Including the Voices of Malagasy Youth for their Future

Africa, Decolonial, Participatory, Youth

How can we design an inclusive and participatory approach to foresight?

UNGP Finland, UN Resident Coordinator Office Madagascar, Observatoire de la Jeunesse, International Labour Organization, and Cellule d’Analyse des Politiques Économiques du CIRES

What

UNGP co-facilitated a workshop about the future of youth development, employment and entrepreneurship as part of a national foresight study and facilitated foresight training sessions for the regional coordinators of the Youth Observatory. Through a mix of traditional and new methods, participants engaged in conversations about the futures of Madagascar and how to include different voices and views in the process. This provided young people with the tools and knowledge to carry out inclusive future dialogues in their communities and build futures agency and ownership

Why

During the foresight study “Madagascar 2063” launched by the Government of Madagascar and UN Resident Coordinator Office, a key question regarded youth access to development, employment and entrepreneurship. This underlined both the need to use foresight on this issue as well as involve youth groups in the process.

Key lessons

Exploring possible futures comes with a sense of responsibility about one’s role in building our desired future.
Youth must take an active role in looking at the future and shaping the way forward.
How we think about the future is often influenced by our past and present experiences. Engaging multiple voices and diverse views is key to making foresight inclusive and robust.