Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Let's Hear it for ASHOKA
The lastest org to catch my eye is devastatingly cool. The Arab World Regional Director is a stellar lady, Imam Bibars, who is keen to have a frank talk and help where she can in making synergies to get the NAP moving. We met in the restaurant of the Flamenco Hotel where we both had workshops going on.
ASHOKA
Vision and Mission
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VisionAshoka envisions a world where Everyone is a Changemaker: a world that responds quickly and effectively to social challenges, and where each individual has the freedom, confidence and societal support to address any social problem and drive change.
Mission
Ashoka strives to shape a global, entrepreneurial, competitive citizen sector: one that allows social entrepreneurs to thrive and enables the world’s citizens to think and act as changemakers.
Approach
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To ensure that the leading ideas for social change are fully developed and sustained, we have designed an approach that offers critical interventions on three levels—the individual, the group, and the sector.
Supporting Social Entrepreneurs Social entrepreneurs are the engines of social change and role models for the citizen sector. Ashoka identifies and invests in leading social entrepreneurs and helps them achieve maximum social impact.
Promoting Group Entrepreneurship Groups and networks of social entrepreneurs working together accelerate and spread social impact. Ashoka engages communities of entrepreneurs and develops patterns of effective collaborations that change entire fields.
Building Infrastructure for the Sector A global network of changemakers requires tools and support systems to deliver sustainable social solutions. Ashoka creates needed infrastructure, such as access to social financing, bridges to business and academic sectors, and frameworks for partnerships that deliver social and financial value.
ASHOKA
Vision and Mission
-->
VisionAshoka envisions a world where Everyone is a Changemaker: a world that responds quickly and effectively to social challenges, and where each individual has the freedom, confidence and societal support to address any social problem and drive change.
Mission
Ashoka strives to shape a global, entrepreneurial, competitive citizen sector: one that allows social entrepreneurs to thrive and enables the world’s citizens to think and act as changemakers.
Approach
-->
To ensure that the leading ideas for social change are fully developed and sustained, we have designed an approach that offers critical interventions on three levels—the individual, the group, and the sector.
Supporting Social Entrepreneurs Social entrepreneurs are the engines of social change and role models for the citizen sector. Ashoka identifies and invests in leading social entrepreneurs and helps them achieve maximum social impact.
Promoting Group Entrepreneurship Groups and networks of social entrepreneurs working together accelerate and spread social impact. Ashoka engages communities of entrepreneurs and develops patterns of effective collaborations that change entire fields.
Building Infrastructure for the Sector A global network of changemakers requires tools and support systems to deliver sustainable social solutions. Ashoka creates needed infrastructure, such as access to social financing, bridges to business and academic sectors, and frameworks for partnerships that deliver social and financial value.
Monday, November 20, 2006
A Report from the World Bank
World Bank urges boost for young
Developing countries must invest in young people, promoting education and health and developing essential skills, a major World Bank report says.
The World Development Report says there are now a record 1.3 billion people aged 12-24 living around the world.
Those numbers could create problems in many nations if societies do not adapt, World Bank officials warn.
Although the number of young in primary education is rising, the report says some 130 million cannot read or write.
Young people are thought to make up about half the world's unemployed, the report says.
It also estimates that about 100 million new jobs need to be created in the Middle East and across North Africa before 2020 to cope with the numbers of young people seeking work.
'Window of opportunity'
The report analyses the development of young people in terms of five key "transitions".
Managing those transitions - learning, working, growing up healthy, forming families and exercising citizenship - will require continued investment by governments and the creation of an environment for young people and their families to flourish, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz writes in the report.
The bank's chief economist, Francois Bourguignon, attending the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, in Singapore, said governments around the world had a "demographic window of opportunity".
"It is far easier to develop skills during youth," Mr Bourguignon said.
"If we fail to do that, it will be impossible to remedy the missed opportunity. It is fundamental to invest in youth."
According to figures in the report, the "demographic window" varies from country to country: in industrialised states such as Japan and Italy it closed about 10 years ago.
