KATHMANDU: Stakeholders from 14 local governments from all seven provinces have pledged to enhance investment in youth and actively promote Youth-Friendly Local Governance (YFLG) in the Capacity Enhancement Program for the promotion of the YFLG campaign.
The participants have formulated an action plan to connect youth concerns with the local governance system and foster their active participation, involvement, and cooperation to promote youth rights in the country.
A three-day capacity-building program was conducted from 1-3 November 2023 in Chitwan to chart out a concrete way forward for this campaign with the ownership of the Local Governments.
A total of 42 representatives, three from each selected Rural/Municipalities representing locally elected youth representatives, heads of youth-related local structure, and executive committee members, were present in the program.
The program which was conducted with the ownership of the National Youth Council of the Nepal Government, and financial and technical assistance from UNDP and Jagriti Child and Youth Concern Nepal, was facilitated by Dipesh Ghimire and Mina Sharma.
Tilottam Paudel, President of Jagriti Child and Youth Concern Nepal and an Executive Member of the National Youth Council, stated that the program aims to strengthen the skills and commitment of local government representatives and staff, promote youth-friendly initiatives at the grassroots level, and facilitate the sharing of local-level experiences.
Kamala Gyawali, the Under Secretary of the National Youth Council, presented an overview of the council and encouraged the participants to execute the YFLG program by formulating pertinent policies, and initiatives, and allocating budgets accordingly.
Binitia Karki, the Youth Program Officer at UNDP, emphasized the importance of a strategic approach to ensuring the sustainability of this campaign. She also noted that UNDP has been actively collaborating in this campaign for the past two years.
During the program, in-depth discussions were held on various topics, including the introduction of YFLG, strategic planning, localization of indicators and their verification, identification, and prioritization of pressing youth issues, relevant international commitments, constitutional, legal, and policy frameworks, as well as issues about gender equality and social inclusion mainstreaming.
Speaking at the program, the Deputy Mayor of Kanchanrup, Muna Pokhrel, and Kawasoti Municipality, Ms Phul Kumari Thanet stressed the need for proper resource mobilization for the effective implementation of the YFLG campaign through the localization of seven strategies, 46 work policies, 45 indicators, and four steps for adoption.
The Chief Guest of the closing ceremony, Surendra Basnet, Executive Vice President of the National Youth Council, affirmed the council’s dedication to advancing the YFLG campaign. He also called upon all Local Governments to collaborate and coordinate with the council to promote the YFLG campaign. The participants were also provided with certificates.
Jagriti Child and Youth Concern Nepal, an organization dedicated to empowering children, youth, and adolescents, is promoting YFLG along with Child-Friendly Local Governance (CFLG) and girls empowerment, while the National Youth Council has allocated policy and budget resources for the implementation of the YFLG program in at least one local government in each of Nepal’s 77 districts.
The program covered the participants of Rautamai Rural Municipality, and Triyuga Municipality, Udayapur (Koshi Province), Kanchanrup and Khadak Municipality, Saptari (Madhesh Province), Madi and Kalika Municipality, Chitwan (Bagmati province), Kawasoti and Devchuli Municipality, Nawalpur (Gandaki province), Tilottama Municipality, Rupandehi and Sunwal Municipality, Parasi district (Lumbini Province), Mahabu and Naumule Rural Municipality, Dailekh (Karnali province) and Dashrathchand and Melauli Municipality (Baitadi).
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