IANYS 8th Conference Report
Transcript of IANYS 8th Conference Report
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
1/55
N a t i o N a l Y o u t h S e r v i c e :
a N i d e a W h o S e t i m e h a S c o m e
The International Association for National Youth Service (IANYS)
Proceedings of the
8 glal c
Held in Paris, France, November 19-22, 2008
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
2/55
2 I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Y o u t h S e r v i c e s
Acknowledgements ........ 2
Preace ........ 3
About IANYS ........ 45 Origins
5 IANYS today
8th Global Conerence
on National Youth Service ........ 5
Participating Countries ........ 8
Summary o Conerence Proceedings ........ 10
IntroductIon........ 10
10 Youth service, democracy and peace
10 Widening youth service in Europe
11 Youth civic engagement
11 Building young leaders or change and peace
natIonalYouth ServIce PolIcY
and Program develoPment ........12
12 Introducing National Youth Service
13 Some approaches to National Youth Service
Building youth service in France
National Youth Service in Israel:
Sustaining citizenship
Italy: Running national youth
service at home and abroad
14 Designing Youth Service Policy
and Programs or Dierent Purposes
14 National Youth Service in support
o the non-prot sector
15 National Youth Service or development
15 National Youth Service as a oundation
or training and employment
16 Fostering cooperation between government
and civil society through youth service
16 Scaling up National Youth Service rom local
to national levels
meaSurIngthe ImPactof natIonal
Youth ServIce ProgramSonPartIcIPantS
andonthe communItY ........18
18 Demonstrating the value o investing
in National Youth Service
18 Strengthening program quality
through monitoring and evaluation
19 Measuring youth service impact
against national data
19 The importance o rigorous evidence
o youth service impact
20 Developing the youth service research eld
c
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
3/55
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 1
examInIngthe PublIc coStand fundIng
for natIonalYouth ServIce ........21
21 Public and private unding required
to renew Kenyan National Youth Service
22 The social costs o not unding National
Youth Service in Jamaica
22 Reducing the visibility o government in
UK youth service programs
23 Using youth service to strengthen
livelihoods and support peace Aghanistan
23 Public-private partnerships drive
youth service unding in Italy
24 Conclusion
StImulatIngPrIvate Sector
InveStmentInnatIonalYouth ServIce ........25
25 Productive partnerships are mutually
benecial
26 Helping young people access employment
and business skills
26 Developing youth leadership or youth
service internationally
27 Building strong organizations and programs
to improve the lives o young people
natIonalYouth ServIceaS
a StrategYfor SocIalIncluSIon ........28
28 Restoring the tradition o service
through youth
28 Overcoming discrimination in schools
29 Promoting social cohesion through service
IdentIfYIngand meetIng
communItYand natIonalneedS
through natIonalYouth ServIce ........30
WhereISthe learnIng
InnatIonalYouth ServIce? ........32
32 Youth service in educational settings
33 The pedagogy o service-learning
develoPIngregIonalnetWorkS
for Youth ServIce ........34
PeacebuIldIngand ServIce ........36
36 Youth as agents o peace
37 Developing a commitment to the
value o service
Youth ServIceand mIllennIum
develoPment goalS ........38
Outcomes o the
IANYS General Meeting ........39
Building a Network to Support
and Advance the Field o
National Youth Service: Outcomes
o the 8th Global Conerence ........40
41 Building on the Momentum
Appendices
41 A. List o Participants
45 B. Conerence Program and Speakers
50 C. IANYS Global Council
51 D. Sponsors
52 E. Credits
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
4/55
On behalf of the IANYS Global Council, I wish to thank and congratulate our
conference organizers:
Innovations in Civic Participation (ICP)
Unis-Cit
and the Association o Voluntary
Service Organizations (AVSO)
for their tremendous effort in hosting the 8th Global Conference
on National Youth Service.
We also would like to thank the generous sponsors of the conference who made this
successful event possible: the European Commission, the Shinnyo-en Foundation, the
French Ministry of Youth, UN Volunteers, Benoit Foundation, and the University of
Minnesota. We are also grateful to the US Embassy in Paris for their logistical support,
including the donation of the conference space at the Fondation des Etats-Unis, and we
thank the staff of the Fondation for their involvement and support.
We thank all of the speakers, presenters, facilitators and attendees for your participation,
input and dialogue to advance and strengthen National Youth Service around the world.
Elisabeth Hoodless, DBE, Chairman, IANYS Global Council
This report was written by Jean Manney, Innovations in Civic Participation; Helene
Perold, Volunteer and Service Enquiry Southern Arica; and Sarah Tucker,
Innovations in Civic Participation
2
I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Y o u t h S e r v i c e s
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
5/55
Pa
The 8th Global Conerence on National Youth Service (NYS) was a turning point or
IANYS and or the entire eld o youth civic engagement globally. Participation in
the conerence ar exceeded our expectations, drawing the largest single gathering o
participants and most diverse representation o countries in IANYS history, with more
than 120 participants rom approximately 40 countries.
IANYS is the only association o its kind working to advance and promote NYS in countries around the
world. The response to the 8th Global Conerence demonstrates that there is a real need or an association
that brings together people who are working with youth in dierent contexts around the world. Areas o
common interest include creating high-quality youth service programs, advocating or government support,
undertaking evaluations and research o youth service programs, and providing opportunities or young people
to make a dierence in their communities.
Worldwide, civic engagement is becoming more widely acknowledged as being integral to democratic
development and the momentum or service has grown enormously. Furthermore, it is clear that there is a
growing interest not only in developing youth civic engagement programs and policy, but also in participating
in global networks to share models, ideas and good practice. This growing interest in national youth service is
accompanied by a range o needs rom proessionals in the eld o youth development around the world.
Given these developments in dierent parts o the world, the time is right to pull together NYS resources,
expertise, models and practices, and to provide countries with the support they need to invest in and
implement, or improve and scale up national youth service policies and programs. We believe that the
IANYS network has the momentum, expertise and capacity to be the vehicle to produce and disseminate this
support. The groundbreaking 8th Global Conerence was just the beginning o a new era that could see the
transormation o youth civic engagement worldwide.
As the permanent Secretariat or IANYS, ICP is committed to responding to the needs o the eld. We are
working to create a more robust international network that signicantly expands the number o proessionals
involved in IANYS activities; acilitates the exchange o inormation about youth civic engagement; and
oers technical assistance to governments and international organizations in the design, implementation and
evaluation o youth civic engagement policies and programs.
Please join us in our eorts to scale up IANYS to meet the rising interest and needs o the National Youth
Service eld and help us engage the largest youth generation in history to work or change through service to
communities around the world.
Susan Stroud
Director, IANYS
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 3
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
6/55
The International Association or National Youth Service (IANYS) is a unique global
network o practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and other proessionals in the
eld o national youth service. IANYS was ormed in 1996 and has grown to include
members rom 48 countries on six continents. IANYS is the only network o its
kind actively working to encourage every country to consider the implementation o
policies and programs that support youth civic engagement.
The goals o IANYS are to stimulate and acilitate the exchange o inormation
about national youth service (NYS), to advocate or strong youth policy, and to
oer assistance to nations wishing to consider the introduction o NYS or to reshape
current NYS programs.
The central activity o IANYS is a biennial Global Conerence that provides youth
service practitioners and policymakers rom around the world with a stimulating orum
to share inormation and current developments in the eld, nurture connections or
developing uture projects, and discuss the potential or scaling up national youth service
or greater impact on community and youth development. Past conerences have been
held in the US, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, the UK, Israel, Argentina, and Ghana.
Au iAnYs
What is National Youth Service?National Youth Service (NYS) is an organized activity in which young people serve others and the environment in ways
that contribute positively to society. NYS participants normally serve ull-time or a period o six months to two years
and receive support whether rom NGOs or government sucient to enable them to serve. Major areas o service
are health, education, environmental conservation and care or the very old and the very young.
