Give Youth a Voice
15 Sep 2020
Nearly half of South Asia’s population of 1.8 billion, led by India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, is under the age of 24, making it the largest youth force in the world until 2040. This is cause for hope. And reason to work hard at keeping young women and men in our line of sight at all times. Prevent them from succumbing to the worst in our societies. Imbue them with purpose as leaders towards the be er tomorrow, taking on the grave challenges to peace and equality that we confront.
To this end, the IDRC Governance and Justice programme supported positive, evidence-based, action-oriented initiatives on political engagement, socio-economic inclusion and violence reduction in South Asia. In each initiative, young women and men have been the actors of change, and played a critical role in strengthening their communities and societies.
These projects in South Asia have grappled with real-time political change and economic challenges. Even before COVID-19 hit, many countries in South Asia were facing recession. As in many other parts of the world, they also grapple with varying degrees of sectarian strife and social unrest.
