LAC Newsletter June 2009 - Focus on Youth (English only)

Teens demonstrate their dance moves at the opening of the Mejicanos Youth Center in San Salvador

The years between 15 and 24 can be tough sometimes. You’re not a child anymore, but not yet experienced enough to take on all the responsibilities of being an adult. You are well aware of the world around you but it seems as if you can do little to make a difference in that world. Distractions and influences are everywhere from your friends to the music you listen to. Add that to the fact that you live in a developing country where the education system can’t meet all the needs of young people, healthcare is poor, unemployment is high, and drugs and crime abound. This is the reality for much of the youth in Latin America and the Caribbean.

If you are a youth in the 21st Century you are part of a group that is increasingly gaining the attention of governments, the media, non-governmental organizations and of course, academics. The World Bank in its recent report titled, Youth in Numbers, calls young people “custodians of the world’s social and economic well-being.” It calls on governments and multi-lateral institutions in their efforts to include youth in public decision-making processes and in tailoring public policy, to better support youth and to understand the strengths and needs of the young people of the world.

USAID in its programs in the countries it serves has made great efforts to comprehend and respond to the issues faced by youth in the region. Programs that encourage youth to do well in school are helping youth in Jamaica use technology to tell their stories and find meaning in their studies. Guatemalan youth surrounded by gangs and guns are becoming involved in legal money-making activities that ensure them a promising future rather than a life of crime or worse.

Documentos

• Boletín LAC Junio 2009 [543.59 KB | 2009-06-01]