NYS also embraces service learning, where students utilize their education to serve others and then refect on their
service experiences to inorm their learning. Service learning is a graduation requirement in many universities around
the world. Service learning in secondary schools and universities is oten a prelude to ull-time NYS.
Countries initiate NYS programs or varied reasons, including delivering social and environmental services, alleviat-
ing youth unemployment, providing alternatives to required military service, experientially complementing classroom
education, and engaging youth in nation-building.
The outcomes o national youth service programs depend on the goals or which programs are designed, the experi-
ence young people bring to the service, and the support o the community. Almost all evaluations to date have shown
that the value o services rendered by national youth service participants is equal to or greater than the cost o the pro-
gram. In addition, participants benet rom work experience, career exploration, increased sel esteem, and increased
awareness o the needs o others. Many national youth service participants acquire new skills, good work habits,
decision-making ability, social maturity, and a new understanding between races, ages and aiths.
4 I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Yo u t h S e r v i c e s
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
7/55
Origins
IANYS was ounded in 1996 through the work o Donald Eberly, who began exploring civilian programs
ocused on peace building, civic service and alternatives to military conscription. As Mr. Eberly began
writing his own ideas or National Youth Service, he joined with others around the world to document global
developments in NYS.
As interest grew and a collective o proessionals in the NYS eld began
to orm, the idea to have an international meeting on NYS developed.
At the third biennial Global Conerence on NYS in Papua New Guinea
in 1996, participants ormally established IANYS.
IANYS today
The Global Council, the governing body o IANYS, is made up o
experts in the eld o youth service rom around the world. Currently
13 countries are represented on the Global Council. Dame Elisabeth
Hoodless, Director o the UKs Community Service Volunteers and
organizer o the 4th Global Conerence, serves as the Global Council
Chairman. Innovations in Civic Participation (ICP) serves as the
Secretariat o IANYS and Susan Stroud (ICPs Executive Director) is
the Director o IANYS.
Given ICPs experience and expertise in ostering innovative opportunities and supporting the development o
the youth civic engagement eld, ICP was selected to serve as the permanent secretariat or IANYS in 2007.
Previously, secretariat responsibilities had resided with the country which hosted a global NYS conerence, and
were handed over to the host o the succeeding global conerence, though the Charter included the possibility
o creating a permanent secretariat.
As the permanent secretariat, ICP has expanded the IANYS network and is working to strengthen the
capacity o IANYS to support youth service proessionals to increase and improve opportunities or young
people to help meet critical national and community needs while building essential skills or uture success.
IANYS provides the ramework
where all these diverse experiences and dierent
orms o voluntary service can come together and
be shared by members, ideas can be changed, and
eectiveness can be compared and evaluated in a
better way.
Reuven Gal, Head, The Authority or National Civic
Service, Israel
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 5
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
8/55
8 glal c
naal Yu s
PAris, frAnce, november 2008
In partnership with the Association o Voluntary Service Organizations (AVSO) and
Unis-Cit, ICP organized and held the IANYS 8th Global Conerence on National
Youth Service at the Fondation des Etats-Unis in Paris, France, in November 2008.
The 8th Global Conerence provided youth service practitioners, policymakers and other proessionals
rom around the world with an exciting opportunity to exchange ideas and program models, discuss pressing
issues in the eld o NYS and network with their peers. As the rst Global Conerence coordinated by the
new permanent Secretariat, ICP, and the rst in our years rather than the normal two years, the organizers
aimed to scale up the reach o the Conerence and to diversiy and increase participation. They also aimed to
strengthen proessional and eld development by organizing sessions around key themes.
The our days o the Conerence included a training session on national youth service (NYS) policy and
program development, roundtable presentations, smaller workshops, and site visits to volunteer-hosting
organizations. Sessions ocused on examining current NYS policies and programs, scaling up NYS programs,
measuring the impact o NYS on youth and communities, analyzing youth service and social inclusion, and
examining private and public investment in NYS. Workshops explored youth service and the UN Millennium
Development Goals, peace-building, service-learning, and developing regional networks. Unis-Cit organized
site visits to local community organizations where Unis-Cit volunteers have been involved in service projects
and acilitated a refection session to engage participants in an interesting dialogue on youth service rom
diverse cultural perspectives and contexts.
Expectations or the number o participants were greatly surpassed as the registration list continued to
grow even in the days leading up the conerence. The 8th Global Conerence saw the largest single
gathering o participants and the most diverse representation o countries in IANYS history, with more
than 120 participants attending rom approximately 40 countries. In addition to substantial participation
rom European countries, participants came rom China, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, India, Kazakhstan,
Aghanistan, Egypt, Israel, Kuwait, Algeria, Sudan, Burkina Faso, South Arica, Ghana, Sierra Leone,
Kenya, Argentina, Jamaica, Barbados, the USA, and more. A number o participants rom several countries
were unable to come as a result o not getting visas. Many government ocials attended, including Deputy
Ministers and Directors o National Youth Service, along with NGO and university representatives. IANYS
Global Council members in attendance included Susan Stroud (USA), Licio Palazzini (Italy), Reuven Gal
(Israel), Jim Kielsmeier (USA), Marie Trellu (France) and Agnes Uhereczky (Belgium).
The 8th Global Conerence was successul in large part due to generous sponsors including the European
Commission, the Shinnyo-en Foundation, the French Ministry o Youth, UN Volunteers, Benoit Foundation,
and the University o Minnesota. IANYS also received logistical support rom the US Embassy in Paris,
including the donation o the conerence space at the Fondation des Etats-Unis.
6 I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Y o u t h S e r v i c e s
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
9/55
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 7
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
10/55
8
I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Y o u t h S e r v i c e s
iAnYs 8 glal c
Papa cu
Aghanistan
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Barbados
Belgium
Bosnia Herzegovina
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Cambodia
China
Croatia
Egypt
Estonia
France
Germany
Ghana
Hungary
India
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Lithuania
Portugal
Romania
Sierra Leone
Singapore
South Arica
Spain
Sudan
The Netherlands
UK
US
Vietnam
The chance to talk to other persons,
especially inormally, outside o ormal settings,
has been especially important or me. To hear that
persons inputs as to their personal experience, it is
critical.
In this type o conerence, not everyone has a
chance to talk about their own experiences because
there is not enough time. So, to have that inormal
setting to talk to people has been very positive.
Therese James, Director, Barbados Youth Service
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
11/55
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 9
Even though we can read about
programs in dierent countries, its dierent to he
the rationale and justifcations and what issues
that they ace on the ground. When you hear the
programs being described and hear the issues bei
discussed, you can understand a lot more what
drives them and gets them going day to day, what
sort o considerations they have that isnt put dowin the oundations or the structure o the program
I really get a sense o the realities that ace Youth
Service on the ground.
Justin Tan, National Education Ofcer, Ministry o
Education, Singapore
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
12/55
1 0
I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Yo u t h S e r v i c e s
Youth service, democracy and peace
In a video address to the opening session o the Conerence, the P La,
ell J-sla, stressed that young people are indispensable to democracy
and peace: Young people can and must play a critical role in building democracy
and peace. Liberia makes youth civic engagement a top priority in new developmentlegislation, because no nation, especially ater periods o violence, can develop
without youth service.
President Johnson-Sirlea argued that youth are a pivotal actor in a nations recovery
rom violence and its transition into peace, because many young people were strongly
impacted by violence and war. Youth service gives them a chance to direct the
emotions and memories let by violence towards reconstruction and building peace, allowing youth to pave
the way to ensuring that the same mistakes that led to violence in the past are not repeated. According to
the Liberian President, a national youth service corps is an integral part o the Liberian development strategy,
and she welcomed a partnership with IANYS to support her administration in developing a policy ramework
or National Youth Service.
