Call for youth engagement for better policy outcome

Alongside setting development agenda for future leaders, promising youths in innovation as well as those disengaged should be included in talks for better policy outcomes, speakers suggested on Wednesday.
Group-wise identification of these disengaged youths, defined as not in employment, education or training (NEET), is required to reveal their obstacles to entering socio-economic activities.
The views came at a virtual dialogue styled 'Disengaged Youth in Bangladesh: Who, Why and How?' hosted by the Citizen's Platform for SDGs Bangladesh and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangladesh.
The programme was organised to mark International Youth Day 2021 today.
Citizen's Platform convener Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, also the distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), welcomed the session while UNDP resident representative Sudipto Mukerjee delivered introductory remarks.
Moderated by CPD senior research fellow Towfiqul Islam Khan, transgender rights activist and news anchor of Boishakhi Television Tashnuva Anan Shishir, former member of Dhaka University Central Students' Union and disability rights activist Joshiah Sangma Chibol spoke at the dialogue as distinguished panellists.
Development researcher and activist Maha Mirza, tea garden worker rights activist and Jagoron Youth Forum president Mohon Rabi Das, Youth Engagement for Sustainability executive director Shamim Ahmed and Bangladesh Open Source Network project manager Jahanara Amir also spoke.
In his remarks, Dr Bhattacharya says there are many programmes for youth development in Bangladesh as they have innovative powers and many have proved their merits locally and internationally.
At the same time, it has been observed that there is another section of youth who have been coming to no use to the country, he adds.
"These individuals are recognised as disengaged youths who remain out of socio-economic activities due to different reasons," Dr Bhattacharya cited.
He said while identifying or discussing those youths, four questions should raised: whether problems of youth are identified from the perspective of disengaged youths, why they are increasing in number, why they alienated from economic, political and social norms and practices, and what are these youths' characteristics.
Although there are contradictions in the definition of youth in the youth policy and labour survey, Dr Bhattacharya says, if the age 25 years is considered, over 45 per cent of the population is under that age.
To address NEET youth issues, he suggested unveiling the underlining reasons of their inactivity first to find solutions in order to make them productive.
Meanwhile, referring to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Mr Mukerjee says around 8.0-million people aged between 15 and 24 belong to NEET group.
Citing an ILO report that classifies 30 per cent of the youth as NEET, he says about 47 per cent of young women are in NEET group while it is 14 per cent for men.
Coronavirus pandemic has become the new driver of youth disengagement due to prolonged closure of educational institutions and shrunken space of social interaction, Mr Mukerjee mentioned.
Besides, he criticised the country's education system, defining its curriculum unfit for future challenges.
The UNDP official recognised the need to find more innovative ways to accelerate efforts to address skills and information gap, which have become more visible during the pandemic.
Ms Mirza says about 2.2-million youths graduate every year but a large number of them remain unemployed.
At the same time, there is a huge number of youth who cannot reach the graduation stage and remain out of focus in development agendas.
Those who dropped out of schools and colleges, and engaged in informal activities should be integrated into youth-centric development approaches, she said.
Mentioning that there is no proper definition of transgender people here or any law for them, Ms Shishir says such constraints deprive the transgender populace of getting policy benefits.
Social stigma about transgender people, transphobia and other discriminatory acts need to be removed to ensure rights of these socially disconnected individuals, he opines.
Mr Chibol says indigenous communities hold a large number of disengaged youths who are vulnerable regarding to access to education and employment.
Besides, the public is not socially aware of the terms 'disability' and 'disable' which has been a big problem in ensuring rights of persons with disabilities, he adds.
During the event, Mr Das says the country has approximately 240 tea gardens that have engaged more than 1.5-million workers.
These workers get only Tk 120 as daily wage which has been the key barriers for these people to attaining education and setting up own business, he remarks.

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