Workshop on Youth Civil Society:

The Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs organised a workshop on Youth and Civil Society at Islamabad Hotel on the 18th of March 2010. The Chief Guest of the workshop was Mr. Shahid Hussain Bhutto, Federal Minister of Youth Affairs who said that the Ministry of Youth Affairs was now initiating several activities regarding youth development. These initiatives include developing the National Youth Policy and partnering with organisations such as RSPN, the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), UNFPA and the British Council. The Minister hoped that the corporate sector would also become involved in working for the development of Youth. He ended by saying that the youth of Pakistan were not our future but were our present and therefore required investment today.

The purpose of the workshop was to bring together organisations working for youth development and to exchange various lessons learnt and experiences from across Pakistan. Organisations attending the workshop were from areas such as Kohat, Nausheroferoz, Muzaffarabad, Karak, Mardan, Malakand, Lahore, Karachi, Chitral and Quetta. The grassroots organisation from Shakardara Kohat that works with the Sarhad RSP presented on the work of their youth wing, which included committees to ensure security and sports tournaments. Their committee includes women who work on areas of health and skill development with young women.
Organisations which presented at the workshop included Rozan which presented their National Youth Helpline initiative, The Institute of Rural Management (IRM), Youth Engagement Services (YES) Network, The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), Local Support Organisation Shakardara, UNFPA and the British Council.

The event also gave an opportunity for participants to provide their recommendations for implementing principles from the National Youth Policy in the form of a plenary discussion session in the second half of the workshop.