1. UNDP Asia Pacific Youth Empowerment:
2018 International Youth Day Edition

2. INTRODUCTION Updates
from Country Offices
Happy International Youth Day and welcome to the latest update of UNDP Asia Pacific’s Youth
Empowerment initiative. This year, the theme for International Youth Day is “Safe Spaces for Youth”.
This refers to civic spaces, physical public spaces and digital spaces which allow young people to engage
in decision making, participate fully in their communities and interact virtually with others across
borders. In order for young people to be able to effectively contribute to social and economic
development, it is crucial that these spaces are inclusive of all youth.
In many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, as in the rest of the world, youth are effectively excluded
from decision making and political forums, and their access to and participation in public spaces is
restricted. This is particularly true for young women and other marginalised youth, and further
entrenches existing social tensions and inequalities.

3. Following this theme, the first section of this update will focus on stories of country office initiatives to
build and sustain safe spaces for young people in the region, where they can freely express their ideas
and participate in political and other decision making spheres.
In the second section of this update you will find a collection of stories that focus on skills development,
entrepreneurship and innovation. These issues have started to receive attention in connection to youth
empowerment, and they are strongly linked to the theme of safe spaces- facing unemployment, job
automation and poor access to quality education and training, young people across the region often
struggle to participate in their country’s labour force and economy. In order to do this, they need
environments that enable and promote youth empowerment, and they need safe learning spaces that
encourage creativity, innovation and independent thinking.
Finally, you will find two research publications launched by Country Offices in the past year on issues
related to youth.
We hope that you enjoy reading this update. If you would like to find out more about our regional
projects on youth please visit our websites:
www.youthcolab.org
www.case4space.org
www.2030youthforce.org

4. In this issue
Safe Spaces
• Laos : Human Library youth event to mark International Women’s Day Pacific Region: Wake
Up! campaign to raise awareness about non-communicable diseases
• Pakistan: Youth and Politics in Pakistan
• Solomon Islands: YOSI Magazine “Youth in Peace Building”
Skills, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Mongolia: How can used coffee grinds reduce poverty in Mongolia?
• Nepal: Global Start Up Weekend: Women, Girls and SDGs
• Timor Leste: ‘Knua Juventude Fila-Liman’

5. • Sri Lanka: Technopreneurship for Social Change
• Regional: Youth Co:Lab
Research
• Pakistan: National Human Development Report-Unleashing the potential of a young Pakistan
• Timor Leste: National Human Development Report - Planning the Opportunities for a Youthful
Population
SAFE SPACES FOR YOUTH

6. Laos: Human Library youth event to mark International Women’s Day
To celebrate International Women’s Day, the United Nations in Lao PDR and Fida International Laos
organized a Human Library event , bringing together women from disadvantaged groups to share their
stories, in order to challenge stereotypes and provide a safe space where women can communicate
about their experiences.
Many of the participating women told difficult stories, about living with HIV, living as single mothers and
experiencing gender-based violence. Talking about her disability, one of them said, “I think people do
not know much about us and they feel uncomfortable talking to us and asking questions. I believe that
only through open conversations like this we can break myths and improve relationships”. The event
attracted over 150 visitors from schools and the public of Savannakhet, who said their preconceptions
had been changed after listening to the women.
Mr. Phoutthaxay Xaysongkham, Project Coordinator of the Youth Resource Centre in Savannakhet, said:
“It's time to face our fears and confront our stereotypes, most importantly by bringing young people
together with women from the fringes of society. We hope that by organising such events we help
empower these invisible women and help them live in a world free of discrimination and stigma”.

7. Pacific Region: Wake Up! campaign to raise awareness about non-
communicable diseases
WAKE UP is a project designed to give youth a space where they can communicate and mobilise their
peers to address some of the most pressing health and development challenges in the Pacific region. In
the Pacific Island Countries and Territories, non-communicable diseases - such as obesity, diabetes,
cardiovascular disease and cancer- have reached a crisis level, resulting in a major social and economic
impact.
Behaviours such as alcohol consumption and poor dietary habits, which often start at a young age,
determine a person’s risk of developing non-communicable diseases later in life. With the objective of
preventing the onset of these behaviours by giving youth a platform to sensitize their peers, the WAKE
UP project was launched in early 2017, inviting youth from the region to submit video projects on the
topic of non-communicable diseases.
The best seven projects were selected and the winners were invited to Noumea, New Caledonia, for a
three day long training session. 28 young people from Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, New Zealand, French
Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna, learned about film-making techniques and non-
communicable diseases. By the end of the training, participants had completed the pre-production work,
and each team then received funding to further develop their films. Given its success, WAKE UP will be
renewed in 2018, this time using graffiti as the medium of communication. Read more about it here.

