MEANINGFUL YOUTH ENGAGEMENT
Ethiopia is the second most populous nation in Africa after Nigeria, with population size estimated at 104 million. More than 28 percent of the population is aged 15 to 29 and youth unemployment rate is estimated at nearly 27%
In light of this data, governments, corporations, civil societies and NGOs are becoming more youth centred. Most of the world’s development organizations have understood that without meaningful youth engagement, sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction and technology advancement will be very difficult to achieve. That is why PSI Ethiopia has been actively engaging the youth to design human centred reproductive and heath interventions.
PSI Ethiopia is considered to be the industry leader in engaging the youth for program and intervention design.
In 2016 the A360 program pioneered a design initiative to recruit, train and empower young designers to participate in the program to help reach young married adolescents living in rural agrarian areas with family planning messages, products and services.
This approach comes from a deep rooted understanding that the unmet needs of married adolescent girls can only be fulfilled by engaging them in a meaningful way and providing them the tools and platforms needed to design solutions for their own challenges.
Over the years the Young Designers Initiative (YD) has evolved to become Young Innovation Champions (YIC). This change was made to make the initiative more inclusive beyond the design phase of the program.
“We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” — Former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
This initiative gives real responsibility to the YICs and provides a platform where they are able to harness their creativity and potential to effectively design messages, communication materials and interventions for their peers. This approach has proven to be highly effective and it is continuing to grow and expand. Currently there are 48 YICs who are engaged in co-designing Adolescent Youth Sexual Reproductive Health (AYSRH) programs across different parts of Ethiopia. The meaningful engagement and training provided has given the YICs the confidence, skills and knowledge to progress in their careers and help them create a wider impact on youth centred development programs.
Some outstanding YICs have advanced to become an integral part of the program and are now full time staff members. One former YIC, Bitania Lulu has progressed through the program and is currently the special advisor on Youth to the EU Commissioner for Internal Partnerships.
PSI Ethiopia plans to expand such initiatives to engage the youth and create a conducive environment to help them make a meaningful contribution to their peers as well as society.
The Young Designers Initiative (YD) has evolved to be Young Innovation Champions (YIC). This change was made to make the initiative more inclusive beyond the design phase of the program and interventions.
“ትርጉም ባለው መልክ ወጣቶችን በማሳተፍ ማህበረሰባዊ ለውጥን ማምጣትና የወጣቶችንም ችግር ፈቺ አቅም ማሳደግ ይቻላል”
