Two Party System - Why Democrats and Republicans Win

Two Party System - Why Democrats and Republicans Win The two party framework is immovably established in American legislative issues and has been since the principal sorted out political movementsâ emerged in the late 1700s. The two party framework in the United States is currently ruled by the Republicans and the Democrats. In any case, through history the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, at that point the Democrats and the Whigs, have spoken to restricting political belief systems and battled against one another for seats at the neighborhood, state and government levels. No outsider applicant has ever been chosen for the White House, and not very many have won seats in either the House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate. The most striking current special case to the two party framework is U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a communist whose battle for the 2016 Democratic presidential selection stimulated liberal individuals from the gathering. The nearest any free presidential competitor has come to being chosen for the White House wasâ billionaire Texan Ross Perot, who won 19 percent of the famous vote in the 1992 political race. So for what reason is the two party framework unbreakable in the United States? For what reason do Republicans and Democrats hold a lock on chose workplaces at all degrees of government? Is there any desire for an outsider to develop or autonomous contender to pick up footing in spite of political decision laws that make it hard for them to jump on the polling form, compose and raise money?â Here are fourâ reasons the two party framework is digging in for the long haul for a long, long time. 1. Most Americans Are Affiliated With a Major Party Truly, this is the most evident clarification for why the two party framework remains emphatically unblemished: Voters like it as such. A dominant part of Americans is enrolled withâ the Republican and the Democratic gatherings, and that has been valid all through current history, as per popular feeling overviews directed by the Gallup association. The facts demonstrate that the bit of voters who currently see themselves as free of either significant gathering is bigger than either the Republican and Democratic coalitions alone. Be that as it may, those free voters are complicated and seldom arrive at an agreement on the some outsider applicants; rather, most independents will in general lean toward one of the significant gatherings come political race time, leaving just a little segment of genuinely autonomous, outsider voters. 2. Our Election System Favors a Two Party System The American arrangement of choosing delegates at all degrees of government makes it practically inconceivable for an outsider to flourish. We have what are known as single-part locale in which there is just a single victor. The champ of the well known vote in every one of the 435 congressional regions, U.S. Senate races and state administrative contestsâ takes office, and the discretionary failures get nothing. This the champ bring home all the glory technique encourages a two-party framework and varies drastically from relative portrayal races in European democracies.â Duverger’s Law, named for the French humanist Maurice Duverger, states that a lion's share vote on one voting form is helpful for a two-party framework ... Elections dictated by a lion's share vote on one voting form actually beat outsiders (and would do more regrettable to fourth or fifth gatherings, if there were any; yet none exist for this very explanation). In any event, when a solitary voting form framework works with just two gatherings, the one that successes is supported, and the different endures. As it were, voters will in general pick applicants who really have a taken shots at winning as opposed to discarding their decisions on somebody who will just get a little segment of the well known vote. Paradoxically, relative portrayal races held somewhere else on the planet take into consideration more than one contender to be looked over each area, or for the determination of everywhere competitors. For instance, if the Republican up-and-comers win 35 percent of the vote, they would control 35 percent of the seats in the designation; if Democrats won 40 percent, they would speak to 40 percent of the assignment; and if an outsider, for example, the Libertarians or Greens won 10 percent of the vote, they would get the opportunity to hold one out of 10 seats. The fundamental standards basic corresponding portrayal races are that all voters merit portrayal and that every single political gathering in the public eye have the right to be spoken to in our councils in relation to their quality in the electorate. As it were, everybody ought to reserve the privilege to reasonable portrayal, the support bunch FairVote states. 3. Its Tough for Third Parties to Get on the Ballot Outsider applicants need to clear more prominent obstacles to jump on the polling form in numerous states, and its hard to fund-raise and arrange a battle when youre occupied with social occasion a huge number of marks. Numerous states have shut primaries rather than open primaries, which means just enrolled Republicans and Democrats can designate possibility for the general political race. That leaves outsider up-and-comers at a critical hindrance. Outsider up-and-comers have less an ideal opportunity to record desk work and should gather a more noteworthy number of marks than do significant gathering up-and-comers in certain states. 4. There Are Just Too Many Third Party Candidates There are outsiders out there. Furthermore, fourth gatherings. Furthermore, fifth gatherings. There are, actually, several little, dark ideological groups and competitors who show up on polling forms over the association in their names. Be that as it may, they speak to a wide range of political convictions outside of the standard, and putting them all in a major tent would be outlandish. In the 2016 presidential political race alone, voters had many outsider contender to look over in the event that they were disappointed with Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. They could have casted a ballot rather for libertarian Gary Johnson; Jill Stein of the Green Party; Darrell Castle of the Constitution Party; or Better for Americas Evan McMullin. There were communist competitors, professional pot applicants, forbiddance up-and-comers, change up-and-comers. The rundown goes on. Be that as it may, these dark competitors experience the ill effects of a need ofâ consensus, no regular ideologicalâ thread going through every one of them. Basically, theyre too fragmented and confused to be believable options in contrast to the major-party competitors.

