Regional Expert Group Meeting
Development challenges for young people in Asia
28-30 March 2006

The Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD), UNDESA, organized an Expert Group Meeting, hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok Thailand. The meeting brought together experts and representatives of universities, United Nations Member States, United Nations Agencies and Programmes, and intergovernmental organizations, to identify and discuss major youth development challenges in Asia in preparation for the World Youth Report 2007.

Background

The World Youth Report is the biennial major publication of the United Nations Programme on Youth, DSPD/DESA. The World Youth Report 2007 will provide a regional overview summarizing the major youth development trends in the fifteen priority areas of the World Programme of Action for Youth. Further, for each region, four topics that are highly affecting the lives of young people are identified for an in-depth discussion. The four inter-related topics that have been identified for the Asian region are 1) globalization, 2) urbanization, 3) education, and 4) information and communication technologies.

The largest proportion of the world’s poor youth live in Asia. Five of the ten countries with the largest concentrations of young people living on less than US$ 1 a day are found in Asia: India (67.7 million), the People's Republic of China (33.3 million), Bangladesh (9.9 million), Indonesia (3.1 million) and Viet Nam (2.9 million). At the same time, in the last decennium, various Asian countries have made major developmental achievements. Compared to other regions, globalization has arguably had the most impact on the rapidly growing Asian economies. While many young people have benefited from new industries that moved to Asia attracted by low-wages and production costs, others have not been able to find employment, or are being exploited by these same industries in the absence of protective labour regulations.

Urbanization, the emergence of mega-cities home to millions of people, is another direct consequence of the economic growth and of the shift from agriculturally to industrially based economies. Today, one in three Asians lives in a city, and this number will have increased to one in two by 2020. Most of this growth will be in Bangladesh, the People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan. It is argued that young people are more likely to move to cities in order to gain economic opportunity, lowering the average age in cities in comparison to rural areas. This massive urbanization increases the pressure on the environment and required infrastructure in cities, calling for proper city planning.

Economic development also places new demands on the education system. Curricula need to be adapted to prepare students for new jobs in the labour market, a fit that is not always established yet. As the global economy is increasingly based on technological innovation and information, students need to stay longer in school to receive the amount of education required for a good job. With large numbers of youth who cannot afford to go to or stay in school, the chances for the poor to climb up the social ladder become very small.

Information and communication technologies have contributed to the speed in which the globalization process is taking place. Besides the economic impact of the digital revolution, the influence is found in the increasingly globalizing youth culture. The Internet, instant messaging, cell phones, online gaming, chatting and global television are all products of the last decennium with profound impacts on youth culture and intergenerational relations. The digital divide presents another obstacle for the poor to participate fully in the globalized world.

Documents

Meeting documentation

Resource documents

Country reports

Presentations

  • Welcome and introduction
    • Welcoming remarks by Mr. Kitti Samanthai, Director General of the Promotion, Protection and Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Thailand – presentation
    • Welcoming remarks by Ms Thelma Kay, Chief, Emerging Social Issues Division, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) – presentation
    • Introductory message by Mr. Johan Schölvinck, Director, Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs – presentation
    • Global youth development trends
      Presented by Ms Charlotte van Hees, Programme on Youth, UNDESA – presentation
    • Regional overview: Youth Development in Asia
      Presented by Ms Keiko Osaki, Section Chief, and Ms Kim Xuan Nguyen, Focal Point on Youth, Population and Social Integration Section, Emerging Social Issues Division, UNESCAP
  • Globalization and its effects on youth development in Asia
    • Keynote presentation
      By Professor Graeme Hugo, Director, the National Centre for Social Applications of GIS – paper - presentation
    • The effects of globalization on the situation of girls and young women in Asia
      Presented by Professor Rashila Ramli, School of History, Politics and Strategic Studies, FSSK, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia – presentation
    • Globalization and its effects on youth employment trends in China
      Presented by Ms Zhang Libin, Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Director, Labour Market and Employment Department, Institute for Labor Studies (ILS), Ministry of Labor and Social Security, People’s Republic of China – paper - presentation
    • Globalization and its effects on youth employment trends in Asia
      Presented by Ms Elizabeth Morris, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific – paper - presentation
    • Globalization and its impact on youth health in Asia
      Presented by Ms Cai Cai, Health and Development Section, Emerging Social Issues Division, UNESCAP – presentation (1MB)
  • Urbanization and its effects on youth development in Asia
    • Keynote presentation
      By Mr. Om Prakash Mathur, Professor Urban Economics and Finance, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, India – paper - presentation
    • Urbanization and its effects on youth development in Indonesia
      Presented by Mr. Deibel Effendi, Special Envoy for International Cooperation of the State Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Republic of Indonesia – paper - presentation (2.1MB)
    • Rural youth development alternatives to urbanization
      Presented by Mr. Malcolm Hazelman, Senior Extension, Education and Communication Officer, FAO – presentation (2.1MB)
    • Youth Promotion and Development via the Vietnam Youth Law
      Presented by Ms Nguyen Thi Hoang Van, Director General of the International Department, National Committee on Youth in Viet Nam – presentation
  • Educational challenges in Asia
    • Keynote presentation
      By Professor Siri Hettige, Department of Sociology, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka – presentation
    • Educational challenges in Indonesia
      Presented by Dr Roosmalawati Rusman, Centre for Population and Manpower Studies, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (PPT-LIPI), Indonesia – presentation
    • Educational challenges and youth development in Thailand
      Presented by Ms Saipan Sripongpankul, Ministry of Education, Government representative of Thailand
    • The role of non-formal education for young people in Asia
      Presented by Mr. Shahnewaz Khan, Director, Training & Material Development Division, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Bangladesh – presentation
  • The increase in Information and Communication Technologies and its effects on youth development in Asia
    • Keynote presentations by:
      • Professor Jonathan Zhu, Department of English and Communication, City University of Hong Kong - presentation (1.5MB)
      • Professor Sang Min Whang, Psychology Department, Yonsei University, Republic of Korea – presentation (7.7MB)
    • The influence of Information and Communication Technologies on youth development in the Philippines
      Presented by Ms Jenivie Anne Ramirez-Salmo, Assistant Division Chief in the Policy Monitoring and Evaluation Division, National Youth Commission, Philippines – presentation
    • Effects of ICT on youth activism in Asia
      Presented by Mr. Rajendra Mulmi, Founding President, Association of Youth Organisations Nepal – presentation
    • ICT use in education
      Presented by Mr. Benjamin Vergel de Dios, Assistant Project Officer, ICT in Education Unit, UNESCO Bangkok – presentation
  • Summary and conclusion
    Report of the meeting