With the International Day of Youth celebrated on 12th of August and high expectations for the new government to be able to deliver some tangible actions benefiting the general population, the recently appointed Minister of Youths and Sport Mr. Daljit Shrepaili has his work cut out.
As often happens it is not the lack of policies to undermine the rollout of effective programs for the national youths and we should not always blame the political instability with frequent changes in the government for ineffective implementation of youth policies.
Certainly there is also a tendency to consider the Ministry of Youths and Sport as the least prestigious and resource rich among the state’ agencies, therefore, for many career civil service, being stationed at the Ministry is certainly not that attractive.
The recent creation of the National Youth Council, while a real opportunity, at the same time, risks diluting the Ministry from any real relevance and power.
Yet Minister Shrepaili has a rare chance to reinvigorate the Ministry not only by implementing the National Youth Policy 2072 but also by coming up with some new initiatives and reframe strategically the role of the Ministry within the Cabinet.
The Minister can position himself within the Cabinet as a “lobbyist” and influencer to advance agendas related to youths across the entire decision making spectrum.
First of all let’s fully understand that the presumed weaknesses of such a “light” Ministry could be overturned if we consider that youths are vital actors in multiple areas of national development.
There is no a single area of development that should not better include and involve youths: this is what can give ammunition to the Ministry who should harness its “soft power” to defend and push forward the interests of the youths throughout the cabinet.
For example, think of the Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund (YSEF) that is under the Ministry of Finance. It does not make sense to wage a war to take over the Fund but rather the Ministry of Youth and Sport could play a proactive role in ensuring that the program is implemented in the best way possible, keeping the best interests of its supposed beneficiaries as the primary goal of the Fund.
After all the Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports is a Board Member of the Board. Mr. Shrepaili could use his own influence within the Cabinet and his closeness with the Prime Minister to prompt a complete revamp of the Fund.
The same could be said for the Ministry of Agricultural Development that recently came up with a new ambitious Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS), which is supposed to guide the development of the agricultural sector for the next 20 years.
For many youths, agriculture is the only livelihood opportunity they experience before leaving as laborers for the Gulf or Malaysia. Sadly they have no other options.
With most of the farmers still practicing subsistence agriculture, it is obvious that for many youths from the hills and plains alike, all coming out by poorly performing public schools, the chance to earn a real livelihood abroad even in the harshest working conditions, is too alluring than remaining stuck in the fields where they have spent their entire lives.
Here the Ministry of Youths and Sport could ensure that youths can gain the most from the implementation of the ADS, directly contributing to turn the agricultural sector into a real agro-business industry.
Another example where Minister Shrepaili could have impact is volunteerism. Right now the National Planning Commission is running the National Development Volunteering Service, NDVS as the only state funded service program in the country.
While it makes sense for the National Planning Commission to continue to administer the program as volunteerism and service are inter-generational in nature and do not only exclusively belong to the younger generations, it is undeniable that youths are the engine of civic life in the country.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports could take a special interest to promote volunteerism among youths, finding in the United Nation Volunteers, UNV a unique partner to promote, in cooperation with NDVS, new service learning programs that can boost the personal development of the youths while also contributing to national community building efforts.
Obviously youths could have a special role in the national reconstruction process and a new scheme like a National Youth Rebuilder Program could help tremendously bringing life back in the areas most affected by the earthquakes.
In this aspect the Habitat for Humanity has mobilized ten thousand youths during the emergency phase. In addition, Habitat Young Leaders Build campaign, an annual initiative to engage young people to raise awareness and speak out to support families in need of decent housing, could be an excellent counterpart.
One more tangible change would be to harness the partnership with Restless Development, a leading youth based INGO that has been supporting the Ministry with establishing pilot Youth Centers across the country, venues that, if adequately supported, could become engines of community development, including turning themselves into “one stop” centers for local volunteers.
In the sport dimension of his portfolio, the Minister could help a lot in building a Youth Sport Pioneers Program to harness the chances of talented youths in sport by offering scholarship and incentives for them.
While Minister Shrepaili can push for the timely spending for the construction of the much needed sports infrastructures as per the budget, there is so much to do in partnership with the Nepal Olympic Committee to promote competitive and amateur sports among the youths, including bringing forward new efforts to re-unify the Paralympics movement, still divided and fractured.
The lack of resources and prestige should not refrain the new minister from taking forward an ambitious agenda to offer new hopes and opportunities for the youths of this nation.
Small, incremental wins can bolster the morale of all youth activists so eager to bring changes in the sector.
Minister Shrepaili, turning himself into a “playmaker”, can establish a culture of partnerships to boost the prospects of a Napali youth at having a thriving life not in Sydney, Toronto or Dallas but rather in places called Solukhumbu, Nepalgunj and Sindhulpalchock.
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