China has just a few years of its window still remaining, the bank estimates, but India, with a younger population, still has 30 years.
Second chances
The report identifies failings in vital areas such as education and the development of key skills.
While most children in Indonesia attend school for six years, with 80% completing primary education, the numbers in secondary education are considerably smaller.
In many parts of Africa initial enrolment rates are lower, and access to education for girls is more of a problem.
Poor education and a lack of skills were cited by employers in countries as far apart as Algeria, Brazil, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Estonia and Zambia, the report says.
Health issues are also a major concern, with HIV/Aids and the spread of other sexually-transmitted diseased cited as a key problem.
Governments should plan ahead in order to offer the young the best opportunities to develop their capabilities and family life, the report says.
Those whose take bad decisions or bad luck should be offered second chances, it adds, as a denial of opportunities can have long-term implications.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/5351524.stmPublished: 2006/09/16 10:56:00 GMT
Developing countries must invest in young people, promoting education and health and developing essential skills, a major World Bank report says.
The World Development Report says there are now a record 1.3 billion people aged 12-24 living around the world.
Those numbers could create problems in many nations if societies do not adapt, World Bank officials warn.
Although the number of young in primary education is rising, the report says some 130 million cannot read or write.
Young people are thought to make up about half the world's unemployed, the report says.
It also estimates that about 100 million new jobs need to be created in the Middle East and across North Africa before 2020 to cope with the numbers of young people seeking work.
'Window of opportunity'
The report analyses the development of young people in terms of five key "transitions".
Managing those transitions - learning, working, growing up healthy, forming families and exercising citizenship - will require continued investment by governments and the creation of an environment for young people and their families to flourish, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz writes in the report.
The bank's chief economist, Francois Bourguignon, attending the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, in Singapore, said governments around the world had a "demographic window of opportunity".
"It is far easier to develop skills during youth," Mr Bourguignon said.
"If we fail to do that, it will be impossible to remedy the missed opportunity. It is fundamental to invest in youth."
According to figures in the report, the "demographic window" varies from country to country: in industrialised states such as Japan and Italy it closed about 10 years ago.
China has just a few years of its window still remaining, the bank estimates, but India, with a younger population, still has 30 years.
Second chances
The report identifies failings in vital areas such as education and the development of key skills.
While most children in Indonesia attend school for six years, with 80% completing primary education, the numbers in secondary education are considerably smaller.
In many parts of Africa initial enrolment rates are lower, and access to education for girls is more of a problem.
Poor education and a lack of skills were cited by employers in countries as far apart as Algeria, Brazil, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Estonia and Zambia, the report says.
Health issues are also a major concern, with HIV/Aids and the spread of other sexually-transmitted diseased cited as a key problem.
Governments should plan ahead in order to offer the young the best opportunities to develop their capabilities and family life, the report says.
Those whose take bad decisions or bad luck should be offered second chances, it adds, as a denial of opportunities can have long-term implications.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/5351524.stmPublished: 2006/09/16 10:56:00 GMT
Thursday, November 02, 2006
A Message from Your ILO Director General
The global jobs crisis: Address the growing imbalance between growth and jobs creation
Faced with the fact that growth is not producing enough jobs worldwide, the world's financial leaders recently gathered in Singapore must focus on more than trade and financial imbalances, says ILO Director-General Juan Somavia.
In this article, Mr. Somavia calls for significant policy reforms to deal with global imbalances between growth and job creation. (For a full text of the statement by Mr. Somavia to the Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, see: www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/dgo/speeches/somavia/2006/singapore.pdf).