EARLY US HISTORY Bacons Rebellion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

EARLY US HISTORY Bacons Rebellion - Assignment Example I have come to comprehend the progressions that significant occasions, for example, Bacon’s Rebellion have brought to Virginia. The historical backdrop of this spot is fascinating as it will assist you with understanding significant occasions that occurred here and acknowledge Virginia more. I have come to comprehend life here in Virginia in an unexpected way. In provincial Virginia, individuals used to experience the ill effects of a great deal of issues, for example, high expenses and low costs for tobacco. The frontier times were extremely hard for some individuals in Virginia. The individuals who coexisted well with the representative during those years, Sir William Berkeley, got extraordinary benefits, which was very uncalled for to the remainder of the individuals. These benefits were sporadic in light of the fact that they were just agreed to the individuals who were near the senator. The senator additionally seemed to have bombed in protecting the area against the successive assaults by Native Americans. These assaults prompted mass passings, just as monstrous loss of property. The area was portrayed by a complicated political structure. Berkeley didn't do what's necessary to manage the security of the individuals he was responsible for ensuring. The Bacon’s defiance was a revolt sorted out by Nathaniel Bacon in 1976 in pilgrim Virginia to challenge the issues that were being knowledgeable about Virginia around then. Bacon was resolved to carry the standard of Governor Berkeley to a flat out end. His endeavors were planned for bringing to the consideration of the legislature the way that every social class should have been dealt with similarly and with pride. Bacon’s defiance prompted a superior Virginia that is seen today. The district had significant issues of prejudice which saw the blacks and whites occupied with steady clashes. In any case, during the disobedience, the blacks and whites held hands to restrict the standard of Governor Berkeley. The decision class was truly undermined by this solidarity since it was something that had