Widening youth service in Europe
A message rom ba Lap, French Minister o Youth, expressed his enthusiasm or IANYS and
indicated that new legislation regarding youth service is being discussed in France and in the European Union.
The new legislation recommends the improvement o existing inormation systems or evaluating youth
service and the creation o a trans-national youth volunteer network or young Europeans, he said. The
project is designed to acilitate youth volunteering and to improve national systems o volunteering. Polls that
showed massive youth enthusiasm or service and international travel served as a catalyst or the legislation
and inspired its orm.
Mr. Laporte indicated that the President o France hopes that the new models will encourage more young
people to get involved in service and to sustain their engagement in civil society ollowing the time they spend
in service. He sees the program as having the ability to strengthen ties within society and to bind citizens more
closely together. Getting this project o the ground is an ambitious endeavor that will require support rom
governments as well as other youth service groups.
There is an inextricable link between service, youth empowerment, national development and
increased civic engagement by young people. This was the message rom a number o global leaders
who lent support to the IANYS 8th Global Conerence, stressing the importance o national youth
service or young people worldwide.
iu
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
13/55
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 1 1
Youth civic engagement
Paal LJu, Head o the Youth In Action Programme Unit at the European Commission, outlined how
youth civic engagement increases awareness about political issues and osters participation by young people in
politics. In this way, youth service becomes critical to poverty alleviation. Through service, young people gain
valuable experiences, meet other youth rom diverse backgrounds and provide valuable services to those in
need. Now that youth service is well established in many developed countries, said LeJeune, stronger eorts
are being made to encourage young people rom under-privileged backgrounds to participate in NYS. This is
because volunteerism helps young people to access job training and increases their political participation actors that both shape the uture o youth.
Building young leaders or change and peace
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Ku na, Honorary President o CIVICUS,
anti-apartheid activist rom South Arica and the incumbent Greenpeace CEO,
stressed that young people, just like all members o society, are potential leaders
capable o addressing the challenges acing the world today. We must not see youth
as hal-empty, but rather look at their
strengths, knowledge and potential. We must
look beyond the challenges that they ace
to see them as having the power to createchange.
Naidoo pointed out that investing in the power o youth would take
only a raction o the money needed to bail out the global market rom
the economic crisis, and would produce signicantly greater returns.
Reerring to Obamas victory in the US and his popularity with young
people around the world, he demonstrated that youth are yearning
to have a greater impact on their communities and to move towards
peace and stability. He believes that young people are innovators who
see their communities rom a perspective not constrained by prior
experience or preconceptions, and who are able to understand concepts
such as climate change and internet technology much better than theirparents generation. Harnessing the power and knowledge o youth is
the key to solving imminent problems and creating a better world, said Naidoo.
hy Lza, d exal Aa a sy- fua, closed the Conerence with an
inspiring speech about the impact that people have on each other every day and the value o building mutual
respect and peace between individuals. He called on IANYS members to be eective leaders by believing in
their ability to advance nations o service, create a positive dierence in peoples lives, and make a dierence
to what it means to be a member o the planet Earth. Youth service is more than just programs and events:
it is determining the ate o the globe, said Lozano. Leaders o youth service play a crucial role in creating
peace through inspiring and empowering both the leaders o today and tomorrow.
All the speakers stressed that the work o IANYS is undamentally important in that it gives young people a
chance to rise and meet global challenges. IANYSs services will be needed in the coming years more thanever beore.
IANYS provides the opportunity
to get a conscious understanding o the global
atmosphere o youth service. Sometimes we get
quite captured in our own countries, not bearing
a clear understanding o value added in other
countries.
Henry Lozano, Director o External Aairs,
the Shinnyo-en Foundation
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
14/55
1 2
I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Y o u t h S e r v i c e s
On the rst day, the Conerence ocused on NYS policy and program design to meet the interests o
policymakers, government representatives and practitioners new to the eld o NYS and service learning.
It provided participants with an in-depth understanding o the concepts o NYS and service learning, gave
them an opportunity to learn about successul NYS and service learning program models, and provided
some o the tools necessary to begin developing a NYS policy or program in their home countries.
naal Yu s Ply
a Pa dlp
Introducing National Youth Service
Given that there are over 1 billion young people in the
world today, representing up to 50% o the population in
developing countries, there is a growing need to endow these
youth with lie-skills,
a sense o citizenship,
positive attitudes, and
job training to help them
better themselves and their
communities. Through
National Youth Service,
young people can address issues such as climate change, nation building and
post-confict reconciliation in positive and constructive ways. Service is
an important means o mobilizing young people to participate in society by
creatively using their energy to solve social problems.
Susan Stroud, Executive Director oia c Papa and
Director o IANYS, provided an overview o denitions and key concepts
o youth service, as well as an overview o the dierent types o models
which have seen successul implementation throughout the world.
There are many dierent types and models o national youth service with
varying amounts o government involvement, sources o unding, and
structures. It is important to provide insight and inrastructure to help new
programs grow, and to have a diversity o approaches to accommodate allthe dierent types o NYS.
The primary objective o service is to make a dierence in the local
community. The secondary objective is to create a positive experience or the
participants and the third is to bring people together and give young people
a sense o ecacy. Keeping these three objectives in balance can prove a
challenge or program design and implementation.
Key TermsNational Youth Service: Organized period o
substantial engagement that contributes to
the communitys development, is mandated
and supported by the national government,
and or which the volunteer receives mini-
mal monetary compensation.
National Youth Service Policy:Government
legislation to create rameworks and policy
or National Youth Service under which proj-
ects can operate and be unded, and makes
it possible to operate on a large scale, as
well as to justiy private investment. Policy
is imperative or orming relationships be-
tween civil society, government and private
sector, and should ensure that youth service
reaches the populations most in need,
meets critical public interests, is suciently
unded, and has a clear purpose and goal.
Service Learning:Service with intentional
learning component and refection that
is based in education institutions, com-
munity organizations, and/or ormalized in
classroom instruction, and serves as a way
o approaching learning that involves com-
munity service.
NYS Models
Large scale mandatory programs run by
government,requiring participation by
specic youth populations.
Large scale voluntary programs run by
government.
Large scale NGO programs run with
government unding.
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
15/55
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 1 3
Eective youth service programs engage young people in valuable service work. They train and supervise
participants, encourage diversity o participation and recognize the contributions o participants and
organizations to the community. They also engage quality local leadership and are held to high standards
o accountability.
Some approaches to National Youth Service
Building youth service in FranceThe Voluntary Civil Service was launched in France
ater government aced a number o crises with inner
city young people in 2005. Its goal was to promote
social cohesion and peace. Ater President Sarkozys
election in 2007, there was a move to reorm the
system o civil service and to scale up youth service
projects, but how was this to be achieved?
Ever since the suspension o the military drat in
France, the question has been whether or not tomake national youth service mandatory. The French
experience showed that there are many obstacles
to mandatory youth service: most young people
eel that service should be voluntary; the cost o
mandatory service is very high; and it is very complex
to implement. For these reasons, France adopted a
model o voluntary civil service as its best option.
Goals were established or the numbers o young
people to be involved, a budget was developed and a
government body was put in charge o implementing
the civil service program.
Overall, the most successul aspects o the French
youth service program have been communication
through inormation campaigns and online network-
ing, the development o the program and its evalua-
tion via post-service questionnaires. Through national
service young people have gained job skills and have
received monetary compensation, both o which
help to alleviate poverty and open up new opportuni-
ties or individuals. Young people are developing a
positive view o the private sector, which is actively
involved with NYS, providing work experience op-
portunities and other support such as unding youth
service abroad.
