FAO-ILO Joint Programme on youth employment in Nepal. "Jobs for peace: 12,500 youth employed and empowered through an integrated approach"
A new FAO-ILO joint programme to promote youth employment in Nepal has been launched, in partnership with UN Peace Building Fund for Nepal. The programme “Jobs for peace: 12,500 youth employed and empowered through an integrated approach” will last two years for an amount of USD 2,656,000.
The joint programme will focus on promoting youth employment in rural areas as a way to promote peace and social cohesion, as well as providing productive alternatives to violence to the youth in the post-conflict process of reintegration.
Specifically, through employment and empowerment of youths, the joint programme will enhance conflict-affected youth’s access to resources and skills that are critical for their livelihoods, and will create opportunities for productive and decent employment in affected communities, including through post-conflict rehabilitation if necessary. It will also promote the peaceful gathering of young people and communities through business development and social development activities, facilitating communication and interchange and strengthening the peace building process. The objective of the FAO-ILO programme is to create at least 12,500 jobs for young women and men, through making their engagement in self-employment more sustainable as well as enabling them to start and run their own business in agriculture, off-farm and non-farm activities.
The joint programme has been designed and will be implemented through an integrated approach which combines: i) development of community infrastructure; ii) training-cum-production; iii) entrepreneurship development; iv) empowerment of youth groups; v) strengthening of cooperatives; vi) facilitating access to financial services, and vii) a trust fund for youth-led projects. Employment opportunities in the communities will be identified by the communities through a participatory process. Different tools and methodologies of ILO and FAO will be integrated, adapted and made available for the creation of opportunities for productive employment and decent work.
The joint programme will use well-established ILO and FAO approaches, such as the Start & Improve Your Business (SIYB), Farmer Field Schools (FFS) and Junior Farmer Fields and Life Schools (JFFLS). This initiative is a positive signal of a growing collaboration between the two agencies. It is also a great opportunity to develop FAO-ILO joint approaches and methodologies for enterprise development, JFFLS targeted at youth employment, and for establishing interagency collaboration at country level.