ILO supports stronger youth engagement in employment programmes in Uganda

Entebbe, Uganda (ILO News): The International Labour Organization (ILO) brought together more than 55 representatives of national and local institutions in Uganda to strengthen the participation of young people, particularly refugees and host community youth, in the design and implementation of employment programmes.

The three-day training workshop, held in Entebbe from 3 to 5 November under the PROSPECTS4Youth initiative, brought together representatives of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD), the Federation of Uganda Employers, the National Organisation of Trade Unions, district local governments, implementing partners, and refugee-led and refugee youth-led organizations.

Uganda hosts nearly two million refugees and asylum seekers, more than half of whom are children. “Refugee and host community youth face significant barriers to education, skills development, and decent work, yet often have limited opportunities to influence the programmes intended to support them”, emphasized Eesha Moitra, Youth Employment Officer, ILO.

Stressing on the importance of meaningfully engaging forcibly displaced youth, Tonny Kasiita, Child Protection Officer, UNHCR Uganda highlighted, "Youth engagement contributes to social cohesion, wellbeing, protection, and positive development outcomes. Nothing about youth, without youth."

Uganda is the first country under PROSPECTS Partnership to roll out the ILO Meaningful Youth Engagement for Decent Work: A training package on engaging young people in employment programmes through a capacity building workshop for national and local stakeholders.

Learning from the youth themselves

The workshop opened with a panel discussion featuring members of the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda. They called for young people to be involved throughout the programme cycle, from identifying needs and setting priorities to implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

“For me, a successful youth engagement process is not one where young people leave a meeting feeling heard. It is one where they can point to something that changed because they participated,” said Edmund Ayesigwa, lawyer and social justice activist, and member of the YAC of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Echoing the call for meaningful participation, fellow YAC member Hellena Angella Nagawa emphasized the value of young people's perspectives in shaping decisions.

“Make space for young people. Not as a favour, not as a symbolic gesture, but because their lived experiences, knowledge and perspectives are indispensable to shaping the policies and programmes that affect their lives. When we exclude young people, we lose perspectives that our institutions and societies cannot afford to lose” stressed Hellena Angella Nagawa, founder of AfriCONHE Uganda and another member of the YAC of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The discussion highlighted the need to ensure that young people's contributions influence decisions, while addressing barriers faced by young refugee women, youth with disabilities and those living in remote settlements.

Through case studies, self-assessments and group exercises, participants examined how to integrate youth engagement into their programmes and measure its effectiveness. They explored indicators and monitoring tools to assess not only whether young people participate, but also whether their views influence programme decisions.

Participants then developed initiatives to strengthen youth engagement in existing programmes, particularly under PROSPECTS, to make them more responsive to the needs and priorities of the refugee and host community youth.

Proposed actions included involving young people as peer trainers, enumerators and data collectors, establishing youth-friendly feedback channels and ensuring that young people are informed of how their contributions influence programme decisions.

The proposals were refined through peer feedback and contributions from young participants, providing a basis for follow-up within participating institutions.

Shaping a youth rights microlearning course for Uganda

The workshop also included consultations on a planned WhatsApp-based microlearning course to raise young people's awareness of their rights at work.

Drawing on ILO’s Work Wise Youth: A guide to youth rights at work and its forthcoming Uganda edition and the course will provide accessible information tailored to the needs of refugee and host community youth. Participants' feedback will inform its content and delivery.

The training forms part of ILO efforts under PROSPECTS4Youth to strengthen the capacity of national and local partners to engage young people in decisions affecting their access to education, employment and decent work.

Learn more about PROSPECTS4Youth project here.

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