General Program & Policy Design

Making Labor Markets Work for the Youth : Guiding Principles - Infographic

The infographic highlights the growing number of young people entering the workforce and the need for labor markets to adapt to accommodate them. It also emphasizes the disproportionate impact of poor labor market conditions on youth compared to adults, and the importance of addressing this issue to ensure a sustainable future for all.

Making Labor Markets Work for the Youth : An Approach Paper

Hundreds of millions of young people in the Global South face uncertain futures due to poor access to quality education, inadequate skills, and limited employment opportunities. By 2033, the Global South will host 1.2 billion people ages 15 to 24. However, unless current trends are reversed, only 480 million will attend school, and 420 million will have jobs (often precarious ones), leaving 300 million inactive. Youth inactivity negatively impacts lifelong opportunities, earnings, mobility, and mental health.

Policy Paper: De-Risking Youth Entrepreneurship and Unlocking the Missing Middle – Solutions to Drive Youth-led Economic Growth

In this paper, Youth Business International (YBI) and Habitat in Türkiye shine a light on the potential of youth-led businesses that have outgrown microfinance and start-up support but are still considered too small or high-risk for mainstream investment. These businesses—often innovative and rooted in their communities—are overlooked despite their immense potential to create jobs, generate revenue, and drive sustainable economic growth. They fall into the “missing middle”.

From Margins to Mainstream: Inclusive Youth Entrepreneurship in the Asia- Pacific Region

Youth Co:Lab study on Inclusive Youth Entrepreneurship aims to provide evidence-based information on strengthening an enabling environment for young entrepreneurs from underserved communities. The study analyzes opportunities and challenges they face and explores entry points to incorporate an intersectional approach into inclusive youth entrepreneurship support programs and policies.

Fueling Growth and Development in Youth Organizations

The guide is the result of a South-South exchange between technical advisors and representatives of youth organisations from Burkina Faso, Malawi, Mozambique and Kenya. It highlights their first-hand experiences and best practices on topics like leadership transition, recruitment of new members, the inclusion of women as well as strategies for the distribution of information among members.

Empowering Youth Organisations as Change Makers in the Agribusiness Sector.

These guidelines encompass steps and methods for Organisational Development (OD) support for Youth Organizations (YO) in the agribusiness sector with the goal to strengthen their self-sustaining structures, systems and service delivery. A Youth Organization (YO) in this context is defined as an organised, member-driven grouping of young people pursuing particular purposes (e.g. promotion of agribusiness for income generation and employment, public or political representation of youth agripreneurs in a region).

The Next Economy

Program engaged young people in Nigeria, Mali, Somalia and Somaliland, with a mission to unlock their potential, build their confidence and equip them with the essential skills required for successful careers or entrepreneurial ventures. The program ran from 2016 to 2023 and was developed and executed with diverse local partners and a consortium of partners in the Netherlands, and funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Just transition in the context of EU environmental policy and the European Green Deal

This paper primarily focuses on potential negative social impacts of environmental (transition) policies – with regard to jobs/workers and regions as well as consumers/households – and ways to mitigate such impacts on a European and national level. Moreover, the paper focuses on intra-EU socioeconomic effects and distributional justice rather than international, procedural or recognitional justice. The whole paper is based on a review of existing research literature and policy documents.

Categorisation System for the Circular Economy

This document from the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform outlines a system for categorizing activities that contribute to a circular economy. The aim is to provide a foundation for efforts like defining the impacts of circular models or measuring risk reduction. The system focuses on two main areas: extending product lifespans through reuse, repair, refurbishment, etc., and optimizing product use through leasing and sharing models.