By Juan Somavia, Director-General, International Labour Organization 2006 is expected to be the fourth consecutive year of global GDP growth of over 4 per cent. And in sub-Saharan Africa, growth is forecast to be the strongest in 30 years. Interest rates still remain relatively low, and corporate profits are at record highs. World trade is forecast to continue growing at around 7 per cent. Yet even though the growth rate has been more than decent, the quantity and quality of work created are most certainly not. Almost everywhere in the world, access to decent and productive work has simply failed to keep pace with macroeconomic statistics. In the last ten years, official unemployment figures have increased by more than 20 per cent. Worse still, in large regions of the world, the bulk of new jobs is being created in the over-crowded informal economy where working women and men eke out a living at low productivity and, consequently, low earnings. Indeed, the absolute number of working poor living on less than $2 a day per person stands today at the same level it did 10 years ago, representing about 50 per cent of the global workforce. All this is creating challenges with profound political and security implications. Perhaps nowhere do these imbalances stand in more stark relief than in Asia. Granted, the dawn of the 'Asian century' has been marked by rapid economic growth - more than double the global average since 1995, with labour productivity rising by about 41 per cent. Yet today Asia is facing a range of "decent work deficits":
The region is home to more than two-thirds of the world's poor and nearly half the world's unemployed youth.
Informal employment as a share of non-agricultural employment ranges from 83 per cent in India, 78 per cent in Indonesia, and 72 per cent in the Philippines, to 51 per cent in Thailand and 42 per cent in the Syrian Arab Republic. What are some of the major policy avenues needed to address the global jobs imbalance? First, make job creation a clear objective of policymaking. This is critical to promoting economic growth that actually translates into the creation of decent jobs and encourages investment and entrepreneurship, skills development, proper labour standards and sustainable livelihoods. Facilitating enterprise creation is key - particularly to promote and expand local development including local markets through small enterprise initiatives. Ensuring young women and men get the skills they need to start their working lives right is vital. Second, respect, promote and realize fundamental principles and rights at work, namely freedom of association, the elimination of forced labour, child labour and discrimination in employment. As most business leaders recognize, quality labour laws that secure human rights at work are essential for a sound investment environment, workplace stability and productivity. Third, extend social protection and increase its effectiveness, particularly for workers in agriculture and the informal economy who are in practice often not covered by labour legislation. And fourth, support institutions and systems that strengthen labour market governance, including frameworks that encourage social dialogue and help resolve workplace disputes. Social dialogue, involving strong and independent workers' and employers' organizations, plays a pivotal role in increasing productivity and building cohesive societies. It is the best road towards flexibility and security for both employers and workers. Experience has shown that lack of dialogue weakens development potential. This is the "ILO decent work agenda", developed by government ministers, employers and union leaders from all over the world. From the United Nations World Summit in 2005 to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Ministerial meeting in July of this year, the global community has made full and productive employment and decent work a central objective of national development policies. This is today an international consensus. We must acknowledge that growth in the value of production cannot be the only criterion for economic success. Ignoring employment as a policy objective and hoping that somehow output growth yields all the decent jobs the world needs is a recipe for disaster. On a foundation of sound macroeconomic policies, we must also promote a convergence of investment, education, health, labour market, local development and other policies to meet the challenge of reducing decent work imbalances and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The global system also has a powerful role to play. Our multilateral system of the UN and its agencies, as well as the World Bank and the IMF, have a common responsibility to address the global jobs crisis. I invite the leaders of the Bretton Woods institutions to join the ILO and other relevant organizations to address together the widespread democratic demand of individuals, families and communities worldwide for a fair chance at a decent job. No single organization has all the answers but our collective experience can certainly be put to better use than it is today.
Faced with the fact that growth is not producing enough jobs worldwide, the world's financial leaders recently gathered in Singapore must focus on more than trade and financial imbalances, says ILO Director-General Juan Somavia.
In this article, Mr. Somavia calls for significant policy reforms to deal with global imbalances between growth and job creation. (For a full text of the statement by Mr. Somavia to the Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, see: www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/dgo/speeches/somavia/2006/singapore.pdf).
