The workshop/seminar on the "Integration of Population Education into Programmes for Rural Youth in Swaziland" is part of the second phase of activity of FAO project INT/86/P08 "Integration of Population Education into Programmes for Rural Youth in Low-Income Countries". This project is operated by the Agricultural Education and Extension Service (ESHE) of FAO using funds made available by the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) through the office of the FAO Population Programme Coordinator.
Over the past several years, many countries have begun to introduce population education into elementary and secondary school programmes. Unfortunately, in many developing countries, the majority of rural youth may have dropped out of the educational system, or have never attended school at all. Therefore, there is a need to develop a methodology for reaching out-of-school rural youth with a population education message.
The project was approved by UNFPA in December 1986 and became operational in early 1987. The long-range objective of the project, as specified in the project document is:
To reach rural youth with population education information which will draw attention to the effects of rapid population growth and the need for responsible parenthood.
The immediate objectives of the project are:
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To collect and review existing population education materials which may be useful in the development of instructional materials for leaders and members of village-level rural youth groups; |
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To develop and field test population education materials for use with rural youth groups at the village level; |
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To develop and field test population education materials for inclusion in the pre-service and in-service curriculum of agricultural and home economics extension agents and other individuals who organize and lead groups of rural youth people; |
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Based on field-test results, to develop a prototype set of population education materials for use in the educational institutions where the leaders and organizers of youth groups are being trained; |
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Through a series of regional and national workshops, to introduce the population education materials to national leaders, the staff at selected training institutions and youth leaders; |
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To review government rural youth policy and programming efforts and to assist in the planning and implementation of rural youth programmes which include population education as an integral part of regular activities. |
During the first phase of project activity, existing population education materials were collected and reviewed and contact was established with the major organizations active in the field, including Unesco, who, ILO, Population Communication Services and Population Information Programme of the Johns Hopkins University, the Population Reference Bureau, and the International Planned Parenthood Federation. An annotated bibliography of the collected materials was prepared and a report on the first phase of the project was written.
Based on an analysis of the collected materials and discussion with appropriate persons in the organizations cited above, FAO made a preliminary selection of core contents for use in population education programmes for out-of-school youth. The appropriateness of these topics and the way in which they might be most effectively introduced into ongoing programmes for out-of-school rural youth will be discussed in seminar/workshops scheduled to be held in three pilot countries (Swaziland, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe).
After the conclusion of the seminar/workshops, a prototype leader's manual will be prepared, incorporating the approved topics as fully-developed core content modules, In each case, suggestions will be provided for integrating the population education concepts into ongoing activities for rural youth. The leader's guide will also suggest audio-visual aids which may be helpful in presenting the core content modules, and provide detailed instructions for the production of these materials.
The prototype population education materials will then be field tested in the pilot countries and revised as necessary before being introduced on a national level. After the population education programme has been established on a national level in the pilot countries, a regional workshop will be held to facilitate the adoption of the programme by other countries in the region.
The process will be repeated in the other regions of the developing world over the lifetime of the project, now scheduled to continue through 1991.
The overall purpose of the workshop/seminar was to discuss the appropriate focus and presentation of population education materials for use by youth groups at the village level in Swaziland. As such, the primary objective of the workshop/seminar was to listen to and learn from local youth groups, their leaders, members of, government and non-governmental organizations involved with rural youth.
More specifically, the workshop's objectives were:
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To clearly define the subject matter content to be included in the population education programme for rural youth and to rank the subject matter topics in order of importance; |
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To describe the appropriate style and format for population education materials which would be useful in rural youth groups; |
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To outline appropriate strategies for the introduction of population education into programmes for rural youth; |
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To motivate rural youth leaders and to raise their level of enthusiasm about rural youth work and the integration of population education into rural youth activities. |
The workshop, held at the Swaziland Institute of MPA in Mbabane, Swaziland from 14-16 October, 1987, brought together rural youth, youth group leaders, government officials, representatives of non-governmental organizations and local experts on topics related to youth and population. The workshop was chaired by Mr. Harry Dlamini, Chairman of the Swaziland Youth Development Consultative Council. (The list of participants is attached as Annex 1.)
The workshop was introduced by Mr. C. P. Metcalf, UNDP Resident Representative in Swaziland. In his remarks, Mr. Metcalf emphasized that rapid population growth has been an inevitable part of national development during the past two hundred years around the world and cannot be forgotten or ignored. "Going back to the pre-industrial phase," he said, "is pure fantasy."
Mr. Metcalf also noted that change is inevitable but develoment is not. He said that to promote national development the process of change must be managed at all levels and stressed that effective use of resources for the people of Swaziland could only be achieved if there were more concern for population planning. (Mr. Metcalf's statement is attached as Annex 2.)
The workshop was officially opened by Mr. Tars Mkama, Acting Under Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior. Mr. Mkama welcomed the workshop participants and expressed his gratitude to FAO for having included Swaziland among the countries selected for pilot participation in the project. Mr. Mkama noted that the workshop was particularly timely as the Ministry of the Interior is now involved in an effort to organize and streamline all youth organizations in the country. He stressed that youth programmes in Swaziland were in a formative stage and that the assistance from the United Nations system was both necessary and appreciated.
Mr. Mkama noted that the overwhelming majority of Swaziland's population lives in rural areas and that "unless we can communicate with rural people, we cannot claim to have communicated to the people in Swaziland." (Mr. Mkama's statement is attached as Annex 3.)