Presented by Amiral Alain Bereau, a member o the
French Society Analysis Council, speaking on the
fndings o his report on the uture o civic service
in France.
NYS in Israel: Sustaining citizenshipMilitary service is compulsory in Israel, except or the
Arab minority, Jewish women and ultra-orthodox men
and women. Civic service was originally created just
or ultra-orthodox Jewish women, but was expanded
in 2008 to include all women, Arabs, ultra-orthodox
Jews, and conscientious objectors.
While service programs had existed in Israel or 40
years beorehand, there had never been a uniorm
law by which they were governed. The basic tenet othe Israeli program is to promote equality between
social groups. It ollows government guidelines and is
independent rom deense establishments. Volunteers
receive compensation and volunteer within their own
communities, and the whole endeavor is monitored
by a public advisory board.
Most volunteers are serving in the education eld,
with the next most popular elds being health and
welare. Through the program youth learn condence,
patriotism and citizenship, which develops into a type
o cyclical citizenship: ater spending time in the
national youth service program, young people inter-
nalize the concept o citizenship and are motivated to
serve their country consistently.
The government is oten very unwilling to support
NYS because it means one more project or them,
but they must understand that in the long run, these
programs are important or strengthening the nation.
Presented by Reuven Gal, Head o the Authority or
National Civic Service and Lior Shohat, Manager o
Public Aairs, Authority or National Civic Service.
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
16/55
1 4 I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Yo u t h S e r v i c e s
Designing Youth Service Policy and Programs or Dierent Purposes
A range o youth service program models are used in dierent countries, demonstrating how service can
help achieve a number o dierent goals. These include developing youth service to strengthen non-protorganizations, using national youth service to support development, using national youth service as a
oundation or training and employment, and ostering cooperation between government and civil society
through youth service.
National youth service in support o the non-proft sector
The Voluntary Social Year and Voluntary Ecological year are two national youth service programs in
Germany that were initiated in 1959 and consolidated in 1964 by the Volunteering or Youth Act. Sterenn
Coudray, Secretary General o the EFYSO in Germany, described how by the 1990s, these programs were open
to all European countries and by 2002 they had emerged as an alternative to conscription.
Most volunteers work in public schools and other institutions o public education. There are also opportunities
or young people to work in hospitals or nursing homes, in organizations ocused on preserving culture, or to
work or a political party. Service programs abroad are an alternative to conscription and are subsidized by the
government.
The program is supported by the Federal Ministry or Families, Seniors, Women and Youth, which provides
a legislative ramework, makes available grants or programs supporting education in Germany, and sets
up the arrangements with supporting organizations. Specic regions o Germany provide nancial support
and acilitate the working relationships with partner organizations. The program depends on intermediary
organizations that advocate or NYS programs, nd participants and provide training. A undamental rule or
partner organizations is that they must not replace a worker or a job with a volunteer or a service program, so
that employment does not suer as a result o the National Youth Service.
According to Hinrich Goos, Project Leader or the Voluntary Ecological Year in Germany, both theVoluntary Social Year and Voluntary Ecological year are unded largely by the government, with the Ecological
Year receiving much more state unding than the Social Year.
The government is ocused on the proven benets o national youth service and tracks how many young
people keep working in the non-prot sector as a result o their participation in Voluntary Ecological Year.
Surveys were conducted to measure the eectiveness o the program, taking note o how many participants
continued working in it (with or without pay) and how many continued working in the nonprot sector more
Italy: Running national youth service at home and abroadThe national youth service in Italy was ounded in 2001, though Italy has had a national service program or conscien-
tious objectors since 1972. A strong demand to provide opportunities or service both inside the country and abroad
helped to push or the creation o both international and national service programs in Italy.
The main elds o the Italian National Civic Service are human needs, emergency relie, environmental protection,
international service abroad, culture and education. To participate in national youth service, young people rst present
projects and apply or one project rom the NYS program. Local NGOs then accept them into their respective programs.
The purposes o the Italian National Civic Service are the unarmed deense o the nation, promotion o solidarity,
protection o the environment and Italys unique artistic heritage, and the civic, cultural and vocational development
o the young people. The programs are largely evaluated by the NGOs because they have the best tools to assess the
programs and the records o money spent.
Presented by Licio Palazzini, President o Arci Servizio Civile.
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
17/55
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 1 5
generally. The survey ound that the great majority o participants would like to continue working with the
Voluntary Ecological Year program, but are unable to do so because they cannot support themselves without
compensation. At the same time, it was ound that many NGOs were ounded by people who had participated
in the program and many o these are project leaders or voluntary service.
It has been recommended that tax reorm is necessary to make work in the non-prot sector a viable and
sustainable career. This will help to promote youth volunteerism and participation in the non-prot sector,
and will ensure the continued development o much-needed NGOs.
National Youth Service or development
The National Volunteer Service in Burkina Faso was established in 2001, the International Year o the
Volunteer, as a result o increased political willpower, which was combined with a movement to improve
employment in the nation and the eorts o a number o NGOs. According to Helene Agnelli, a urther
project was launched in 2006 to bring volunteer groups together and with the adoption o a new law, the
National Volunteer Corps was established in Burkina Faso.
Six well-known NGOs were selected as regional volunteer centers to create strong program structures, to
train and support volunteers, to manage them administratively and nancially, review applications, promote
volunteering, and raise unds. Groupement dInteret Public was created to manage volunteers, make laws, and
campaign or support or the programs. The ounding members o this institution were states represented byministers, the Regional and Municipal Association o Burkina Faso, the National Service or Development,
and others.
Burkina Fasos national voluntary program aims to ght poverty, work towards the achievement o the
Millennium Development Goals, promote good governance by maximizing voluntary engagement and civil
society participation in politics, and to uniy the citizenry. Volunteer sectors include education, health,
environment, anti-desertication, economic development and community development. Programs are
primarily nanced by the government, but other partners are being sought.
National Youth Service as a oundation or training and employment
Two examples were provided o how National Youth Service can link with youth employment objectives
one rom Kenya and the other rom Jamaica.
Japheth Mwania, Director oNational Youth Service in Kenya, explained that the vision o NYS Kenya is to
be a world class institution in training and imparting skills, knowledge and attitude to young people, as well as
creating an environment where youth can learn and integrate into society.
Young people undertake economically valuable projects such as the construction o houses and dams, amine
and disaster relie, environmental preservation, working in public schools and hospitals, and providing military
support.
There are three options or vocational training: artisan, crat and diploma training. Young people have the
opportunity to gain hands-on job training by working on projects that are real, relevant and important to
Kenyas development. With this training, youth have better chances at success in the job market, an improved
sense o citizenship, and a commitment to service. The ocus o the program is direct service; sel discoveryand integration come as byproducts o engagement in the NYS program, and its secondary mission is the
involvement o youth in social programs o the government, and the development o citizenship.
In Jamaica the NYS began in 1973 as a mandatory part o the secondary education system. It was part o the
social sector o the government and though it was discontinued in 1983, by 1998 National Youth Service was
established permanently by law.
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
18/55
1 6 I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Y o u t h S e r v i c e s
According to Adinhair Jones, Executive Director o Jamaicas National Youth Service, the program has three
missions: to help youth gain work experience; to encourage a sense o responsibility, sel respect and service;
and to promote discipline, democracy, citizenship and cooperation among participants. Jamaica has a large
problem with youth delinquency, which is driven by unrealistic expectations o youth by society, most notably
in the pre-occupation with achieving employment. National Youth Service gives young people a pathway or
getting job training and nding alternatives to crime or making a living.. Challenges aced in Jamaica include
orging partnerships between organizations, collecting evidence o the eectiveness o the NYS, processing
inormation and expanding the youth service within the constraints o limited acilities.
