Empleo rural decente

G20 conference highlights importance of decent jobs for youth in the rural economy

03/05/2017

In the context of renewed concerns about food security, demographic changes and globalization, rural development and youth employment are at the centre of the international development agenda.

"The future of humankind will be decided in rural areas," said Dr. Gerd Müller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, while addressing participants at the ONE WORLD - No Hunger. Future of the Rural World conference held in Berlin, on 27 and 28 April 2017. The high-level conference, linked to the German G20 Presidency, brought together over 600 actors from public and private sectors, academia and civil society, including 130 young people who presented and discussed concrete solutions to youth challenges in rural areas.

Throughout the conference, participants emphasized the critical importance of creating decent jobs and better prospects for young people in rural areas. As an outcome of the event, the Berlin Charter was handed over by conference participants to Dr Müller. The Charter relied on a highly participatory process that gathered ideas from youth and other key stakeholders and experts around the most needed actions to address rural challenges and shape the rural world positively for the young generations. It is intended to serve as a guidance for decision-makers with a view to boosting their involvement in efforts to foster rural development and youth employment.

From call to action: The Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth

The Berlin conference offered a great opportunity to engage with youth and development partners in the context of the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, launched by the ILO Director-General in February 2016. The ILO, in collaboration with FAO, organized a session to discuss the rural youth employment challenge and introduce the Global Initiative's plan of action to enhance decent jobs for youth in the rural economy.

"The Global Initiative is the most comprehensive UN system-wide effort for the promotion of youth employment worldwide," said Ms. Susana Puerto, ILO's Senior Youth Employment Specialist. "The initiative's objective," continued Ms. Puerto, "is to scale up country-level action and increased impact on decent jobs for youth through innovation and collaboration." Devised around a strategic alliance of multiple partners within and beyond the UN system, the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth is a unique cooperation platform to maximize the effectiveness of investments in youth employment and to assist Member States in delivering on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In her keynote remarks, Dr. Louise Fox, Chief Economist at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) commended the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth for aligning and encouraging partners to join forces at country and local levels, thereby providing an effective operational platform to make a difference in the lives of young people. "Country-level action needs to focus on rural transformation," stated Dr. Fox, "and on scaling up evidence-based initiatives to empower youth in rural areas, in particular young women and adolescent girls".

Moving forward, Mr. Peter Wobst, Senior Programme Advisor at FAO, outlined concrete actions of the Global Initiative to support youth in the rural economy. He emphasized the opportunity to utilize the Global Initiative to translate the Berlin Charter and the G20 Initiative for Rural Youth Employment into action. Dr. Bruno Losch, co-director of the Center for the Study of Governance Innovation in South Africa and lead political economist at Cirad further elaborated on the importance of structural transformation to boost youth labour demand in sub-Saharan Africa. 

In her concluding remarks, Ms. Puerto invited participants from the worlds of politics, the private sector, academia and civil society to join forces with the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth: "We cannot do it alone, but together we can achieve the scale and impact that is needed to transform rural economies into attractive and profitable venues where youth can grow, develop skills and earn a decent living."

For more information and to explore collaboration with the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, please contact [email protected]

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