Date:24/01/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/01/24/stories/2007012416670900.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Spotlight on youth policies, programmes

Staff Reporter

Participants discuss best practices

CHENNAI : The five-day regional consultation on youth policies and programmes inaugurated by R.K. Mishra, regional director, Commonwealth Youth Programme, Asia Centre, ended here on Friday. The programme was organised along with the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

International delegates, including policy makers from Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India, participated.

Several participants expressed the view that policy was frequently not translated into action and that action plans were needed to initiate implementation. Some of the best practices listed were the allocation of three percent of the Maldives Government's budget for youth development, utilising of youth organisations for youth development by the Government of India, the initiation of North-South dialogue for youth development by the Government of Sri Lanka and the feedback system organised by the Malaysian Government.

Others included the youth cooperatives in Brunei, partnership with grassroots level organisations in Bangladesh and allocation of a youth research fund in Singapore.

One concern raised by participants was that there was no universal categorisation of the youth age group. The Indian Government includes adolescents in its youth category of 13-35 years.