Regional Inter-agency Network on Youth Development
- UN Europe and Central Asia Partnership for Youth Meeting Report
Istanbul, 5-6 October 2015
Background
The youth population cohort is the largest in history1, and this significantly determines the extent
to which countries will be able to harness their demographic dividend and achieve the goals of
the post-2015 development agenda.
Investment in young people’s human capital and their personal development, will directly
determine future prosperity. Taking this in to account, and in order to ensure that young people
and their rights and needs are adequately positioned and their development and wellbeing
effectively monitored, the Regional United Nations Development Group Team for Europe and
Central Asia (ECA R-UNDG) agreed to establish an Inter-agency Network on Youth Development
in the region. This effort jointly supports the Member States in their aspirations for building
resilient, sustainable and equitable societies, in which every young person is provided with equal
opportunities to fulfill their full potential, enjoy their rights and be active citizens.
The meeting in Istanbul brought focal points from the UN entities in Europe and Central Asia for
the first face to face meeting of the Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development. The
participants contributed to analyzing regional trends and their impacts on young people, sharing
regional good practices and policy options and explored opportunities for joint work.
Summary of key points
1. Taking stock of the situation and identifying areas of concern
1.1. Social inclusion and barriers
Young people are facing multiple barriers in terms of social inclusion. Some of the main
inequalities are related to their ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, among
others. There is also a lack of studies and data regarding the way young people’s vulnerabilities
are understood and addressed.
1.2. Young people’s participation
1
State of World Population 2014, UNFPA –
http://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/EN-SWOP14-Report_FINAL-web.pdf
There are different approaches to dealing with young people: the protectionist way that
implies that young people must be engaged as a preventive method for keeping them away from
risky situations; the other one is the facilitation approach, where young people’s involvement is
perceived as an enabled choice.
The concept of youth participation is often badly understood and practiced - the number
of meetings where “nice” young people speak the UN language has proven to be lacking
substance and sustainability; a shift from this approach is needed and investments must be
directed to mechanisms for meaningful participation at institutional level.
1.3. Youth Policy Implementation
Across the region, the youth policy situation has made some progress, as many policies
are in place. However, the challenges remain as the implementation capacity is lacking. In the
ICPD review, there was a lot of inconsistency between policies and practices, as certain issues
were prioritized but there were no budgetary allocations for implementation.
2. Understanding the “magic triangle” and the main principles of youth work
Youth work in Europe (Council of Europe countries) aims to integrate the following three
interventions:
1) Youth research - research conducted by young people; by young researchers; by anyone
- on youth issues
2) Youth work practice - things done by or for young people, aimed to advance personal
development of young people, promote the youth development agenda; what goes on in
youth groups, networks
3) Youth policy - policies that have an effect on young people or that are labeled as related
to youth
Along with the sides of the triangle described above, there are two other handy concepts to bear
in mind and underpin the way youth work is done in Council of Europe member states:
-> Co-management - this principles implies that any group that is working on youth issues
(e.g. the delivery of a policy; the management of a youth group; the development of a youth
research) will have as the members of the decision making body a representative of the
concerned parties
https://www.coe.int/t/dg4/youth/Coe_youth/co_management_en.asp
-> Structured dialogue - this principle includes involving in a decision making process
those who are concerned by that decision
http://ec.europa.eu/youth/policy/implementation/dialogue_en.htm
3. UN work in the area of youth and potential areas of collaboration
The different UN agencies are developing and implementing projects and programmes
that are fitting under the above described components of the “magic triangle” of youth work.
The UN system is also supporting member states in the area of service delivery, such as improving
the quality of educational and health services.
The UN entities in ECA region are committed to deepen the youth focus of existing
programmes on employment, entrepreneurship, political inclusion, policy review, empowerment
of women and girls, citizenship and protection of rights, and education, including on sexual and
reproductive health. While considering the principles of youth work, the members of the regional
Inter-agency Network on Youth Development explored the potential areas for joint work and
identified the following:
1. Policy Note on Youth Development in the context of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDG) - a briefing document for the region that will provide insights at how the UN
system looks at youth development in the region and the linkages with the SDGs
implementation, follow-up and review.
2. Guidance for youth work at country level - ethical standards and guidance for UN
Country Teams (UNCTs) to put it in practice when enabling the SDG implementation with
youth engagement in this process; guidelines that describe and provide theoretical and
practical details for youth engagement, youth participation, co-management and
structured dialogue principles.
