Youth in the Global South: Opportunities, Challenges and Articulations

Youth in the global south are considered a ticking bomb for their community, and form a third of the population, with a high unemployment. Governments see young people as a burden rather than a community asset. This has led to interventions mainly for the marginalized youth but policies do not tackle structural issues marginalizing the ‘forgotten youth’ as a result of neoliberal economic policies.

Youth in Africa and the Arab states present alternatives in order to change their realities, in different ways. Both regions have much to offer with its natural or other resources, yet are caught in conflictual contexts. Some youth have tackled issues of unemployment, abortion or sectarian divisions, but others remain in ‘waithood’, disempowered, while others continue to empower themselves despite rife national or local failures of programs

Stemming from a critical perspective to current policies impacting youth and their community, the session will discuss local alternatives created by, and possibilities, for the youth and their communities, in order to resolve their challenges and create change they seek. It will analyse the interaction of various actors to create change in the lives of youth and their communities, rural and urban. It will discuss the conflict and intersection between local and international policies for working with youth, local and youth aspirations and modalities, and of international interventions within nation states, and for the ultimate development of national entities in the context of the progress of youth and development.