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?
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 Global Refugee Forum 2023 and beyond
Every four years, states, refugees, civil society, the private sector and other actors come together at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) to share best practices and provide pledges in terms of, for example, financial support, technical expertise, and propose policy changes to achieve the goals of the Global Compact for Refugees.
From the 13th-15th of December 2023, the 2nd Global Refugee Forum (GRF) took place, and youth were on the agenda! Read about our work to promote meaningful participation of young people towards, during, and beyond GRF 2023.
Young people’s input to key policy processes
On International Youth Day, 12 August, directly from DRC’s office Kampala, Uganda, young people presented their views, engaged with high-level representatives from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and provided recommendations to some of the most important policy processes at current time, including the upcoming UN Summit of the Future, the strategy of Denmark's engagement in Africa, and beyond.
The World's Biggest Opportunity Podcast
The purpose of the podcast series is to explore challenges and solutions for improving opportunities for the world’s largest generation of youth in history. Through four thematic Podcast episodes, Haya – a young woman from Syria, living in Denmark – will explore central aspects related to the global youth agenda with a specific focus on displacement and humanitarian aspects. Through conversations with the most insightful and committed actors, Haya will invite a broader audience – including young people, civil society actors, the private sector, governments, donors, and others – to join the journey, gain knowledge and engage.
We Believe in Youth
Youth agency, leadership, and engagement in all aspects that concern them are gaining more momentum in international policy forum, and the voices of youth are becoming a force of global change. The We Believe in Youth initiative advocates for the systemic, meaningful, and effective participation of young people in displacement i the lead-up to the Global Refugee Forum 2023 and beyond. Read more about the initiative here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Projects from the field
The RYSE project: Resilient Youth, Socially and Economically Empowered
Read moreThe CHASE project- Capable, Hopeful, Accepted, Safe and Engaged Youth in Lebanon
Read moreAspirations vs Realities: Pathways to youth empowerment and self-reliance in Jordan
Read moreThe ACREM-MEDMED 1 Project - Youth employment in Tunisia
Read moreYouth digital employment opportunities in Türkiye
Read moreWant to know more? Please contact:
Jakob
Illemann Myschetzky
Advisor, Youth in Displacement