmes the strategizing largely
depends on individual staff who acquired experiential knowledge about involving duty bearers. Again,
the interlocutor role of the organisation and programme staff comes to the fore.

As part of YEEP, Plan International Uganda initiated Public Private Dialogue forums at the
district level with representation from companies and district officials. Officially, this forum served
as a place to discuss the link between demand and supply of labour. In practice, YEEP staff
 and build and enabling environment for
used this to build rapport with the district administration
their activities at the lower levels of local government.

At sub-county level (below the district) YEEP actively worked with and prepared state actors to
understand young people’s issues and mitigate prejudice that work against young people, before
 they met in local council meetings. YEEP also had to temper expectations among youth and
explain the limitations to local council powers and budgets.

In MRMV Afghanistan, it was a specific objective to have children and youth rights better
mainstreamed and prioritised in policies; and to see the budget allocations
increased. This prompted dedicated strategies for engaging the state. MRMV project
team and partners conducted a large number of meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Youth
Affairs and with authorities in provincial departments in year one, to create awareness about youth
and children’s rights. The formal requirement to sign MoUs with local governments was consciously

used as an opportunity to engage in this dialogue. During implementation, staff nurtured relationships
with individual officials, which paved the way for the meetings between youth and duty bearers.

Implementing organisations will often need to mediate between state actors and youth groups
and networks, particularly in contexts where the state is suspicious of youth mobilisation. To play this
interlocutor role well, organisations had to assess the sensitivities in their contexts. Strategies to
support youth-led engagement with the state are also critical.
 Due to insecurity and suspicion, state actors were reluctant to engage with semi-organised
groups that had no formalised status and identified leaders. Implementing partners had to
provide institutional recognition to enable the groups to interface with the state. One MRMV
partner issued youth members in Afghanistan with ‘programme identity cards’. In Pakistan, The
institutional support from Plan, as a respected government partner, to the youth networks
established by Skills for Life helped facilitate the registration process required for doing any form
 of youth organising.
 MRMV Afghanistan specifically targeted community elders and customary authority and spent lot
of time explaining the programme to them. To show that the programme did not mobilise youth at
the expense of their power, customary authorities were invited to different programme meetings
at the local level, offered a chance to speak and paid respect. Activities were initiated with youth
to celebrate Islam in order to mitigate prejudice that donor-funded programme promoted anti-
Islamic values. Programme staff highlighted the importance of forging this alliance between
youth and community elders for accountability actions in a fragile setting like Afghanistan. Their
involvement legitimated claims made by youth. Powerful actors within government, the staff
argued, are only powerful because communities keeps them in that position. They will refrain
from negative reprisals against youth when claims are endorsed by important community
members, and when youth point out gaps in services.
The evidence for the effects of youth participation and the increased interaction with duty-bearers,
shows that state actors in various localities now recognise their responsibilities towards youth and see
young people as a positive force. There is limited evidence, however, for systemic changes and
increased responsiveness.

The final evaluation of MRMV Afghanistan notes that in most localities it was too early to assess
responsiveness. Yet the evaluation noted a few instances of success. In one locality, youth
forums organised a meeting with the Directorate of Health, with help from the local partner and
community elders, after which the local hospital was re-opened. Other successful incidents
 were noted, which areof significant importance in this context, but there is insufficient evidence
for systemic change.

For YEEP, the evaluation notes that youth associations had obtained local government funds
  in place, and
in various localities. There is insufficient evidence for a sustained dialogue being
for increased accountability of local governments beyond one-off payments.

In the Skills for Life programme continuity between advocacy for the realisation of an
Education Act through to implementation of the act made visible the challenges of moving from
policy change to implementation; including the multiple actors and interests at play such as the
influence of state, private and religious education service providers in the implementation of
 the Education reform act. This highlights the importance of youth having tools to analyse
power dynamics, which help youth build further strategies to effect real change.

From the programme documents reviewed, it appears that programmes often do not design
specific strategies that tackle forms of hidden power, especially when they occur at higher
political levels. For instance, in Pakistan issues of corruption were seen as blockages to
 
advocacy on children and youth rights to education, but addressing this issue remains a
huge problem.

Generally, programme documentation gives insufficient insights into the contextual factors
that brought about responsiveness, and to what extent changes can be attributed to
programme interventions, which limits learning about what works.
To conclude, the ‘indirect democratic governance’ approach through basic services programmes can
enable routes to youth participation in governance in conflict-affected and fragile settings. However,
these approaches need to have well-articulated governance objectives and thought-through strategies for
especially targeting governance in order to have actual impact in this area. Embedding governance work
in a different sector requires collaboration between different divisions within the organisation. If a

livelihood programme ‘sits’ within the livelihoods division rather than governance, for instance, it may
miss out on governance expertise.
Implications for basic services programming

Basic services programmes offer opportunities for working with young people to strengthen voice and
rights awareness, and build strategies for responsive governance in contexts where states may be hostile
to governance or youth mobilisation approaches. They can do this by:
 Ensuring that within implementing organisations this ‘indirect governance approach’ has clear
governance objectives and strategies, especially for targeting/collaborating with governance
 actors. This requires collaboration between different divisions/units within the INGO.
 Collaborating with state actors through service provision initiatives to build trust in the process
of youth participation. NGOs are providing capacity building initiatives to strengthen
 government’s ability to work with young people which has led to increased youth participation.
 Training youth on community engagement to enhance the capacity of the state in engaging
 with different groups on service provision issues.
 Recognising the importance of psychosocial support for youth participating in programmes in
 post-conflict settings, this healing is an integral part of their empowerment journey.
 Supporting youth to develop advocacy initiatives on access to services from a rights
perspective. Promoting the inclusion of marginalised youth in these campaigns provides a basis
for inclusive accountability demands and peaceful relationship building between youth,
 challenging stereotypes.
 Working with youth and stakeholders to analyse which service provision issues are
appropriate for developing a youth participation and governance angle in certain contexts and
 ensuring conflict sensitivity is taken into account.
 Strengthening youth capacities for participation in their own, safe youth space, before engaging
with duty bearers. Enabling young men and women to work together can help promote equity
approaches in youth work; while also working in gender segregated spaces can build
confidence of young women and men before working together. Social media activities also
 connect youth to discuss common issues.
 Young women acting as role models with parents and other young women to sensitise them to
 the possibilities of youth participation and the rights of young girls and women e.g. in education.
 Using basic services as an entry point for organising dialogue forums between youth and
governance actors to raise youth voice on their rights claims and to discuss mechanisms to
 fill gaps in services.
 Involving youth in monitoring changes in services can provide a further accountability tool
 for ensuring responsiveness of governance actors.
 Working with youth to enable them to take on the leadership of initiatives with government that
aim to ensure the quality of basic services. This has involved working with youth to formalise
their youth organisations to enhance their credibility, for example providing identity cards, or
 registering CBOs.
 Acknowledging that local processes need to be supported by processes at national level and thus
 also targeting and linking with national level actors.
 Civil society organisations acting as interlocutors in particular in contexts where the state is
suspicious of youth organising. This involves analysing context sensitivities and facilitating
 trusting relationships between young people and the state to open up space to engage.
 Using formal partnership agreements between CSOs and government to provide pathways
 for facilitating youth engagement.
 Recognising the importance of intergenerational understanding between traditional
authorities and youth. This can both legitimate claims of youth and build allies to influence
governance actors.

4.3 Humanitarian programmes
Humanitarian programmes are centrally focused on servicing and protecting people in need. In
humanitarian programming, humanitarian agencies may appear alongside the state as duty bearers, or
even take its place. It is the humanitarian regime, therefore, that needs to open up to youth participation
to ensure that programmes respond to young people’s concerns, and that needs to be accountable to
them. The review looked at instances and opportunities for building young people’s capacities for
participation in four humanitarian interventions, and how programmes created avenues for young
people to influence states and humanitarian actors.
It is important to note that there are qualitative differences between engaging youth for participation in
displacement camp settings to working with displaced youth in urban and peri-urban localities. Urban
settings lack the discrete camp-based governance structures and lines of accountability are less clear
as humanitarian actors operate within the legal order of the host state, and local governments will often
be responsible for service provision. For displaced people, it may be confusing who is responsible, and
hence accountable, for what; while holding the state to account is possibly hampered by their lack of
rights in the country.
Table 4.3: Humanitarian programmes

Plan International The ‘Zamalah - Learning Together Safely’ programming focuses on peace-
Egypt: building, social cohesion, child protection and education for urban Syrian and
Egyptian youth.
Plan International The refugee response to Sudan and South Sudan focuses on access to education
Sudan: and child protection for IDPs and children and youth living in camp settings.
Plan International The participatory development of a youth strategy to inform the refugee response
Ethiopia: to South Sudan led by a humanitarian agency-based youth task force.
Plan International The country programme was set up with a mandate to respond to the 2014 crisis,
Central African with a focus on Education and Child Protection in Emergencies.
Republic (CAR):
Strengthening voice Plan and humanitarian agencies

Humanitarian settings provide an opportunity to ‘learn
themselves are among the governance
participation’ keeping youth future oriented in their engagement.
Youth spaces and networks are needed in humanitarian settings actors that young people need to engage
to promote inclusive relationships between youth and to build the with and influence. They should create
capacities for engagement in community and camp decision-
making that have been repressed as a result of the conflict- spaces for youth participation in the
context. Across the humanitarian programmes, it was highlighted delivery of humanitarian assistance and
that raising the voices of children and youth needs to go beyond
ideas about preventing negative behaviours (for example services throughout the programme
perceptions of male youth as perpetrators of violence in Central cycle. As central programming areas in
African Republic and South Sudan) and be about ‘recognising
the positive contribution youth can play … laying the foundation humanitarian settings Education and
for youth to continue contributing positively in the future’ (Plan Protection are important thematic areas
International Ethiopia 2015: 6).
in which to foster young people’s
In some programmes, building voice is a dedicated activity. understanding of rights and
accountability of duty-bearers and to
 In the case of Central African Republic, Plan is working
with young people involved in informal youth collectives, practice participation, for instance in
 many of whom are ex-combatants to help build voice. school representative councils and camp
Plan is promoting the integration of War Child’s DEALS
approach to life skills training for youth which focuses on governance committees

the development of communication, decision-making and problem-solving skills along with a
sense of personal worth and agency which helps them to find their voice in relation to rights
and responsibilities.
 In urban Egypt, journalism was used as an approach to promote peaceful coexistence and for
youth to raise voice and engage in public life. By working with experienced social bloggers
and photo-journalists to train and adolescents and young people from the refugee and host
target communities youth produced media about peaceful co-habitation.
Where Plan is the implementing agency for Camp Management, or otherwise involved, it may enable
youth engagement in camp management and schools, and build collective capacities through
involving young people in groups and associations.

The evaluation of programming for Plan Sudan recommended that youth to be included in the
IDP camp management committees to promote their learning about services and
  young people are participating in
participation. There was however limited evidence of where
community or camp leadership in humanitarian settings.

Engaging young people and women in community-led initiatives and village savings and loan
schemes inside camp settings in Sudan was highlighted as a strategy to enhance the
involvement of youth, children and women in project implementation. Examples of this approach
had shown promise in promoting their leadership in the community. The evaluation thus
  participation, voice and influence of these
recommended to continue this approach to strengthen
groups on the IDP leaders and camps committees.

In terms of nurturing citizenship capacities, in Ethiopia the new youth strategy for work with youth
in refugee settings highlights the importance of going beyond providing spaces for youth
development activities, to developing a “Youth Association Network” that would foster
communication and leadership skills and nurture the meaningful participation of young people.
The network requires young people participating in youth spaces to become more formalised in
order to: rotate duties for attending youth association meetings; make action plans;
communicate and negotiate with host community and refugee leadership.
The review found that alliances between youth and other community actors can be a prerequisite for
their successful participation.
 In conflict-affected settings such as Central African Republic working with community actors
and structures such as women’s associations, traditional councils, child-protection committees
to support the participation of youth can help to promote healing and peacebuilding at the
community-level, ensuring that children and youth are accepted back into communities in
 contexts where they may have been involved in violence.
 Plan Egypt’s work with youth on refugee access to education highlights that building
collaboration between different social groups can help to create opportunities for young men and
women to play a role in social cohesion and become positive role models in their families and
communities. Outcomes of this programme show that involving parents and community leaders
throughout the process is important, who need to agree with the idea of youth collaborating with
young people from ‘other groups’.

A UNHCR review on youth involvement concluded it is largely an invisible group within the humanitarian
sector (Evans and Lo Forte 2012). A focus on children and adolescents within the Convention on the
Rights of the Child and related child-protection approaches risk excluding youth aged 18-24 from
targeted empowerment, participation and governance approaches.

This is reflected in current focus on Child Friendly Spaces and related child-protection approaches
in humanitarian settings. Child-friendly spaces (CFS) are a relatively common mechanism for
youth participation in humanitarian setting, which could potentially build youth voices (UNICEF’s
20092), but their potential for building active citizenship is underutilised. For
2 A Practical Guide to Developing Child Friendly Spaces – UNICEF, 2009

children and younger age groups of youth, participation in the governance and decision-making
behind child-friendly spaces (CFS) is an important consideration. In Sudan children and youth
fed-back that they were not engaged in the development of activities in CFS which led to
feelings of exclusion.

Children in Central African Republic were engaged in the set-up of community-based child
protection mechanisms, children’s ongoing participation in implementation was less clear.
In Plan’s Disaster Risk Management Strategy it is emphasised that some groups of children are more
exposed to risks and less able to access assistance. Plan is particularly concerned with the situation
for girls, where underlying inequalities lead to worse outcomes, especially adolescent girls who face
particularly damaging risks during crises (Plan DRM Strategy 2016).
  This approach was reflected in the youth strategy for Ethiopia’s response with Refugees to the

South Sudan conflict. It is argued that this disaggregation needs to include length of
displacement for refugee youth, as there were qualitative differences in responses from youth
who had recently arrived compared to youth who had been living in the camp for over a year, and
whether youth are living in camp or host community settings. In terms of age disaggregation, the
following framework is proposed: CRC-protected youth [15-17]; middle youth [18-21]; and older
 youth [22-24].