8. Pakistan: Youth and Politics in Pakistan
In recent years, the strengthening of democracy in Pakistan has been accompanied by an exponential
increase in the number of young people who are politically conscious and vocal about their rights and
demands: it is estimated that almost 46% of Pakistan’s total electorate is composed of young people. In
order for their political participation to be effective, however, this should be complemented with
recognized representative bodies of young people and platforms where they can influence the
democratic process. UNDP Pakistan, in partnership with Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development
and Transparency, organized a ‘Youth Dialogue with Political Parties on Inclusion of Youth Issues in
Political Manifestos for 2018 Elections’. The event aims to build spaces for vocal young people to
interact with and influence decision makers, and to effectively communicate their demands in policy
circles. The initiative stimulated dialogue between members of the youth parliament, young activists,
entrepreneurs and elected representatives from ten mainstream political parties of Pakistan on the
need to focus on issues of pressing concern for the youth of the country. Youth representatives
identified various issues including the environment, child protection, education and madrassah reforms,
uniform systems of education, career counselling for youth, young women’s participation in the public
sphere, revival of student unions, investments in the fields of science, business, and technology, young
people’s active involvement in the policy domain, and promotion of youth employment through
innovative channels including entrepreneurship.
Three political parties including the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-i-Azam, the Jamat-i-Islami, and the
Pakistan People’s Party unveiled specific commitments with young people in their party manifestos for
the 2018 elections. These dialogues will help mainstream young people as a viable political force in
Pakistan and help strengthen the democratic project in the country through increased transparency and
accountability of elected representatives.

9. Read the full story here.
Solomon Islands: YOSI Magazine "Youth in Peacebuilding"
The UN Peacebuilding Fund, in partnership with UNDP, funded the eighth publication of YOSI Magazine,
"Youth in Peacebuilding". Three thousand copies were printed and distributed freely to schools,
educational institutes, offices, churches and communities all over Solomon Islands. The quarterly
magazine is the first magazine in the Solomon Islands to be made for and by young people, and it offers
a platform where they can voice and discuss opinions on issues that affect them directly, such as politics,
economic empowerment, art and sports. The eighth issue is titled "The Peace Issue" and includes a
collection of inspiring stories from young people working in peacebuilding. This is the second issue of
YOSI Magazine supported by the UN Peacebuilding fund, which also funded the sixth issue, published in
December 2016. Read the magazine here.

10. SKILLS, INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

11. Mongolia: How can used coffee grinds reduce poverty in Mongolia?
Jargalsaikhan, a young Mongolian barista, used to throw away kilograms of used coffee grinds on a
regular basis. It was at odds with his desire to live a more sustainable life, so after giving it some thought
he came up with the plan to use old coffee grinds to start a business. It isn’t easy to turn an idea into a
viable, sustainable business, but today Jargalsaikhan runs a company that produces and sells body scrub
and candles made from used coffee grinds. Statistics show that nearly 1 in 3 Mongolians are considered
youth (between 15 and 34 years old). More than 1 in 5 are unemployed, and nearly a third of all
Mongolians live in poverty. 9 out of 10 young Mongolian’s who participated in a recent survey said that
they are optimistic about their future earning potential. However, many young Mongolians are often
told that entrepreneurship is not a feasible option in Mongolia. In the survey, almost two thirds of youth
say they rarely implement their ideas, and when they try they often fail.
In late 2017, UNDP Mongolia initiated ‘Activated2030’ a youth enterprising project, in order to better
explore why this happens. The team made an online quiz, designed to measure the ‘General Enterprising
Tendencies’ of youth in Mongolia. With over 1400 young Mongolians from all 21 provinces completing
the quiz, it gives a valuable insight into the mindset and behaviors of young Mongolians in relation to
entrepreneurship. Based on these insights, UNDP Mongolia is working with individuals and organizations

12. from a broad range of sectors to design and test ways to support the development of enterprising
tendencies in young people.
Read the full story here.
Nepal: Global Start Up Weekend: Women, Girls and SDGs
On February 16-18 2018, ‘Global Startup Weekend Kathmandu: Women, Girls and SDGs’ was organized
by Nepal Innovation Lab, Lagankhel and Alliance Francaise Kathmandu, with the support of UNDP and
other partners. The main objective of the event was to provide a platform for women who have
innovative ideas for fostering the implementation of any of the 17 SDGs. In just 54 hours, the
participants were able to experience the highs and lows that come with running a startup. The
participants’ ideas were developed, polished and pitched during the three days, with the help of
mentors. The winning team ‘Nanny for your naani’ was qualified to participate in the global competition
to be held in Paris in March 2018 on International Women’s Day.

