London, United Kingdom: The International Youth Federation announced today the launch of the new Leaders Assessment Center (LAC), taking the next step in its mission to support and empower talented young leaders across the world by hiring new IYF Representatives. 

The IYF Representatives serve as most senior-level IYF officials in their countries, leading their teams towards achievement of strategic action plans in response to national youth priorities. The IYF is delivering a coherent and effective support to their Representatives through advocacy, best practice sharing,  networking, global recognition of achievements, online resource center and leadership development programmes.

“The philosophy behind the Center is to make sure that we select the best and the brightest candidates with transparency, fairness and respect to the principles of gender equality and diversity.  Our integrated assessment process evaluates the candidates’ experience, competencies, general knowledge and skills”, said Dr. Irina MASLENNIKOVA, Director of IYF Leaders Assessment Center.

“Having the Leaders Assessment Center that combines decades of consulting experience and expertise with assessment methodologies will be a huge advantage for the IYF. The assessment process will introduce young leaders to our work and will give them the opportunity to voice opinion on youth priorities in their country”, said Ms. Melodi KAYA, Assistant Secretary-General on Representational Affairs. 

Starting today, young people can apply for IYF Representative’s role via the LAC website lac.iyfweb.org and go through the assessment process. 

The IYF Leaders Assessment Center (LAC) is recognized as a neutral, impartial, and highly professional examination and assessment facility under the IYF Bureau of Management. The assessment process is using a variety of testing and assessment methods and a passing grade is required to be considered for any Representative positions. All candidates that successfully pass the LAC assessment will receive the IYF certificate of completion.

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The IYF is a global youth network, an organization advocating for youth empowerment and connecting countries to knowledge, experience, and resources to help young people build a better future. The IYF works to empower youth in line with 2030 Global Goals Agenda, to create a sustainable world for all young people through education, advocacy, and the promotion of respect and compassion.

We inform, engage, and mobilize new audiences to take action and raise funds that support sustainable development programs for youth around the world.

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For more information, please contact the IYF® Media Relations via e-mail: press@iyfweb.org, or visit our website at www.iyfweb.org.

By: Sandra Luciano, IYF/ICT Specialist

Young people around the world represent 41% of the total population, and they are an effective and vital component of development issues.  We need to shed light on civic participation for young people because they are the ones who have the energy and the ability to find solutions to all the problems that our communities face

Civic participation is the basis of democracy and a clear expression of the principle of people's sovereignty. Civic engagement requires the presence of a group of citizens who have a sense of belonging and an interest in public affairs.

The importance of youth participation in public affairs continues to grow.  It is one of the most essential pillars of citizenship and participatory democracy in contemporary societies. Civic engagement of young people is the real gateway to mobilizing the energies of emerging generations, pumping new blood in the arteries of the political and social systems that would contribute to the continuous development movement.

Youth engagement is participatory democracy. Activating civic participation of youth will reduce the state of the political vacuum that young people live in. But first we must review how to unleash the energy of the youth. The youth must reformulate their priorities to engage with development interventions. This can be achieved with empowerment programs in line with the national agenda in order to effectively engage the youth in the civil society and higher decision-making bodies. 

Young people have a perceived sense that they’re unable to influence regulations on how their right to life, particularly economic life, is exercised. This is partly why there is a lack of civic participation among young people. Additionally, illiteracy and unemployment, play a fundamental role in the youth's reluctance to participate in political life.  When the basic needs of young people - such as finding suitable job opportunities, marriage, and starting an independent life - are not fulfilled, this negatively affects young people's voluntary work and political participation in the public domain.

To tackle these challenges, governments should fulfil the needs of youth in a way that reflects positively on their active participation in all issues of society, reducing indifference and engaging in national action. They should promote youth civic participation through open dialogue and creating opportunities for ideological discussions.

If youth are our only future, then the issue of youth participation should become our main priority more than ever. This could be achieved through scientific research, quality education, collaborative spaces for youth, or in policies directed at young people.