YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT - United Nations

1 YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENTYOUTH CIVICENGAGEMENTUNITED Nations DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRSW orld YOUTH ReportPublished by the United Nations New York, New York 10017 United States of AmericaUnited Nations Publication Copyright United Nations , 2016 All rights reservedAll queries or rights and licenses including subsidiary rights should be addressed to United Nations Publications, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017, United States of America; email: website: : The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitations of its frontiers.

2 The term country as used in the text of the present report also refers, as appropriate, to territories or areas. The designations of country groups in the text and the tables are intended solely for statistical or analytical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgment about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process. Mention of the names of firms and commercial products does not imply the endorsement of the United Note: In this publication, unless otherwise indicated, the term YOUTH refers to all those between the ages of 15 and 24, as reflected in the World Programme of Action for YOUTH . The term young people may be used interchangeably with the word YOUTH .

3 Disclaimer: The views expressed in the contributions to this publication are those of the individual authors and do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the United Nations or of the organizations with which the authors are Cover Photo: UNICEF/UNI185047/Cherkaou Dar Es Salam refugee Camp, : Graphic Design Unit, Outreach Division, Department of Public Information, United Nations , New YorkTHE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat is a vital interface between global policies in the economic, social and environmental spheres and national action. The Department works in three main interlinked areas: it compiles, generates and analy-ses a wide range of economic, social and environmental data and infor-mation on which Members States of the United Nations draw to review common problems and to take stock of policy options; it facilitates the negotiations of Member States in many intergovernmental bodies on joint courses of action to address ongoing or emerging global chal-lenges.

4 And it advises interested governments on the ways and means of translating policy frameworks developed in United Nations confer-ences and summits into programmes at the country level and, through technical assistance, helps build national Bell Ceremony to commemorate the International Day of Peace (21 September) UN Photo/Amanda VoisardThe World YOUTH Report, prepared biennially, is the flagship publication on YOUTH issues of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. The World YOUTH Report on YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT is a product of the efforts, contributions and support of many people and Report represents a collaborative effort made possible by the input and contributions of experts in the field of YOUTH and CIVIC ENGAGEMENT .

5 In particular, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs would like to extend special thanks to the Report s contributing authors, namely, Akil N. Awan, Mark Brennan, Pat Dolan, Erhardt Graeff, Sarah Huxley, Amy F. Huziak, Selina Khoo, Nur Laiq, Andre Matthias M ller, Claudia Pompa, Lakshitha Saji Prelis, Gianni Rosas, and James Sloam. Biographies of the authors can be found in the annex to the current preparation of the Report was led by the Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development, Daniela Bas, in close collaboration with the Focal Point on YOUTH , Nicola Shepherd, and the Chief of the Social Integration Branch, Jean-Pierre Gonnot.

6 Research, drafting and synthesis of the Report was carried out by Elizabeth Niland, with support pro-vided by Anna Marusina. The Report was edited by Terri Lore. The Report has also benefited from pos-itive feedback from colleagues within and outside the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. We are grateful to all who have 1: INTRODUCTION10 Introduction17 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT : An Overview Pat Dolan and Mark Brennan chapter 2: ECONOMIC ENGAGEMENT26 Introduction36 In Search of Benchmarks for Quality Internships Gianni Rosas47 YOUTH Entrepreneurship: The Coming Jobs Gap 600 Million Reasons to Promote YOUTH Entrepreneurship Claudia Pompa55 YOUTH Bargaining Power: Securing Rights through Trade Unions Amy F.

7 HuziakCHAPTER 3: POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT62 Introduction68 YOUTH Electoral Participation James Sloam82 Transitions in Power: young people s Role Nur Laiq87 Negative YOUTH ENGAGEMENT : Involvement in Radicalism and Extremism Akil N. Awan95 YOUTH Digital Activism Erhardt GraeffCHAPTER 4: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT108 Introduction120 Reconceptualizing YOUTH Voluntarism: Who Decides? Sarah Huxley129 YOUTH ENGAGEMENT in Peacebuilding Lakshitha Saji Prelis138 YOUTH Participation in Sport for Development Selina Khoo and Andre Matthias M llerCHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS144 Introduction148 Recommendations for Economic Engagement151 Recommendations for Political Engagement155 Recommendations for Community EngagementCONTENTSANNEX 158 Author Biographies BOXES, FIGURES AND TABLES29 Box YOUTH NEET31 Box Gender disparities in YOUTH employment32 Box Training and skills development: passing the cost-benefit test41 Box The purpose of an internship: the six-part test in the United States48 Box YOUTH entrepreneurship in numbers49 Box Who wants to be an entrepreneur?

8 55 Box What is precarious work?113 Box Benefits of YOUTH ENGAGEMENT for the individual Pat Dolan and Mark Brennan114 Box Benefits of YOUTH ENGAGEMENT for the community Pat Dolan and Mark Brennan116 Box Approaches to peacebuilding and the role of YOUTH Alan Smith125 Box Key principles of YOUTH Volunteerism139 Box young women and sport140 Box Sport and the ENGAGEMENT of young people with disabilities71 Figure YOUTH participation in electoral politics72 Figure Participation in electoral politics (voting and party membership) among 18- to 29-year olds compared with all those over age 1875 Figure YOUTH participation in issue-based politics76 Figure Participation in issue-based politics (boycotts, petitions and demonstrations) among 18- to 29-year olds compared with all those over age 1817 Table Discourses informing CIVIC Engagement70 Table Political participation by age, gender and educational status8 The terms country , more developed regions , and less developed regions are used for statistical con-venience and do not necessarily express a judgement as to the developmental stage of a particular coun-try or area.

9 More developed regions are comprised of all countries in Europe and Northern America, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The term developed countries refers to countries in the more developed regions. Less developed regions are comprised of all countries of Africa, Asia (excluding Japan) and Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. The term developing countries is used to designate countries in the less developed regions. The following abbreviations have been used in the Report:CNCS Corporation for National and Community ServiceCPRR Process Approach Model for Community Peace, Recovery, and ReconciliationCV curriculum vitaeDDOS distributed denial of serviceEU European UnionFATA Federally Administered Tribal AreasFIFA F d ration Internationale de Football AssociationFIJE Federaci n Iberoamericana de J venesGEM Global Entrepreneurship MonitorG20 YEA G20 YOUTH Entrepreneurs AllianceHPA Harry Potter AllianceEXPLANATORY NOTES9 HRC Human Rights CampaignICT information and communications technologyILO International Labour OrganizationITF International Transport Workers FederationITUC International Trade Union ConfederationIVS international volunteering and serviceKPK Khyber PakhtunkhwaLSE London School of EconomicsMENA Middle East and North

10 AfricaNEET not in employment, education or trainingOECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentPATRIR Peace Action Training and Research Institute of RomaniaSFCG Search for Common GroundSMS Short Messaging Service (text messaging)UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural OrganizationUN-Habitat United Nations Human Settlements ProgrammeUNICEF United Nations Children s FundUNOY Peacebuilders United Network of young PeacebuildersWAM! Women, Action and the MediaWPAY World Programme of Action for YouthYBI YOUTH Business InternationalYLC YOUTH Leadership Council (Tunisia) CHAPTER1 INTRODUCTIONTHE World YOUTH Report on YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT has been prepared in response to growing interest in and an increased policy focus on YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT in recent years among Governments, young people and researchers.