13. Timor Leste: Knua Juventude Fila-Liman
According to demographic data, 60% of the population of Timor-Leste is under the age of 25. In order to
respond to the number of youth entering the job market, 15.000 new job vacancies would need to be
developed annually, however the only 2.000 to 3.000 new jobs are created annually. The public service
is still the biggest employer in Timor-Leste. Knua Juventude Fila-Liman (KJFL) is a one-stop centre for
youth innovation, employment and entrepreneurship, managed and sponsored by UNDP Timor-Leste. At
the centre, youth take part in training and mentorship to develop their social entrepreneurship ideas,
and they are supported in their search for job and business opportunities. The centre also promotes
young people’s voices and engagement in development.
Read more about it here.

14. Sri Lanka: Technopreneurship for social Change
In 2018, UNDP partnered with the National Youth Services Council , Cisco and Citi to conduct e-learning
programmes in 20 locations across Sri Lanka to develop young people’s entrepreneurial skills,
providing them in this way with the ability to positively contribute towards the economy. The
programme is designed to cover areas such as starting a business, marketing communication tools,
outsourcing services and identifying business expansion opportunities. “We grew up with the idea that
we would follow our parent’s footsteps, or seek employment in the public or private sector. Never did
we have the idea of starting our own business” says Sanduni Dilshani, who was one of the 50 students
engaged at the course in Elpitiya. “When I decided to attend this programme, I had only heard about
the word ‘entrepreneur’. Now after the two day programme, I know exactly what this means and what it
entails to be an entrepreneur. The expert resource personnel who conducted the sessions have shown
us the pathway to move forward and start our own business” says Nishchalanka Pradeep, who has plans
of starting his own business in the near future.
Read the full story here.

15. Regional: Youth Co:Lab
The Youth Co:Lab project, launched in June 2017, aims to provide a space where young people in the
Asia-Pacific region can voice their views about the need to build more enabling environments for youth
leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship. Moreover, the project provides capacity building activities
all over the region to develop young people’s confidence, leadership and entrepreneurial skills. It does
through the National Dialogue event model, an event consisting of two components: the first one brings
young people, government and private sector representatives together to discuss the necessary steps
for improving the youth entrepreneurship ecosystem, the second a capacity building activity, complete
with a social innovation challenge, which encourages young participants to develop their ideas for social
innovation initiatives and to pitch them in front of a panel of judges. So far, National Dialogues have
been held in 13 countries, most recently in Samoa and Vietnam. Between August 2018- January 2019,
we expect to hold an additional 15 across the region. Youth Co:Lab has built a large and active network
of young innovators, recently reaching an online following of over 60 K people.
The project also hosts and supports regional events, most recently the Asia Pacific Forum on Youth
Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, held in Beijing on August 1-3. The event brought together
young social innovators as well as other key players in the region’s youth empowerment ecosystem,
including startup accelerators, academia, business and government, with the aim of strengthening
collaboration between all these actors and encouraging them to make commitments towards
supporting youth innovation. Earlier this year, on March 26-28, the Youth Co:Lab Summit was held in
Bangkok. Mostly attended by young participants, the event focused on capacity development for young
entrepreneurs, including a regional social innovation challenge where the winners of National Dialogues
competed for a regional prize.

16. Youth Co:Lab, the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Asia-Pacific youth
entrepreneurship initiative, is positioning young people front and center in order to solve the
region’smost pressing challenges. Led by UNDP and Citi Foundation, in partnership with Baoshang Bank
as well as network partners such as TechStars and MaGIC, the initiative aims to instigate, catalyse and
sustain youth innovation by supporting the region’s youth-led start-ups and social enterprises.
To follow Youth Co:Lab, please visit our facebook page and website.
Research

17. Pakistan National Human Development Report– Unleashing the
potential of a Young Pakistan.
In May 2018, UNDP Pakistan launched its National Human Development Report– Unleashing the
potential of a Young Pakistan. This report seeks to understand Pakistan’s human development
challenges and opportunities from the prism of youth. It focuses on how to improve human
development outcomes – by empowering young people, addressing the root causes of the obstacles
they face, and by proposing innovative ways to surmount these challenges. Offering first-rate analysis
and evidence-based policy recommendations, this Report looks at three key drivers of youth
empowerment: quality education, gainful employment and meaningful engagement. Read more about
it here.

18. Timor- Leste National Human Development Report- Planning the
Opportunities for a Youthful Population.
Launched on 3 April 2018, Timor-Leste’s 4th National Human Development Report is a collaborative
project between the Government of Timor-Leste, UNDP and Flinders University, Australia which
responds to the development aspirations of the youth of Timor-Leste, the drivers of the nation’s future
development.
The report examines well-being and identifies options for seizing the demographic dividend, an issue
that profoundly influences human potential and sustainable development. Timor-Leste has one of the
youngest populations in the Asia and Pacific region, with a median age of 17.4 years. This makes Timor-
Leste the 15th youngest in the world, behind only Afghanistan and a group of African nations. The
population below age 35 accounts for 74 percent of the total population. The current demographic
situation has the potential to play an extremely important role in shaping the country’s development in
the near future.
Read the report here.
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