Jon-Andreas Solberg and Douglas Ragan co-authored a very enlightening post on UN-Habitat Youth covering five principles of youth-led development that are being utilized by youth programs globally and has begun to influence policy at the local, national and global level. These principles (listed below) originated from an initiative started in 2007 when representatives from UN-Habitat´s One Stop Youth Resource Centres gathered together in Kampala, Uganda to discuss ways to promote and sustain the capacity for youth to operate as leaders today. The post leads to the key point that “youth…should be recognized as key development partners and asset and rights-holders, just as anyone else, young and old, women and men.”
Kampala Principles for Youth-led Development:
- Youth define their own development goals and objectives;
- Youth have a safe and generative physical space;
- Adult and peer-to-peer mentorship;
- Youth act as role models for other youth;
- Youth are integrated into local and national development programs and policies.
The full article, including a detailed look at each principle, can be found here.