Kabul, 12 November 2015 - The Deputy Ministry of Youth Affairs is conducting five consultative workshops with the technical support of the United Nations Population Fund to actively engage Afghan youth in the development of the National Youth Strategy and Action Plan.

More than 350 young persons participated in the consultations organized in Herat and Kandahar. Young people in Balkh, Nangarhar and Khost are expected to join the consultations before the end of this year.

The workshops seek to engage participants in reflecting the challenges Afghan youth face and propose solutions that could be addressed in the final development of the strategy. The participants of the workshops are divided in four thematic groups following the areas captured in the National Youth Policy: education, health, employment and participation. Their recommendations will be taken into consideration for finalizing the National Youth Strategy.

The future National Youth Strategy and Action Plan (2015 - 2019) will guide programmes and interventions which will address the rights of young people for the years to come.

In Afghanistan, 63 percent of the population is below 25 years old and 46 percent is 15 years old or younger. When these youth actively participate in planning and decision-making processes, they can play an important role in the development of Afghanistan.

With these five workshops, the Deputy Ministry of Youth Affairs will ensure that young people are engaged in the development of the National Youth Strategy and Action Plan 2015-2019.