BRAC Uganda holds a Youth Watch Workshop

On March 16, 2011 BRAC Uganda’s Research and Evaluation Unit held a workshop, which provided a platform for BRAC to present the concept for the 2011 Youth Watch report titled “Problem or Promise: Harnessing Youth Potential in Uganda.”

The workshop sought to draw upon the knowledge and expertise of key stakeholders working with and for youth in Uganda. It also helped BRAC Uganda to continue to build partnerships with agencies and organizations working with youth, and to coordinate with other youth research initiatives. Participants included Government officials from the Department of Youth Affairs within the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and the Ministry of Finance. Other participants came from multilateral and bilateral agencies, and NGOs working with and for youth in Uganda.

The presentation on Youth Watch was well-received with Mr. Kyateka Mondo, the Acting Commissioner for Youth Affairs, telling the audience, “Many times we have prescribed the wrong medicine for youth. We run the risk of doing the wrong things over and over again, and it is because of this that this research will be useful to policy.”

The workshop was interactive, with discussions around popular conceptions of youth, proposed research, issue of coordination, and policy on youth. Mr. Mondo praised BRAC Uganda’s focus on whether stereotypes of youth match reality. He notes that with youth often painted as a problem to be solved, it will be interesting to see if this is indeed the case. Youth Watch 2011 is due to be published in August 2011.