The Punjab government is set to announce its first youth policy by end of this month, revealed Bargad Organisation, one of the consulting partners of the government in the said policy. The policy was prepared after thorough consultation of stakeholders and non-government organisations (NGO), including Bargad Organization and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which was providing financial and technical assistance to the Punjab government. Sabiha Shaheen, executive director of Bargad, in a statement on Sunday, revealed that the policy was expected to be launched by the CM after the ongoing sports festival. According to statement of the partnering NGO, the Punjab Youth Policy will focus on social protection and engagement of youth in the societal structure to meet needs of the maximum number of youngsters.
The Bargad executive director said that they have held more than 40 consultations with different stakeholders and youth to prepare the policy document. Sabiha said that Pakistan was a country, which was facing youth bulge at the moment and there was massive outnumbering of young people amidst lesser investment on social development sector interventions. The coming Punjab Youth Policy offers both policy and programmatic interventions to be implemented for youth between the ages of 15 to 29 years.
According to the recent projections, the population of Pakistan in 2011 was estimated to be 187,342,721 and the active age group of youth falling between the ages of 15-29 years (56,594,173) contributes to 30.2% of this total projected population. Youth under 29 years of age are estimated at 122,966,488, which is 65.6 percent of the total population.
This “youth bulge” is not inherently dangerous, but when governments were unable to foster work opportunities and platforms for expression and engagements, or the prospects of stability, youth bulge can exacerbate the risks of internal disorders, the executive director of the organisation added. The ‘youth affairs’ was a federal subject before the 18th Amendment and its matters were being taken up under the Federal Youth Ministry which was devolved after the amendment. Punjab is the first province which has taken initiative of formulating a youth policy, she said.
The Punjab government created a new ministry merging youth, sports and archaeology. The ongoing sports festival of the Punjab government was also part of this campaign to mobilise the youth. Bargad and UNFP have also collaborated with the government to make this festival successful. The upcoming drama festival of the Punjab government was also part of this campaign.