By Juan Somavia, Director-General, International Labour Organization 2006 is expected to be the fourth consecutive year of global GDP growth of over 4 per cent. And in sub-Saharan Africa, growth is forecast to be the strongest in 30 years. Interest rates still remain relatively low, and corporate profits are at record highs. World trade is forecast to continue growing at around 7 per cent. Yet even though the growth rate has been more than decent, the quantity and quality of work created are most certainly not. Almost everywhere in the world, access to decent and productive work has simply failed to keep pace with macroeconomic statistics. In the last ten years, official unemployment figures have increased by more than 20 per cent. Worse still, in large regions of the world, the bulk of new jobs is being created in the over-crowded informal economy where working women and men eke out a living at low productivity and, consequently, low earnings. Indeed, the absolute number of working poor living on less than $2 a day per person stands today at the same level it did 10 years ago, representing about 50 per cent of the global workforce. All this is creating challenges with profound political and security implications. Perhaps nowhere do these imbalances stand in more stark relief than in Asia. Granted, the dawn of the 'Asian century' has been marked by rapid economic growth - more than double the global average since 1995, with labour productivity rising by about 41 per cent. Yet today Asia is facing a range of "decent work deficits":
The region is home to more than two-thirds of the world's poor and nearly half the world's unemployed youth.
Informal employment as a share of non-agricultural employment ranges from 83 per cent in India, 78 per cent in Indonesia, and 72 per cent in the Philippines, to 51 per cent in Thailand and 42 per cent in the Syrian Arab Republic. What are some of the major policy avenues needed to address the global jobs imbalance? First, make job creation a clear objective of policymaking. This is critical to promoting economic growth that actually translates into the creation of decent jobs and encourages investment and entrepreneurship, skills development, proper labour standards and sustainable livelihoods. Facilitating enterprise creation is key - particularly to promote and expand local development including local markets through small enterprise initiatives. Ensuring young women and men get the skills they need to start their working lives right is vital. Second, respect, promote and realize fundamental principles and rights at work, namely freedom of association, the elimination of forced labour, child labour and discrimination in employment. As most business leaders recognize, quality labour laws that secure human rights at work are essential for a sound investment environment, workplace stability and productivity. Third, extend social protection and increase its effectiveness, particularly for workers in agriculture and the informal economy who are in practice often not covered by labour legislation. And fourth, support institutions and systems that strengthen labour market governance, including frameworks that encourage social dialogue and help resolve workplace disputes. Social dialogue, involving strong and independent workers' and employers' organizations, plays a pivotal role in increasing productivity and building cohesive societies. It is the best road towards flexibility and security for both employers and workers. Experience has shown that lack of dialogue weakens development potential. This is the "ILO decent work agenda", developed by government ministers, employers and union leaders from all over the world. From the United Nations World Summit in 2005 to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Ministerial meeting in July of this year, the global community has made full and productive employment and decent work a central objective of national development policies. This is today an international consensus. We must acknowledge that growth in the value of production cannot be the only criterion for economic success. Ignoring employment as a policy objective and hoping that somehow output growth yields all the decent jobs the world needs is a recipe for disaster. On a foundation of sound macroeconomic policies, we must also promote a convergence of investment, education, health, labour market, local development and other policies to meet the challenge of reducing decent work imbalances and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The global system also has a powerful role to play. Our multilateral system of the UN and its agencies, as well as the World Bank and the IMF, have a common responsibility to address the global jobs crisis. I invite the leaders of the Bretton Woods institutions to join the ILO and other relevant organizations to address together the widespread democratic demand of individuals, families and communities worldwide for a fair chance at a decent job. No single organization has all the answers but our collective experience can certainly be put to better use than it is today.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
The International Labour Organization on Youth Unemployment and Poverty
This is the latest from the ILO on youth unemployment and poverty. This article offers a good explanation for why addressing youth employment is so crucial to development.