Furthermore, in Ethiopia married girls and adolescent mothers were seen to be particularly
under-served, as they tend to be categorised into women’s programmes rather than girls’
 programmes despite their needs being different. In order to reach children and youth  with
disabilities CSOs working on disability rights were involved in the Ethiopia Youth Task Force.

The inclusion of host community and refugee youth within youth networks (as in Ethiopia) can
 
also promote peace and social cohesion, shared activities such as journalism on peace and
inclusion as in urban Egypt can promote peaceful collective engagement.

In Central African Republic the interventions to respond to the disarmament and demobilisation of
boy soldiers highlighted the need to also consider the experiences ofgirl soldiers who had been
abducted, sexually abused and forced to accompany armed groups.
Where higher numbers of participants from these marginalised backgrounds were included, this did not
necessarily translate in more effective participation on their part. Socio-cultural norms continue to affect
women’s participation within the camp environment. This calls for better strategies that address
prejudice and bias about certain groups, and norms governing the behaviour of women in the public
sphere, including among young people themselves.

IDP community leaders and camp residents highlighted in the Sudan IDP camp evaluation
 
that women’s participation was not meaningful in that their feedback and ideas were absent,
and community structures would prevent women from acquiring positions of leadership.

Programmes supporting formal and non-formal education had the strongest reference to
 disabilities (CWDs), and in humanitarian
the inclusion of children and young people with
camp settings that was an important focus.
Spaces
The question about spaces in humanitarian settings is about identifying which actors the young people
should influence (the service provider, the state, the humanitarian actors); at which level of decision-
making; and where are the suitable openings for interacting with these actors to articulate their needs
and rights. In humanitarian settings like displacement camps, the high density of aid agencies means that
the agencies themselves are among the governance actors that young people need to engage with and
influence. In urban areas, it may be local state actors alongside implementing agencies. Although there
are various instances of displaced people participating in camp committees, participation in implementing
services is definitely not the same thing as participation in order influence type and quality of service, and
decision-making over how services are run. The review found different examples of how Plan and
humanitarian agencies created spaces for youth participation in the delivery of humanitarian assistance
and services.

In Sudan, youth researchers participated within the programme evaluation process with the

aim of reaching different kinds of young people, building ownership and to capacitate a group
of young people that can support the participation of camp members in future evaluations.


In Ethiopia, the establishment of a Youth Task Force by humanitarian agencies led to
the participatory assessment of youth needs in order to inform the creation of youth-
targeted programming: a space to influence these agencies. It is argued that this
  should continue throughout the programme cycle, up to implementation and
approach
M&E.

Plan’s work in CAR is promoting children’s participation in ‘School Governments’ (the space),
which enables children to analyse problems affecting students and propose child-led solutions in
dialogue with parents and teachers; issues regarding water, health and sanitation and
recreational activities in school settings were acted on in multiple settings. This approach helped
 the realisation of their right toparticipate, and also raised an understanding of inclusive
development in these youth.

The evaluation of Plan Sudan’s programming found that capacity building and camp organisation
activities created male and female leaders able to handle the daily problems and affairs of IDPs
through the creation of committees responsible for tackling health, water, education, sanitation, food,
maintenance and community affairs. This resulted in the engagement of diverse stakeholders and a
reduction in the number of problems – creating more peaceful, tolerant and organised living
conditions among the people in the camps. More can be done to have youth actively involved in these
committees. At the same time, working with committees requires knowledge of social divisions among
refugees, for instance between long-term camp residents and new arrivals, and monitoring whether
camp committees work in everyone’s interests.

As a humanitarian actor, Plan needs to interact with states and other humanitarian agencies, including
UN agencies. Confirming again that basic services (service delivery) is a relevant entry point for
engaging with government actors in fragile settings, it is In particular within Plan’s work on education that
overall involvement with Government institutions is high. It is argued that Plan is well respected by
Government stakeholders.
 In CAR it was highlighted that, for youth, education fosters civic leadership and democratic
development, and it also fosters their understanding of rights and accountability of duty-bearers.
Plan CAR has built strong relationships with education service providers from local to national
level and worked with them to establish high quality education with strong participatory
practices embedded.
In fragile and conflict-affected contexts the space for engagement at the level of rights claims and
advocacy is very challenging. In these contexts Plan and implementing partners have taken on the role
of negotiating with and engaging with the state on rights issues through alliances between local, national
and international civil society to develop advocacy campaigns on youth rights.
 In Egypt, where Plan works with urban refugees, the environment of constrained resources,
political tensions and a lack of transparency in the legal environment means that UNHCR has
been mandated by the government to hold the responsibility as duty-bearer. The development of
alliances between civil society and UN agencies has been a prominent strategy for advocacy to
increase responsiveness of state institutions for refugee rights in Egypt, for example ensuring
the provision of financial services, access to employment and education
Sometimes, however, forms of ‘hidden power’ such as certain interests of political actors that are not
in the public domain, require conscious attention.
 In CAR, Plan International became aware of power dynamics within local decision-making
processes, in particular those among different sides of the conflict. Plan had to make a
conscious analysis of their engagement with diverse actors, ensuring to include all sides, in order
to safeguard their own neutrality.

Implications for humanitarian programming
In humanitarian programmes humanitarian agencies may appear alongside the state as duty-
bearers, and both are therefore involved in accountability relationships with youth. Programmes
can create avenues and capacities for youth to ‘learn participation’ and engage with humanitarian
actors by:
 Working through thematic programme entry points such as Education and Protection to
foster young people’s understanding of rights and accountability of duty-bearers and to
practice participation, for instance in school representative councils and camp governance
 committees
 Working with Camp Management implementing agencies to enable youth engagement in
decision-making within camp management, committees responsible for refugee services
and with related service providers such as schools. Youth could first shadow these
 processes before building mechanisms for direct engagement.
 Using methods such as journalism to support youth to engage in public life creatively,
despite challenging contexts and to build peaceful relationships with youth from different
 backgrounds.
 Engaging young people and women in community-led initiatives and village savings and
loan schemes to enhance the involvement of youth, children and women in project
 implementation and to develop leadership capacity and influence within the community.
 Working with refugee youth to build networks and to foster communication and leadership
skills through holding youth association meetings; making community action plans; and
communicating and negotiating with host community and refugee leadership. The
inclusion of male and female host community and refugee youth can promote peace and
 social cohesion.
 Ensuring that alliances are built between youth and other community actors which can
support youth integration, peace and healing in post-conflict conflicts and promote
cohesion across social groups. Involving care-givers can help ensure family’s value and
 trust this engagement.
 Strengthening the participatory qualities of current child protection and
involvement mechanisms such as Child Friendly Spaces and community-based
 child protection mechanisms.
 Ensuring that programming is inclusive of young adults by recognising that older youth
 have different needs and capacities to children in their social and political engagement.
 Disaggregating within youth engagement strategies to account for gender and other
differences across the life cycle, including the experience of adolescent mothers and ex-
combatants. Addressing harmful socio-cultural norms that prevent meaningful participation
 of women and minority groups.
 Involving young people in holding refugee service providers to account by working with
youth to undertake participatory needs assessments and evaluations and building their
capacity to support the participation of camp youth in future research and evaluations
 throughout programme cycles.
 Establishing Youth Task Forces between humanitarian agencies and youth to ensure a
 coherent, collaborative and responsive approach to youth programming in camp settings.
 Organisations like Plan, which are positioned as humanitarian actors and interact with states
and other humanitarian agencies, promote youth participation within partnership practices
 and negotiate with the state on rights issues through advocacy alliances.
 Humanitarian actors working with youth and wider stakeholders to analyse the power
and conflict dynamics and risk of a given setting, which is an important brokering and
safeguarding role.

4.4 Peacebuilding programmes
The review included two programmes. Plan International Pakistan implemented Empowering Youth for
Peace and Development (EYPAD) in Pakistan. UNICEF implemented a set of activities in Kyrgyzstan
funded from the UN Peacebuilding Fund. The review It also looked at the meta-evaluation of UNICEF’s
‘Learning for Peace programme’, which was implemented in 14 countries. These programmes
prioritised building relationships among young people over youth participation in governance. However,
peacebuilding covers a wide spectrum of programme areas and some have explicitly targeted
governance processes.
Table 4.4: Peacebuilding programmes

Plan International Pakistan: EYPAD aimed to develop a national group of youth leaders in Pakistan,
Empowering Youth for Peace and who imbibe values of responsible global citizenship to bring about a
Development (EYPAD) peaceful society. Young people went through human rights education,
communication skill-development, leadership training and exposure to
peer perspectives from across the national and global spectrum, and
then employed their learning to foster citizenship values through projects
in their immediate environment.
Unicef: (1) Empowering youth, Youth centres and Peace camps were established in areas affected by
women and vulnerable ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan that run a range of activities: building
communities to contribute to economic skills, start community-based volunteering organisations, and
peace building and enhance young people’s capacities for conflict analysis. At national level,
reconciliation; (2) Empowering Unicef (without youth) engaged in policy dialogue on educational reform
Youth to promote to address diversity.
Reconciliation. (EYR)
Peacebuilding activities responded to the assumptions about the causes of conflict. In Kyrgyzstan, the large
numbers of unemployed young people were considered a major driver behind the outburst of interethnic
violence between Kyrgyz people and ethnic Uzbeks in 2010. International actors anticipated a possible relapse
into violence around the elections in 2012. In Pakistan, the nature of social exclusion, social divisions due to
class and sectarianism, and intolerances present in the wider socio-political context have led to conflictual
relationships. Relating and identifying with different groups was challenging especially over the issue of
religion. To socialise within the same class is heavily policed by families.
Strengthening voice
EYR and EYPAD focused on building peaceful relationships among youth through a range of
activities, thus concentrating on young people’s ability to communicate to each other rather than to
duty bearers. EYPAD’s theory of change posits that freedom to exchange information promotes
human rights by addressing the negative impacts of discrimination, bias or exploitation.
 In Kyrgyzstan, EYR established youth centres which ran vocational activities and computer
courses, and offered support to youth volunteer groups. Sports activities were meant to enhance
interethnic interactions, and nurture youth leadership through play. Youth groups were supported
for sports and economic activities. A selected group of youth linked to the centres, from different
ethnic backgrounds, came together in two ‘youth peace camps’ where they learnt conflict
 analysis skills, addressing root causes of conflict in communities, and election related issues.
 EYPAD offered a process of communication skill-development, leadership training and exposure
to peer perspectives from across the national and global spectrum. Youth established youth
organisations that were to address community issues, employing their learning to foster values
 of inclusive citizenship and tolerance.
 Youth cohorts in Pakistan described a radio-training workshop as an important tool, in making
them understand the role of media in influencing the mind-set (both positively and negatively)
and in addressing issues through dialogue
The approaches effectively built young people’s confidence and sense of agency in their
communities, whereas it is less evident that these programmes addressed root causes of conflict:

 The model used by EYR has been used by various donors in Kyrgyzstan. However, while this
may help to address certain issues this model is critiqued for not addressing the deep historical
causes and causes at higher political levels, which have driven the outburst of violence in the
first place. Letting young people talk about peace among themselves has not enabled them to
hold state actors to account for developing policies that do not resolve inequalities among ethnic
 groups, or tackle discrimination.
 EYPAD cohorts had generally developed a preliminary sense of responsibility towards their
communities. They had grown in confidence and were able to articulate and act on their
views. The learning process, combined with rights education, led to youth engaging with
religious leaders to promote the rights of girls to education. It also motivated youth to set up
 youth organisations, and to join community-based organisations.
 In Islamabad, the social impact was very visible where social groups such as Youth Visionaries
and Peace Rays were created. CBO members in these settings were confident that these
groups would be able to resolve issues related to the community in an informed manner. Youth
organising at the local level created spaces for young people to talk about the issues affecting
them and raise their voice to local power holders on issues such as access to education and
employment. This also led to young people starting to believe in social strength of society and
getting back onto positive pathways such as education, instead of getting dejected by the
prevailing job situation.

While all programmes recognise gender divisions among young people, the peacebuilding programmes
remind us that violent conflict and/or divisive politics can divide communities, including youth. Such
divisions can be identified through conflict-analysis at programme design stage, and addressed
appropriately. Often, programmes assume that relationships of trust develop as young people ‘mingle’ in
activities, while active facilitation may be needed to forge these relationships.
 EYPAD realised that inter-community dynamics should be considered and documented at

the time of selection of communities and the creation of youth cohorts. It should be ensured
 that selected locations for activities are perceived as ‘neutral’ to different groups.
 EYR in Kyrgyzstan involved young people in doing conflict analysis for their own
communities, and developed action plans to address these.
Spaces
The programmes mainly offered young people space to learn about social difference from one another,
whereas less emphasis was placed on interactions with duty bearers. Nonetheless, the programmes
offer insights about approaches that help youth and their communities address social divisions. A
programme aimed at strengthening youth participation in governance may want to have a stronger focus
on such interactions, especially in contexts where governance failures are partly responsible for the
animosity among groups. As stated, the EYR programmes in Kyrgyzstan probably failed to address the
deeper political causes of conflict.
 EYR in Kyrgyzstan missed an important opportunity for youth participation at the national level, when
UNICEF did not create linkages between the youth organised around the youth centres at local level
and the national policy dialogues about educational reform. Although policy dialogue was supported
 by the programme, it was implanted in isolation from the youth work at local level.
 At the local level, EYPAD offered young people a space to speak out to local communities
through drama-based methods and performances. Such creative methods help youth to
express themselves. The collective distillation of issues in dramatic form can also act as a
platform for communities to raise concerns and issues with reduced fear of sanction or reprisal
 against specific individuals from local power-holders.
 In EYPAD, youth conferences at national level enabled young people from different backgrounds to
come together in a shared forum to represent their views and experiences equally. These events
helped to break down barriers and assumptions around identity and religion to promote more
inclusive leadership and the right of all youth to participate on a shared stage.

