World Bank officials have stated the need to engage with youth as a means to foster peace, participation and economic growth in developing countries.
As the post-2015 development agenda comes to fruition, youth is gearing up to become a major priority for the United Nations and other development actors, reports devex.com.
But within the new World Bank structure, “youth” as a development priority is hidden leaving some youth champions within the bank concerned about the institution’s future relationship with young people.
Young people neither featured as a unit, a global practice, nor even a crosscutting solutions area as done with issues such as climate change, jobs and gender.
“It is indeed surprising that in our reorganization we have few cutting solutions [focused on youth],” Gloria La Cava, senior social scientist at the World Bank and co-coordinator for the institution’s Middle East and North Africa region youth program told Devex.
This might however soon change.
As the post-2015 development agenda is drafted, La Cava and other youth champions are spearheading an effort within the bank to make youth a development priority and create a collaborative team within the institution dedicated to issues of youth around the world.
In December, when senior management opened the door for World Bank staff to suggest development areas where new “global solutions” could be developed within the institution, La Cava put youth on the table.
She and others submitted a proposal called “Youth Development Global Solutions” under the category “knowledge silobreaker.” Their idea was to establish a new team working across global practices and country units to develop concrete solutions to problem areas such as youth engagement and participation, as well as access to economic opportunities, youth services and jobs.
Now, the proposal is at the level of senior management and La Cava and her team are waiting for the results of the review. La Cava said she’s “moderately optimistic” the proposal will get approved.
“It can only bring good things and it’s not incredibly risky or costly,” she added. “It would make sense, but let’s see. We have to wait and let the process complete itself.”
It’s unclear how such a proposal will affect long-term funding or staffing priorities at the World Bank, but if approved, the new
“Youth Development Global Solutions” would include bank specialists from multiple global practices, as well as young professionals at the institution, including members of the Youth to Youth Community — a steering committee of young employees at the bank. It would also engage with youth at the World Bank’s annual Youth Summit in the fall. According to La Cava, the team hopes to embrace the narrative of “youth as change agents” in developing countries.
“It’s not going to be just some economist or technical people deciding and finding the solutions, but it’s going to be more of a participatory process,” La Cava said.
During the Fragility, Conflict and Violence Forum at the World Bank headquarters in Washington last week, World Bank Vice President for Africa Mikhtar Diop encouraged development leaders at the bank to have a “proactive dialogue” with youth around the globe who voice their concerns via social media.
Betty Bigombe, the bank’s senior director for fragility, conflict and violence solutions, meanwhile said the international community has to do more to address youth struggles — especially in fragile and post-conflict states.
La Cava and other youth champions within the bank feel youth isn’t going to be mainstreamed as a priority until it becomes part of the bank structure and day-to-day work. A way to make youth part of World Bank structure, some of them hope, is to follow through on “Youth Development Global Solutions.”
If youth is mainstreamed at the bank, La Cava suggests, governments around the developing world will seek out the institution’s services as it relates to youth issues.
“I’m very confident that governments do want it, do need it, if we can get our part aligned to this idea,” La Cava said. “Because wherever you go there is demand. And I’ve worked in many other regions with the bank and I know that it’s not just the Middle East and North Africa.”
Prior to the creation of the “Youth Development Global Solutions” proposal in December, commitment to the idea of a crosscutting youth-focused team at the World Bank was limited to a few individuals, according to La Cava. Now, she said, the idea has support from committed professionals across the institution.
“We know that to take it to the next level, we need senior management,” La Cava said. “But I’m happy that we got to the point of bringing this together.”
So far, a timeline for senior management’s review of the proposal is unclear.