ICT AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

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ICT AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

• PREAMBLE

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Information and communication technologies (ICTs)
are one of the mostpotent forces shaping the
21st century, dramatically impacting the
wayyoung people live, learn, and work. Yet the
majority of today's youngpeople live on the
wrong side of the digital divide, in
communitiesthat are exposed to the sights and
sounds of a new world, but whichoffer them
insufficient education or economic opportunity to
be a partof it.
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How do we, as a national body, harness the power
of ICTs to draw youngpeople in from the
 economic and social margins? What lessons
areemerging from recent experiences? How do we
engage young people aspartners in such efforts?
Such questions are essential efforts
toeffectively utilize ICTs for the benefit of
the cream of our society-children and youth.
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Recognizing that the urgent challenges facing
today's young peopledemand far-reaching
 solutions, new and innovative partnerships
haveemerged aimed at expanding the reach of ICTs
to those young peoplemost in need. These
collaborative efforts among the public,
 private,and civil society sectors play an
increasingly valuable role,particularly when it
comes to strengthening and scaling up
educationaland employment opportunities for
youth.
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Below here are several initiatives launched in
closecollaboration with local and international
stakeholders  working toimprove the conditions
and prospects for young people worldwide.But
first lets focus on the local scenery.
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INITIATIVES

• LOCAL /NATIONAL ENDEAVOURS
• Involvement of youth in ICT development in The
  Gambia.

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Local Initiatives. Few examples

• Bahai Computer training centre
• Quantum net and Associates
• Gamtel/GTMI
• GTTI
• Private and Community FM radio Stations
• Proliferation of News papers
• Global Satellite Mobile phones
• TV station
• Internet cafe
• The Internet awareness week in the early days
  of the introduction of internet in the Gambia
  enticed many to embrace ICT.

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International /Global initiatives
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Bridgeit

• Bridgeit is a global initiative seeking to
  improve the quality oflearning and teaching in
  underserved schools and communitiesworldwide. By
  leveraging existing ICT in innovative ways,
  Bridgeitrepresents a cost-effective approach to
  closing the ever-wideningeducation gap that
  continues torestrict social and economic
  progress in developing countries.

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the initiative ensures thatunderserved schools
andcommunities gain access, often for the first
time, to cutting-edgelearning materials through
mobile technology. Bridgeit enhances thequality
of learning by

• Delivering easy-to-use, media-rich learning
  materialsthat support local curriculum
  objectives using existingmobile and other
  communications technologies

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Bridgeit initiatives con1.

• Providing teachers with the training they need to
  makeeffective and creative use of these
  materials
• Combining high-quality service support with
  standards-based teaching guides and lesson
  plans

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In May 2003, Bridgeit launched a pilot project in
thePhilippines, called text2teach, in
collaboration with theAyala Foundation,
Philippines Department of Education,and
Southeast Asian Ministries of Education
Organization(SEAMEO-INNOTECH). The initiative
uses wirelesstechnology to equip 5th and 6th
grade teachers withmulti-media materials in the
natural sciences.
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Participatingteachers access a library of 120
KnowledgeBox videos, which aredownloaded to a
digital video recorder connected  to a television
inthe classroom. Currently operating in 40
schools across thePhilippines, text2teach is
reaching more than 14,000 students.
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Innovative Learning
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Stimulating educational opportunitieshelp young
people learn moreeffectively, stay in school,
and realizetheir potential once they leave
theclassroom. Yet the vast majority oftoday's
young people lack access tothe technology,
educational resources,and well-trained teachers
critical totheir success.
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Enhanced learning andtraining opportunities that
engagestudents and boost their employabilityare
critical to every young person'sdevelopment as a
productive,independent, and contributing
citizen.Here are two innovative
programsdesigned to dramatically expand
theapplication of ICT to the needs
ofdisadvantaged young people.
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IT4Youth
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IT4Youth is a pilot program designed to introduce
ICTs to underservedyoung people in  order to
enhance their learning skills andemployability.
Since April 2001, IT4Youth has been implemented
in thePalestinian West Bank by IYF and the
Welfare Association, aPalestinian  non-profit
foundation, with significant support fromUSAID
and the Intel Corporation, among others. To date,
more than4,000 8th to 10th grade students have
benefited.
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In addition

• Computer labs have been installed in 14 rural
  high schools,where teachers are trained to
  deliver an interactive, student-centered IT
  curriculum
• A Regional IT Center (RITC) provides youth with
  access tovocational, life skills, andemployment
  training, a job bank, and the Internet
• The first Intel Computer Clubhouse in the Arab
  world was
• Established.
• Over 300 youth have participated in the RITC
  and Computer Clubhouse-basededucational,
  vocational, and recreational activities.

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Global Initiatives.continues
entra 21
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In response to growing numbers of unemployed
youth  in Latin Americaand the Caribbean, IYF
and the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) ofthe
Inter-  American Development Bank launched entra
21, a regionalinitiative to expand training and
employment placement opportunitiesfor the
region's youth. The US25 million initiative
seeks to build abridge between labor
marketneeds and young people whose capabilities
make themideal candidates to fill the ICT skills
gap.
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Entra 21 will benefit upto 12,000 disadvantaged
youth through ICT training and job
placement.Partners include Lucent Technologies,
Microsoft, Merrill Lynch, andUSAID.Entra 21
support is currently
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Providing technical training and support to 500
youngpeople in Colombia in skills that are in
demand by local employers Benefiting 600
disadvantaged high school graduates in Panama,
whoare being trained asoperators and
telemarketers Boosting the technical and
personal skills of 360 youth in theDominican
Republic
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Youth Employment Network
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IYF is a founding participant in the United
Nations Youth EmploymentNetwork (YEN) and
 currently serves as secretariat of
itsEmployability Skills Working Group. Working
with public, private, andnonprofit sector
leaders, YEN members advise and support the
WorldBank and the International Labour
Organization (ILO) in  developing
UNSecretary-General Kofi Annan'sinitiative on
youth employment. YEN works to help government
leadersdevelop and implement national action
plans to expand investments inemployability
training, equal opportunities for
women,entrepreneurship, and job creation. Among
the national strategiespromoted by YEN to
stimulate youth employmentgeneration through
ICTs are
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Youth Employment Network

