Growing up with albinism, Harouna felt estranged from those around him. However, since joining other young people in hosting ‘Youth Talk’ radio shows, he has been confidently and powerfully reporting on Mali’s most salient issues. “This project, the other participants, allowed me to be me, accept myself. I tell other kids to listen to us, to heed the voices that have the power to make you believe in yourself,” he says.

The Youth Talk project, initiated by Search for Common Ground (Search), has amplified the voice and agency of hundreds of young people like Harouna in the countries of Mali, South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR). As well as enabling youth journalists to produce high-quality radio programmes, Youth Talk has increased their awareness of their role and capacities as agents of change. It has also fostered their motivation, entrepreneurialism and success. By giving young people opportunities to raise issues through their own radio programmes, the project has had a positive impact on wider community perceptions of youth perspectives, including on challenging issues such as forced marriage. This has contributed to the inclusion of youth in shaping media discourse as a central element of democracy in the three countries.

ENABLING FACTORS

Search took a holistic approach to accessibility and inclusion, with context-specific selection criteria that focused on diverse and harder-to-reach participants.

The project used radio as a suitable medium, as it acted as the main source of information in all project locations. It was used to provide platforms for young people to be heard and take part in dialogues on those issues that affect them.

To enable transformative change in young people’s place in society, the project also bridged intergenerational divides and reinforced mutual understanding, for example through home visits and
community consultations in Mali.

To ensure meaningful involvement, the project design addressed different barriers to participation, for example through a tailored safeguarding policy to address protection concerns arising from the conflict-affected contexts and an increased public profile. Close engagement with parents, guardians and caregivers helped reduce normative barriers relating to the participants’ gender, age and other identity factors. Resource barriers were addressed through measures such as the provision of food and contributions to school fees.

To enable participants to address difficult issues in their own radio programmes, they were trained on radio journalism and conflict transformation including skills such as research, editorial practice, conflict analysis and active listening. The young journalists were also helped to build up their emotional resilience, including sessions to prepare them for dealing with potentially traumatic stories shared by interviewees.

PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION

Young people make up the majority of the population in Mali, South Sudan and the CAR. Yet recent peace negotiations and other political processes in these conflict-affected countries have mainly been limited to adult elites. To support young people in being heard on important issues and to help them shape their societies, Search initiated the ‘Youth Talk’ project, supported by the Bezos Family Foundation. In 2019-2022, Youth Talk worked to empower young people in the three countries through radio programming.

Search trained over 350 youth journalists from Mali, South Sudan and the CAR on how to produce and facilitate interactive radio programmes. These young people reported on local conflicts and used their unique stories to tackle difficult issues in their communities, speaking about issues such as forced marriage, violence against minorities and their first-hand experience of the impact of war on their education. They worked to find solutions to these problems, reaching out to thousands of their peers across the three countries and uniting their voices. To provide a common platform for young people and adults, the project also established consultative workshops and intergenerational dialogue sessions with community members.

By elevating youth voices and perspectives, Youth Talk contributed to more-inclusive media discourses as a central element of democracy in Mali, South Sudan and the CAR. An external evaluation conducted in 2022 found that the radio shows had successfully brought youth voices to the forefront. Indeed, some 90% of community members who listened to the young journalists’ radio programmes agreed that these added value to critical social and political issues, a considerable increase from 43%, when Youth Talk was launched. The project showed that the media has the ability to leverage youth’s change-making power, influence the social norms surrounding them, popularise their perspectives and ensure that they participate in decision-making, ultimately creating a more peaceful, democratic society for all.

The challenges facing young people in Albania may not be unique, but the actions being taken to transform these challenges into opportunities are. Among other issues, these young people – particularly those living in the pilot cities of this programme – are at risk of becoming involved in criminal activities from a very early age. RAYS (Reconnecting Albanian Youth and Society) is focused on directing this particular at-risk group towards positive life choices and alternative pathways as they grow. It is aimed at creating an enabling environment that allows them to engage in extra-curricular initiatives, designed both with and for them.

The initiatives that RAYS has undertaken are focused on art and sport as well as providing young people with soft skills such as leadership, advocacy, teamwork and conflict resolution. Through the ‘Youth-Led Initiative’ – a funding scheme in support of youth-driven community actions, RAYS is currently mentoring 12 groups of young people in implementing 12 community and advocacy campaigns. Bringing young people and other local stakeholders together to change the status quo and address some of the problems that most concern their communities was key to the successful implementation of these youth-led and youth-driven initiatives.

PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION

As part of the efforts to direct young people’s life choices away from crime, RAYS has created the ‘Youth-Led Initiative’. This allows young people aged 14-18, living in three Albanian cities, the chance to engage in youth engagement and youth activism. The initiative features youth-driven actions that promote social cohesion and inclusion, encourage civic engagement and informed decision-making, promote art- and sport-based activities and encourage responsible actions for environmental integrity. A new funding scheme, worth up to UK£2500, made available to 12 groups of young people. This equipped them with the financial resources, tools, skills and access to policymaking bodies to address some of their own needs and al- lowed them to implement a series of local community and advocacy campaigns. RAYS sought to address the fundamental issues this particular at-risk group faces and direct them to positive life choices, away from crime.

ENABLING FACTORS

Adopting a coproduction space

RAYS has identified that one of the key solutions to be both inclusive and successful is to meaningfully involve young people and children in the design and delivery process of the RAYS initiatives. Adopting a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach – which takes no account of individual needs – is ineffective when it comes to addressing the needs of young people and the communities in which they live. RAYS treats young people as equal partners in the decisions that impact them. By codesigning and cocreating alongside young people and other local stakeholders, RAYS ensures the results obtained meet the needs of those young people.

Building on the potential of youth

Aiming to empower these leading groups of young people, RAYS has improved their project management and advocacy skills in order to ensure they have the tools and abilities required to implement their initiatives and become agents of change. Through this, RAYS has achieved more than just providing a platform for these young people to share their know-how. It is also changing the narratives and perspectives that surround how young people can become an integral part of local solutions.

Supporting collaborative governance

RAYS fosters a collaborative environment and is supporting these young people in sitting at the table with policymakers at a local level. For example, some of the groups have brought to the attention of their local governments the need for specific actions on matters of public space use, youth engagement and informed decision making.

The implementation of the Youth-Led Initiative is still ongoing. The fact that young people are being given the chance to be heard is an important step towards connecting them with key stakeholders at a local level. Young people consider the Youth-Led Initiative as an important experience, as it is helping to bridge the gap and create links between youth and local institutions in their cities. This benefits the youth community as a whole. In terms of impact, when we speak with the young people involved about the impact of these initiatives, one thing in particular resonates with them. It is the idea that once they are better equipped with financial resources and skills and meaningfully involved in the design and implementation process, they are genuinely empowered to bring about positive change within the communities where they live.