The peacebuilding programmes mainly focused on creating an enabling environment for good
governance through the development of young people’s socio-cultural agencies including social

awareness and engagement in grassroots development. Further engagement with political processes and
governance institutions is needed to strengthen participation of youth and the potential for state
responsiveness on key issues affecting peacebuilding.
 In Pakistan it was highlighted that EYPAD should also be used as a platform to engage youth
in processes of political mobilisation and articulation of rights, for example by integrating with
 opportunities available for youth in the political sphere such as youth parliaments.
 In Pakistan engagement with the state was done predominantly through an attempt to engage
government Ministries of Education and Youth Affairs in the implementation of EYPAD. The aim
was to enhance the sustainability of the approach and institutionalise the work on peace and
social cohesion. However Plan faced barriers in securing government officials commitment who
did not prioritise the programme.
Implications for peacebuilding programming

Peacebuilding programmes cover a wide spectrum of programme areas and some have explicitly
targeted governance. Predominantly they have prioritised building relationships among young people
and communities, an important dynamic in divided settings. Approaches can do this by:
 Establishing interethnic youth groups and activities such as sport to promote interaction and
cohesion through play; and to learn conflict analysis skills to think about how to address root
 causes of conflict.
 Linking local level youth engagement to governance processes to address root causes of conflict
and enabling youth to link up with national level policy processes, to establish a formal platform
through which youth voices can be raised within a safe and supported environment. National
events create space for youth from diverse backgrounds to interact and experience the right of
 all youth to participate on a shared stage despite social divisions.
 Linking youth involved in peace building to political structures for young people such as youth
 parliaments can help youth engage within the political sphere.
 Building partnerships with the state can enhance the sustainability of programmes and
institutionalise programmes on peace and cohesion, also creating opportunities for you
 to engage with governance actors in such fragile settings.
 Media training that helps youth to understand the role of the media in positively and negatively
 influencing their social environments and how to address issues through dialogue.
 Leadership and capacity building initiatives within youth networks that enabled youth to
establish community initiatives/organisations where they could apply learning on
inclusive citizenship. This led to youth engaging on education/employment issues with
 local government.
 Creating spaces for youth to speak out safely to communities through drama-based methods
that support self-expression and act as a collective platform for communities to raise
 concerns.
 Recognising that inter-community dynamics should be considered and documented
through conflict analysis, which should inform programming, including locations of activities.
Gaps and opportunities
 Approaches are effectively building young people’s confidence and sense of agency in their
communities, they also need to as address root causes of conflict and enable youth to safely
 hold state actors to account for their role in perpetuating intolerance.
 Further engagement with political processes and governance institutions is needed to
strengthen participation of youth and the state responsiveness on key peacebuilding issues.

Having learnt more about different entry points, challenges and good practices from a variety of
programmes, this part of the report will discuss Plan as an international organisation, asking whether
existing systems and principles are ‘fit for purpose’ for working in fragile settings. The first section pays
specific attention to tools for understanding the context, and conflict analysis to enhance conflict-sensitive
programming. We then discuss relevant elements of Child-Centred Community Development,
furthermore the organisational challenges for ‘indirect governance approaches’ when governance is
embedded in programmes. Finally, we discuss approaches to partnerships. In the organisational review
we refer to external sources where relevant.
5.1 Understanding context and conflict

Context analysis is incredibly important for programming in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
Dynamics can quickly change and require close monitoring within a time pressured environment. Periodic
reflections (like at inception, midterm and annual reviews) on the actions, movements and interests of
governance actors, as well as the organisation of young people and their leaders will result in improved
strategies to widen space for participation. Here we discuss the tools and approaches used by
organisations in this review (including Oxfam, Plan, UNICEF and ActionAid) and information from
sources beyond the programmes included in the review. A number of tools exist to analyse power
dynamics in a particular context, including: political economy analysis (PEA), applied political analysis
(APEA), the power cube, and a combined PEA and power analysis. These elicit power dynamics that
influence programmes and inform strategies to mitigate them.
 The Plan funded study on Community-Based Monitoring using score cards and community audits in
Malawi, carried out by ODI, shows that power dynamics in the form of patronage practices and the
continued centralisation of powers of the Presidency interfere with service delivery. Although certain
improvements in service delivery had occurred as a result of the programme, these forms of power inhibit
 a real, systemic change in the relationship between citizens and decision makers (ODI, 2011).
 How PEA and power analysis informs programme strategies is illustrated by Plan International UK’s
new multi-country programme on family planning (FP): FP2020 Monitoring and Accountability
Programme. PEA is carried out at the start of each programme, which maps the roles of a range of
governance actors, the kind of power they exercise, the challenge this may raise for the
programme, and action required. For instance, Plan Mali anticipates that more conservative non-
state actors interfere with service delivery through the decentralised governance system at the local
level (Plan Mali, 2016). Hence, the current programme will actively target customary and religious
leaders at the local level, and religious organisations at higher levels to promote acceptance of
family planning.
Conflict-sensitivity analysis
Plan International’s guidance for working in conflict and fragile settings (2015) highlights that upholding
international humanitarian commitment to ‘do no harm’ requires
contextualised conflict-sensitivity In CAR, a selection of youth groups for
analysis: ‘This means understanding the operating context,
understanding the interaction between Plan International’s participation in programming put Plan’s
intervention and the context, and acting upon that neutral position at risk as communities
understanding in order to minimise negative impacts, and perceived certain groups were being
maximise positive impacts from conflict’ (Plan 2015: 4). This
guidance clearly maps out the commitment of the organisation selected over others. This led to
to principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and revision of the selection process.
independence. However, the review found that conflict- Conflict-sensitivity analysis at the start
analysis is not systematically done, and offices need capacity
and expertise to do them well. of programmes can help identify social
divisions, with potential for conflict, at
 Guidance by the Conflict Sensitivity Consortium (2012) – early stage.
of which Plan is a member – highlights the importance of
using participatory methods to gather a range of
perspectives in conflict analysis. A principle

of triangulation should be used to clarify different perspectives as perceptions can be
very different from different groups living with conflict.
 The participation of local community actors in conflict analysis is also valuable for analysing
conflict-drivers, building transparent and equitable relationships and to develop an
 understanding of potential intervention entry points.
 Transparency has helped in limiting different groups from perceiving that the targeting and
assistance provided is biased, particularly in scenarios where more support will go to a
certain group because of vulnerability criteria. However, in some contexts community
divisions may make it contentious to engage in this way, and risk to community members as a
 result of their participation needs to be analysed.
 The conflict analysis needs to be done at the earliest stage, and needs to be revisited
throughout the project cycle, for instance within the ongoing monitoring and evaluation
exercises. Real-Time Evaluations are carried out on major emergencies, which highlight the
elements of the response that worked well and areas in which the response can be more
effective. Meaningful review of participation, responsiveness and accountability within these
reviews can help ensure this remains a priority in programming.
Contextualised do-no-harm principles

Do No Harm is an approach that recognises the presence of ‘dividers’ and ‘connectors’ in conflict.
Contextualised approaches seek to analyse how an intervention may be implemented in a way that
supports local communities to address the underlying causes of conflict rather than exacerbating conflict
(Conflict Sensitivity Consortium 2012). It is critical that young people engaging in advocacy, and
participating in decision-making or governance processes are supported in the development of their
strategies so that they are not exposed to hostile actors and/or violent confrontation. Child protection is
defined as: `measures and structures to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, exploitation and
violence affecting children’ (Ridsdel and McCormick 2013: 3).
5.2 Protecting children and youth within a programme

A central part of Plan’s approach to building systems and ownership of child protection goals is
through the participation of children in the formation of child-friendly safe spaces, localised child
protection policies, community-based child protection mechanisms that also work with youth groups,
community-based psychosocial care and support and capacity building.
Plan and related-agencies have developed approaches that promote the mobilisation of caring and
responsive community-based child protection committees and networks. The emphasis is on the role
that such networks can play in mediating tensions between the children, their families and the wider
community, including in contexts where children and youth may have participated as armed actors. This
approach aims to reduce tension and instability and to begin the process of rebuilding community
cohesion and trust, thus contributing to the reduction of many underlying characteristics of fragility
(Commins and Fenton 2007). Save the Children promote the establishment of children’s committees and
youth committees as ways of ensuring children’s voices are heard throughout the programme cycle on
programming and protection issues. There is an inherent risk that children’s committees and other
participatory mechanisms may be superficial in terms of providing a genuine voice for children where
adults take on the role of ‘protector’.
A recent review of UNFPA’s work with refugees in response to the Syrian crisis also highlighted the
role of women and girls safe spaces which has emerged as a key strategy for protection and
empowerment. The guidance highlights that a safe space should be women and girl-led and offer an
inclusive and empowering environment for them. Its sustainability would require the input and support
of stakeholders including husbands, parents, and community leaders who have influence over the
ability of women and girls to participate (UNFPA Regional Syria Response Hub 2015). However, there
is limited evaluation material available to understand the impact of the approach.
Participatory assessment to enhance protection

The participatory youth assessment of the South Sudan refugee response by Plan Ethiopia highlighted
sexual and gender-based violence as a major concern – including rape, sexual abuse, intimate partner
violence, and early forced marriage. Sexual violence against men in conflict was not easily discussed within
community settings, although it was highlighted as critical for service providers to be able to engage on this
issue. Addressing sexual violence requires coordinated interventions at multiple

levels (macro, meso, and micro) and at various entry points. The strategy emphasises the importance of
life skills courses being offered to male and female youth, covering amongst other things, harmful gender
norms, negotiation and communication. This could then act as an entry point for youth engagement as
change makers where young people disseminate referral information to other youth, including where
health services and protection services are and how and where survivors can report SGBV. Working with
partner NGOs to ensure that youth with disabilities are included in these processes is critical for
implementation.
5.3 Child-centred Community Development (CCCD)

In all of the Plan Evaluations the CCCD approach was highlighted by partners and stakeholders as
critical for Plan’s legitimacy as an actor in that setting. CCCD has clearly helped Plan to articulate how
parents and carers, and institutions like schools and teachers, influence children’s voices and might help
or hinder them to claim rights. In the potential scaling up of work in certain countries, it is of crucial
importance that all programme staff is adequately trained on CCCD (and other relevant programming
standards) and know about its specific challenges and dynamics in fragile settings. In order to achieve
CCCD principles in conflict and fragile settings it is critical that there is a deeper understanding of local
context and conflict dynamics and a consideration of how diverse actors and relationships may influence
empowerment and accountability outcomes.

Generally - but more so for contexts of fragility - review CCCD in relation to the context analysis:
develop a deeper understanding of a fuller range of actors in ‘the community’ and at higher levels,
and their perceived accountability and responsibility which may include a) the violation or protection
of rights, b) the limiting or promotion of young people’s participation, c) interference with
 mechanisms that seek to enhance their participation, and other governance processes.

 Consider divisions and conflicts in local communities when ‘anchoring
 interventions in
communities’ and achieving inclusion and non-discrimination.

  actors; and develop ‘engagement
Articulate clear positions on state actors and non-state
strategies’, as highlighted in the programme review.

With regard to non-state actors (including civil society), there is a need to identify their role
in enabling accountability relationships where the state may not be functioning, for
example the capacity of civil society or the role of the corporate sector. This is also underlined
in an external evaluation of Plan’s CCCD principles and strategies (2011), which  highlights a
lack of cross-cutting strategies that interact with state and community actors.
5.4 Youth-led programming components

Growing awareness that (components of) youth programmes need to be youth-led has resulted in
innovative experiments in programme design and implementation, and is a different way in which
youth voice can be strengthened. Offering opportunities for voice and youth leadership within a
programme is relatively safe and strengthens young people’s capacities to use such skills in the
outside world. In line with the CCCD principle on Participation, Plan is already implementing
mechanisms that support the active participation of children and youth in programming.
 To advise programmes as a whole, youth advisory groups give input to programme

 design and implementation, and are involved in evaluating the programme.
 Other programmes, like MRMV, remind us that it remains a challenge to uphold these principles
 throughout the programme cycle even where there is commitment.
 In terms of youth-led programme activities, youth organising and leadership is often through
local youth associations and networks.
5.5 Approaches to partnerships

In several of the studies and evaluations reviewed, it transpired that the types of partners, as well as
partnerships, matter for achieving impact. This issue resonated with findings from the ODI study on the
community scorecard programme in Malawi, which found that the programme had achieved more
results in places where the implementing partners were ‘politically savvy’, and had cultivated
relationships to the right people in the state.

