Event Promotes Multisectoral Partnerships to Tackle Youth Issues in Colombia
Read All PostsThe International Youth Foundation (IYF) joined the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Fundacion Antonio Restrepo Barco (FRB) on November 10, 2011, to host a day-long learning event devoted to examining the many challenges facing Colombia’s youth and to developing effective strategies to improve their lives and prospects. Participants included top representatives from the government, the private sector, and civil society organizations, as well as from the international donor community. The event also served as the launch of the Obra initiative in Colombia, which is part of a broader effort organized by IYF and supported by USAID to build multi-sector partnerships across Latin America and the Caribbean to promote the positive development of the region’s at-risk youth.
“Young people here in Colombia are remarkable assets to their communities, offering their enormous energy, innovative ideas, and determination to change the world for the better,” said Scott LeFevre, Director of the Obra program at IYF. “But these young people urgently need our support to realize their hopes for the future, and we’re here today to commit ourselves to that cause.”
As part of the event, participants assessed the multiple challenges facing Colombia’s young people, including the high rate of youth unemployment, the thousands of families who have been displaced by violence, the rising number of school drop outs, and the nearly one third of the population living in extreme poverty. Other sessions were designed to promote the lessons learned over the past two years from Obra’s partnership building efforts across Latin America and the Caribbean, with a particular focus on how to effectively engage the private sector in preparing Colombia’s young people to enter the workforce. Youth from the region joined the discussion around progress being made on youth issues and needs that remain unmet.
The Obra initiative was launched in 2009 by IYF, with support from the US State Department and USAID, in response to US President Obama’s call at the 2009 Summit of the Americas to create more employment, education and citizenship opportunities for Latin American and the Caribbean youth. Over the past two years, Obra has experienced considerable success in developing multi-sector alliances that have expanded opportunities for at-risk youth. To date, the initiative has benefitted more than 2,000 youth through life skills, employment and educational training; leveraged USAID’s initial US$2 million with nearly $4 million in new contributions; served as a clearinghouse for shared information, resources, and best practices in innovative youth programming; and helped increase the dialogue around urgent issues facing young people.
The Fundacion Antonio Restrepo Barco is a non-governmental organization, recognized by the United Nations and the OAS, which focuses on the most vulnerable communities via programs supporting children and youth. Since 2008 the Foundation has developed multiple interventions to support displaced populations and indigenous in the Sierra Nevada region. Currently it serves as secretariat for Obra in Colombia.