Fostering cooperation between government and civil society through youth service
Susan Stroud, Executive Director o ICP and a ounding member o the US youth service program,
AmeriCorps, described its design and implementation as a voluntary program that is unded by Congress to
meet public needs in education, saety, health and the environment.
Administered by the Corporation or National and Community Service, a government department which runs
the program, the ederal government works closely with states, which in turn work closely with local non-
prot organizations and NGOs to orm partnerships or youth volunteering.
There are three branches o AmeriCorps: First, the State and National Branch works towards education,
environment, health, housing, and disaster response needs and is sponsored by thousands o local and nationalnon-prot organizations such as Habitat or Humanity and City Year. Second, AmeriCorps VISTA is the
poverty-ghting arm o AmeriCorps, working with low-income individuals and communities to alleviate
poverty. Third, the NCCC is a residential program that works on ve campuses around the country to provide
disaster relie, reghters and food relie.
The objectives o AmeriCorps are to impact on communities and participants, and bring communities
together. With President Obamas new National Service plan, AmeriCorps hopes to expand to create many
more opportunities, include more participants, and engage a wider range o ages in the program.
Scaling up NYS rom local to national levels
While some NYS programs begin as
government initiatives, others begin throughNGOs that then try to get government
unding to scale up the programs. Attracting
both public and private unding is a
common important element to expanding
and sustaining NYS programs. Even when
governments have committed unds, it is
necessary to convince them to keep unding
NYS by showing its eectiveness. Also
crucial to scaling up is the need to creative
positive attitudes towards service and oster
the recognition o youth service as a strategy
or nation-building and development.
Licio Palazzini, President oArci Servizio Civilein Italy, described how NYS in Italy is currently an optional
investment by the national government. In times o economic crisis, unding may be cut, making it dicult to
develop long-term and concrete plans or the development o the NYS. What the Italian NYS needs in order
to scale up is to ensure that unding does not decrease in the coming years despite the economic crisis. This it
hopes to achieve by encouraging private investment. There is also a need to shit the ocus rom the regions to
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
19/55
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 1 7
the centre without losing sight o dened goals. Lastly, Italy seeks to nd a way to encourage youth to continue
serving ater their initial project is over, and to make service a pillar o society. One aspect o this eort is to
encourage young people to develop their own projects in order to build a unied and strong sense o Italian
and European citizenship.
In Cambodia, three actors combined to launch YouthStar Cambodia: the need or a higher appreciation or
volunteerism, the need or a stronger education system, and the need to nd a way o engaging and mobilizing
the majority youth population in Cambodia. According to Catherine Cecil, Communications and Policy
Advisor or YouthStar Cambodia, the program goals are to build social capital, develop young leaders, provide
resources to meet critical needs, promote voluntary service as a nation-building strategy, and to implement
innovative programs.
With 72 volunteers to date, YouthStar Cambodia is a young and relatively small program that aces challenges
with unding, program evaluation, gaining recognition or the work
o the volunteers, and recruitment in a society where service is
misunderstood and undervalued. To scale up its eorts, YouthStar has
added branches in every province in Cambodia, and is now working
with the government to develop the nations rst youth policy which
includes national youth service. There is no plan yet or becoming a
national program, but YouthStar and the national government are
working together towards developing Cambodia. A crucial part othe scaling up eorts is creating a positive attitude towards service
by developing a national context to underline the importance o
service programs and the value o volunteering or everyone involved.
YouthStars ultimate goal is the creation o an active youth citizenry
that is involved in policy, decision making, and development.
In South Arica, the NYS began through a small NGO in 2002 to
address unemployment issues, and then began pursuing government
unding in 2005 because o the increase in volunteer numbers.
According to Nthuseng Mphahlele, Head o the National Youth
Service Unit, this coincided with a change in policy which was marked
by a ocus on leadership, and youth service was recognized as a criticalvehicle or the development o leadership.
The National Youth Service Units (NYSU) rameworks are aligned with government organizations and it has
succeeded in gaining recognition or youth service as a critical problem-solving and nation-building strategy.
The NYS ocus areas are youth job training, higher education volunteering and programs that involve all
youth and adults. NYS has already been recognized by the government as a critical player in development, and
the NYSU plans to target the government anti-poverty initiative in upcoming eorts.
Nthuseng Mphahlele describes the key to scaling up as ensuring that higher education programs integrate
service and service learning, scaling up fagship projects, and spreading projects to more areas o the country.
Direct unding rom the national treasury as well as increased unding rom private sector partnerships will
allow or the creation o wage subsidies and stipends, making service a easible option or more South Aricans.
The NYSU also hopes to cover a wider range o issues with its projects, such as anti-poverty, working with
disabled people, and implementing programs in correctional institutions. However, its current unding model
inhibits growth because government departments are implementing the NYS programs, and this limits the
NYSUs ability to oversee and manage projects.
The Conerence has been very
inormative, because the government o Barbados
is going to develop a NYS program, so were
looking at best practices and models that exist in
other countries so that we can learn rom others
experiences. Coming out o this conerence,
I have better inormation to advise the
government o Barbados to implement a national
youth service program.
Hally Hanes, Director o Youth, Ministry o Family,
Youth, Sports and Environment, Barbados
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
20/55
1 8
I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Y o u t h S e r v i c e s
Demonstrating the value o investing in NYS
Since the end o mandatory service in France, the country has been unable to create an eective and all-
inclusive program that runs on a voluntary basis. Because youth service programs tend to be ragile and
unstable, Unis-Cit works with business and public ocials to amiliarize them with NYS organizations and to
ensure that these are supported to unction eectively. In order to prove the worth o NYS, a research program
was carried out o the Unis-Cit youth service program to demonstrate that it is worthy o the investment o
public time and money.
Valerie Bequet o the Universit de Cergy/Pontoise in France was the evaluator o Unis-Cit and described
how the study took place in two parts: surveys were conducted o individual participants and surveys were also
conducted with organizations that were hosting the young servers. The individual volunteer component was alongitudinal study that surveyed youth at the start o their voluntary service, at the end, and six months later.
The organization component involved a qualitative study that measured the impacts o programs, analyzed the
data, and examined how unds are spent. The data were used to persuade policy makers that NYS is a valuable
and productive experience, and to evaluate how public unds should be allocated.
Strengthening program quality through monitoring and evaluation
A dierent evaluation model was developed by Students Partnerships Worldwide (SPW), which is a
collection o organizations in eight countries in Sub-Saharan Arica, South Asia, the United Kingdom, the
United States, and Australia.
According to James Foanah, Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator or Students Partnerships WorldwideSierra Leone, the primary objective o SPW programs is peer reproductive health education. Perormance
is measured against goals that are established and communicated to each regional oce, with individual
programs being accountable or producing results. Daily, weekly and monthly progress reports and reporting
orms are completed. In addition, structured surveys are conducted as well as ocus groups and long-term case
studies, to gather inormation that is evaluated, discussed and disseminated.
More and more, National Youth Service programs are being challenged to provide evidence o their impact
on young people and on the wellbeing o the countries in which they operate. Dierent evaluation modelscan be used to measure the impact o NYS programs, both on participants and on the community. At least
six examples o NYS evaluation approaches were presented at the Conerence. Participants learned about
the outcomes o various impact assessments and discussed the implications or their own NYS programs as
well as or the eld o NYS as a whole.
mau ipa naal Yu s Pa
Papa a cuy
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
21/55
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 1 9
The reporting ramework involves an
intricate network o local, regional,
national, and international oces
that compile their individual reports
into an annual report o consolidated
inormation about the programs status
and progress. This orm o evaluation
takes commitment, time and eort at alllevels to compile, review and consolidate
reports.
SPWs experience is that it can be dicult
to obtain consistent nancial support rom
donors to invest in young people leading,
measuring and evaluating perormance.