 Plan Uganda and MRMV Afghanistan both emphasised the importance of longstanding
relationships and personal connections to the state, which enables the staff to attract
 attention from state actors and facilitates their attendance.
 This embeddedness in local context and networks to the state helps to promote the
partner’s legitimacy and promote local ownership, whereas networks to higher levels of
governance enables mobility and influence across spaces of participation.
This raises the issue of how to select partners and how to work with them, and which kind of capacity
building activities they need. ActionAid is doing this very consciously in its Arab Regional Initiative.
ActionAid’s political approach to change on accountability, participation and governance means
that they are trying to find partners that are fighting corruption and claiming rights.
 In the wake of the Arab Spring ActionAid has built partnerships with formal and non-formal
 organisations that have responded to and emerged from the people’s movement and protest.
 Because of the dynamic and changing context ActionAid has identified that youth movements
are emerging organically. ActionAid argues it is important not to have to wait for formal
registration of organisations, which although may have risk attached regarding the transfer of
funds for example, is critical for youth-led initiatives to emerge.
It also raises the issue of how to work from the local to national level. Already, Plan’s work
spans engagement with local community-based organisations to national–level alliances.
 Plan Pakistan has local level advocacy coordinators that are based at the sub-national level to
maintain closer relationships with these community partners. This was named as particularly
important in enabling youth networks to evolve in contexts of sectarian violence as it helped
give authority and show neutrality in the process.
5.6 Plan as an interlocutor in accountability relationships

In different settings Plan takes on roles mediating between government stakeholders, civil society
actors and citizens groups, including children and young people. This is a role of ‘interlocution’ where
Plan is actively navigating complex socio-political contexts in order to address problems of governance,
responsiveness and collective action. There is a degree to which Plan has had to be “politically
savvy” in the way that it leverages its relationship with powerful actors across society. This role
becomes ever more crucial in contexts where freedom of association is limited, where capacity for
autonomous collective action is weak, or cultural/linguistic difference complicate the projection of voice.
There is a set of skills and functions that Plan as an interlocutor has used when mediating between all
these actors: brokering relationships between different actors; help youth access spaces; amplify
aggregated voice; mitigating risk and ensuring protection from harm; mediation, representation,
negotiation.
 The review found that Plan, and most other organisations, do not systematically reflect on their
interlocutor role, and how this is best played in the given context. When a mediating role is not
carefully considered, however, it may call into question Plan’s legitimacy. This asks for a
reflection on Plan’s position, its accountability towards both youth and duty bearers and the
 extent to which Plan sees itself as a political actor in these settings.
 We suggest a more explicit analysis of Plan’s interlocution role at country level and analysis of
this against goals of youth participation and governance. The below matrix is an attempt to
provide a tool that can support Plan to analyse this interlocution in relation to: degree of
tokenism, and degree of youth power in participation.
Table 5.1: Matrix of interlocution and participation

Degree of youth citizen control in participation
Interlocution roles Informing Consultation Placation Partnership Delegation Control
Strengthening youth Thinking about levels of youth participation needs to go hand in hand with
civil society capacity thinking about the appropriate role for Plan as interlocutor. Key questions to

to open doors and consider:
participate on their
own
Brokering 1. The intention behind the interlocution role: is it to open a space, broker
relationships a space, facilitate the space?
between governance 2. Is their scope to increase youth participation over time, how, and how
actors and youth is this monitored?
3. Which actions with youth and with governance actors are necessary
Opening up of space for the interlocution to be right?
on key issues for 4. To what extent will the role of interlocution shift power relations and
youth, and let them build the necessary trust of local actors towards greater youth
participate participation in practice.
Facilitating
interactions between
youth and duty
bearers
Participate with youth

in space and also
speak on their behalf
Representing youth
issues on their behalf
Research of local
accountability issues
and share with youth/
governance actors

6.1 Academic and policy literature
Commins, S. and Fenton, W. (2007) Treading a delicate path: NGOs in Fragile States, Draft Synthesis
report, Save the Children
Conflict Sensitivity Consortium (2012) How to guide to conflict sensitivity, London: The Conflict Sensitivity
Consortium
Evans, R. and Lo Forte, C. (2012) UNHCR’s Engagement with Displaced Youth, UNHCR The UN
Refugee Agency
Gaventa, J. (2006) Finding the Spaces for Change: A Power Analysis, IDS Bulletin, 37.6: 23-33
Hilker, L. M. and Fraser E. M., (2009) Youth Exclusion, Violence, Conflict and Fragile States,
Report prepared for DFID by Social Development Direct, London
OECD DAC (2013) Fragile States 2013: Resource Flows and Trends in a Shifting World. Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development - Development Assistance Committee
www.oecd.org/dac/governance-peace/conflictfragilityandresilience/docs/FragileStates2013.pdf
(accessed 18 July 2016)
Oosterom, M. A. (2014) It moves as quickly as bushfire: Gendered violence and insecurity in South
Sudan, IDS Research report No 78, Brighton: IDS.
Oxfam GB (2013) Child Protection Policy, Internal policy document, Oxford: Oxfam Great Britain
Schwartz, S. (2010) Youth and Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Agents of Change. USA: United
States Institute of Peace
UNFPA (2015) Women & Girls Safe Spaces: A guidance note based on lessons learned from the Syrian
crisis, UNFPA Regional Syria Response Hub www.unfpa.org/resources/women-girls-safe-spaces-guidance-
note-based-lessons-learned-syrian-crisis#sthash.pqomEwDz.dpuf (accessed 18 July 2016)
6.2 Plan policy documents reviewed

Iles, K., with Kantelberg, R. and Mathieson, C. (2012), A governance learning guide, the plan: to support
you to understand governance and how it applies to your work, Woking: Plan UK
ODI (2011) The political economy of community scorecards in Malawi, London: Overseas
Development Institute
Plan International (2016) Disaster Risk Management Strategy: Interim Strategy January 2016- to
be revised after completion of the Plan International Global Strategy, Plan International
Plan International (2015) Disaster Risk Management Capacity Statement, Plan International
Plan International Mali (2016) Family Planning
Plan International UK (2013) Child Protection Policy, Internal policy document, Woking: Plan UK
Ridsdel, J. and McCormick, C. (2013) Protect My Future: The links between child protection and
disasters, conflict and fragility in the post-2015 development agenda, Plan International and Save
the Children
Zuurmond, I. (ed) (2010). Promoting child rights to end child poverty, Woking: Plan UK

6.3 Plan programme documents reviewed
Country Year Document
Pakistan 2009 Empowering Youth for Peace and Development (EYPAD) Project proposal.
Plan International Pakistan
2010 EYPAD Evaluation Report-Year 1 (Apr 09 till Mar 10). Plan International
Pakistan
2011a EYPAD Evaluation Report-Year 2 (Apr 10-Mar 11). Plan International
Pakistan
2012 EYPAD Evaluation Report-Year-3 (Apr 11 till Mar 12). Plan International
Pakistan
2015 Plan Pakistan Country strategic plan 2015-2020. Plan International Pakistan
2011b Building Skills for Life Project brief. Plan International Pakistan
2016a Building Skills for Life Advocacy and Power Analysis workshop notes
Uganda 2015a Uganda Country Strategic plan, FY 2016-2020. Kampala: Plan International
Uganda. Kampala: Plan International Uganda
2015b Evaluation of ‘A Working Future’ – a youth Economic Empowerment
Programme. Kampala: Plan International Uganda
2013 Mid-Term Review on Promoting Inclusive Participation of Children and Youth
Project for Kamuli, Alebtong & Lira Districts in Uganda. Kampala: Plan
International Uganda
2016 End-term evaluation on Promoting Inclusive Participation of Children and
Youth Project for Kamuli, Alebtong & Lira Districts in Uganda. Kampala: Plan
International Uganda
Central 2016 Real Time Evaluation of the Plan International CAR programme. Plan
African International CAR
Republic 2014 CAR Country Program Response Strategy. Plan International CAR
Ethiopia 2015 Plan Ethiopia Gambella Refugee Youth Strategy. Plan International Ethiopia
(South
Sudan)
Egypt (Syria) 2015 Final Evaluation Report For The project Improving access to quality
education for vulnerable Syrian refugee children and Egyptian host
communities in Alexandria. Plan International Egypt
2016a Zamalah Learning Together Safely Programme Proposal. Plan International
Egypt
2016b Plan Egypt “Shaping Futures and Changing Lives” Country Strategic Plan,
fiscal Years 2016-2020. Plan International Egypt
Sudan 2015 Morsy, A. Strengthening and Enhancing the Basic Education Services, Child
(South Protection, Camp Management and Coordination in Zamzam and Abushok
Sudan) IDP Camps: Final Evaluation Report. Plan International Sudan
6.4 External agency programme documents reviewed

Organisation Year Document
ActionAid 2015 AA ARI Local Governance work Jan – Dec 2015
2016a Revised Local Governance Program Cluster Paper 2016
2016b Strategic objectives: Local Governance Program Cluster Paper 2016
Mercy Corps 2010 Global Citizen Corps: Youth Civic Participation for a Better World
2013 Global Citizens Corps Final Report September 2009-2012
Oxfam GB 2016a Global Evaluation of the My Rights My Voice Programme. The Hague/Oxford:
South Research/ Oxfam GB
2016b Global Evaluation of the My Rights My Voice Programme – Afghanistan
country programme evaluation. The Hague/Oxford: South Research/ Oxfam
GB
2016c Global Evaluation of the My Rights My Voice Programme – Niger country

programme evaluation. The Hague/Oxford: South Research/ Oxfam GB
Unicef 2012 IMMEDIATE RESPONSE FACILITY (IRF1) FINAL EVALUATION –
KYRGYZSTAN. UN Peacebuilding Fund - Immediate Response Facility
(IRF). Bishkek: Unicef Kyrgyzstan
2013a Final Narrative Report. Empowering Youth to promote Reconciliation.
Bishkek: Unicef Kyrgyzstan
2013b EMPOWERING YOUTH, WOMEN AND VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES TO
CONTRIBUTE TO PEACEBUILDING AND RECONCILIATION IN
KYRGYZSTAN. Bishkek: Unicef Kyrgyzstan
2014 EVALUATING PEACEBUILDING INTERVENTIONS IN SOUTHERN
KYRGYZSTAN. SIPRI–OSF Policy Brief.
2015 Evaluation of UNICEF’s Peacebuilding, Education and Advocacy Programme
(PBEA). Geneva: UNICEF

Annex 1: Plan International Programmes
Plan Pakistan Youth Empowerment Programming
Country Context
Pakistan has low macro-economic stability, poor levels of tax collection and spends 42.1 per cent of its
federal budget on debt servicing and 15.7 per cent on defence. The cumulative impact leaves little fiscal
space for the delivery of public services and social development. As a result of the fragility of governance
and poor service provision, 20-25 per cent of total school enrolment in Pakistan is in non-state schools
and there are high levels of dissatisfaction with state service provision, the preference being for non-
state provision. The government defines youth as individuals between the ages of 15-22 years, who
constitute one quarter of the county’s population. The post-9/11 socio-political environment created a
sense of isolation and perceived misconception by the global community on the ideas, behaviours and
attitudes of Pakistani youth. The resulting misunderstandings can create polarisations for youth, splitting
young people into extremes, where feelings of mistrust can lead to a sense of victimisation and
exploitation, and feeling wronged makes youth the targets for messages of hate and violence. Within the
country there is an increase in fundamentalism which does not believe in plurality in society. In addition,
gender injustice, a lack of implementation on legislative initiatives and weak governance in all the sectors
are also key challenges.
Programme Design: Empowering Youth for Peace & Development (EYPAD), 2009-2012
The programme goal is to develop a national group of youth leaders who imbibe values of responsible
global citizenship and can effect change towards a more conscientious society. The project’s theory of
change posits that freedom to exchange information promotes human rights by addressing the negative
impacts of discrimination, bias or exploitation. Young people go through a process of communication
skill-development, leadership training and exposure to peer perspectives from across the national and
global spectrum, and then employ their learning to foster values of good citizenship within their
immediate environment.
Programme Design: Building Skills for Life, 2011-2016

The Building Skills for Life Programme focuses on education, life skills and sexual and reproductive
health rights and includes an advocacy for policy change component. Young people are 15-29 years old
and within the governance component of the programme are predominantly engaged in education
advocacy. Youth networks were established and provided with tools and techniques to analyse and
advocate for the importance of girls education with multiple stakeholders including parliamentarians.
The focus of the advocacy is on the constitution of Pakistan’s 18th amendment which introduced that
every boy and girl will be provided free and compulsory education (ages 8-15).
Youth Voices and Collective Empowerment

EYPAD’s methodology aims to ensure that young Pakistanis understand their rights as citizens, and
recognise their obligation to respect, protect and promote the rights of others. By demonstrating a successful
approach they can influence peers in other countries to arrive at a better understanding of Pakistani
aspirations for peace and development. The aim was to develop young leaders who can bring about change
in the thinking and attitudes of their peers and their elders in their immediate environment and beyond.
EYPAD cohorts had generally developed a preliminary sense of responsibility towards their communities. In
turn this process fostered youth organisations to be set up, and young people to join community-based
organisations enabling young people to have a significant and longer term impact on their communities. In
Islamabad, the social impact was very visible where social groups such as Youth Visionaries and Peace Rays
were created. Members of community-based organisations (CBOs) in these settings were confident that
these groups would be able to resolve issues related to the community in an informed manner. This learning
process, combined with rights education led to youth engaging with religious leaders to promote the rights of
girls to education. Youth organising at the local level also led to positive human security outcomes with youth,
instead of getting dejected by the prevailing job situation, getting back onto positive pathways such as
education. It was found organic youth-led initiatives were better enabled when youth programming took place
within community-based organisations, as opposed

to school settings, as it was independent from the state, however there were tensions on this
point regarding sustainability.
Youth involved in EYPAD described a radio-training workshop as an important tool, in making them
understand the role of media in influencing the mind-set, (both positively and negatively) and in
addressing issues through dialogue. Performances using drama-based methods at the community level
highlight the potential of young people when they are able to express themselves and their collective
ideas in decision-making forums. The evaluation however noted that the project design emphasises
socio-cultural dimensions of empowerment, such as awareness of human rights and promotion of
attitudes of tolerance, while its economic and political aspects receive marginal attention. It was
recommended that the project should adopt a more holistic interpretation of empowerment in its
curriculum, as well as encourage linkages with existing economic and political initiatives for the youth in
Pakistan.
In Pakistan, increased state control over civil society as a result of the security context created
restrictions on youth organising and mobilisation without first being formally registered. Within Skills for
Life, Plan worked at the local level to establish youth networks from within higher education settings to
take forward campaigns on rights and drive accountability processes. The institutional support from Plan,
as a respected government partner, helped facilitate access for the youth organisations in certain settings
and will support the registration process which would in time enhance the effectiveness and sustainability
of the youth networks.
Gender Equity and Inclusion

The context of insecurity causes parents and young people themselves to restrict young women’s
movement as a result of perceived and real risk of violence and sexual harassment. The Plan Pakistan
EYPAD project highlighted the importance of short commuting distances and gender segregated
learning spaces, in particular when working with young men from other areas. A young woman within the
Building Skills for Life Programme in Pakistan emphasised that young women within the youth network
are acting as role models with parents and young women to sensitise them to the possibilities of youth
participation. Given the complexity of the contexts, perceptions of youth, including the influence of
conservative religious views on young women’s engagement, it is critical that non-governmental actors,
such as religious leaders, are engaged in the programme as they are gatekeepers of discriminatory
norms that uphold gender inequality at the local level.
It was also highlighted that the nature of social exclusion and intolerances present in the wider socio-
political context manifest within programme approaches. In Pakistan, relating and identifying with
different groups was challenging especially over the issue of religion, but also as a result of class which is
heavily policed by families. It was recommended that inter-community dynamics should be considered
and documented at the time of selection of the communities and the creation of youth cohorts. The
inclusion of National events in EYPAD, such as youth conferences, enabled young people from different
backgrounds to come together in a shared forum to represent their views and experiences equally. These
events helped to break down barriers and assumptions around identity and religion to promote more
inclusive leadership and the right of all youth to participate on a shared stage
Spaces
Involving young people in research and assessment places them in a position to advocate on their own
behalf and to enter community discussions using information and knowledge gained, adding legitimacy to
their contributions. The focus of the Skills for Life Programme on advocacy for free and compulsory
education for all, recognises the importance of ensuring marginalised youth, including women and those
living in deeply sectarian contexts can access education up to the age of 15. This is a rights-based
approach and puts youth at the centre of making these claims. The nature of the youth networks
researching to better understand the barriers to effective implementation and campaigning to mobilise
young people and their communities has been a basis for inclusive advocacy and accountability. An
advantage of using the existing legal frameworks is that these can back-up accountability actions, and
state actors should have some knowledge of these mechanisms. Young people involved in the Skills for
Life Programme engaged with government representatives from the Ministry of Education on the local
level implementation of a new Education reform, ensuring free and compulsory education for children up
to age 15.

