Chitwan, Stakeholders from 14 Local Governments across all seven provinces have pledged to enhance investment in youth and actively promote Youth-Friendly Local Governance (YFLG) in the Capacity Enhancement Program for the promotion of the YFLG campaign.
The participants have formulated an action plan to connect youth concerns with the local governance
system and foster their active participation, involvement, and cooperation to promote youth rights in
the country.
The program covered the participants of Rautamai Rural Municipality and Triyuga Municipality, Udayapur ( Koshi Province), Kanchanrup and Khadak Municipality, Saptari (Madhesh Province), Madi and Kalika Municipality, Chitwan (Bagmati province), Kawasoti and Devchuli Municipality, Nawalpur(Gandaki province), Tilottama Municipality, Rupandehi and Sunway Municipality, Parasi district (Lumbini Province), Mahabu and Naumule Rural Municipality, Dailekh(Karnali province) and Dashrathchand and Melauli Municipality (Baitadi).
A three-day capacity-building program was conducted from 1-3 November 2023 to shape a concrete way forward for this campaign with the ownership of the Local Governments. A total of 42 representatives, 3 from each selected Rural/Municipalities representing locally elected youth representatives, heads of youth-related local structures, and executive committee members were present in the program.
The program is conducted with the ownership of the National Youth Council of the Nepal Government,
and financial and technical assistance from UNDP and Jagriti Child and Youth Concern Nepal was facilitated by Mr. Dipesh Ghimire and Ms. Mina Sharma.
Mr. Tilottam Paudel, President of Jagriti Child and Youth Concern Nepal and an Executive Member of the
National Youth Council, stated that the program aims to strengthen the skills and commitment of local
government representatives and staff, promote youth-friendly initiatives at the grassroots level, and
facilitate the sharing of local-level experiences.
Kamala Gyawali, the Under Secretary of the National Youth Council, presented an overview of the council and encouraged the participants to execute the YFLG program by formulating pertinent policies, and initiatives, and allocating budgets accordingly.
Binitia Karki, the Youth Program Officer at UNDP, emphasized the importance of a strategic approach to
ensuring the sustainability of this campaign. She also noted that UNDP has been actively collaborating in
this campaign for the past two years.
During the program, in-depth discussions were held on various topics, including the introduction of
YFLG, strategic planning, localization of indicators and their verification, identification, and prioritization
of pressing youth issues, relevant international commitments, constitutional, legal, and policy frameworks, as well as issues about gender equality and social inclusion mainstreaming. Speaking at the program, the Deputy Mayor of Kanchanrup, Ms. Muna Pokhrel, and Kawasoti Municipality, Ms. Phul Kumari Thanet stressed the need for proper resource mobilization for the effective implementation of the YFLG campaign through the localization of 7 strategies, 46 work policies, 45 indicators, and 4 steps for adoption.
The Chief Guest of the closing ceremony, Mr. Surendra Basnet, Executive Vice President of the National
The Youth Council affirmed the council’s dedication to advancing the YFLG campaign. He also called upon all Local Governments to collaborate and coordinate with the council to promote the YFLG campaign. The
participants were also provided with certificates.
Jagriti Child and Youth Concern Nepal is an organization dedicated to empowering children, youth, and
adolescents are promoting YFLG along with Child-Friendly Local Governance (CFLG) and girls
empowerment, while the National Youth Council has allocated policy and budget resources for the
implementation of the YFLG program in at least one local government in each of Nepal’s 77 districts.