New ILO study says youth unemployment rising, with hundreds of millions more working but living in poverty
Friday 27 October 2006 (ILO/06/48)
GENEVA (ILO News)
The number of unemployed youth aged 15 to 24 rose over the past decade, while hundreds of millions more are working but living in poverty, according to a new report by the International Labour Office (ILO) . While the number of young unemployed increased from 74 million to 85 million, or by 14.8 per cent between 1995 and 2005, more than 300 million youth, or approximately 25 per cent of the youth population, were living below the US $2 per day poverty line. The ILO report estimates that at least 400 million decent and productive employment opportunities - simply put, new and better jobs - will be needed in order to reach the full productive potential of today's youth. The report also says youth are more than three times as likely to be unemployed than adults and that the relative disadvantage is more pronounced in developing countries, where youth represent a significantly higher proportion of the labour force than in developed economies. "Despite increased economic growth, the inability of economies to create enough decent and productive jobs is hitting the world's young especially hard", said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. "Not only are we seeing a growing deficit of decent work opportunities and high levels of economic uncertainty, but this worrying trend threatens to damage the future economic prospects of one of our worlds' greatest assets - our young men and women." The report emphasizes that today's youth face serious vulnerabilities in the world of work and warns that a lack of decent work, if experienced at an early age, may permanently compromise their future employment prospects. The report adds urgency to the UN call for development of strategies aimed at giving young people a chance to maximize their productive potential through decent employment. Among the report's key findings:
Of the 1.1 billion young people aged 15 to 24 worldwide, one out of three is either seeking but unable to find work, has given up the job search entirely or is working but living on less than US$2 a day.
While the youth population grew by 13.2 per cent between 1995 and 2005, employment among young people grew by only 3.8 per cent to reach 548 million.
Unemployed youth make up 44 per cent of the world's total unemployed despite the fact that their share of the total working-age population aged 15 and over is only 25 per cent.
The youth unemployment rate was far higher than the adult unemployment rate of 4.6 per cent in 2005, rising from 12.3 per cent in 1995 to 13.5 per cent last year. "Idle youth is a costly group", the report says, noting that an inability to find employment creates a sense of vulnerability, uselessness and redundancy. There are costs, therefore, to youth themselves, but also to economies and societies as a whole, both in terms of lack of savings, loss of aggregate demand and less spending for investment as well as social costs for remedial services such as preventing crime and drug use. "All this is a threat to the development potential of economies", Mr. Somavia said. "Today, we are squandering the economic potential of an enormous percentage of our population, especially in developing countries which can least afford it. Focusing on youth, therefore, is a must for any country." Job crisis hits youth hard throughout the world
The highest regional youth unemployment rate was observed in the Middle East and North Africa at 25.7 per cent. Central and Eastern Europe (non-EU) and CIS had the second highest rate in the world with 19.9 per cent. Sub-Saharan Africa's rate was 18.1 per cent, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (16.6 per cent), South East Asia and the Pacific (15.8 per cent), the developed economies and European Union (EU) (13.1 per cent), South Asia (10 per cent) and East Asia (7.8 per cent). The Developed Economies and EU region was the only grouping to show a considerable decrease in youth unemployment over the last 10 years. The report attributed this to a declining number of young people in the labour force rather than successful employment strategies. Young women face even greater challenges in the labour market, as far fewer women are likely to be working or looking for work. The gap in labour force participation rates between young men and women are larger in developing regions - for example, 35 percentage points difference in South Asia, 29 in the Middle East and North Africa, 19 in Latin America and the Caribbean and 16 in both South East Asia and Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa. Such gaps result from cultural traditions, lack of opportunities for young women to combine work and household duties, and a tendency of labour markets to shed young women more rapidly than men when fewer job opportunities are available. At the same time, even having a job today isn't enough to guarantee a young person's future economic sustainability. With the persistence of poverty among as many as 56 per cent of young workers - and the possibility that they may be facing long working hours, temporary and/or informal contracts, with low pay, little or no social protection, minimal training and no voice at work - it becomes clear that having a job is not the same as having a decent job. The report also cited a "worrisome" increase in the number of young people who are neither in employment nor in education. Using limited country-level data, the report estimated that up to 34 per cent of youth in Central and Eastern Europe, for example, are neither in employment nor education. This share was 27 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa, 21 per cent in Central and South America and 13 per cent in the developed economies and European Union. Beyond identifying the main labour market challenges facing youth, the report attempts to clarify common misconceptions regarding youth labour markets and finds that:
Access to education is still a problem for many young people and illiteracy remains a substantial challenge in many developing countries.
