Shaping Policy and Practice

If we want progress, we need change that lasts in the long-run and impact everyone.

We know we can help an individual change behaviour in a positive way. But our work goes beyond that.

Young people are too often excluded from the policy-making procedures that directly affect their lives.

This often results in sub-optimal decisions and poor development results. We will get governments and policy-makers committed to creating an environment that recognises and supports the active role of young people in society at all levels.

We will help young people get involved.

Not only in setting development priorities and allocating resources, but also in turning paper plans into action on the ground.

We will show those who drive policy and development practices how they can meaningfully engage young people.

And we will always be transparent about what is working and what is not.

We will

• Ensure that youth sector coordinating bodies comprised of government, donor, private sector and civil society actors are established and operating in a participatory and accountable manner for the 680 million young people in the countries where we have a full-time presence. 
• Conduct at least two national youth audits looking at policy and practice on the ground in every country that we work over the next five-year period, substantially led and presented by trained young people.
• Form and participate in coalitions which engage government, donor and private sector actors in a sustained manner to ensure a clear youth agenda is being articulated, pursued and held to account.

We HAVE

Built government capacity on sexual and reproductive health in Zambia.

Restless Development Zambia staff and volunteers delivered 97 capacity building workshops in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education for external Ministry of Education staff.

Working to standardise the quality of SRH education provision across the country, 297 teachers have been trained and furnished with the minimum standards and updated with the latest HIV-related research. We collaborated with the Ministry of Education to develop an innovative national Teacher Resource training document on gender and HIV. 14,000 copies of the document are now available at teaching centres across Zambia and online through e-learning resource websites.

Over 7,500 SRH lessons have now been conducted. By building the capacity of teachers to deliver the sexual health and HIV awareness message, Restless Development in Zambia has been able to bring about positive behaviour change in young people across the country. We have recorded an increase from 43% to 75% in young people adopting abstinence, fidelity or contraceptive use, and a rise from 76% to 90% in those demonstrating knowledge of HIV/AIDS following our capacity building in schools. 

Organised youth consultations in Tanzania.

In collaboration with Policy Forum, Restless Development organised a series of regional youth consultations in Tanzania involving 83 civil society organisations. This culminated in May 2010, with the first ever National Youth Consultation in Dar Es Salaam, facilitated by Restless Development.

We brought together 150 young men and women from across Tanzania for a two day workshop, providing an opportunity for youth representatives to input their views on poverty reduction, life quality and social well-being, governance and accountability, as well as strategies for increasing their involvement in monitoring policy implementation. Nine youth representatives were then nominated to attend the national forum where they represented the key issues that affect young people in Tanzania. The participants also provided detailed feedback on the draft document as well as proposing recommendations.

The process is ongoing, but we have received positive commitments to the recommendations being incorporated, including the Tanzanian Government citing these key issues at a joint UN meeting.