Commonwealth Youth Programme This document illustrates a 4-year work plan for the financial years 2017/18 – 2021/22 that will help achieve intermediate outcome of the Commonwealth Secretariat strategic plan: Young people engaged and empowered to meaningfully participate in political and development processes.  It will result in young people across the Commonwealth being empowered - socially, politically and economically - to ensure equitable development outcomes, and their optimal contribution to development and democracy.  
Young people constitute one quarter of the world’s population, and one third of the population in developing nations. This signals a vibrant and hopeful resource for the world. But they are more than numbers. Their struggles for social justice and equality are increasingly visible and articulate. They have demonstrated their progressive vision for the world in multiple ways, be it as citizens, voters, or in organised youth movements. They have the greatest stake in equitable and sustainable development, and are also well-positioned to contribute meaningfully to this. 
At the same time, we are witnessing global and national moves that work against young people’s vision for themselves and the world. Young people are reported to be poorer at every stage of their life now, than their parents. In a context of rising inequality and diminishing social support systems, young people form a large proportion of the world’s unemployed, they have challenges accessing affordable education, and basic services. Mainstreaming youth interests and capabilities are becoming even more critical in this context. 
This project proposes a multi-pronged approach to addressing these broad social, political and economic challenges, focused on: 
the role of the Youth Sector in delivering youth empowerment strategies, and 
the ability of all development sector players across sectors, including young people themselves, to deliver holistic and equitable development outcomes for youth and (directly and indirectly) for society. 

The three core approaches to this multi-faceted strategy are the strengthening of:  

Policy and Institutions: Policy change and institutional reform in order to deliver for young people, with them; 
Capacity: Strengthening stakeholder capacity to inform changes in policies and institutions both within and without the youth sector;   
Connections: Creating collaborative environments that bring governments, young people, civil society and all other development sectors together to ensure the realisation of young people’s rights, and to provide platforms for their contribution to development and democracy. Mechanisms that support young people’s participation in global and national governance are a critical part of this. 
The approaches above will be supported by the evidence base of recent evaluation and baseline reports, and the Commonwealth’s existing research and policy guidance tools developed in collaboration with member states and all stakeholders. 
Commonwealth Youth Programme Evaluation Report (2017)
2016 Youth Development Index (YDI)
Youth Entrepreneurship Policy Guide (2015)
Youth Mainstreaming Handbook (2017)
Youth Work Baseline Report (2016)
Guide to Optimising National Youth Development Systems (2017)
Draft to Establishing and Strengthening National Youth Councils (2017)
State of Student Governance in the Commonwealth (2016)

Strategies will focus on the most effective and sustainable impact pathways for policy and practice changes in government and other stakeholders that offer value for money and practical, effective approaches to changing mindsets, institutions and systems/mechanisms and ultimately bring change for young people. Strategies will include policy influencing through:  

Supporting governments to implement youth-mainstreamed and evidence-based approaches to development planning for youth in order to ensure youth empowerment and equitable development outcomes for youth
Supporting governments to formulate and implement youth entrepreneurship strategies in order to ensure a sustainable and supported ecosystem for youth entrepreneurship.  
Supporting the development of youth networks and organisations at national and global level to ensure young people’s participation in global and national governance, and policy and practice transformation on youth issues and broader societal issues (Eg: the Commonwealth Youth Council, the Commonwealth Students’ Association and the Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs etc.),  
The development of policy and practice guidance, and education and training, for professionalisation of the youth work sector,
Supporting the establishment and strengthening of professional associations of youth workers in member countries in order to ensure the quality and integrity of the profession, and the strengthening of the global Commonwealth Alliance of Youth Workers’ Associations (CAYWA) in order to consolidate a global identity for youth workers, including for sharing knowledge and good practice and advocating for the profession at international level.

This project will utilise the Commonwealth’s comparative advantages and recognised global leadership position in youth development, including building on its long history of working with youth-led and youth-serving institutions, to advance the meaningful engagement of young people in policy and high-level governance processes.  

At the end of this four-year Commonwealth Youth Programme Project we will expect to see:
an increase in the number of youth-related policies such as standalone youth policies, youth work policy, youth entrepreneurship policy, policies that ensure youth participation in governance (both political and institutional governance) including within higher secondary and tertiary educational institutions;
enhanced coordinated, youth mainstreamed approaches to delivering outcomes for young people, including a youth lens in national and global planning in all economic, social and political spheres and in all sectors. 
strong national, regional and pan-Commonwealth youth networks that are contributing to policy setting, and leading work to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
National Youth Development Index (YDI) and other youth-related research that help track long-term outcomes for youth and enable evidence-based planning for young people in Commonwealth member states.
The recognition of youth work (the key profession specializing in youth engagement) as a professional category in Commonwealth member states.