These challenges make it dicult to
implement thorough monitoring and
evaluation systems on a regular basis,
but by advocating or investment in
evaluation and integrating evaluation into the bers o its program system, SPW has succeeded in developing
a comprehensive evaluation method or the program overall.
Measuring youth service impact against national data
The loveLie groundBREAKER youth service program in South Arica ocuses on HIV/AIDS awareness and
prevention through youth-ocused campaigns and peer education. In 2006, loveLie commissioned a study
to determine whether graduates o the program went on to study or nd jobs, whether they retained their
commitment to community service and leadership, and what they perceived the value o the program to be.
The study involved a survey o a representative sample o young people who had participated in the
groundBREAKER program. According to Helene Perold, Executive Director oVolunteer and Service
Enquiry Southern Arica (VOSESA), which carried out the study, the challenge was that loveLie had no
baseline data against which the impact o the program could be measured. A comparison prole was thus setup or the study, using comparable national data drawn rom other studies. The quantitative nature o the data
rom loveLie study made it possible to compare those results with other statistical data relevant to the general
South Arican youth population.
These strategies produced a sel-assessed impact study that could be compared with national data to evaluate
program success. It ound that these youth service program graduates went on to study urther than the
national average, had better employment prospects and were more involved in voluntary service at community
level in the long term.
The experience underscores the importance o gathering baseline data at the start o youth service programs. It
was also pointed out that the measurements taken by loveLie demonstrate the attitudes o the youth themselves,
but do not address the cost-eectiveness questions that investors and policy makers will be likely to ask.
The importance o rigorous evidence o youth service impact
Steve Powell, the Director oProMENTE in Bosnia Herzegovina reported on a study conducted or the
Association o Voluntary Service Organisations (AVSO) in which ProMENTE collected and analyzed 300
report documents, only 50 o which provided evaluation o the impact o long-term voluntary service. He
noted that impact studies very oten do not have the methodological teeth to demonstrate that voluntary
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
22/55
2 0 I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Yo u t h S e r v i c e s
service is eective and worthwhile.
It is not enough to have a good
website and happy volunteers:
there needs to be concrete
demonstration o the impacts o
voluntary service.
Steve Powell argued that it is
not sucient to ask volunteers
i they eel they benetted rom
the program or i they would like
to continue volunteering. Real
evidence depends on identiying
the most signicant changes
achieved by the program, mapping
outcomes, conducting qualitative
studies, and calculating direct
estimates o economic benet
and benets to the served. The
World Bank holds that service is
promising but not proven, and is looking or proo not just that youth are better o ater the program, but that
it was the service that had the positive eect. Thereore, in addition to pre- and post-service comparison, it is
also necessary to compare youth who participated in the service program with a sample o their peers who did
not. It is important to measure actors such as how the program aects the employability o youth, their lie
skills, knowledge o issues, independence and leadership, in comparison with peers who did not participate.
Such comparative data can provide solid evidence or program eectiveness.
To assist others in the more rigorous assessment o youth service program impact, AVSO provides
denitions o key terms and a volunteerism impact measurement portal via its website. The measurement
portal is ree to service and voluntarism organizations, and includes a tool pool o questionnaires and
methods available to all.
Developing the youth service research feld
In the discussion that ollowed, Susan Stroud reported that ICP and the World Banks Children and Youth
unit hosted an international experts meeting at the World Bank to identiy gaps in the existing research on
youth service and to develop a research agenda to move youth service rom a promising but unproven to a
proven strategy or development. In ollow-up to that meeting, ICP is working with international experts to
develop tools or high-quality impact evaluation o youth service programs to highlight the impact o youth
service and encourage urther investment in the eld.
The platorm or Belgian Citizen Services has approached economists and is developing workshop or
evaluating the economic benets o NYS, using data that shows the cost o endowing participants with certain
skills or knowledge, and then mapping the economic benets o the participants transormation to society.
Participants indicated that it is also necessary to measure dierent variables within youth service organizations
such as employee training, managers, etc. This way, program ineectiveness that stems rom internal
operational weaknesses are not attributed to the program design, and problems can be addressed at their
source. Separating out the variables helps to distinguish between the need or changes within the organization
versus the organization as a whole.
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
23/55
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 2 1
Public and private unding required to renew Kenyan NYS
The National Youth Service in Kenya provides various types o job training or participants, contributes to
emergency and disaster operations, and undertakes construction projects that serve various national interests.
The NYS is unded through several sources. The government annual budget covers recurrent and development
expenditures. Income generating activities like construction and electricity services provide a revenue fow
into the organization, but the declining condition o machinery has resulted in a decreased demand or these
services. The service receives external unding rom countries like Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and the
United Kingdom.
GK Somba Kivalya, the Deputy Secretary in the Kenyan Ministry o Youth Aairs, argued that the qualitative
value return o the service is ar more than the government unding would suggest. I all o the service
participants entered the job market to be employed at the national average output per worker, there would
be $475 million USD added to the countrys GDP. Furthermore, the NYS group works more cheaply than
proessionals and could help the government save money.
However, the government does not suciently und the costs o volunteer training, and thus is not getting
its ull return on the volunteers. The NYS aces a lack o appropriate construction and training equipment, a
shortage o sta, low budgetary allocation and a lack o interest rom development partners. Other constraints
are an inadequate policy ramework or the national youth service and a lack o employment opportunities
or program graduates. The program needs more unding to buy essentials like ood and uel, and to build sta
capacity or training and management. The service also requires bilateral technical assistance or capacitybuilding. These needs necessitate the securing o private sector investment in the absence o adequate
government unding.
Funding NYS programs rom the public purse raises a number o issues concerning public costs and unding
strategies. These include questions o sustainability, making sure that the services provided by young peoplemeet public needs, and ensuring that youth service does not revolve around narrow political or economic
interest.
Five examples o public unding strategies or NYS were presented at the Conerence. The examples dier
widely, but all demonstrate that national youth service cannot rely on public unding alone. And while
the question o return on the investment in youth service is pertinent, some speakers questioned the cost
o NOT investing in youth service.
exa Pul c a fu
naal Yu s
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
24/55
2 2 I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Yo u t h S e r v i c e s
The social costs o not unding NYS in Jamaica
Jamaica has the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the
world and has experienced only 1% o GDP growth
over the past 30 years. While 16% o the budget goes
towards education, the returns on this investment
are low compared to other Caribbean countries. Both
public sector and private sector income been growing
in Jamaica, and so the NYS is looking or strongerpublic-private partnerships to strengthen its resource
base. The increased government commitment to
NYS indicates the government is willing to play a role
in such a partnership.
Adinhair Jones, Executive Director o the Jamaican
National Youth Service, said that a good cost-
benet analysis o NYS or Jamaica is the cost o
incarceration o youth. The government spends
J$500,000 on inmates, while the cost o NYS in that same timerame is J$130,000. Additionally, according
to a 2003 World Bank report, juvenile crime costs citizens East Caribbean$208,000 per year, and every 1%
increase in crime causes a decrease o one hal to three-quarters o a percent in tourism, one o Jamaicasmain industries. Adinhair Jones argues that the social costs o not unding NYS, such as prison costs, loss in
productivity and industry due to violence, costs o crime, and costs o poverty, translate into economic costs
as well. This act is increasingly being recognized in Jamaica and internationally. Going orward, a loan and a
social grant rom the International Development Bank will provide a combined added contribution o over J$1
billion, which, combined with an increase in government unding by roughly the same amount, will cause a
large boost in Jamaicas NYS.
There are three models in Jamaica or unding NYS: the private sector can pay a participants stipend, the
government or NGO gives the participant assistance, or the placement that the participant receives gives a
guaranteed position to the participant to become a consultant or a mentor to the organization. Jamaica also
has a strong marketing and media campaign or NYS, which has been helpul in garnering public attention,
attracting private sector interest, and drawing government support.
