Abstract World Bank report

Currently the world’s youth population is at 1.5 billion; the highest in history. Given the falling fertility what we encounter is one of the strongest generations growing up to adulthood in the near future. Given this developments the World Bank has dedicated its development report 2007 to the issue of “Development and the Next Generation” in order to tackle the generational challenge at a pivotal point. The argument is that the according policies have to be put in place nòw in order to create opportunities for youth to develop towards a healthy and sustainable future.

The report serves as an advisory plan to governments and policy-makers as to how to confront these issues. It therefore recognises three policy directions aiming primarily at the education of the upcoming generations. This includes education in terms of school as well as a broader guidance framework that will help youth to confront present societal problems themselves. The report recognises three policy lenses through which “Youth friendly policies” should be considered:

• The expansion of opportunities, meaning both the expansion of access to quality education as well as the expansion of access to health services
• The expansion of capabilities, meaning the provision of information that helps the youth on making healthy and sustainable decisions on the opportunities provided
• The provision of second chances, meaning to enable youth that have already suffered under bad policies or their own bad choices a re-entry into the new opportunity framework.

Manny Jimenez, lead author of the World Bank Development Report and today’s keynote speaker, argues that developing countries as well as developed countries face a window of opportunity for youth oriented policies that will close in the near future. It is argued that investments today will pay-off for the future as they will lift families and whole societies out of poverty.

As the reports notes, the labour force is the strongest asset of the poor. Accordingly, investment in education will attract more investment, ultimately strengthening the local economies. The report provides an educational plan that is focused on a learning cycle that is split in the five phases pivotal to youth: learning, working, staying healthy, forming families, and exercising citizenship. Therefore, it is catering not only to educational issues in the classical sense but also to issues such as fighting HIV and gender inequality.

Issues arrising

While the report offers a vast amount of ideas on how to create successful policies there is little mention on how to create according infrastructures and, more importantly, to finance these costly policies. The opening of the market economy is on of the suggestions to create investment but is that sustainable in a globalising world where poor countries are mainly competitive if working on minimum wage and eventually relying on child labour? Can developing countries eventually escape this vicious circle and more importantly within the described window of opportunity? The repercussions of investment would eventually not be felt until for the generations to come after the one described above.

The vision of the World Bank to decrease or even diminish the wide divergence between the quality of education in post-industrial and developing countries is honourable but is it actually achievable in the near future? Finally, the question is also how third countries and non-state actors (internal as well as external) can take positive influence on the implementation of the according policies and on the creation of responsive and accountable institutions.

The panel

We look forward to address the issue of governance in youth and education policies with Manny Jimenez and the following panellists:

• Hermann Amecke Gen Monnighoff, Chair Maastricht Debates subgroup of Concordantia, European Studies Association
• Diederik de Boer, senior economist of Maastricht School of Management; responsible at CORDAID for its economic development programme
• Ger Houben, coordinator of the Maastricht twinning association with Rama in Nicaragua
• Victor Sluyter, executive Board member Concordantia, European Studies Association.

The discussion is moderated by Jo Ritzen, President of Maastricht University.

Abstract by Concordantia