3. Youth Research - as the SDGs aim to eliminate inequalities and poverty, the UN agencies
jointly commission research on a chosen theme; a theme suggested during the meeting
is related to the definition of vulnerabilities, as they are differently understood and
addressed and the research could be setting the conceptual framework.
The initiatives would feed into the strengthening of the national youth sector, youth
institutions and youth networks. The collaboration of the Inter-agency Network on Youth
Development with the UNCTs would provide support to ensuring the quality, cohesion
and relevance of institutional strengthening.
Other agreements:
● The name of the regional Inter-agency Network on Youth Development: UN Europe and
Central Asia Partnership for Youth (UN ECA PY)
● The Terms of Reference (ToR) will be revised and will include provision of an ethical code
on how youth work is conducted, what are the principles of working and engaging young
people.
● An online platform for sharing will be created (i.e. UN Teamworks Space)
●
The ToR and agreements from the meeting held in Istanbul will be shared with the
upcoming Programme Advisory Group (PAG) meeting in November as well as the Regional
Directors team (RDT) meeting in December in order to ensure understanding and
commitment for support and budget allocations from the highest level of management.
Follow-up and next steps:
● The revised ToR and the meeting report will be shared for everybody’s final comments
and finalizing.
● UNFPA will finalize the Background paper that explores the situation of young people in
the region, summarizes agencies inputs regarding their work on youth in the region and
presents more elaborations from the meeting in Istanbul.
Annex:
1. Scope and Purpose
2. Meeting Agenda
3. Participants List
Regional Inter-agency Network on Youth Development Meeting
(Istanbul, 5-6 October 2015)
Scope and Purpose
The Regional Inter-agency Network on Youth Development (IANYD) meeting is organized by the UNFPA
Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (UNFPA EECARO) in cooperation with other
members of the Network: UNICEF Regional Office for Central, Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of
Independent States (UNICEF RO CEE/CIS), UNESCO Regional HIV and Health Education Programme, WHO
Regional Office for Europe (WHO Europe), International Telecommunications Union (ITU), International
Labour Organization (ILO) Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, UNWomen Europe and Central
Asia Regional Office, UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub for Europe and CIS, United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP).
Background and rationale
Young people’s development in Europe and Central Asia, as in all regions of the world, continues to be
constrained by obstacles at all levels. As a social group, young people face major challenges that are
increasing in complexity, with young men and women experiencing them differently. At the same time,
young people in Europe and Central Asia, as elsewhere, have much to contribute to the growth of
regional economies provided they are given the opportunity to develop their skills through access to
education, decent work and adequate health care, and to participate in decision-making processes.
Given the importance of investment in young people’s human capital, which will be the most direct
determinant of countries’ future income growth and development, and taking into account the critical
process for defining the post-2015 development course and in order to ensure that young people and
their rights and needs are adequately positioned and their development and wellbeing effectively
monitored, the Regional UNDG Team for Europe and Central Asia (ECA R-UNDG) agreed to establish an
Inter-agency Network on Youth Development in the region in an effort to jointly support the Member
States in our region in their aspirations for building resilient, sustainable and equitable societies.
The first introductory meeting of the Network was organized as an online meeting at the beginning of
July and was attended by the Focal Points of seven UN entities (out of nine who have joined the
Network thus far). In this meeting the Network adopted its ToR (to be further refined), brainstormed
ideas for possible joint actions and agreed to meet in person in autumn 2015.
In the spirit of UN coherence and cooperation, the Regional UN Inter-Agency Network on Youth
Development, aims to increase the effectiveness of UN work in youth development by strengthening
collaboration and exchange among all relevant UN entities, while respecting and harnessing the benefits
of their individual strengths and unique approaches and mandates.
It is envisaged that the RIANYD efforts will focus on analysis of regional trends and their impacts on
young people, sharing of regional good practices and policy options and ensuring UN system-wide
coherence and coordination at the regional level. The ECA R-UNDG functions will advance national
policy dialogue and strategy development and support the UN Country Teams (UNCT) in their
operational activities at the national level. The RIANYD will ensure that the analytical, normative and
operational work of the United Nations system is closely aligned and responds to the emerging needs
and voices of young people. Gender will be mainstreamed and particular consideration will be given to
the concerns of young people who face vulnerabilities giving particular attention to young women and
girls, marginalized groups, including youth in rural areas, youth with disabilities and young migrants
taking into account the national social and economic circumstances in each country.