Governance
In Pakistan, Plan’s approach to promoting interaction with power holders has been through the
development of autonomous initiatives of youth collectives or networks. The undertaking of youth-led
research with rights education from Plan and partner civil society organisations has led to young people
generating the knowledge and understanding necessary to claim their rights and leading advocacy and
influencing campaigns at local and national levels, which in turn have led to interactions with the state on
key issues initiated by youth supported by Plan. Plan also worked with parents, teachers and community
leaders to become involved in encouraging youth to value human rights and create non-violent solutions.
Plan built trust with these stakeholders which helped their openness to young people’s ideas and rights
claims. Relatedly the Skills for Life Programme has worked with young people to focus on advocacy on
the right to education, as opposed to sexual and reproductive health rights and addressing gender-
based violence as it was perceived that the state would not engage on those issues. In these examples,
the need for family planning is important in its own right, but for a governance programme a different
sector may be a more appropriate entry point.
Strategies to support youth-led engagement with the state are also critical. Young men and women in
Plan Pakistan’s Building Skills for Life Programme highlighted that it was also important that young
women and men worked together to build confidence for their engagement with leaders and stakeholders
to raise voice. Where these egalitarian relationships are established within youth spaces they then can
be modelled within advocacy for equity in youth development (in this case education). This led to a young
woman representing the youth network in a meeting with an official from the Ministry of Education who
committed to working with the network on the implementation of the education reform act the youth had
been advocating for. However, there has been a blockage in follow-up highlighting the need for further
strategic analysis and engagement by youth. Advocacy for the realisation of the Education Act through to
implementation of the act has made visible the challenges of moving from policy change to
implementation; including the multiple actors and interests at play, such as the influence of state, private
and religious education service providers. This is important learning for young people in understanding
the processes of social and political change and highlighted the importance of youth having tools that can
help youth to analyse power dynamics that can help the young build strategies in order to act.

Plan Uganda: Partnership to Strengthen Employment
and Empower Youth Voices (YEEP)
Country context
Lira and Alebtong districts have been directly affected by the war between the Lord’s Resistance Army
and the Government of Uganda (GoU). This conflict predominantly affected the Acholi districts from the
late 1980s until 2006, and it spilled over to Lango region in the early 2000s. Between 2002 and 2006
large sections of the population in Lira and Alebtong lived in displacement camps, which disrupted the
functioning of local government structures and key services for children and youth, like education. Within
the wider governance context, Lango region is an area that has historically supported to the political
opposition, and there is a general sense among the Langi population that the government is primarily
supporting southern groups. In the last decade, the GoU has embarked on ‘districtisation’: the creation of
new district administrations. This is done under the subtext of bringing government and services closer to
the people, while in practice it has been used as an instrument to mobilise support for the incumbent
government, and strengthen patronage linkages to the local level. Alebtong is one of the newly created
districts. Finally, Plan Uganda noted that the ‘youth demographic’ in the country has generated a sense
of urgency among government actors to address youth issues. Fear that young people me turn to the
opposition is a factor, but programmes can take advantage of the current political climate.
Programme design
The objective of YEEP was to reduce poverty among young people and increase local government
responsiveness to young people’s needs. It targeted 3,000 young participants. Most of the programme’s
activities and financial resources addressed support to youth livelihood and entrepreneurship activities
through selected vocational and apprenticeship institutions, training opportunities and post-training
support for young entrepreneurs. The curriculum included life skill training sessions. The governance
activity focused on encouraging participants to establish youth associations at sub-county level (power
with). Elected leaders were to engage with sub-county governments over youth issues. The purpose of
this activity was to increase youth participation in the existing decentralized governance framework,
build trust between them and local government leaders, and thus enable youth to have better access to
local government development programmes and funding.
Spaces
The ‘space’ for participation was the creation of a dialogue between youth associations and sub-county
governments. This was enabled by Uganda’s formal decentralised system for local governance, and the
existing funding (albeit small) earmarked for young people that is channelled from line ministries to the
districts, from where it is allocated to the sub-counties. The programme thus made use of existing
frameworks, with which local governments ought to be familiar, although youth issues might not be
prioritised. In the background, Plan UK influenced an enabling environment through their engagement
with the (PPP) Forum. In most sub-counties, YEEP initiated the first interaction between youth and sub-
county governments, after which they took over the process. Furthermore, Plan created a district-level
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Forum through which it discussed young people’s livelihood needs
and competencies with district officials, bodies like the chamber of commerce, and representatives from
the corporate sector.
Voice
The life skills training included leadership capacities and negotiation, which helped young people to
strengthen voice. Although this training did not specifically focus on negotiation with local state officials,
according to Plan Uganda it was crucial to prepare those participants to engage in the space. Plan
Uganda also emphasised the process of preparing young participants in advance of the meetings: how to
go about concessions and compromise, about timeframes of government responses and expectations. In
the interview, Plan Uganda emphasised the psychosocial problems that prevail in LRA-affected areas
and how this influences all social interactions and engagements of young people, hence also their ability
to engage in governance. Currently, all of Plan’s programmes in the area need to include a component
that offers psychosocial support.
In terms of building collective voice, the forming of youth associations linked trained and non-trained youth and
enabled skill sharing, as well as discussing their collective needs that were subsequently taken up by their
representatives. The evaluation noted that 10% more YEEP youth were participating in local government
policy processes and accessing financial support, and an increased visibility of youth in local

government processes. Some outstanding youth leaders have taken up other leadership roles in
their communities.

For YEEP the evaluation report mentions gendered stereotypes (invisible power) that restricted free
course uptakes among young women. In relation to engagement in the ‘space’ at sub-county level, Plan
Uganda encouraged young women to take up leadership positions in the youth associations and in that
capacity they would engage. As they went along, their confidence grew. The evaluation spoke mainly
about challenges for including CWDs in the livelihood component, and it appeared CWDs were not
targeted in the governance activity. There is, however, salient understanding that young women and
other specific groups needs extra support for public engagement.
Governance and responsiveness

YEEP targeted the district authorities through the PPP Forum, and the sub-county governments through
the dialogues with youth associations. This two-level engagement was important, for the PPP Forum
was conducive to creating an enabling environment for processes at sub-county level. In addition, Plan
Uganda stressed the importance of informal liaising and rapport building with government actors, and
address ‘invisible power’: prevailing stereotypes about young people as ‘unruly’. Plan built rapport with
government by recognising its legitimate authority, for instance by giving them a ceremonial role in youth
functions. Government actors should not simply be informed about programmes (e.g. by communicating
work plans), but need to be actively targeted by activities and diplomacy to create a conducive
environment. Plan Uganda also noted that one reason why YEEP hadn’t achieved the same level of
success in Alebtong, was that this was a new district that was not able to engage, and relationships
between Plan and the new district administration had not yet been built.
In YEEP, the governance activity was clear and targeted, and in several places let to improved access to
youth resources. The evaluation said that this space would be a ‘platform for the youth to gain voices,
and capacitating young people to demand for better service delivery and hold their duty bearers
accountable’. Although the activity was successful, this is perhaps a sweeping statement, because the
engagement did not focus on service delivery and activities did not support young people to take action
on failures in government responsiveness.

Annex 2: Plan International Humanitarian Operations
This annex reviews work within humanitarian crisis settings, reviewing the response to internal (Sudan)
and cross-border displacement (South Sudan in Sudan and Ethiopia, Syrian refugees in Egypt) for
young men and women, and the process of political transition and peace-building within a conflict
context (Central African Republic).
Refugee camp and host community settings in response to

conflict
Country context
In Sudan the nature of ongoing violence, including in Darfur is driving internal displacement and food
insecurity. This manifests as both newly displaced communities as well as communities displaced for
many years. Humanitarian access remains restricted in many areas of the country, and a lack of
protection partners on the ground hinders the response. The humanitarian community is moving away
from short term needs to sustainable interventions that are centred on the interests of affected
populations. However, the increasing influx of refugees from South Sudan is also placing additional
pressures on Sudan’s capacities to deliver services within a context of economic crisis. Zamzam IDP
camp is one of the largest IDP camps in Sudan with continuous new arrival of IDPs creating severe
vulnerability. Since 2013 Plan International Sudan is implementing camp coordination/management
through its partner organisations.
Ethiopia’s refugee response to the conflict in South Sudan is constrained by restrictive integration
policies, particularly regarding education and employment. For many, this means that repatriation to
South Sudan is the most viable option for young refugees, however also a long way in the future.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that a high number of male youth routinely travel back to South Sudan to
join the fighting. Whilst this is seen as more voluntary than forced recruitment, it is argued that this
recruitment is happening in terms of unofficial pressure put on young men and adolescent boys. Whilst
there are a number of operating agencies within Gambella refugee camps providing disparate services
targeting young people, there is no overarching youth strategy to provide a comprehensive, consistent,
evidence-based approach to supporting youth in the camps. A Youth Task Force (YF) was established in
January 2015 which undertook a participatory process to develop a youth strategy. Based on this
assessment the purpose of the strategy was to guide operating partners in the camps and host
communities to engage young people in a more constructive and targeted manner (Morsy 2015).
Programme design, Sudan (2013-15), Ethiopia (2015-ongoing)

In both Ethiopia and Sudan access to education as a basic human right was highlighted as integral, in
Sudan, this related to the establishment of improved standard of living for IDPs within camp settings
enabling them to live with dignity. Child protection was also a significant programme focus area within
refugee camp settings. As outlined in Ethiopia and Sudan, Child Friendly Spaces are seen an important
programming component for ensuring child protection, providing psychosocial support, supporting non-
formal education and enhancing their interaction with each other and the surrounding community.
However a participatory assessment for the development of a youth strategy for the South Sudan refugee
response in Ethiopia found that there are currently limited deliberate programmes specifically for young
men and women, although there are a number of activities which encompass younger (Convention on
the Rights of the Child-protected) youth, which are often added onto standard child-protection activities
such as within Child-Friendly Spaces. Some agencies highlighted a conflict between having a specific
child-focussed mandate and working with the youth age range of 15-24 (Plan Ethiopia 2015). In the
Ethiopia assessment youth said they felt that their voices are not heard by aid agencies or, to a lesser
extent by community leadership, and that engagement, and a feeling of useful contribution to the
community is extremely important for them (Plan Ethiopia 2015). Participation in governance is critical in
humanitarian camp settings as it gives people back power by building a sense of influence and control,
restoring dignity that has been taken away through their experience of displacement.
Youth voices
The constraints in these environments highlight the importance of youth active citizenship being nurtured
within Plan programming, creating space for participation and influence within the decisions that will affect
their lives through Plan as a service provider. In Sudan, youth researchers participated within the

evaluation process with the aim of enhancing engagement and reach to different kinds of young people,
building ownership and to capacitate a group of young people that can support the participatory
engagement of camp members in future evaluations (Morsy 2015). Furthermore in Ethiopia the
establishment of a Youth Task Force led to the participatory assessment of youth needs in order to
inform the creation of youth-targeted programming, and foster ongoing participation. The strategy argues
that this approach should continue throughout the programme cycle – developing work plans,
implementing activities, and monitoring and evaluation in order to strengthen accountability to affected
youth (Plan International Ethiopia 2015).
However, children and youth fed-back that they were not engaged in the development of the child-
protection policy, strategy and related interventions activities in Sudan, which led to feelings of exclusion
within this decision-making process (Morsy 2015). The evaluation found that the Child Protection network
board in Zamzam IDP camp was not represented by any of the children or youth, and youth were also
not represented in leadership positions within camp management. The evaluation recommended that IDP
camp management promotes service learning for youth where they are able to participate in IDPs
committees in order to strengthen pathways into camp management. Where Plan was the implementing
agency for Camp Management as in Sudan, additional opportunities can open up for enabling youth
engagement in different governance structures, including camp management and school settings.
Mirroring the approach highlighted in the Sudan evaluation, the Ethiopia youth strategy highlights the
importance of sustainability and community empowerment in youth programming. The strategy
emphasised that youth engagement is not just about preventing negative behaviours now, for example
perceptions of male youth as perpetrators of violence, but rather about ‘recognising the positive
contribution youth can play to camp community life in the short term and laying the foundation for youth
to continue contributing positively in the future in the long term’ (Plan International Ethiopia 2015: 6).
Youth are depicted as agents of change, and where youth are not engaged then the creativity, energy
and ideas that they can bring to addressing community challenges is missed.

