The project “Strengthening Meaningful Youth Engagement for Girls Standing Strong” with Plan International Nepal as a strategic partner aims to enhance meaningful youth participation in planning and decision-making arenas to ensure policies that effectively address and prioritize their concerns. It also aims to bridge the gap between the capabilities of Nepal’s youth and their involvement in policy development. The project also aims to promote youth actively engage in governance processes and advocate for policies that reflect their needs to be a more inclusive governance structure, where young people’s contributions lead to actionable changes in Nepal leading with the objectives to:
- To prepare shadow reports and advocate for young women’s rights under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and youth’s rights under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
- To contribute to the revision of the National Youth Policy (2015), ensuring it addresses the needs of diverse youth groups, including LGBTQ+, marginalized youths, and young girls.
- To promote Meaningful Youth Participation (MYP) in local governance and national development processes.
- To strengthened legal frameworks for child and youth participation, promoting the inclusion of youth voices in decision-making.
- To enable collaboration among youth-led organizations and support innovative youth-led initiatives through challenge funds and co-creation processes.
With the remarkable outcomes like Nepal’s 1st ever young women led Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CEDAW Shadow report and Nepal’s 1st ever youth led Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Report, the project has set a historic precedent in amplifying youth and young women’s voices in global human rights mechanisms, fostering inclusive participation, and strengthening accountability towards commitments on gender equality and human rights. The project was accomplished in close coordination with Young people from age 16 to 24, government stakeholders, Ministry of Youths and Sports (MoYS), National Youth Council (NYC), local government, local level committees and councils, parliamentarians, youth led organizations.