Purpose and objectives
The Meeting will bring together all focal points from the UN entities in ECA to review the situation with
regards to young people in ECA region, identify gaps and explore opportunities for joint work in order to
better assist countries in their effort to build strong, sustainable and resilient societies in which every
young person is provided with equal opportunities to fulfill their full potential, enjoy their rights and be
active citizens.
More specifically, the meeting is aimed at:
 taking a stock of the situation of young people in ECA region, highlighting the socio-economic
developments and emerging issues and their impact on young people’s wellbeing and
development (an analytical piece gathering knowledge, data, and analyses conducted by various
agencies in the region will be developed prior to the meeting)
 discussing the proposed regional SDG indicators and their relevance for monitoring youth
development and wellbeing in the post-2015 agenda
 mapping the current UN work (individual and joint) in the area of young people in the region in
order to identify synergies, areas of collaboration and existing gaps
 agreeing on 1-2 priority initiatives/issues to be taken forward by the IANYD in the region and
implemented in the next two years
 adopting the ToR and launching the Network
Participants
Focal Points of the Inter-agency Network on Youth Development in ECA.
Venue: UNFPA EECARO, Istanbul, Turkey
Arrival/Departure: All participants are expected to arrive in the morning of October 5th; meeting
will start with lunch on October 5th and will end with lunch on October 6th; Departure is on the
afternoon of October 6th
Regional Inter-agency Network on Youth Development Meeting
(Istanbul, 5-6 October 2015)
DAY 1
05 October 2015
Time
Subject
12:30 – 1:30
Lunch
1:30 – 2:00
Opening and introductions, Expectations, Overview of the agenda, and Objective of
the meeting
2:00 – 3:30
Young people in ECA - taking a stock of the situation (identifying areas of concern)
3:30 – 4:00
Coffee break
4:00 – 5:30
Mapping the current UN work (agency specific and joint) in the area of young
people – present lessons learned, take-on for the future programming
5:30 – 5:45
Closing
5:45 - 6:15
Free time and preparation to depart for the dinner venue
DAY 2
06 October 2015
Time
Subject
9:30 – 11:00
Based on the mapping from Day 1 and taking into consideration the newly adopted
SDGs: identify synergies, areas of collaboration, and UN comparative advantage in
the area of youth.
Discussion and agreeing on 1-2 priority initiatives/issues to be taken forward by the
IANYD in the region and implemented in the next two years
11:00 – 11:30
Coffee Break
11:30 – 12:45
Governance of the network, ToR, name for the network
12:45 – 1:15
Next steps
1:15 – 2:15
Lunch and Closure
List of Participants
Regional Inter-agency Network on Youth Development Meeting
(Istanbul, 5-6 October 2015)
No
Name
Tittle
Organization
Country
1
Yulia Plakhutina
Project Manager for
Education/HIV&AIDS
Russian
Federation
2
Elena Panova
Senior Programme
Coordinator
UNESCO Regional HIV and
Health Education
Programme
UNDP
3
Robert Bernardo
UNDP
Turkey
4
Kadir Uysal
Policy Specialist,
Capacity Development
and Institutional
Strengthening
Field Focal Point
ILO
Turkey
5
Marsel Kuzyakov
Programme Officer
Europe Coordination
ITU
Switzerlan
d
6
Nina Ferencic
UNICEF Regional Office
for CEE/CIS
Switzerlan
d
7
Robert Thomson
Senior Regional Adviser
on HIV/AIDS &
Adolescent Health,
Development and
Participation
Member
Switzerlan
d
8
Karen Daduryan
Deputy Regional
Director
Youthpolicy.org pool of
European Youth
Researchers
UNFPA EECARO
9
Marta Diavolova
Programme Adviser on
Partnership
UNFPA EECARO
Turkey
10
Marija Vasileva-Blazev
Programme Specialist on
Youth
UNFPA EECARO
Turkey
11
Nazli Moral
Programme Associate
UNFPA EECARO
Turkey
12
Ana Rizescu
Consultant on Youth
UNFPA EECARO
Turkey
Turkey
Turkey