1. Unleashing rural youth’s potential
recommendations
from national workshops
Synthesis workshop of the IFAD-ILO project
“Promoting decent and productive employment of young people in rural areas; a review of strategies and programmes (Rome,
13 April 2012)

2. National workshops
■ Where/when: - Egypt (5 March), Madagascar (20 March), Nepal (9 March),
Nicaragua (23 Feb., 29 March), Senegal (Dec. ’11. May)
■ Objectives: - Present/discuss results of programme review
- Agree on recommendations
■ Participants: - National actors (government, employers’ & workers’
organizations, youth, media, etc.)
- International actors (agencies, financial partners)
■ Structure: - Introduction (national rural youth situation, programmes, etc.)
- Presentation of review results
- Group work to identify recommendations
- Agreement on recommendations
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3. Recommendations: 1. Employment, enterprises
■ Create business-enabling environment/stimulate investment in rural areas
■ Diversify employment opportunities
■ Assess youth’s interests
■ Provide relevant training, career guidance, support in school-labour market
transition, ongoing advice & support services
■ Encourage & support youth entrepreneurship (e.g. cooperatives, finance,
marketing, integration to enterprise circuits, ongoing support)
■ Prioritize women’s participation
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4. Recommendations: 2. Working conditions, social protec.
■ Ensure minimum wage (e.g.include min. wage in income generation project)
■ Improve working environment (partic. safety and health)
■ Include safety and health activities in projects (with budget line)
■ Strengthen labour inspection
■ Include social security mechanisms in national soc. sec. programmes,
& in projects (also for micro, low income, informal enterprises)
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5. Recommendations: 3. Rights at work
■ Improve awareness and knowledge (among entrepreneurs, workers, etc.)
■ Improve implementation
■ Help informal enterprises “formalize”
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6. Recommendations: 4. Workers’, employers’ organisation,
social dialogue
■ Facilitate affiliation and association building
■ Help rural youth organize (join or create associations)
■ Develop mechanisms of social dialogue ( e.g. local forum of stakeholders)
■ Establish partnerships between employers’ associations, workers’
associations, farmers’ associations
■ Induce national organizations and social dialogue to reach rural areas
■ Increase representation of young farmers and other rural youth
organizations in national Economic and Social Councils
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7. Recommendations: Incorporate Decent Work – HOW?
■ Use integrated approach (with all 4 dw pillars)
■ Incorporate 4 dw pillars into design/re-design & implementation of rural
programmes/projects by government, UN agencies, private sector
■ Include specific objectives, budgets and indicators of 4 dw pillars
■ Monitor application of 4 dw pillars (also for informal economy) &
include impact analysis from 4 dw pillar perspective
■ Pilot decent work-based youth employment programmes
■ Disseminate and replicate successful models
■ Establish systems of recognition for integration of 4 dw pillars
■ Organize advocacy campaigns (TV, radio, internet, social networks, etc.)
■ Incorporate 4 dw pillars in education/training in rural communities
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8. Youth’s voice (part of social dialogue)
■ Create/strengthen rural youth groups, information centres, etc.
■ Build rural youth capacity on management and rights-based approach
■ Ensure decision makers listen to youth’s voice
■ Carry out base line survey on youth’s aspirations, needs, challenges
■ Involve rural youth from planning, to decision-making, implementation
■ Develop communication channels for youth in rural areas (e.g. radio, TV,
mobiles, social networks), to (a) convey information to youth on
employment & training, good practices, etc.; (b) receive information from
youth on aspirations, needs, etc.; (c) facilitate youth-to-youth exchanges
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9. Other key recommendations
■ Ensure coordination among government institutions (+ with private sector,
research centres, etc.
■ Strengthen coherence/coordination among programmes/projects of rural
youth support
■ Transmit workshop recommendations
■ Monitor implementation of workshop recommendations
■ Follow up on this IFAD-ILO initiative
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