Reducing the visibility o government in UK youth service programs
v in the UK is a youth-led charity. It is designed to implement a new ramework that was developed through
the Russell Commission, a joint eort o the chie o an energy company and the British government. The
program was largely designed around the idea that a government-sponsored service program would be a turn-
o to youth in the UK who do not want to be told what to do by the government.
v is charged with creating a step change in the quality, quantity, and diversity o youth service programs in
the UK. According to Tracy Herald, the Head o Policy and Projects, v is completely youth-led, with its own
youth advisory board and youth on the Board o Trustees. Among vs responsibilities are generating private
sector investment, creating marketing and awareness campaigns, and unding third sector organizations. The
v core grant comes rom the UK government (the Oce o the Third Sector) and unds short-term, part-time,and ull-time youth volunteering activities and projects.
One o the organizations most successul initiatives is the v match und, which matches corporate
contributions with equal v unds. This generates double the money and double the impact by inspiring the
private sector. Other v operations include its website, marketing campaigns, and research and evaluation. So
ar the program has been very eective in increasing service capacity, achieving sustainability, and having a
strong community impact.
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
25/55
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 2 3
Using youth service to strengthen livelihoods and support peace Aghanistan
The Joint National Youth Service Program (JYNP) in Aghanistan
was born out o the extremely large youth population in that country,
and the need to increase youth participation in governance, civil
society, development, and peace-building. According to Zardasht
Shams, the Director o Planning and External Aairs in the Ministry
o Inormation and Culture in Aghanistan, the our components o the
program are: strengthening governmental capacity to respond to youthneeds; promoting non-ormal education and awareness or developing
skills; promoting volunteerism as a method or peace and development;
and engaging youth in governance, development, social, and political
processes at all political levels.
Funding or the JYNP has nearly doubled since the programs
inception, but comes nearly entirely rom international donors such
as USAID, UNDP, CIDA, UNICEF, UNV and UNESCO. National
partners include the Ministries o Education; Inormation, Culture
and Youth; Labor and Social Aairs; Higher Education; Rural
Rehabilitation and Development; and Womens Aairs, as well as
other civil society groups. The JYNP reaches 20,000 youth per yearwith youth development centers, district level youth councils, and
youth communication and inormation centers equipped with internet
and technological training opportunities.
Zardasht Shams said that while terrorists attempt to recruit youth or
their own eorts, the JYNP seeks to counteract this and provide young
people with alternatives through religious and traditional institutions,
workshops, condence building, building aith in peace, and teamwork.
Public-private partnerships drive youth service unding in Italy
The National Civic Service in Italy is unded by a combination o public and private support. Government
unding or the NYS in Italy comes through the National Oce, under the responsibility o the Prime
Minister. 85% o the government budget or the NYS is or supporting the volunteers, 10% goes to training
activities and 5% is allocated to managing the work o the NYS. However, the government unding makes up
only a percentage o the total budget or NYS projects, which are run by local non-prot organizations.
There are many dierent models o how local organizations run the NYS projects and what percentage o their
budget and unding comes rom the National Oce. For example, an organization such as Caritas has many
programs in addition the NYS project, and the government unding supports only a percentage o their NYS
projects. On the other hand, Licio Palazzini, the President oArci Servizio Civile, explained that all o the
programs o his organization are NYS-related. 85% o their unding comes through local private organizations,
and the only public unding they receive rom the National Oce is to support part o the cost o training
volunteers. For each volunteer, Arci Servizio Civile spends 250 on training, management, support, etc, and
they receive only 90 per volunteer rom the government towards training activities.
NYS volunteers receive a stipend, which is paid directly to the volunteers by the government. This helps
to avoid misallocation o unds. In addition, having the stipends go directly to the volunteers rom the
government also helps to reinorce the public nature o the NYS program and emphasizes that the volunteer is
providing a public service.
Aghanistan has been at war
or thirty years. 60-65% o the population in
Aghanistan are young people. One can create
a national program or youth to augment the
capacity o young people. Here at the conerence,
people get together, get to know each other, and
exchange their cultures I think I will use the idea
o NYS or the young Aghanis to understand what
exactly volunteering means... The NYS idea will help
Aghanistan in many aspects. It is better to send
youth rom one province to another province and
learn what national service is. We do not have too
much money, but it is very important to fnd the
unding or the NYS project. I young people fnd the
idea o NYS interesting, it will encourage them and
help them to learn the value o national service over
personal service.
Zaher Gauss, Deputy Minister, Ministry o Inormation
and Culture, Aghanistan (Translated rom French)
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
26/55
24 I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Yo u t h S e r v i c e s
While research shows that
or every Euro spent on NYS
it produces 1.8 in return,
the government still ails to
consistently allocate large
amounts o unding to the NYS.
Additionally, this model o high
return is only possible i largenumbers o participants can
be included, making the need
or unding in Italy much more
proound.
Conclusion
All these examples demonstrate
the need or more than just
public unding or NYS, whether
it is private additional unding,
revenue-generated unding,or support rom international governments and organizations. This can raise the issue o balance between
dierent unding sources, and whether the NYS program is perceived as a state-run or private program.
The issue o return on investment is also signicant or governments in deciding to und NYS. The cases
o Jamaica and Aghanistan argued the cost o NOT investing in youth through service programs by looking
at the costs associated with crime and incarceration, and the threat o recruitment o youth by terrorist
groups, respectively. The Kenyan case argued the need or governments to invest ully in NYS so as to provide
adequate training and support, otherwise government will not get the ull value rom the young servers.
Finally, although research has shown a return on investment o 1.8 or every Euro spent in on the NYS
in Italy, that program still struggles to persuade government to allocate sucient unds or NYS.
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
27/55
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 2 5
Productive partnerships are mutually benefcial
City Year is a youth service program that ocuses on educational issues in the United States, addressing
dropout rates, ailing grades, and literacy. Working in cities with low turnouts o high school graduates, City
Year mobilizes a volunteer corps that works to build young peoples skills and condence to succeed in school
and beyond.
City Year has very strong partnerships with private organizations and, according to Robert Gordon, the Senior
Vice President o Civic Leadership at City Year, this is essential to sustain service programs in America. City
Year is a $16 million organization that receives 3% o its unding rom the government via AmeriCorps,
and 70% rom the corporate sector. There are nine national leadership sponsors, namely Timberland, CSX,
Comcast, T-Mobile, and others that contribute to City Years leadership development. Volunteers rom all 156teams wear uniorms provided by Timberland: boots, pants, hats, etc., so they are immediately recognized in
schools and on worksites.
City Year looks or three criteria in corporate partners: dedication to the community; the ability to contribute
intellectual as well as nancial capital; and talented employees. One goal o these partnerships is the
cultivation o a strong relationship where the company invests more than just money. City Year and its
corporate partners are mutually invested in one another. City Year has survived three economic recessions,
largely because philanthropic companies continue to ocus on organizations they believe in, despite the
economic situation.
Patrick Baboin, Vice President o the Timberland Company USA/France, explained that Timberlands
motto o Doing Well, and Doing Good, speaks to the socially conscious aspects o the companys prole.
The relationship between Timberland and City Year began as a donation o a couple hundred pairs o boots
and grew into a major unding program. City Year is deeply engrained in the culture o the company and the
workers. Even when Timberland nearly went bankrupt in 1995, it never stopped unding City Year and even
increased the amount o unding during that time. Baboin said that the nature o the relationship would have
made it criminal to terminate the partnership.
Philanthropic leaders rom private sector organizations demonstrated the innovative ways in which they
have partnered with organizations to support youth civic engagement programs. The panelists discussedtrends in NYS corporate philanthropy and implications or increasing private sector investment in NYS
programs and the youth civic engagement eld.
