Shazia Khawar
Given this situation, it is important to understand the perspectives, thoughts, aspirations, and motivations of young people, an area not researched enough in Pakistan. In fact, one of the main reasons why many youth-related initiatives have met with little success is that they have been conceptualized and developed without consulting young people or taking their perspective into account. It is also important to seek and work with a broad range of the youth population, both those organized through formal youth organizations and structures and those who are outside these mechanisms. Explicit efforts have to be made to include those young people who face obstacles, such as cultural norms, economic circumstances, and lack of access to information and necessary skills. Here, too, experience has shown that many initiatives tend to be exclusive, mainly targeting educated, urban, male youth, who are better positioned to avail opportunities than other youth. There is also the need to explore innovative models promoting youth engagement outside the conventional forums. This essay aims to briefly review Pakistan: The Next Generation, a report released by the British Council in November 2009. This paper will then discuss how the key messages of the report have helped bring the perspective of Pakistani youth to the forefront, and how young people can influence change through participation in development. In other words, how we come full circle from young people to policy to young people.
INFLUENCING CHANGE: LINKING UP WITH THE BIG PICTURE The rationale for including a full-fledged advocacy component in the British Council Pakistan’s youth program stems from a growing realization among various key stakeholders, both within and outside the government, that there is a dearth of research-backed policy in the country. For youth-centered work particularly, the challenge is compounded since it tends to become a “cross-cutting area” among various stakeholders, diluted in most cases and losing focused attention as a policy issue. The Youth Ministry itself is seen as low priority. Most ministries (such as health, education, and population) do not specifically focus on youth,
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