Higher educational attainments do not guarantee a path in finding employment, in particular decent employment.
Where there is little economic growth or a shrinking employment content of growth, job security often overrules job satisfaction as a motivator for young employees.
Youth unemployment rates only show the tip of the iceberg regarding the problems young people face in the labour market and don't give a complete picture of youth labour market challenges. Two groups, together, outnumber the unemployed: the discouraged youth and the young working poor.
Youth are not a homogenous group; therefore, targeted interventions aimed at overcoming the specific disadvantages that some youth face in entering and remaining in the labour market will be warranted.
The agricultural sector, and thus rural areas, still accounts for more than 40 per cent of total employment in the world and is still the dominant employer in many regions of the world. Despite increasing rural to urban migration, therefore, employment creation in rural areas should still play a large role in youth employment strategies and overall poverty reduction strategies. In fact, improving wages and reducing poverty within the rural economy will go a long way toward stemming the tide of migration of young people into already crowded urban cities. The report said a young person whose first experience in the labour market is one of long-term unemployment is likely to move between unemployment spells and low-wage employment throughout working life. The report calls for targeted and integrated national policies and programmes, fostered by international aid, to reach the most vulnerable youth and to bring them back into the fold of a civil society that can benefit from their participation. "It is an undeniable tenet - and now one that is recognized within the UN as well as other international organizations and governments - that only through decent employment opportunities can young people get the chance to work themselves out of poverty", Mr. Somavia said, "Youth employment strategies are a key contribution to meeting the Millennium Development Goals."
New ILO study says youth unemployment rising, with hundreds of millions more working but living in poverty
Friday 27 October 2006 (ILO/06/48)
GENEVA (ILO News)
The number of unemployed youth aged 15 to 24 rose over the past decade, while hundreds of millions more are working but living in poverty, according to a new report by the International Labour Office (ILO) . While the number of young unemployed increased from 74 million to 85 million, or by 14.8 per cent between 1995 and 2005, more than 300 million youth, or approximately 25 per cent of the youth population, were living below the US $2 per day poverty line. The ILO report estimates that at least 400 million decent and productive employment opportunities - simply put, new and better jobs - will be needed in order to reach the full productive potential of today's youth. The report also says youth are more than three times as likely to be unemployed than adults and that the relative disadvantage is more pronounced in developing countries, where youth represent a significantly higher proportion of the labour force than in developed economies. "Despite increased economic growth, the inability of economies to create enough decent and productive jobs is hitting the world's young especially hard", said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. "Not only are we seeing a growing deficit of decent work opportunities and high levels of economic uncertainty, but this worrying trend threatens to damage the future economic prospects of one of our worlds' greatest assets - our young men and women." The report emphasizes that today's youth face serious vulnerabilities in the world of work and warns that a lack of decent work, if experienced at an early age, may permanently compromise their future employment prospects. The report adds urgency to the UN call for development of strategies aimed at giving young people a chance to maximize their productive potential through decent employment. Among the report's key findings:
Of the 1.1 billion young people aged 15 to 24 worldwide, one out of three is either seeking but unable to find work, has given up the job search entirely or is working but living on less than US$2 a day.
While the youth population grew by 13.2 per cent between 1995 and 2005, employment among young people grew by only 3.8 per cent to reach 548 million.
Unemployed youth make up 44 per cent of the world's total unemployed despite the fact that their share of the total working-age population aged 15 and over is only 25 per cent.