• Providing young people with opportunities to
  develop ICT literacythrough the educationsystem
  and/or ICT training facilities, as well as
  provide them withaffordable access to
  computersand the Internet
• Building the technical ICT skills of young
  people in collaborationwith the ICT
  industry,educational institutions, and other
  actors to design and accreditculturally relevant
  and youth-friendly courses and

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Youth Employment Network..cont.

• Facilitating and fostering community
  initiatives and partnershipsbetween public,
  private andmultilateral institutions to ensure
  that actions at the local,national, and
  international levels tobridge the digital divide
  are mutually reinforcing.

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CHALLENGES
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As much promise as the information age holds,
ICTs alone can't satisfymany of the fundamental
challenges that young people confront everyday.
For example, simply installing a computer in a
classroom won'tenable an untrained student to
reap the benefits of technology. Ateacher needs
to be part of the student's learning experience,
helpthe student understand how a computer works,
and how technology canhelp them achieve dramatic
results in their education. . Not only must
acompetent adult be involved in the young
person's life, providingassistance when needed,
but a safe and functional environment
isnecessary to foster positive results.  These
are all pieces of thecomplex puzzle of positive
youth development, and ICT represents
 aneffective means to a successful result.
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In conclusion

• Children and young people are a very
  appropriate target group forICT initiatives. The
  rangeof beneficial impacts of ICT exposure and
  training on young people isextensive. In
  addition,young people are generally very
  enthusiastic about new technologiesand quick to
  learn new skills.
• While young people are motivated, it is
  important that competent andknowledgeable adults
  sup- port their experience with ICTs. While
  itcan be argued that young people can teach
  themselves basic ICT skills,this does not negate
  the need for qualified staff to guide and
  supportthe learning process. Indeed, this
  support and guidance are criticalto the
  long-term success of these initiatives.

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Conclusion continues

• The importance of effective training and ongoing
  support foreducators cannot be underestimated.
  There needs to be assurance thatICTs are used
  effectively to teach and promote true
  learning.Providing access to ICTs is only a
  first step. Making sure that thisaccess is
  transformed into  productive use remains a key
  challenge.
• The importance of effective training and ongoing
  support foreducators cannot be underestimated.
  There needs to be assurance thatICTs are used
  effectively to teach and promote true
  learning.Providing access to ICTs is only a
  first step. Making sure that thisaccess is
  transformed into  productive use remains a key
  challenge.

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Conclusion continues

• Youth ICT initiatives can be used to address
  issues ranging frombasic education access to
   promoting HIV/AIDS prevention. Thetechnology
  should be widely available and apply to the
   cross-sectionof challenges that confront youth.
   While ICTs are relevant to manyfacets of youth
  development, other initiatives and ICT policies
  have been able to develop and executea variety
  of ICT initiatives that address serious issues
  related toincreasing access to basic education
  and employment training.

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CONCLUSIVE REMARKS
Youth are key stakeholders and assets in
realizing the Information Society and Knowledge
Economy vision for each country. Young people
have great potential as leaders in using ICT to
achieve more sustainable development in their
communities and around the world Basic ICT and
communication skills as pre-requisite skillsets
which can be polished through involvement in
project implementation process. Youthfulness
promises STRENGTH, ADVENTURE and CONTINUITY Young
people form the bridge between today and
tomorrow Youths are leaders in ICT policy,
processes and application globally If young
people are equipped and involved, tomorrow is
assured and today is safe. ICTs are powerful
but need human resources young people form the
major percentage of world population.
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Equip an adult and youve saved a life, help a
young person and youve empowered a
generation The concept of peer pressure works in
spreading knowledge, e.g. Certifications Involved
youth can increase efficiency if
empowered. Serious nations consider youth
empowerment and inclusion a major
task/responsibility We need to plug the likely
holes that can pluck youths HIV/AIDS,
Unemployment, Poverty, Illiteracy, etc, etc.  If
we are going to have a new generation of Gambian
youths who are equipped with appropriate ICT
skills and are thus positioned for Personal
Development, Nation Building, Regional
Cooperation and Global Participation. I therefore
see a new Gambia emerging, one that will be built
on the labours of our heroes past, hewn out of
the debris of the present waste and engineered by
the strength of the future leaders the youth.
These young men and women will adopt Information
Technology for the purpose of personal
development, nation building, regional
cooperation and global participation. They may be
unknown today, but in the secrecy of their abode,
they master the tool that will change their lives
and that of their nation. They're building the
nations tomorrow today.
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Therefore it is time to Encourage African youth
in the production and dissemination of knowledge
resources.   We should all put the African youth
as one of its key target groups and ensure that
they are the recipients of traditional and
indigenous knowledge.   African youth must be
empowered and involved in the processes that seek
to establish Africa as a major partner in the
Information Society.   Encouraged Youth-led
efforts and initiatives in order to bridge the
Generation Divide. Youth are both development
agent and development goals      The median age
of the African population is less than 20     
The young people of today are tomorrow
stakeholder   Youth have many assets, talents and
resources to offer, but it is increasingly
getting difficult for young people, between the
ages of 15 and 24, to enter the labour market.
     Youth unemployment is one dimension of the
general and widespread problem of
unemployment/underemployment.  
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Thank you for your audience