A YOUTH SOCIOECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT PROJECT IN NIGERIA: MONITORING & EVALUATION

BY GROUP 3 PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA STUDENTS IN DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN DISTANCE LEARNING CENTRE SATURDAY 7TH JUNE, 2008

THE NARRATIVE

The International Labor Office estimates that around 88.2 million young women and men are unemployed throughout the world, accounting for 47% of all the 185.9 million unemployed persons globally In Africa, unemployed youths face immense challenges

Poor educational foundation, inadequate capacity building opportunities, the communication and information gap, and the attendant lack of awareness and confidence impedes youth empowerment and development in Africa.

How is Nigeria handling the problem? Capacity building efforts targeted at school leavers in Nigeria focus on mere manual skills enhancement instead of improvement of thinking skills and the capacity for creativity

Socioeconomic empowerment for African youths means they have the means and capacity for self-reliance, the confidence and wherewithal to contribute to the social process in an increasingly knowledgeintensive society It means they have the ability to create wealth and foster national development

It our purpose therefore to present a model that will facilitate socioeconomic youth empowerment in Nigeria. The socioeconomic youth empowerment model would be based on a three-pronged framework inspired by Copthorne Macdonalds book, Matters of Consequence; 1. psychological development; 2. acquisition of intellectual knowledge: a basis for continuous learning; 3. significant doing

 Goal:

The goal of the project is to facilitate socioeconomic youth empowerment in Nigeria

OBJECTIVES: Empower youth participants (university graduates) between the ages of 23-39 through trainings in psychological development, acquisition of intellectual knowledge and practicum Foster partnerships between the public and private sector in actualizing the above Develop follow up support to track trainees after the program

PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOMENT

For a period of two weeks, participants will be taught philosophy, pertinent aspects of psychology and self-help Topics will revolve around self awareness, personal responsibility, self development and mastery

ACQUISITION OF INTELLECTUAL KNOWLEDGE

Vocational life skills readily applicable or transferable in the labor market will be taught participants Skills will range from management, administration, business, entrepreneurship and leadership to software development, website development, ICT skills, monitoring and evaluation, Environmental Impact Assessment, waste management, e-governance, HIV/AIDS needs based specialization etc.

SIGNIFICANT DOING
Project beneficiaries will be given access to a platform for practical experience through internships or volunteering under a stipulated period Platforms will range from private based organizations to government institutions, NGOs and development agencies. In cases where there are entrepreneurs, micro-credits will be provided as seed money to develop their business ideas

PARTNERSHIPS

Partnerships will be fostered between the public and private sector in actualizing the project E.g. the Youth Empowerment government parastatal, Celtel, Glo, MTN, Zinox Computers etc.

FOLLOW-UP SUPPORT PROGRAMME

Set up a follow-up support programme to monitor and track participants after the programme.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION:LOGIC FRAMEWORK