Recognising the differential needs and current access based on sex, age, and other diversity factors
was highlighted as integral to the youth strategy for Ethiopia’s response. This needs to include length of
displacement for refugee youth, as there were qualitative differences in responses from youth who had
recently arrived compared to youth who had been living in the camp for over a year, and whether youth
are living in camp or host community settings. In terms of age disaggregation, the following framework is
proposed: CRC-protected youth [15-17]; middle youth [18-21]; and older youth [22-24].
Socio-cultural norms continue to affect women’s participation within the camp environment. IDP
community leaders and camp residents highlighted in the Sudan IDP camp evaluation that women’s
participation was not meaningful in that their feedback and ideas were absent, and community structures
would prevent women from acquiring positions of leadership (Morsy 2015). The evaluation argued that
women and girls’ participation in small income generating projects inside the camp could foster
economic empowerment and in turn promote their leadership of committees.
The participatory youth assessment in Ethiopia highlighted sexual and gender-based violence as a major
concern – including rape, sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, and early forced marriage. Sexual
violence against men in conflict was not easily discussed within community settings, although it was
highlighted as critical for service providers to be able to engage on this issue. Addressing this issue
requires coordinated interventions at multiple levels (macro, meso, and micro) and at various entry points.
The strategy emphasises the importance of life skills courses being offered to male and female youth,
covering amongst other things, harmful gender norms, negotiation and communication. This could then
act as an entry point for youth engagement as change makers where young people disseminate referral
information to other youth, including where health services and protection services are and how and
where survivors can report SGBV. Working with partner NGOs to ensure that youth with disabilities are
included in these processes is critical for implementation.
The emergence of women and girls safe spaces, as is the case in the Syrian crisis, highlights the importance
of targeted approaches for addressing the protection and empowerment concerns of adolescent girls and
young women (UNFPA Regional Syria Response Hub 2015). Furthermore, married girls and adolescent
mothers are seen to be particularly under-served, as they tend to be categorised into women’s programmes
rather than girls’ programmes despite their different needs (Browne 2013). The

women and girls safe spaces guidance highlights that a safe space should be women and girl-led and
offer an inclusive and empowering environment for them. Its sustainability would require the input and
support of stakeholders including husbands, parents, and community leaders who have influence over
the ability of women and girls to participate. (UNFPA Regional Syria Response Hub 2015). However,
there is limited evaluation material available to understand the specific benefits of this gender targeted
approach. The development of the youth strategy in Ethiopia also emphasises the importance of working
with male youth to prevent re-engagement with the conflict and manifestations of gender-based violence.
The strategy highlights that these approaches should not instrumentalise the engagement of male youth
in terms of preventing negative behaviour, but to focus on empowerment through providing education and
employment opportunities along with gender relations training in life skills programmes, emphasising
important intersections between youth participation, protection and development in camp settings.
Spaces
Responding to the current barriers to youth participation and involvement in youth camp settings the
documentation from Ethiopia and Sudan highlight how different pathways of empowerment can help
address inequities faced by women and young people. Engaging young people and women in
community-led initiatives inside the IDP camp in Sudan for example was highlighted as a strategy to
enhance the involvement of youth, children, women in project implementation and to build the creative
problem-solving skills necessary to deal with challenges within the emergent situation (Morsy 2015).
Furthermore it was also recommended that vocational training centres and income generating projects
inside the IDP camp has the potential to not only enable economic empowerment it will contribute to
promoting their leadership on the IDP leaders committee (Morsy 2015).
The extent to which child-friendly spaces as child protection spaces (CFS) are relevant for or inclusive of
youth however is an important question. The development of youth specific spaces and associations as in
Plan Ethiopia is an important consideration for ensuring inclusivity and empowerment for different kinds of
young people. It is proposed that each zone in each camp will have a “youth space” to engage youth in
sport and other activities. These spaces would be complemented by “Youth Centres” which would
implement more organised (including entrepreneurial) activities and life skills courses. To be replicated in
host communities. The strategy highlights the importance of going beyond providing spaces for youth
development activities, to developing a “Youth Association Network” that would foster communication and
leadership skills and nurture the meaningful participation of young people. The network would consist of
Youth Centres in different zones and in host communities and requires youth centre participants to
become more formalised, with youth themselves: rotating duties for attending youth association meetings;
making action plans; communicating and negotiating with host community leadership and refugee
community leadership and having representation at the YTF. It was noted that in setting up these
structure youth themselves should learn from the different committees already established within the
camp and build relationships with these other decision-making bodies.

The evaluation of Plan Sudan’s programming found that capacity building and camp organisation
activities created male and female leaders in the camps and groups able to handle the daily problems
and affairs of IDPs through the creation of committees responsible for tackling health, water, education,
sanitation, food, maintenance and community affairs. This resulted in the engagement of diverse
stakeholders and a reduction in the number of problems – creating more peaceful, tolerant and
organised living conditions among the people in the camps (Morsy 2015). These outcomes for adult
community members reflect the importance of enhanced engagement of youth in these settings to
enable their contribution and shared ownership of community development and improved individual and
collective empowerment outcomes. Furthermore it was highlighted that the inclusion of refugees in camp
management can help ensure that newly arrived groups are considered in the provision of services, as
well as representing the interests of long standing residents.

Urban refugee settings: Syrian response in Egypt, 2016-2018
Country context
As of January 2014, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had registered a total
population of around 253,000 persons of concern, out of which approximately 140,000 are Syrian.
UNHCR reports that 51,000 school-aged children and approximately 16,000 persons aged 18-24 are
registered as Syrian refugees in Egypt. Greater Cairo, Alexandria and Damietta are the regions with the
highest Syrian concentration and local governments have limited capacity to cater to their needs. Thus,
refugees remain heavily dependent on humanitarian aid. Refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt face
many of the same difficulties as the Egyptian urban poor population, in terms of scarce employment
opportunities, inflation and increased prices for basic goods, a general deterioration of security due to
political instability, and poor access to social services, including health and education. Refugees also face
a number of protection issues, such as the challenges involved in legally obtaining and renewing their
residency status and the risk of arbitrary arrest or deportation. A negative media-led campaign during the
turbulent period of 2011-2014 impacted the safety of Syrians. Although a signatory of the 1951
Convention on the Status of Refugees, Egypt has no statutory procedures to assist asylum seekers, a
role carried out by UNHCR under MoU with the Government of Egypt (GoE) since 1954. Despite GoE
reservations to the 1951 Convention regarding refugees' access to services, including education, UN
negotiation led to the GoE allowing Syrian refugees to access education through presidential decree of
10 Sep 2012, renewed annually. In practice, Syrian children face many obstacles in accessing education
(Zamalah Programme Design 2016).
Programme design
Plan set up an office in Damietta to help Syrian children to fulfill their right to education and integrate in host
communities. The ‘Zamalah - Learning Together Safely’ programming focuses on peace-building, social
cohesion, child protection and educational outcomes for Syrian and marginalised Egyptian children and youth.
The end goal of this action is to leave a socially cohesive society where children and youth fulfil their right to
education and employability, while girls, boys, young people and community members increasingly engage in
community-level decision-making. The action was implemented through two community development
associations (CDA). To date, programming has been mainly working in larger urban areas with focus to access
to services. In the new Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan 2016-2017, UNHCR Egypt will invest in the
quality of services, including education, and will target more marginalised refugees in smaller urban areas and
rural communities (Zamalah Programme Design 2016).
Youth voice
Syrian and Egyptian youth are involved in programme design and implementation, including
conducting the needs assessments. Plan is also ensuring youth are taking a seat in the implementation
of the programmes themselves, ensuring equal participation. They are taking on roles as facilitators,
psychosocial care-workers, and livelihoods facilitators. This is an opportunity to get involved in
activities that matter to the community, the psychosocial response, and to help the quality and
sustainability of programmes (Interview with Plan Egypt).
Plan Egypt has also created an approach for youth to raise voice and engage in public life by working
with experienced social bloggers and photo-journalists to train and adolescents and young people
from the refugee and host target communities on blogging and photographing about peaceful co-
habitation. The blog posts will be published on a project blog. Most successful photos and blog posts
will be published in a booklet to be used as a way to promote social cohesion in the communities
(Zamalah Programme Design 2016). To spread the message of peaceful coexistence, Plan Egypt will
support media fellowships to 6 emerging young journalists from the refugee and host communities to
produce media reports (audio, video, text) on positive stories of peaceful co-existence in their
communities (Interview with Plan Egypt).
Gender and inclusion

Community Development Associations are working at the grassroots and have close contact with
refugees. Refugee youth register with these organisations to get their services, and they are working
hard to reach more marginalised groups. From these relationships young refugee men and women are
engaged in the specific programmes, this is a particular focus in the partnership agreements with CDAs
(Interview with Plan Egypt).

Perceived insecurity in public space may hinder school attendance, especially among girls. Plan will
work with community-based Child Protection Committees to engage community members in order to
provide security, in particular for children on the way to school, and will work to provide transportation.
Restrictions on girls, particularly adolescent girls (cultural as well as household level responsibilities) – to
participate in recreational and social activities - including the youth clubs exist (Zamalah Programme
Design 2016). Responding to the situation of adolescent boys engaged in child labour Plan will promote
their reintegration in school by supporting the families with schooling vouchers, negotiation of
employability options with employers for young adults (Zamalah Programme Design 2016).
Spaces
Plan Egypt’s work with youth on refugee access to education highlights that building collaboration
between different social groups can help to create opportunities for young men and women to play a role
in social cohesion and become positive role models in their families and communities. Outcomes of this
programme show that involving parents and community leaders throughout the process is important,
who need to agree with their youth collaborating with young people from ‘other groups’.
The programme uses the REFLECT model to engage Egyptian and Refugee students together in the
development of their own programme, tools, and employs them in self- and mutual learning. REFLECT
provides an on-going democratic space for a group of people to meet and discuss issues relevant to
them, they also decide where and when to meet. In this process the development of literacy and other
communication skills are closely linked to the engagement of people in wider processes of development
and social change. To encourage girls' learning, Plan supported specific learning circles for adolescent
girls. The groups will be initially facilitated by the project team with the aim for them to meet regularly and
independently afterwards. The final evaluation will see to analyse how many such groups are active after
being left to self-organise (Zamalah Programme Design 2016).

In contexts where the state has shown high levels of hostility towards youth mobilisation and space for
civil society is shrinking, such as Egypt, then engagement with the state has proved extremely
challenging. Furthermore within the refugee context, the state-citizen contract is not clearly assembled
and there are complex lines of accountability around rights and entitlements. Within an urban refugee
context, the space for engagement at the level of rights claims and advocacy is very challenging. In
Egypt the environment of constrained resources, political tensions and a lack of transparency in the legal
environment means that local and municipal services are not engaged fully and UNHCR holds the
responsibility as duty-bearer. Challenges remain for young people in establishing how to make demands
for refugee youth who are living without civil and political rights (Interview).
In these contexts Plan and implementing partners have taken on the role of negotiating with and
engaging with the state on rights issues and alliances between local, national and international civil
society have been formed to develop advocacy campaigns on children and youth rights. The
development of alliances between civil society and UN agencies has been a prominent strategy for
advocacy to increase responsiveness of state institutions for refugee rights in Egypt, for example
ensuring the provision of financial services, access to employment and education (Interview).
The Local Community Education Committees (LCECs) are a potential for a sustainable community
mechanism to hold the public service providers accountable for serving quality services to children
(Syrian and Egyptian). The project was keen to enhance community participation since the start and at
various levels. The community facilitators (Egyptian and Syrian), LCECs and CDAs represent strong
sustainability mechanisms that have held themselves accountable to their communities to support
Syrian refugees in Egypt. However, again as a result of the complex political context normally the CDA
leaders interact and engage with wider stakeholders, not youth (Zamalah Programme Design 2016).

Ongoing conflict setting: Central African Republic, 2014
- ongoing
Country Context
Children and young people in the Central African Republic (CAR) are facing extremely high levels of
marginalisation, abuse, vulnerability and poverty. Building on longer-term trajectories of violence and conflict
the recent sectarian conflict has exposed this group to widespread violence, resulting in a significant
proportion of them being either directly involved in armed groups, or suffering from the activities of these
groups as they have been robbed, beaten, raped, killed and/or forced to flee their home areas and the country.
The security situation in CAR is very volatile and access for programming varies from one part of the country
to the other. The recent change in political leadership of the country may influence the current situation, with a
significant drive in the election campaign towards restoring peace.
The Plan programme in CAR has now been implemented since 2014 and so is at a point of maturity
where a comprehensive analysis of the strengths, challenges and opportunities has been taken. This
provides a unique and important learning opportunity for developing programming approaches within
conflict-affected contexts. The programme was set up with a mandate which was limited to responding
to the 2014 crisis, with a focus on the chosen sectors of Education and Child Protection in Emergencies.
However the development context of 2016 has a different complexity, with the crisis still resonating, but
the more fundamental impacts of years of political neglect and underdevelopment also becoming
apparent. (CAR Real Time Evaluation 2016).
Youth voice and participation in programming approaches

The response strategy for CAR includes a specific result area (4) on child participation and
accountability towards affected populations: Communities affected by the conflict including children and
youth participate in decisions that affect their lives in the response and recovery process. The activities
clustered under the result area can be grouped under three types:
1) Participation and accountability for service provision across the programming cycle; children
and youth to participate in needs assessment and how to enhance child participation and community
accountability. Children and youth participate safely in the monitoring and evaluation of Plan´s
response programme including making recommendations.
2) Complaints and feedback mechanisms as a way of raising the voice of children and youth:
Establishment of a complaint response mechanism within Plan which includes help desks and
feedback boxes. This is only happening in the context of one project, should be mainstreamed.
3) Participation in community-driven development: Improving access to education for children and youth,
and improving access to vocational settings, there is a particular focus on youth who have neem involved in
armed groups and are now demobilized as a part of the reintegration process. In educational settings child
participation is being promoted via school government and other youth forums in education.
Inclusion, gender and age sensitive approaches

Within structured programmes there are targets in indicators for equal participation of young men and women.
Inclusion of all children, and especially those most vulnerable children, is a key priority for Plan’s child
protection programme. Gender-balance of Child Friendly Space facilitators, community-based child protection
groups and other staff is ensured as much as possible. Children with disabilities will also be actively
encouraged to participate in child protection activities, and a proactive identification of children with disabilities
to ensure that their participation is facilitated (Plan CAR response strategy 2014-2017).
For the youth participation in labour programming there are more young men than women. It is
recognised that this is a targeted intervention to respond to the disarmament and demobilisation of boy
soldiers, to prevent young men from participating in continued violence and to promote their positive role
in community development and community safety. Women’s and youth leadership and initiative in conflict
resolution and peace building is also being encouraged. However, as learned from other contexts such as
Sierra Leone, it is important to recognise the experiences of girl soldiers who had been abducted,
sexually abused and forced to accompany armed groups and ensure that they receive attention
(Interview CAR Plan Director).

