Challenges to scaling up the youth service fieldThere are a number of programmatic, cultural and geographical challenges that may inhibit the scaling up of the youth service field in many countries.
Among these are: - Mobilizing sufficient public resources to establish and maintain high quality programs that provide opportunities for a large number of youth participants
- Technical capacity to train teachers and community leaders in how to establish and implement service programs
- Training community organizations in how to create quality service opportunities
- Sharing information on effective practices
- Building a broad base of support from the general public, political leaders, and funders to scale up youth service programs
Strategies
for expanding the scale, effectiveness, and sustainability of the global
and national youth service field
Among the strategies suggested by the members of the IANYS to advance the youth service field are the following: Goal 1: Increase the capacity and effectiveness of youth service programsComponents: - Establish and strengthen regional and national centers that provide training and technical assistance to build leadership and management capacity at different levels
- Establish national, regional and global networks that facilitate information sharing on resources and effective practices and give voice to different experiences of service in different cultural contexts
- Define the key research agenda and support the research process in various regions
- Convene national, regional, and international forums to raise the profile of youth service and debate its impact on development, citizenship, and education.
Goal 2: Increase the scale of opportunities for all youth to do serviceComponents: - Share models of effective practices for connecting interested youth to service opportunities
- Explore the use of technology to increase awareness, opportunities, and effectiveness for service
- Foster the alignment of national development plans and the inclusion of youth service as a strategy for meeting these goals
Goal 3: Strengthen the sustainability of youth service programsComponents: - Increase the range of financial support strategies for youth service by sharing models of good practice at local, national and international levels.
- Mobilize public and private sector support for youth service programs through documenting the return on investment in youth service
- Work toward the establishment of a Global Youth Service Fund or Foundation
- Actively work to establish and influence policy development that would result in the creation of an enabling environment which fosters the scaling up and resourcing of youth service programs
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