The youth unemployment rate was far higher than the adult unemployment rate of 4.6 per cent in 2005, rising from 12.3 per cent in 1995 to 13.5 per cent last year. "Idle youth is a costly group", the report says, noting that an inability to find employment creates a sense of vulnerability, uselessness and redundancy. There are costs, therefore, to youth themselves, but also to economies and societies as a whole, both in terms of lack of savings, loss of aggregate demand and less spending for investment as well as social costs for remedial services such as preventing crime and drug use. "All this is a threat to the development potential of economies", Mr. Somavia said. "Today, we are squandering the economic potential of an enormous percentage of our population, especially in developing countries which can least afford it. Focusing on youth, therefore, is a must for any country." Job crisis hits youth hard throughout the world
The highest regional youth unemployment rate was observed in the Middle East and North Africa at 25.7 per cent. Central and Eastern Europe (non-EU) and CIS had the second highest rate in the world with 19.9 per cent. Sub-Saharan Africa's rate was 18.1 per cent, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (16.6 per cent), South East Asia and the Pacific (15.8 per cent), the developed economies and European Union (EU) (13.1 per cent), South Asia (10 per cent) and East Asia (7.8 per cent). The Developed Economies and EU region was the only grouping to show a considerable decrease in youth unemployment over the last 10 years. The report attributed this to a declining number of young people in the labour force rather than successful employment strategies. Young women face even greater challenges in the labour market, as far fewer women are likely to be working or looking for work. The gap in labour force participation rates between young men and women are larger in developing regions - for example, 35 percentage points difference in South Asia, 29 in the Middle East and North Africa, 19 in Latin America and the Caribbean and 16 in both South East Asia and Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa. Such gaps result from cultural traditions, lack of opportunities for young women to combine work and household duties, and a tendency of labour markets to shed young women more rapidly than men when fewer job opportunities are available. At the same time, even having a job today isn't enough to guarantee a young person's future economic sustainability. With the persistence of poverty among as many as 56 per cent of young workers - and the possibility that they may be facing long working hours, temporary and/or informal contracts, with low pay, little or no social protection, minimal training and no voice at work - it becomes clear that having a job is not the same as having a decent job. The report also cited a "worrisome" increase in the number of young people who are neither in employment nor in education. Using limited country-level data, the report estimated that up to 34 per cent of youth in Central and Eastern Europe, for example, are neither in employment nor education. This share was 27 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa, 21 per cent in Central and South America and 13 per cent in the developed economies and European Union. Beyond identifying the main labour market challenges facing youth, the report attempts to clarify common misconceptions regarding youth labour markets and finds that:
Access to education is still a problem for many young people and illiteracy remains a substantial challenge in many developing countries.
Higher educational attainments do not guarantee a path in finding employment, in particular decent employment.
Where there is little economic growth or a shrinking employment content of growth, job security often overrules job satisfaction as a motivator for young employees.
Youth unemployment rates only show the tip of the iceberg regarding the problems young people face in the labour market and don't give a complete picture of youth labour market challenges. Two groups, together, outnumber the unemployed: the discouraged youth and the young working poor.
Youth are not a homogenous group; therefore, targeted interventions aimed at overcoming the specific disadvantages that some youth face in entering and remaining in the labour market will be warranted.
The agricultural sector, and thus rural areas, still accounts for more than 40 per cent of total employment in the world and is still the dominant employer in many regions of the world. Despite increasing rural to urban migration, therefore, employment creation in rural areas should still play a large role in youth employment strategies and overall poverty reduction strategies. In fact, improving wages and reducing poverty within the rural economy will go a long way toward stemming the tide of migration of young people into already crowded urban cities. The report said a young person whose first experience in the labour market is one of long-term unemployment is likely to move between unemployment spells and low-wage employment throughout working life. The report calls for targeted and integrated national policies and programmes, fostered by international aid, to reach the most vulnerable youth and to bring them back into the fold of a civil society that can benefit from their participation. "It is an undeniable tenet - and now one that is recognized within the UN as well as other international organizations and governments - that only through decent employment opportunities can young people get the chance to work themselves out of poverty", Mr. Somavia said, "Youth employment strategies are a key contribution to meeting the Millennium Development Goals."