In line with Plan´s Gender and Gender Equity policies, girls and boys are equally catered for, with some
separate activities for boys and girls – especially in terms of needs analysis and feedback – to ensure
that activities are gender sensitive and cater to the different needs. Adolescent girls and boys, especially
those out of school, are also engaged on the design of activities to ensure that their needs are met. Boys
and girls with different religious or ethnic background will also be encouraged to actively and safely
participate in activities. Plan will attempt to ensure that girls and boys of different sexual orientations are
given equal opportunities to participate and lead on different activities.
Spaces
Informal: The youth groups that Plan engages at the local level to involve young people are formed
informally and act as a peer survival support group, there are leaders that come through as self-selected.
There is a programme of life skills to support the development of the structure of these groups, the War
Child, DEALS methodology is being used which works on personal healing, to building group relations,
gender equality, rights and responsibilities and leadership.3 When there is an activity that needs a
structured approach then Plan work with the youth to select a leader. However, as a result of the conflict,
it is the person who has the gun that speaks loudest, which is an issue in terms of democratic
development. Until the arms stop circulating then this will be continue to be an issue.
There is a risk of neutrality in engaging with these groups because of the nature of some being seen as
criminal gangs and violent actors. The community has to be involved in the selection process so that they see
themselves as having made these decisions and to feel that the involvement of those youth in this activity will
help prevent violence at the community level. The administrative authorities felt in one context that a particular
faction was being favoured, so the selection process was revisited to ensure neutrality.
Plan is working with children and communities to establish measures such as community policing,
improvements in lighting or aid services to mitigate against child protection risks in IDP camps/communities.
Local community associations engage youth groups and youth leaders in the community. Plan identifies key
people in youth groups to engage and works with them to participate in these programmes. Work is also taking
place with youth to enhance the programming on food distribution at the community level in Plan’s partnership
work with WFP. This provides activities for the youth for their own development and to earn a small income.
This includes construction projects and WASH, they are committed to recruiting youth locally. Youth approach
WFP and Plan and then they identify who is showing leadership capacity in the community, this helps support
inclusion in the selection process to reach diverse youth in the community. This is important for security, it is
the same youth that are carrying guns and that are going to attack trucks, warehouses, and are participating in
community riots.
Formal: Plan has also worked with the government to promote democratic governance and participation
of children within primary schools: 32 schools have set up ‘School Governments’. Children are engaged
to take on leadership roles in the schools, the children will then form their own ‘government’, a Prime
Minister, Minister for Education, Health, Hygiene, Leisure and Sports, and the children are involved in
ensuring accountability in these focus areas. When they have formed awareness of their needs then
the children will develop a campaign, and vote on their priorities and take these proposals to school
leadership. Plan has done advocacy to influence the government to have this mainstreamed across all
schools, Ministry officials went to the community level to engage with the school children and Plan
engaged at the Ministry level. The new government has new ministers, but close governments are the
same.

At the local level there are chiefs who play a leadership role in the community. To enter a community the
village chief has to be engaged and they help Plan have access for mobilisation within the community. At
village level there are child protection structures that have been supported by Plan, in line with their
programming objectives. At the community level there are also associations of women that undertake
microfinance and farming groups. There used to be a development committees, and these are not
functional in the current context and it is not part of Plan’s programing to re-establish these. Plan engages
across these different structures to locate, mobilise and select youth for participation.
3 See more about The DEALS approaches at War Child Holland: http://www.warchildholland.org/war-childs-life-skills-course-deals

The potential scaling up of work in country highlights that all programme staff should be trained on CCCD and
other relevant programming standards. The 2015 Real-Time evaluation outlined that there have been
increased levels of community participation and engagement enabled through Plan CARs programming.
An example from Bossangoa outlines that the education programme reinstated Parent-Teacher
Association groups and supported the re-establishment of educational inspection services, thereby
facilitating an increased engagement and sense of accountability between parents groups and
school authorities.
In the CAR context, children have not been able to participate in the decisions that affect their lives.
Children’s participation in school governance initiatives are about helping the children to get a better
understanding of their rights to participate and to have ownership and commitment to development. This
direct participation and influence of children has been shown to enhance responsiveness of service
providers. This approach also helps to break down stereotypes surrounding children and youths negative
role in the community, and can further support them to take on leadership roles in this setting. The
approach can also be seen as part of a wider rebuilding of democratic structures in the reconstruction of
CARs social and political fabric, fostering an understanding of political participation and accountability in a
new generation.
Overall involvement and engagement with Government institutions has been high, and it is argued that
Plan is well respected by Government stakeholders. The education work gives a genuine sense of
working together as the teams engage in joint problem analysis, and Plan is seen as one of the
strongest agencies in promoting a community led approach.

Annex 3: External Programmes
Arab Regional Initiative, ActionAid: 2016-17
Context: Arab Region
In a region that is scarred by conflict and occupation, there are additional complexities in the political and
sociological sphere. The youth bulge in the region is increasing, with 65 per cent of the population under
thirty. However one in three young people in the region are unemployed and restrictive laws surrounding
participation in governance and public protest are making it increasingly difficult for people to advocate for
change at a local and national level. The region is still largely patriarchal, and women make up only 15
per cent of political and governmental bodies across the Arab States.
Programme Design
The Arab Regional Initiative is a governance programme that aims to ‘harness the leadership of youth as
agents of change for the future of the civil state to demand accountability from duty bearers on youth
specific issues and equality, equity and gender responsive public services’. This involved working with
young activists and youth groups to act on, challenge, and influence social and political processes with a
focus on promoting youth participation and gender responsive public services. In order to enhance the
sustainability of this action, youth and youth organisations are mobilised in alliance with other
movements and civil society organisations to demand accountability from duty-bearers for improving the
enabling environment for youth participation and for gender-responsiveness in public services.
Voice and Collective Empowerment

ActionAid sees a diversity of civil society groups as healthy for the future of the civil state in the Arab
region and for improving accountability and so is working strategically with informal social movements of
youth with a broad membership base and formalised youth-led civil society organisations that are
positioned to engage in formal dialogue with government. ActionAid feels that this emergence from
popular movements increases the legitimacy of partners whom they have also found to have strong
ethical principles. ActionAid’s direct engagement with youth organisations includes support to train and
mobilise youth as active participants in demanding accountability and action from duty bearers,
including youth who may not already be active in political activities.
Gender and Inclusion

The Arab Regional Initiative actively supports the participation of both marginalised youth and young
women’s. A focus on young women taking leadership is mainstreamed throughout the programmes.
Gender equality is promoted in the participation of activities, but initiatives are also encouraged that
focus on opening the space for young women’s political and economic participation. The empowerment
of women and girls is not only a goal at the individual or group level, rather the programme aims to
address structural drivers of gender inequality through the promotion of gender responsive budgeting
and in developing the capacity of women’s rights campaigns organisations. Social entrepreneurship
activities are seen as an important way of enabling young women to build self-confidence and
independence providing a pathway to wider social and political empowerment. The programme,
coordinated through the Governance Team, works closely with women’s rights programmes to integrate
gender into programming approaches.
Spaces
The ActionAid Arab Regional Initiative in Jordan utilised youth-led research done and evidence
generated to scale up campaign work and build local Shadow Youth Councils to report on the progress
on local governance thereby providing independent and reliable information holding them accountable. In
Jordan this has included reporting on how the leadership responds to their needs such as unemployment
and limited space to participate in decision-making, as well as the needs of urban refugee youth. This is a
monitoring role that the young people are playing, and the councils at the moment are showing positive
and transparent engagement and in turn an enhanced accountability relationship. The youth councils, as
community-based structures, are then able to feedback information on responsiveness to communities
which in turn can increase wider levels of trust in governance structures. Furthermore, as a result of
ActionAid’s close engagement with the local community at grassroots level and being connected to
different youth networks, councils and community groups, they have been approached by The Ministry of
Political and Parliamentary Affairs to engage youth in a rights awareness campaign to open political
space for the upcoming election.

In Jordan, ActionAid has also supported the formation of a coalition to launch a campaign led by a Youth
Shadow Council and five universities in Zarqa City to address legal age limits in parliamentary
representation. Youth argue that in a country where they form over 65 per cent of the population that
these laws prevent them from contributing to good governance, stability in the country and represent
discriminatory practices that prevent enactment of fair and inclusive policies. This was a strategic
decision for ActionAid to engage in this campaign because it was an organic movement shaped by youth.
They could also see their added value connected the university students to the youth councils in order to
promote inclusion of community and university youth perspectives and to link with youth groups in Tunis
working on parliamentary process, to learn from their experience.
Governance Actors
ActionAid is engaging with local government authorities in all countries, as they see that there is space
to engage in dialogue on democratic participation by youth and substantive issues relevant to youth
especially gender responsive public services. They use this engagement at the local level to inform work
with national governments. This means that the approach to engagement with national political context
varies across the countries as there are very different opportunities for constructive engagement. They
aim to bridge local and national levels through connecting civil society partners who have strengths at
engaging different levels of government. In developing the programme approach, ActionAid found many
citizens and leaders were not familiar enough with concepts of participatory governance to be able to
engage effectively on it. As such their starting point was a large-scale awareness raising on governance.
They also undertook a programme of capacity building for citizens, civil society organisations and local
government on a human rights based approach to governance and participatory planning in order to
create an enabling environment for citizens to participate in governance in a meaningful way.
Responsiveness
The Arab Regional Initiative has highlighted that across the Arab region the state is showing high levels
of hostility towards youth mobilisation and space for civil society is shrinking. ActionAid’s experience
shows that working through a basic services approach at local government level can be an effective entry
point. This is important in the Arab region where budget deficit, corruption, and lack of trust between
citizens’ and government has created a large service delivery gap. Local government are open to
engagement as they can see how engagement with civil society and international Non-Governmental
Organisations (NGOs) can reduce their burden and respond to the impact of corruption at the national
level. These spaces can then be leveraged to start building better governance processes, and local
actors can see the value of community participation for enhanced outcomes. Training through ActionAid
has enabled youth councils and youth engaged in community centres in Jordan and Lebanon to mentor
local government on community issues, and enhance the coordination capacity of the state in engaging
different population groups on service provision issues.

Oxfam GB: My Rights My Voice - Global Programme
Programme design
MRMV’s overall objective was to ‘achieve sustainable changes in policies, practices, and beliefs to meet
the specific health and education needs and aspirations of children and youth, with a particular focus on
the rights of girls and young women, to contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals’. The
programme aimed to increase awareness and voice about health and education rights and needs;
improve rights-claiming capacities among children and youth, carers and caretakers; increase the
capacity of duty-bearers and influencers; and improve a focus on youth agency in Oxfam programmes
and global campaigns. MRMV was implemented in eight countries with country-specific programmes and
a global programme supported cross-country learning and innovation. The final evaluation commended
the programme for a well thought-through design and its focus on health and education as two very
important services for youth. It highlighted strategies to enhance inclusion, youth-led programming,
responsive governance as key areas that require specific attention.
Youth voices
MRMV invested heavily in activities that sought to strengthen knowledge, awareness and capacity to
articulate needs and aspirations. A major achievement of MRMV was that it strengthened young people’s
voices to articulate their rights and needs, and to see young men and women as agents in their own right.
Building youth leaders and organising peer-to-peer communication was a particularly effective strategy
for rights education. MRMV also increased collective capacities through working with existing youth
structures or creating youth associations and sector-specific youth committees, and greatly enhanced
civic leadership skills of their members. The evaluation shows that online and offline activities can both
work to amplify voice, but need to be designed based on what works in a context. In Mali, an e-learning
platform, dedicated text services and internet pages offered young people a spaces to learn and discuss
education rights; while in Nepal, women-led door-to-door campaigns was the effective strategy to talk
about sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR). Country programmes emphasised building youth
voice to articulate rights and needs, while some went beyond this to involve young people in voice for
accountability purposes, for instance by assessing service delivery and report outcomes to duty-bearers.
Rightly, voice for accountability purposes must be seen as distinct from voicing needs, and requires a
different set of activities.

The programme had to invest much in efforts to overcome barriers to achieve effective participation of
youth in the programme, especially young women – generally and in leadership positions. A gender
review at midterm was followed-up with a strategy to enhance women’s inclusion and this has greatly
benefited the programme. The evaluation recommended making gender equality a specific objective
in programming. However, specific strategies are required to reach out to more marginalised youth
from poorer socio-economic backgrounds.
Spaces
The evaluation notes the importance of creating spaces for young people to discuss among themselves
first before going into governance spaces. This works for nurturing voices around sensitive issues like
sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), gradually develop shared understanding of rights and
needs, and nurture leadership. Regarding engagement with duty-bearers, in most countries MRMV
facilitated dialogue events between youth, carers and duty-bearers, often accompanied by campaign
activities with youth organisation. In some countries MRMV worked with formal spaces like youth
councils that are part of decentralised governance, while in other places new platforms were created.
Importantly, young people were encouraged to take a lead and engage in these spaces on their own
terms, for instance through capacity building to speak in public, write out memorandums, or organise
their youth forums.

An important outcome of all work that focused on strengthening youth voices was that, in most countries, the
enhanced visibility of young people led to a greater appreciation of young people as important actors at the
community level. In a number of cases, the engagement of youth led to the adoption of a youth-focused
agenda and actions by duty-bearers that improved the access to, and quality of, education and health.
Interestingly, while many media activities aimed at rights education for young people, in various

places these had become actual dialogue spaces with duty bearers and had contributed to
government responsiveness.
Governance outcomes were modest, however, but nonetheless significant given some of the
challenging settings in which MRMV is implemented. Lack of resources and the short timeframe of the
programme posed limitations. The evaluation also underlines ‘tactics’ of duty bearers, pointing at the
need for strategies that address power and politics upfront when aiming for responsive governance.
Overall, the evaluations suggests that context-specific strategies are required to bring in state and
non-state governance actors.
A major lesson learnt is that rights awareness and amplifying youth voices alone do not bring about
government responsiveness. Not all county programmes had adopted strategies that targeted
government actors and other ‘influencers’ to the same degree. Those that did, seemed to have more
impact on responsiveness. In Pakistan, MRMV worked with religious leaders to allow the participation of
girls. In Mali, MRMV had linked up with other key CSOs that ‘designed effective tactics and tools to
approach the political class’ (2016:32) to make it aware of quality education. In Nepal and Mali, linking
education and health campaigns to elections resulted in youth issues being incorporated into
manifestos, and provoked some commitment from politicians after elections. In Vietnam, opportunities to
involve duty bearers, school authorities and carers were missed and this may explain the limited effect
on school governance. The evaluation suggests that a combination of strategies is conducive to
promoting government responsiveness: strengthening and linking up youth associations and their
leaders; work across local to national level; come up with strategies targeting government and non-state
authorities early on to, at the very least, help create an enabling environment for the programme
activities, and subsequently seek to secure their buy-in and support for young people and their ideas.

