The “Youth Forum for National Youth Policies” is formed of youth NGOs and youth wings in political parties that are registered at the Lebanese government. It is a space where youth from NGOs and political parties work together with aim to raise their voices and get them through to decision makers in form of youth policy recommendations. Its role is also to monitor the endorsement of the youth policy, its implementation, and its evaluation, which eventually contributes to achieving the national good. The Youth Forum’s role is lobby for issuing new legislation or amending existing ones to allow the implementation of the youth policy.
WHY the “Youth Forum for National Youth Policies”
The first role of the “Youth Forum for National Youth Policies” is to achieve youth participation in decision making processes inside their own organizations when it comes to youth policy in the overall frame of the civil, political, and social rights, and taking into account the variances in mentalities and traditions across the various Lebanese communities, and the political and economic contexts in the country. The second role is to raise young people’s awareness over existing laws and policies that discriminate against them. The third role is to work towards incorporating the youth policy recommendations into the Lebanese constitution and laws. The fourth role is to contribute to its evaluation after some years of implementation with the aim to improve it. The fifth role is to enhance civil peace among all Lebanese citizens. Moreover, the Youth Forum can play additional roles to its essential role. It could be a Forum that gathers Lebanese youth from the various colors of the political spectrum in Lebanon. It could create an incentive for youth to raise youth issues, through:
– Advocating youth friendly policies. The collective work of youth within the Forum creates a wide base of support and a lobbying force that facilitates the process of amending legislation that discriminate against young people.
– Networking among youth NGOs and youth wings in political parties, which help in reaching out to new stakeholders. This also facilitates the process of accessing information that is relevant to youth. It is noteworthy here that the Youth Forum premise (when available) should be connected to the internet to follow the flow of information rapid pace. All this helps in enhancing the awareness over the importance of having a youth policy, and accelerates the support for it.
– Youth gathering regularly, which helps in updating information on youth needs and ambitions; this is a basis for any youth policy.
– Finding a space for dialogue aiming at bringing youth together, away from political polarization, and focusing dialogue around young people’s common needs and ambitions, and not over their political differences, which is a legal right, and should not lead to disagreements, hatred, and cut of communication among them. The Youth Forum can organize rational political dialogue among youth and make them appreciate diversity, if a proper developmental and right- based approach is followed. This is a key stone to the youth policy in Lebanon, as youth need to know each other well and have dialogue on this basis.
The structure of the “Youth Forum for National Youth Policies”
It is useful if the Youth Forum has a youth like identity, meaning that the structure is dynamic, not pyramid like, cooperative, not competitive, and reflecting youth spontaneity and their way of thinking. This way, youth are the decision makers in the Youth Forum, which creates an incentive for them to be active.
The presence of youth from NGOs and political parties in the youth Forum is richness. This is because NGOs tend to work on developmental topics and practical skills, whereas political parties focus on mass mobilization and lobbying. In addition, both have a common agenda. This way, the relationship is complementary.
The Youth Forum is formed of specialized and sector-specific task force based on the issues proposed by youth. There is also a Coordination Group formed of the coordinators of the Task Forces; a General Assembly that enjoys the ownership of the Forum, and a Secretariat that ensures the management and coordination needed to ensure the work’s quality and sustainability.