Lebanese Youth Participation and Empowerment Project- YEPP

National Youth Policy – Youth Profile – Organizations’ Directory –Youth Card

Project Summary

The “Lebanese Youth Participation and Empowerment Project - YEPP” is a joint project among the UN Youth Task Force member agencies* and the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Lebanon, in partnership with the pertinent ministries and public institutions, along with youth groups and youth-focused civil society agencies. This project is managed by UNESCO and funded by UNICEF, UNDP, ILO and UNESCO. The project comes in accordance with the cooperation agreement between the UN Youth Task Force and the Ministry of Youth and Sports which brought about a ministerial decree on the 9th of November, 2007.

1- Project Objectives

The project has been designed to strengthen Lebanese Youth  participation in all spheres of public life on one hand, and to support decision-making and policy reforms by encouraging the process of formulation and adoption of a National Youth Policy (NYP) in Lebanon, on the other hand.

2- Project phases and outputs

Phase 1: Research and documentation (completed)

The Youth Organizations’ Directory in Lebanon (mapping and classification of youth NGOs in Lebanon) was produced and accessible online: www.minijes.gov.lb/yepp The Youth Profile (a comprehensive study on youth situation that include sectoral data analysis and general policy orientations, written by academicians and experts from different areas related to youth such as: Demographic Characteristics, Immigration, Education, Health,  Work, Social Integration and Political Participation. The Legal Study on youth (a study that assesses the Lebanese laws in terms of youth participation providing a substantive analysis on the structural factors hindering young people’s participation and suggesting recommendations including laws’ amendments)

Phase 2: Consensus building process (in progress)

The consensus building phase (phase 2) includes the following steps:

Finalizing the necessary documents for the project. Launching a press and media campaign at the national level to promote the concept of youth policy, consolidate its notions, and encourage the participation in the national project, specifically in the establishment of a special website for the Ministry of Youth and Sports to be used for the promotion of youth policies. The establishment of a consultative forum wherein all widely recognized youth organizations in Lebanon are represented, including university and high school student bodies and youth-focused organizations. This forum is intended to be a national unifying entity, representing young people in the various stages of the national project; and to be consulted by the joint committee mentioned earlier, in terms of  the plans and mechanisms developed by the committee,  and the results of the project. The formation of a high-level joint tripartite committee among the UN agencies, the pertinent ministries, and the civil society, to supervise the various steps and stages of the national youth project, including the adoption of the youth policy guidelines resulting from the project and will be incorporated in the final report to be submitted to the Council of Ministers. Organizing Fifteen workshops covering various regions of Lebanon, and targeting young people and related NGOs are to be held. The workshops will address the following themes to be included in the youth policies: Education; employment and economic participation; Health; cultural life; citizenship and social and national integration; sports and scouting movement; youth organizations; youth participation in political life; and migration. Organizing specialized panel discussions with experts to discuss the technical matters of youth policies and ensure the formulation of these policies in a feasible, scientific approach. Drafting a comprehensive report on the workshops, panel discussions, and the latter’s results. Holding a national conference to discuss the policies resulting from the project with a view to crystallizing them before submitting them to the Council of Ministers. Presenting the youth policy project outcomes to the national Council of Ministers to take the appropriate decision and to identify the adequate mechanisms for implementation and follow-up.

Phase 3: Lobbying for the adoption of the NYP

The main output of this project is the National Youth Policy Document which includes the feedback from consensus building process with various stakeholders in the regions and relevant experts of policy issues.

4- The National Youth Card

The National Youth Card is one concrete example of the National Youth Policy. The idea came as a demand by the young people who participated in the “Forum of Youth Civic Engagement” in November 2005.

The Youth Card aims at ensuring services and facilities for young people in several areas and contributes to the activation of their participation in cultural life, as well as in economic and social development. Accordingly, in collaboration with the Ministry, we will study and discuss the mechanisms required to establish the card and the youth services to be provided, as well as all technical details, hoping to produce a youth card that serves all the Lebanese youth in all the Lebanese areas.

The legal processes and framework for the issuance of the card have been developed by legal institution.  A draft law has been prepared and is currently being discussed with the Ministry of Youth so as to be finalized and adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers soon.

* The UN Youth Task Force is comprised of the following agencies  - United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Education Culture Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Volunteers (UNV), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), World Bank (WB), International Labor Organization (ILO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), World Health Organization (WHO), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) and the Resident Coordinator’s Office (RC).