Youth empowerment

Today, the world is home to the largest generation of youth in history. While youth demonstrate the ingenuity, creativity and energy to create positive solutions for themselves and their communities, their full potential remains untapped. DRC focuses on empowering displaced and host community youth as the much-needed change agents in regions marred by protracted conflict and political instability.

Why work with youth?

Today there are over 2,4 billion people between the ages of 10-29

90 percent of youth live in the Global South

As a lot of their homecountries are tainted by conflict, youth faces difficulty growing under healthy circumstances

The share of young people will continue to grow in both displacement and host communities

The DRC youth approach

Youth participation and engagement

Programs and policy can only be more effective if host governments, humanitarian and development partners collaborate with young people on the matters that concern them. DRC is committed to promote meaningful, inclusive youth participation in conflict and displacement contexts to ensure programmes and policies pertaining to youth are informed by their diverse perspectives, and thus are more representative and sustainable.

The DRC youth approach

Youth focused and inclusive programming

In recognition of the capacities of youth to be a transformative positive force driving development and sustainability, DRC focuses on working with and for displaced and host community youth to fulfil their potential and to improve the structural barriers that disadvantage young people.

Over the past several years, DRC has focused on developing flagship models for empowering refugee and host community youth in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Tunisia and the Sahel.

The DRC youth approach

Advocacy and mobilization on the youth agenda

DRC is a member of the Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action and is committed to enhancing future opportunities for displaced and host community youth through engagement in the Global Compact for Refugees (GCR) processes and several commitments at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF).

DRC is coordinating a joint youth pledge by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and seven major NGOs to support local and refugee youth and to promote the youth agenda towards the second GRF in 2023.

Read about the With and For Youth network here

DRC's Youth organisation

DFUNK- Danish Refugee Council Youth

DFUNK (Danish Refugee Council Youth) was created in 2007 and established as an independent organization in 2009. DFUNK is governed by a board of 10 young people, 7 of whom currently have displacement experience. DFUNK engages 800 volunteers in Denmark and has a growing project portfolio related to youth empowerment, advocacy, education, and self-reliance in addition to social and intercultural activities. The Chairperson of DFUNK is an observing member of DRC’s Board which supports the ongoing dialogue between DFUNK and DRC on the inclusion of youth in DRC’s organization and programs.

We Believe In Youth!

The initiative “We Believe in Youth” aims to make sure young people affected by displacement will have a role in the further roll out of the GCR and the GRF and that their voices are heard and included.

Read the young peoples recommendations

Take action towards the Global Refugee Forum 2023