Japan Social Development Fund (Jsdf) For Youth Development and Social Inclusion

E-posta: adnangul61@hotmail.com
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PROJECT BRIEF

BACKGROUND: Both the Bank and the Turkish Government have had a growing interest and concern about youth issues.  Youth unemployment at 23.7% is more than twice the national average unemployment rate of 10.7%.  Government institutions handling youth issues are fragmented and weak, whilst youth are not meaningfully engaged in the development process.  The prospect for EU accession, including the requirement to enhance social inclusion in order to meet the Copenhagen criteria, has caused the Government to give greater attention to the issues of youth development and inclusion.

From the Bank side, there has been increasing interaction with youth leaders and NGOs through the Youth Voices program.  This has highlighted the need for action in youth empowerment, employment generation, greater social cohesion amongst youth in Turkey and with the EU, and the need to strengthen institutions involved in youth policy and programs.  The NGO community has also requested that such activities be financed under a JSDF Grant.

GRANT OBJECTIVE: The grant’s main development objective is to contribute to increased social cohesion through the social integration of youth from excluded communities to mainstream social, economic and political life. This grant will promote and support the participation of young people in the economic and social life of the community through an integrated package of youth-oriented services and opportunities in selected regions. The grant will:

i) test community-based approaches to support young people (ages 15-30) to prevent their marginalization in an effort to reduce regional disparities in Turkey;
ii) strengthen the institutional capacity at the central and local levels to address youth issues;
iii) pilot new employment initiatives;  and
iv) contribute to the development of cultural understanding and cohesion among European and Turkish youth through meaningful exchanges, participation in community life and public information campaigns as part of the EU accession process.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Component A: Youth Inclusion and Empowerment

This component aims at the social integration and empowerment of young people in pilot areas, together with the development of their technical skills and confidence building. It addresses the important dimensions of youth poverty, such as powerlessness (often linked with isolation and lack of information) and exposure to risky behaviors (eg. unprotected sex, alcoholism and tobacco, drug abuse) due to idleness and lack of spaces for safe and constructive free time activities.

A.1. Youth Centers: 
This sub-component will improve the capacity of about 20 existing youth centers in pilot urban and rural areas (selected according to the willingness of staff to make them more youth-friendly, democratic and participatory), where young people will be involved in these centers as peers educators, volunteers, beneficiaries and decision-makers. 

Criteria for the selection of pilot areas will include: (a) geographical coverage based on needs (eg. significantly high youth population, cities receiving high levels of migration etc.); (b) capacity, efficiency and experience with participatory approaches of existing NGOs; (c) youth participation in the management of youth centers; (d) scope and potential for community ownership; and (e) support from local governments.

A.2. Capacity-building Program for Youth Participation and Empowerment
This sub-component will support civil society initiatives in pilot areas for youth’s economic and social inclusion at the community level and their participation in decision-making.  The sub-component has the objectives of: (i) strengthening the capacities of local youth NGOs; (ii) reducing the isolation of youth particularly in rural areas by stimulating and supporting the creation and empowerment of youth initiative groups; (iii) improving communication, cooperation and trust between governmental and non-governmental partners and; (iv) creating opportunities for the prevention and mitigation of youth vulnerability  and risky behaviors by the promotion and provision of innovative economic and social services, especially in small towns and rural areas.

Component B: Youth Employment Initiatives

This component aims to generate a better understanding of the youth labor market situation in Turkey through labor market assessments and create enabling conditions for unemployed and/or precariously employed young men and women to invest in skills and assets leading to better self-and wage employment opportunities. Training will be provided to prepare a pilot program for self-employment promotion for youth ages 18-30 by:
i) identifying and implementing innovative income generating activities; and
ii) providing support to eligible beneficiaries to assist them with access to capital grants from financial institutions.

Component C: Youth Inclusion - Bridging Cultural Gaps

As part of Turkish accession process to the European Union (EU), this component aims to contribute to bridging the cultural gap among Turkish and European youth through an effective public information campaign and meaningful community based exchange programs in Turkey.

C.1. Public Information Campaign:
This sub-component will target European and Turkish youth aged 15-30 to develop a better understanding of cultures, youth development priorities through the use of written and visual media to be distributed through participating European Information Agencies, youth centers and youth organizations.  Existing youth organizations and youth-serving networks like AEGEE, AIESEC and Rotary International will be used to increase outreach.  

C.2. Community Development Exchange Programs at the Local Level:
Through the use of one-way community based exchanges in different regions of Turkey, this subcomponent aims to create exposure to Turkish culture, values and local living conditions.  The exchange activities will target European youth (ages 15-30) to visit Turkey for a period of a minimum of three weeks, during which they will live with local communities, engage in youth service through a community-based initiative, and participate in the work of existing or newly established youth centers.

Component D: Local Capacity-Building for Youth Policy

This component aims at gradually aiming to develop organizational, human and material resources at the local government level to implement youth programs and raise funds for their sustainability.  This component will support policy development in areas relevant to youth socio-economic inclusion and access to decision-making at the local level.  It will aim to foster institutional cooperation at the district, provincial and municipal levels to support project objectives in a sustained way, and strengthening the operational partnerships between local NGOs and communities on youth issues through:  (i) regular consultations; (ii) institutional network of youth-serving public and private partners, at the local level, including training and knowledge sharing and management activities; and (iii) communication, information and outreach, so as to ensure that all partners at the local level are mobilized and youth can readily avail themselves of project opportunities.

D.1. Capacity building and training for the General Directorate of Youth & Sport (GSGM) at the local level (81 provinces) in order to strengthen both their professional and technical capacity in designing, implementing and administering community based services for youth and developing effective youth policies to address youth needs at the local level, and to ensure youth-friendly services are provided effectively and youth are involved in the process. The focus will be on identifying community and vulnerable groups needs, undertaking effective public outreach, fund-raising and mobilizing local and international non-governmental actors to participate in direct services provision and delivery and thus guarantee centers and programs sustainability.  Support would be provided through the GSGM for the National Youth Council when this might eventually be established.  In addition, the capacity of the GSGM to administer the grant itself will be enhanced through hiring a small team of six young consultants.

D.2.  Public Outreach Campaign:  Implementation of the JSDF grant will be supported by a proactive public outreach campaign. Under the youth friendly spaces component, the program will be geared towards encouraging young people (15-24) to make use of youth centers. In addition, the campaign will promote an understanding among the general public about youth centers, their scope of activities and their impact on local communities.  In the longer term, the campaign will also target the international donor community operating in Turkey, as well as Turkish private sector to solicit their support for the youth centers and ensure centers’ financial sustainability after project completion.

D.3. Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E): This component would set up a results oriented monitoring and evaluation system with a particular focus on participatory monitoring and evaluation.

IMPLEMENTING and MONITORING: The implementing agency is the Youth & Sports Foundation under the General Directorate of Youth and Sports (GSGM).  The GSGM will monitor progress.  The grant will be overseen by a steering committee composed of all the stakeholders.

BENEFITS: The grant will benefit youth (15-30) in general, and particularly those in disadvantaged areas.

GRANT STATUS: The grant was signed in late 2005 and became effective in March 2006. The grant implementation is now progressing well.