The Libyan Youth Today: Opportunities and Challenges
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The Libyan Youth Today: Opportunities and Challenges Table of contents PREFACE .................................................................................................................................. 3 Chapter I: The youth bulge is a unique opportunity for development ....................................... 7 Chapter II: Reforming education and curbing unemployment: Youth empowerment priorities and policies: .............................................................................................................................. 14 Chapter III: Enhancing participation opportunities to reduce youth exclusion and strengthen peace and security opportunities .............................................................................................. 21 Chapter IV: Gender descrimination and the exclusion of Libyan young girls from participating in community development ...................................................................................................... 29 Chapter V: Supporting youth health and combating risky behaviors ...................................... 36 Chapter 6 : Peace building and security in Libya- Youth as key partners ............................... 43 Appendix: List of the experts and key contributors ................................................................. 48 List of figures Figure 1 : Evolution of the population growth rate in Libya - estimates – ................................ 8 Figure 2. Evolution of fertility rates ........................................................................................... 8 Figure 3. Evolution of child mortality rates per 1000 children .................................................. 9 Figure 4. Evolution of the proportion of youth, children and population in the labor force .... 10 Figure 5. Evolution of population size per thousand by age group 1955-2050 ....................... 10 Figure 6. Dependency rate in Libya ......................................................................................... 12 Figure 7. Development of the youth participation in the economical activity and population and youth unemployment rates ................................................................................................ 18 Figure 8. Distribution of youth organizations by key interests (2016) .................................... 23 Figure 9. Percentage of voter registration by age out of total eligible voters (2014) ............... 24 Figure 10. Rate of high school graduates and above ................................................................ 30 Figure 11. Distribution of youth participants by priority of challenges and gender ................ 32 Figure 12. The mortality rate due to speedy driving in some countries, for every 100.000 inhabitants .............................................................................................................................. 38 Figure 13. Rate of women having consanguineous marriages by age group ........................... 41 Figure 14. Rate of women whom spouses are older than 10 years .......................................... 41 List of tables Table 1 Evolution of illiteracy rates ........................................................................................... 9 Table 2. Rate of registration and voting in multiple elections for all age groups .................... 24 Table 3 Numbers and rates of candidates aged 18-34 by type of election ............................... 25 Table 4 Some negative aspects of the marital behavior of new generations girls ................... 33 Table 5 Rates of young people suffering from depression ....................................................... 37 Table 6 Maternal health care PREFACE Libya has witnessed unprecedented youth momentum in terms of size and proportion, which presents a unique opportunity to invest in peace and development efforts. This is all the more true that the profiles of the new generation in terms of education, health, vitality and other characteristics are outstanding, both for males and females, and far superior to those of the previous ones. The interest expressed by the new generation for community issues, their home country, and public and political affairs, and its readiness to participate in promoting dialogue and peace, and in strengthening state institutions, democracy and the transitional process in general appears to be strong, as reflected in the findings of recent field consultations carried out with the youth. However, young people today face complex challenges that seem to have had an intense negative impact on their physical, social and psychological conditions, which confronted them with difficult choices and feelings swinging between despair and hope. Youngsters are the most educated and skilled, yet they are the most vulnerable to unemployment and economic exclusion. They have actively contributed to change towards building a society of freedom and social and economic justice but have ended up as the least represented at the decision-making level. Despite being the most dynamic and capable to give and to innovate, their participation in civic and political institutions is still at its lowest. Nor should we overlook the fact that modern Libyan girls are highly educated and knowledgeable compared too many neighbouring countries and even to the young males in Libya, still they face values that strongly hinder their emancipation and participation. Among the most important challenges that impede the participation and mobility of young people today and which, from a youth perspective, requires urgent policies and procedures interventions primarily concerned with protecting youth and their spaces from violence and abuse. Such policies and procedures are essential to enable the youth to carry out their daily educational, professional, social and community activities safely. It is also urgent to undertake immediate action to integrate the most vulnerable and disadvantaged youth, thus protecting them from falling prey to violence and armed action. Another no less important priority for young people is giving them a role in disseminating a culture of dialogue and peace and allowing them to take part in the various peace building mechanisms. Culture, as a tool to face extremism, intellectual torpor, and patriarchal values against equity and to enhance the participation of young girls and boys has also ranked high on the list of youth priorities. Against this background, a multidisciplinary working group of Libyan academics has been set up, with the support of the UNFPA Libya office, UNESCO and PBSO, to carry out background studies, each of which has diagnosed the situation of the Libyan youth at the level of each sector. This endeavour aims to consolidate youth gains and achievements in line with the main thrusts of the draft constitution of Libya which calls for empowering young people and giving effect to their participation in public life. Indeed, article 33 stipulates that "the State shall prepare the appropriate environment to develop adolescents and youth, provide ways to increase their capacities, and support their effectiveness in national life. The State shall open up opportunities for them to work, participate in development, and benefit from various sciences and human cultures as well as enable them to participate in political, social, and economic life with a spirit of citizenship and responsibility". The studies seek also to take stock of the current situation of young people in Libya in terms of demographic, social and economic characteristics, the opportunities for peace and development that go along with them and the challenges that Libyan youngsters face. This diagnosis helps towards developing priorities for the formulation of an alternative vision and policies for youth empowerment and giving effect to their participation. In light of the results of this work, the present document has been prepared to provide the most prominent indicators on the situation of young people today in Libya and to highlight the priorities for alternative policies. Chapter I: The youth bulge is a unique opportunity for development Demographic dividend is a unique opportunity The demographic opportunity lies in the economic return that can be generated when society reaches an advanced stage of demographic transition and more accurately a shift in the age structure of the population, ie, when the youth segment and the active population in general reach their highest proportion and their growth rate exceeds that of the dependent population (under 15 and 65 or higher). This shift represents an opportunity because a declining dependency ratio, which also means a shrinking household size, will reduce the related costs and enable households to raise levels of savings and investment and thereby create factors that foster growth, wealth and well-being. However, achieving such a return and a qualitative shift in economic growth necessitates an important investment in human capital, primarily young people, particularly in the areas of public and reproductive health and in education, both in quantitative and qualitative terms with a view to building the capacities of the labour force and enhancing their skills. It also requires wider participation of young people in economic activity and a larger scale participation of girls and women in the labour force. This should be necessarily go hand in hand with providing jobs and reducing unemployment to a minimum. The advantage of this demographic dividend lies in the fact