Four themes emerged in this part o the Conerence: the importance o mutually benecial partnerships,
helping young people access employment and business skills, leadership and program development, and
building strong organizations and programs to improve the lives o young people.
sula Pa s i
naal Yu s
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
28/55
26 I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Yo u t h S e r v i c e s
An important eature o City Years relationship with its corporate partners is that the private sector does
not infuence the type o service that is done. For this reason it is crucial that Timberland trusts and ully
understands the City Year program. One o the key activities that strengthens the partnership is the days
o service, during which employees work with youth involved in service programs. This helps Timberland
employees see the benets o the organization that they are working to und. The two entities become
increasingly tied together and their commitment to one another is solidied. The partnership with City Year
makes Timberland employees proud o what they do, and rearms the mission o the company itsel to provide
socially conscious apparel.
Helping young people access employment and business skills
Chantal Monvois o Fondation VINCI pour la Cit described how Fondation VINCI works to create
links between companies and civic organizations with two objectives in mind: increasing youth access to
employment and creating social connections. The methods or enabling youth to maximize their access to
employment are helping organizations such as those dealing with drug or accident rehabilitation, which help
individuals re-claim their lives; helping organizations that improve literacy; and increasing social mobility
by helping people to escape poverty. The methods used to create social connections involve creating support
groups among the impoverished and the unemployed; increasing access to housing; and aiding Unis-Cit in its
youth civic engagement eorts.
The partnership between Fondation VINCI and Unis-Cit began in 2002, and VINCI has been a consistentnancial supporter o the youth service program. The relevance o Unis-Cits programs in promoting youth
employability and providing direct services to the community makes it an ideal partner or VINCI. A union
between the salaried workers o VINCI and the social actors o Unis-Cit allows or the combination o skills,
manpower and knowledge to create new business ideas, such as ecological car washes. Youth benet rom these
programs through support rom proessionals, working in teams, discovering their career passion, and having
access to a source o employability, while VINCI benets by being able to connect salaried workers with a
young and motivated population, and by creating a more capable, ambitious workorce that is invested in
service and in VINCI itsel. Employees become more strongly connected, loyal and committed to their jobs,
and to service.
Developing youth leadership or youth service internationallyThe Open Society Institute (OSI) is a private operating and grant-making oundation that aims to shape
public policy and promote democracy, human rights, and economic, social, and legal reorm. OSI is ounded by
George Soros and operates in over 60 countries, making grants and monitoring the use o the donated money.
Through OSI-sponsored programs, youth are empowered to become active citizens by engaging in debate,
citizen journalism, and sel-designed service projects.
Anne Campbell, an OSI representative, described one o the key programs unded by OSI as the
Undergraduate Exchange Program. This enables university students to study abroad in the United States,
participate in service projects in the US, and then take what they learn back to their home countries
and undertake service projects there. Participants develop skills such as project planning and identiying
community needs, supported by a small grant rom OSI. While programs such as this one are very expensive,
the challenge is to attract strong leaders, and make sure that the maximum dollar value o results is created inthe short and long run.
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
29/55
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 2 7
Building strong organizations and programs to improve the lives o young people
The International Youth Foundation (IYF)
supports local eorts around the world to
improve the lives o young people, working
to better the conditions in which they live
and enhancing their prospects or the uture.
IYF builds alliances across sectors to leverage
knowledge, resources and experiences todisseminate best practices and strategies. The
IYF has worked with hundreds o companies,
oundations and NGOs to build up eective
programs and to establish strong partnerships.
Alan Williams, the Vice President o the
Leadership and Civic Engagement Center at
the IYF, said that multi-sector partnerships are
critical because global challenges require unique
experiences rom every sector. Corporate sector
support is essential or locking in resources in a community and in turn, healthy communities will better be
able to support the corporate sector. Working somewhat dierently rom the partnership between Timberlandand City Year, IYF believes in a policy o co-creation, where all partners collaborate on designing and
implementing programs. Programs should also have local relevance, be rooted in the local youth need, and be
fexible to allow or exclusive corporate branding. In IYFs view, there are three key principles or a successul
partnership: measurement o individual and societal program outcomes; ensuring that international multi-
sector alliances are built; and commitment to quality design, execution, and monitoring o relationships.
Nokia serves as a good case study or the IYFs
model o a corporate partnership. Nokia
has been an IYF partner or over nine years,
working with six dierent youth development
themes, which ocus on youth citizenship,
social entrepreneurship, technology,education, and employability. The program
links youth initiative to Nokias connecting
people brand and values. The glue o the
partnership between IYF and Nokia are
the shared goals and values between the
two organizations. Both are optimistic yet
concerned about the youth demographics
and trends, and are invested in the spirit o
co-creation, local relevance, and measurement
o impact.
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
30/55
28
I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o r N a t i o n a l Yo u t h S e r v i c e s
Restoring the tradition o service through youth
The Make a Connection program o the International Youth Foundation works in dierent countries to
ensure that youth are more equipped to make meaningul connections within their communities andwith other youth. Karin Akins described how in Central and Eastern Europe, programs seek to restore the
tradition o service that was interrupted during the communist years. Youth compete or small grants to
implement volunteer projects in their communities. In the Czech Republic, these grants are a vehicle or
youth who are socially and economically vulnerable, have disabilities or identiy themselves as lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ), to engage their peers and benet their communities. The
IYF strives to include participants o diverse ethnic, socioeconomic, gender/sexual orientation and physical
backgrounds. The youth gain skills in creative and critical thinking, problem solving, confict management,
and interpersonal interactions, as well as a sense o sel condence and belonging.
Overcoming discrimination in schools
Hungary has one o the most segregated school systems in Europe. Achievement is largely dependent on astudents socioeconomic status and so there are great inequalities within schools in Hungary. Rita Galambos,
the Executive Director o the Foundation or Democratic Youth (DIA) in Hungary, explained how a Peace
Corps volunteer, Richard Harrill, realized that Hungarys transitional state presented special opportunities
or youth activism in building and developing their communities. Out o this has grown the mission o DIA,
which is to instill active citizenship through experiential learning, service learning and community projects.
DIA is one o the Make a Connection programs unded by Nokia through IYF. The organization provides
young people with a creative outlet that cannot be ound in schools. They dream up a service project and DIA
helps them turn this project into reality through project management and minimal unding. Most o the DIA
participants comprise middle class students that want to be useul in society, but DIA osters social inclusion by
extending these opportunities to disadvantaged youth. The program ocuses on building lie and employability
skills such as cooperation, empathy, leadership, confict resolution, problem solving, critical thinking, sel
esteem and social awareness. These qualities are not prioritized in schools and the program thus plays an
important role in developing well-rounded young people.
How can NYS be utilized as a strategy or social inclusion o disadvantaged groups? And how can NYS
programs become more inclusive and accessible or all groups? Three case studies were presented to
show how participation in NYS can be benecial to members o disadvantaged groups as well as to the
communities in which they are located.
naal Yu s a a say
sal ilu
-
8/6/2019 IANYS 8th Conference Report
31/55
P r o c e e d i n g s o t h e 8 t h G l o b a l C o n e r e n c e 2 9
Promoting social cohesion through service
The Roma are a gypsy population
in Eastern Europe which aces
extensive discrimination.
John Stringham o the Roma-
Gadje Dialogue through
Service (RGDTS) in Germany
described how the Roma areoten categorized as mentally
disabled and are discriminated
against in the schools, which
are heavily segregated. As a
result, they receive unequal
access to education. RGDTS
works predominantly in Roma
areas, engaging youth in
ecological projects or in eorts
with disabled people. These
opportunities give Roma youth
a chance to experience their
communities and to prove to
the world that they are not any
less caring or capable than any
other population in the world.
Mr. Stringham showed a lm
that portrayed the lie