Citizenship in Practice: Young People Driving Change

"Good governance is...at the centre of a vision of inclusive societies, describing the dynamic relationship between responsive and accountable states and responsible and active citizens which ensures that the interests of poor and marginalised people are taken into account."

This report shares case studies and insights from Plan United Kingdom (UK)'s governance programme, which "supports young people to engage in and influence government decision-making structures, particularly in relation to the delivery of basic services." According to the publication, involving young people in governance both ensures that their unique needs and perspectives are included in decision-making and builds their skills of active citizenship as they grow into adulthood.

The report outlines how Plan UK's governance programme, operating since 2006 in 16 countries, works to build the capacity of young people to engage with governance processes while also supporting decision-makers and service providers to become more youth friendly. A key lesson learned from the programme is that change is complex, and successes are most likely when young people and government leaders work collaboratively around a mutually recognised priority issue. The activities in each country and around different desired outcomes differ depending on the context, but the following are cited as key strategies applied across the programme:

• "Building the knowledge, skills, and confidence of young people to claim their rights and entitlements and participate in decision-making.
• Strengthening youth groups and structures, and supporting them to network effectively.
• Supporting parents, community leaders, service providers, and government to recognise and respond to young people’s rights and concerns.
• Opening new and strengthening existing spaces for young people to engage in government policy, planning and resource allocation processes for service provision.
• Facilitating young people to work together with decision-makers to monitor the quality of basic services."

The report provides several case studies discussing various aspects of the governance programme. The first discusses how building young people's confidence is a central strategy for increasing their engagement in service delivery systems, as well as increasing their well-being. Other case studies highlight how Plan UK has been working with young people to improve governance in areas such as demanding better-quality education, improving the delivery of sexual and reproductive health services, enhancing youth livelihoods, creating child protection systems, and supporting young people in post-conflict and fragile environments.

While each case study shares perspectives related to the strategic issue, all include strengthening the capacity not only of children and youth, but also the stakeholders with whom they must work. For example, Plan UK's governance programme supports children, teachers, government, and community leaders to collaboratively provide oversight of school affairs. Specifically, in Uganda, Cambodia, and Senegal, the programme focuses on creating spaces in school and local government for young people and the community to jointly voice their concerns about education services. Similarly, in terms of both promoting access to reproductive health and ensuring child protections, it was found to be important to work with not just young people, but also service providers, civil society organisations, and local governments to build a more youth-responsive culture.

Another key factor across the programme areas was the need to link governance with issues that youth identify as priorities, such as livelihoods. Employment is a key challenge for young people. Engaging in governance processes both improves young people's skills, which can improve employment opportunities, and helps them access government resources. For example, in Kenya, youth groups in Nairobi accessed funds from local government for income-generating activities. In other cases, youth are now influencing resource and job allocations to ensure that they are more youth inclusive. In Malawi, youth groups lobbied successfully for youth representation in the management structure of the government's new Youth Enterprise Development Fund. Early indications suggest that youth presence in these structures is influencing resource allocation in some areas. The report notes that "[y]outh livelihood activities are underpinned by personal ties and the ability to negotiate both formal and informal economic environments. Who you know can be at least as important as what you know. It is through interactions in networks and decision-making spaces where knowledge is shared that young people build the capabilities and assets they need to secure a livelihood....Fostering local networks has helped to disseminate information about livelihood opportunities to young people in remote rural communities. Youth have mobilised and linked peers and decision-makers, enabling increased collaboration in the design, delivery and monitoring of livelihood services. Negative cultural practices can prevent young women from determining their own livelihood opportunities at household and community levels. However, engagement in governance processes has increased skills and self-confidence amongst young women. It has also contributed to shifts in the attitudes and behaviours of parents, community leaders, and government."

Another aspect discussed in this report is the need to change how people perceive youth. For example, in post-conflict countries, youth are often seen as perpetrators of violence, rather than peace builders. In Sierra Leone, Plan has supported youth involvement in decision-making structures, seeking to amplify their voices while also countering negative stereotypes. "Through participating in community development in Sierra Leone and constitutional reform in Kenya, young people have demonstrated that they can play a critical role in the long process of overcoming exclusion and cycles of violence."

The final case study discusses using social accountability approaches to monitor basic services. Youth are often too young to vote or participate in management committees, so social accountability tools provide a way for young people to hold their leaders accountable, while also identifying gaps in service delivery. Such tools include community score cards, social audits, and participatory planning. In Malawi, Plan and other organisations supported communities and children's groups to use score cards to evaluate over 200 service facilities in education, water and sanitation, health, and agriculture. "The process included monitoring teacher numbers and teacher-pupil ratios, which highlighted teacher shortages in rural areas. Local government responded by altering teacher allocations, and making an action plan for resolving the other shortcomings identified by communities. Not only did the process increase the motivation of young people to proactively seek their entitlements, it also improved the transparency of local government." The evidence suggests that such social accountability approaches can foster new relationships between young people, their communities, and government, as well as improve the efficiency and relevance of services.

Impact examples are provided throughout the case studies that highlight strategies, for example, of the way that networking is being taken forward. For instance, in Malawi, "Plan's governance work has led to many young people engaging with a range of local government structures. Gaining access to the spaces where important resource allocation decisions are made required a degree of confidence but engaging and having influence in them has strengthened this confidence still further. Young people are now pursuing youth rights and community development agendas through the networks and relationships they have made through their participation." In Nicaragua, youth network members have, amongst other actions, carried out a survey of young people's health. The creation of a diploma course sexual and reproductive health and governance and the use of peer education have together "built the knowledge, skills and assertiveness of more than 1,000 young people, as well as increasing adults' knowledge of these issues. This in turn has resulted in stronger community cohesion and has empowered groups to lead joint advocacy initiatives directed at holding government to account for their commitments on health."