Oxfam GB in Afghanistan: My Rights My Voice in Afghanistan
Country context
In Afghanistan, state institutions are still in the process of consolidation, especially in the areas away
from urban centres. In these areas customary and religious authorities have a strong influence on the
perceptions on the roles of young men and women in the public domain and in relation to governance
processes. On a few occasions, conservative groupings opposed project activities, especially the work
with girls and women, and in some districts it was a risk for female programme staff to work with groups
around rights. The general security situation in the country had to be monitored very closely, and it
delayed project implementation in some places. The presence of the Taliban hampered travel between
districts on various occasions. In one district a youth vigilante group had to be monitored and the team
had to ensure that the MRMV youth council was not associated with this group. In the run-up to the 2014
presidential elections the project team had to closely monitor the activities of youth organisations and
their members, to avoid they might be mobilized for political campaigning.
Programme design
MRMV Afghanistan (December 2011 – December 2015) was jointly implemented by Oxfam Great Britain
(OGB) and Oxfam Novib (ONB) through local partners, in two rural (Dai Kundi and Badakhshan) and two
urban (Balkh and Kabul) provinces. MRMV supported young people aged 12-25 to drive policy change in order
to improve their access to quality health and education services. The Afghanistan MRMV focused mainly on
the promotion of a) gender equality and the empowerment of women, b) increasing education (services) and
health care services, with an emphasis on strengthening the voice of Afghan youth to advocate for their and
other people’s rights. The programme was very diverse, with activities targeting young people, carers and
authorities, and state actors at different levels. The programme worked through
youth groups at the local and district level to find out about service delivery issues and take these up
with local governments.
Voice
The programme started off with a thorough process that created a conducive environment for doing
activities that promote youth voice, before commencing the actual activities, through a series of meetings
with a diverse range of stakeholders to explain the purpose and activities of MRMV. It then actively
promoted voice across levels. At the local, district and provincial level youth forums were either
strengthened or created, as well as networks between them. A university network was set up. Social
media activities connected the youth groups. MRMV thus emphasised collective voice from the outset,
as these networks facilitated coordinated action. A wide range of rights awareness activities and
campaigns strengthened the knowledge base of these forum. While this programme did not emphasise
life skills or confidence building, the country evaluation notes that forums helped produce active leaders
and made youth feel confident to raise voice and engage with duty bearers. At a later stage, the
programme embarked on awareness raising, campaigns and stakeholder dialogues on the involvement
of youth in decisions-over social cultural issues.

Apart from ensuring the equal representation of women and girls in youth committees and other project activities,
MRMV tried to enhance female participation by working closely with women-led or women-focused organizations
and youth structures, and female schoolteachers, women’s rights advocates were brought in the program as
role models. The programme was able to adapt and respond to needs of young women that were identified
during the course of the programme. Besides gender, there were no targeted actions to
include other marginalized groups such as disabled, Internally Displaced Persons, ethnic minority etc. the
country evaluation found that youth involved in income generating activities to support their families were less
able to participate, as well as poorer youth who could not pay transport.
Spaces
Numerous dialogue forums were organised at the district, provincial and – to lesser extent – national level, following the thorough process of rights awareness activities.
At the local level, youth forums

took up an important role in lobbying with their respective governors for providing support and land for
youth resource centres in 2014. Youth also felt comfortable to discuss issues related to the quality of
education, public health and health care services with authorities. A small number of young people
participated in training on monitoring and assessing service delivery towards the end of the
programme.

They became actively involved in monitoring the quality of health and education services, worked
together with local officials and reported to the district. In 2014, members Oxfam’s partners were invited
by the Ministry of Youth to contribute to the National Youth Policy. They carried out a consultation with
the youth groups to have their views included in the process.

Oxfam GB and its partners very carefully nurtured relationships with state and customary authorities,
acknowledging their status and paying respect at every formal occasion. This resulted in a relationship
of trust, which enabled the participation of youth. The evaluation lauded the outcomes of MRMV in
Afghanistan: ‘the inclusion of the youth in the formulation of the youth policy of the country, and the
constructive dialogue between provincial and district officials, service providers and youth to discuss
problems related to health and education; many officials now invite youth group representatives to all
major events organized by government authorities’ (2016:34). MRMV has clearly led to the inclusion of
young people and their issues in formal governance processes: getting their presence and issues on
policy agendas. The question will be how youth organisations and leaders will respond when the
government is not actively implementing this agenda, and whether they will engage in accountability
actions.

Global Citizen Corps, Arab Region, Mercy Corps: 2009-2012
Context: Arab Region
The youth population in the Middle-East is significant with 65 per cent of the population under thirty.
Mercy Corps have found that youth lack opportunities and capacities needed to become fully engaged
citizens who are able to influence community life and governance. Authoritarian, overprotective
households and education systems discourage critical thinking and the questioning of authority. The
region also faces a knowledge deficit fuelled by lack of access to information and digital technology. Iraq
and Lebanon are drawn upon as case studies of fragile and conflict-affected settings. In Iraq young
people have suffered from repression and isolation and continue to have limited opportunities for self-
expression or activism. Furthermore, after decades of authoritarian and violent rule in Iraq, the processes
of participatory and democratic governance are unfamiliar to many leaders. In Lebanon, traditional power
structures based on client-patron relationships have alienated many youth and undermined their faith in
their ability to change society. Youth have limited opportunities to engage with local officials to articulate
and address their needs, and they are easily dismissed. In both settings, this alienation is reflected in
high drop-out rates, high levels of unemployment, and lack of recreational or positive social engagement.
Given the fragile political and economic contexts there is a very real risk that resultant frustration could
manifest as violence.
Programme Design
Civic participation and youth leadership development are at the heart of the Mercy Corps’ Global Citizen
Corps (GCC) approach. Global Citizen Corps engages youth in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and the West
Bank/Gaza, to connect with one another and peers in the US and UK. Global Citizen Corps engages
youth through training, action-taking, and dialogue. In-person and online trainings help youth build
critical life skills and leadership capabilities, advocacy and organising skills necessary to successfully
mobilise their peers and communities. Participants also learn about critical global challenges and
explore how those issues relate to their own countries. After assessing and prioritising needs in their
communities, young people design and manage action projects that directly address local concerns. At
the same time, young people from around the world connect with each other through the project online
platforms, video-conferences, and face to face to share their experiences and action plans to in order to
create the sense that they are all part of a larger global movement of youth.
Voice and Empowerment

Mercy Corps’ Global Citizen Corps highlights the importance of youth civic engagement that connects
local to global levels. In particular in contexts where youth have suffered isolation and repression from
local and global actors, situated within the ‘war on terror’ and rises in religious extremism. Providing
training in leadership skills and multi-media literacy, and fostering meaningful interactions with the world,
can transform feelings of victimisation into motivation to make a difference. Empowerment involves
fostering positive youth development through psychosocial support, youth-to-youth engagement and
ultimately youth to-community engagement. Young people’s own direct contribution is seen to drive a
life-long commitment to civic and social responsibilities. The program stresses the importance of leading
community actions as a means of building a sense of civic responsibility as this enabled a greater sense
of ownership and a deeper understanding of the issue, and change dynamics. In Iraq, youth mobilised to
address inadequacies of healthcare provision, with their actions resulting in a commitment from the
Ministry of Health to address the service needs.
Gender and Inclusion

The programme uses a Youth Transformation Framework approach to build youth capabilities within the
spheres of: Civic and Social Development, Career Development, Business and Financial Services; and
to facilitate opportunities through Institutional Support, Protection, Knowledge and Resilience. In
addressing these needs the framework promotes a holistic approach which can lead to a greater
contribution to self, family and society during adulthood. Protection outcomes include ‘Inclusion and
rehabilitation’ which measures impact in terms of support for minorities and girls, reintegration and
second chances, and support for people with disabilities.
The focus on gender and inclusion is reflected in programme approaches, for example inclusion is
integral in work to prevent conflict/violence and foster peaceful change. Here disaffected youth are
allowed to address grievances, alternatives are provided to gangs and violent movements and young
people are engaged in processes at local and global level to create empathy, tolerance and break

stereotypes. Gender is a cross-cutting development issue addressed in the curriculum of Global Citizen
Corps, the rights-based approach the programme works through is important in ensuring that gender is
not instrumentalised as a development issue, rather than concerned with justice and equity. Outcomes
in these spheres were not identified in this review.
Spaces
Global Citizen Corps highlighted the importance of work with young people that inspires a next generation
of leaders that will create responsive political systems free from corruption, nepotism and other dynamics
that act to maintain power over citizens. In Lebanon, MercyCorps’ implements the Local Governance
through Youth Municipalities Program funded by USAID. The program is a partnership with the Lebanese
Transparency Association, cultivating youth leadership in order to build stronger understanding of good
governance at the community level. Youth Municipalities act as a shadow body to develop youth agendas
and build understanding of mechanisms to promote transparency and accountability in other youth. The
project cultivated youth leadership and a sense of identity by engaging young people in five areas of
Lebanon to undergo an election process to create and manage the Youth Municipalities. Youth,
campaigning to be elected by their peers, took advantage of this to develop community projects that were
designed and implemented by youth.
Training with these youth built understanding of rights and democratic process. The youth were trained
in elections monitoring procedures and the Mercy Corps program team developed a user-friendly toolkit
following the elections and representation process. Using the toolkit NGOs, youth groups, and
Municipalities have created similar Youth Municipalities in different areas that are capable of engaging
nationally, setting an example for accepted standards in governance.
Governance Actors
As Global Citizen Corps participants develop a greater understanding of the issues that confront their
communities as well as the broader international community, they often find that the best way to effect
change is to lobby or work with local and national governments to reform policies, ensure that laws
are enforced, or carry out community initiatives that directly address local concerns.
In Iraq, youth leaders designed an environmental sustainability campaign that engaged peers,
community members and local government officials. In cooperation with the local municipality, youth
distributed materials necessary to strengthen waste management in the community. They used this as a
platform to lobby local government to improve sanitation. A needs assessment, undertaken with support
from Mercy Corps, led to responsiveness from government who increased the number of day labourers
available to play a role in public waste management in the area. This knowledge is now being shared
with other GCC leaders across Iraq and the issue of environmental sustainability is a continued theme
maintained by the establishment of a Green Environment Group.

Plan International UK About Plan International
Finsgate,
5-7 Cranwood Street, Plan International is an independent global child rights
London organisation committed to supporting vulnerable and
EC1V 9LH marginalised children and their communities to be free from
poverty. By actively connecting committed people with powerful
ideas, we work together to make positive, deep-rooted and
plan-uk.org
lasting changes in children and young people’s lives. For over 75
years, we have supported girls and boys and their communities
around the world to gain the skills, knowledge and confidence
they need to claim their rights, free themselves from poverty and
live positive fulfilling lives.

Plan International UK Report - Youth Governance in Fragile Settings

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Plan International UK Report - Youth Governance in Fragile Settings

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Plan International UK Report - Youth Governance in Fragile Settings

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Marjoke Oosterom and Thea Shahrokh

Institute of Development Studies (IDS), September 2016

Commissioned by Steadman Noble, Plan UK

4. Synthesis of findings of the programme review 14

5. Synthesis of Findings from Organisational Review 30

plan-uk.org Internal report 1

  youth participation and democratic governance,

Key findings and learning

plan-uk.org Internal report 2

Programmes undertaking conflict-sensitivity analysis respond to social and political dynamics,

plan-uk.org Internal report 3

plan-uk.org Internal report 4

Summary of recommendations for programming

plan-uk.org Internal report 5

Summary of recommendations for improving

plan-uk.org Internal report 6

Outline of the Report

plan-uk.org Internal report 7

plan-uk.org Internal report 8

Table 1: Programme Review- Selected Countries and Themes

# Country Fragility Organisation Programme Thematic

1 Iraq High Alert Mercy Corps Global Citizen Corps Democratic

2 Uganda Alert Plan Promoting Inclusive Democratic

3 Pakistan High Alert Plan Skills for Life Basic services

4 Uganda Alert Plan Youth Economic Livelihoods

5 Afghanistan High Alert Oxfam My Rights My Voice Basic services,

7 Pakistan High Alert Plan Empowering Youth for Peacebuilding

plan-uk.org Internal report 9

8 Kyrgyzstan High Warning Unicef Youth and Reconciliation Peacebuilding

10 Ethiopia Alert Plan South Sudanese Refugees in Ethiopia

11 Egypt Alert Plan Syrian refugee population in urban settings:

12 Central Extreme High Plan Country Strategic Response

3.2 Analytical framework used for reviewing programmes

Gender equity and social inclusion

plan-uk.org Internal report 10

From voice to outcomes

3.3 Limitations of this study

3.4 Countries included in the review

plan-uk.org Internal report 11

plan-uk.org Internal report 12

plan-uk.org Internal report 13

4.1 Youth Participation and Democratic Governance

 4.1 Youth participation and democratic governance

Gender equity and inclusion

Spaces for interaction

plan-uk.org Internal report 15

Engagement strategies and state responsiveness

Implications for youth participation and democratic governance programming

plan-uk.org Internal report 16

Table 4.2: Basic services programmes

plan-uk.org Internal report 17

Gender equity and inclusion

Spaces for interaction

plan-uk.org Internal report 18

Engagement strategies and state responsiveness

plan-uk.org Internal report 19

plan-uk.org Internal report 20