An Overview of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy

An Overview of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy More in Relationships Spouses & Partners Marital Problems LGBTQ Violence and Abuse Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a short-term (eight to 20 sessions) and structured approach to couples therapy developed by Drs. Sue Johnson and Les Greenberg in the 1980s. It is grounded in research while focusing on negative communication patterns  and love as an attachment bond.?? Attachment Theory Attachment between people typically provides a safe haven: a retreat from the world and a way to obtain comfort, security and a buffer against stress. Attachment also offers a secure base, allowing you to feel safe while you explore the world and learn new information.  Its formation begins in childhood with a primary caretaker, such as a parent.?? Those early,  established patterns carry through to adulthood. An unavailable caretaker creates distress in a baby akin to an unavailable partner creating distress in an adult.  Attachment theory provides the emotionally-focused therapist with a road  map to the drama of distress, emotions, and needs between partners.   Grounded in Science According to the website dedicated to EFT, a substantial body of research outlining the effectiveness of this treatment exists.?? It is now considered one of the most (if not the most) empirically validated forms of couples therapy. Research studies have found that 70-75% of couples undergoing EFT successfully move from distress to recovery, and approximately 90% show significant improvements.  This recovery is also quite stable and lasting, with little evidence of relapse back into distress. EFT is being used with many different kinds of couples in private practice, university training centers, and hospital clinics.  It is also quite useful with various cultural groups throughout the world. The distressed couples who may benefit from EFT include those where one or both partners suffer from depression, addiction, post-traumatic stress disorders, and chronic illness, among other disorders.  EFT has proven to be a powerful approach for couples dealing with infidelity or other more traumatic incidents, both current and past. Neuroscience also intersects attachment theory and EFT. More recently produced  MRI studies  demonstrate the significance of secure attachment.?? Our attachments are potent, and our brains code them as “safety.” According to an  article on EFT in  Social Work Today, any perceived distance or separation in our close relationships is interpreted as danger.?? Losing the connection to a loved one threatens our sense of security. Primal fear ensues and sets off an alarm in part of our brain called the amygdala, also known as the fear center. Once the amygdala is activated, it triggers our  fight-or-flight response. When incoming information is familiar, the amygdala is calm. However, as soon as the amygdala encounters threatening or unfamiliar information, it increases the brain’s anxiety level and focuses the mind’s attention on the immediate situation. People go into a self-preservation mode, often doing what they did to survive or cope in childhood. This is the reason we are triggered as adults in our romantic relationships, in the same repeating (and unhealthy) patterns from our formative years.  EFT can help to unwind these automatic, counter-productive reactions. Fostering Healthy Dependency EFT provides a language for healthy dependency between partners and looks at key moves and moments that define an adult love relationship. The primary goal of  the model is to expand and re-organize the emotional responses of the couple. New sequences of bonding interactions occur and replace old, negative patterns such as “pursue-withdraw” or “criticize-defend.”?? These new, positive cycles then become self-reinforcing and create permanent change. The relationship becomes a haven and a healing environment for both partners. Creating a Secure Bond The process reduces couples’ conflict while creating a more secure emotional bond.  Couples learn to express deep, underlying emotions from a place of vulnerability and ask for their needs to be met.  Partners begin to view undesirable behaviors (i.e., shutting down or angry escalations) as “protests of disconnection.” Couples learn to be emotionally available, empathetic and engaged with each other, strengthening the attachment bond and safe haven between them.   EFT has many strengths as a therapeutic model.  First, it is supported by extensive research.?? Second, it is collaborative and respectful of clients. It shifts blame for the couples problems to the negative patterns between them, instead of the couples themselves (or the partners). Finally, the change process has been mapped into a clearly defined process consisting of nine steps and three change events that help guide the therapist and track progress. If you are looking for help with a distressed relationship, an EFT trained therapist would be a wise choice. There are also several books that might be of interest. Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy For Dummies by Brent Bradley and Jamies Furrow,  Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by Sue Johnson, or An Emotionally Focused Workbook for Couples: The Two of Us by Veronica Kallos-Lilly and Jennifer Fitzgeralds are all good places to start. The Best Online Marriage Counseling Programs

Case Study on Attempted Improvements to a Community...

Written in an interview format, this case illustrates the challenges and opportunities faced by a mid-level Public Administrator seeking to improve the performance of the community planning division. In 1983, Laura Shwartz became Chief of Community Planning Section of a large metropolitan county, County of Bend which covers a territory of 2,310 square miles and a pop. Of 1,269,700, which is responsible for long–term land use decisions. The department also deals with agricultural preservation, single family areas, and high density development. The department makes recommendations to the city council on future growth patterns of the county in consultation with a Citizen Committee to established goals and applied various zones to an area.†¦show more content†¦Retooling the staff so that it would be able to predict problems and work with communities and development interests of other public agencies was her number one priority. Teams that are cohesive, productive, and eff icient, whose members enjoy doing their work and working together, are a result of managers developing and leading teams that work in these ways. Successful teams are cohesive because team members work cooperatively, sharing common goals as well as the resources to achieve them. They are productive, because they have clarity on the common goal and purpose. The manager in the case determined this to be the first priority in her efforts to turn the department around. She helped the staff decide wither they wanted to be a part of her vision for the department. She accomplished by clearly identifying her goals and objectives then had them make a clear choice, you’re either in or you’re out, shifting the focus from skills and talents of the existing staff to their priorities and values. They are efficient because tasks are assigned in a way that takes into account the broader picture and strategy, rather than letting the team be dominated by near sighted tasks that did not produce a valuable product to their customers, shifting from policy recommendations based on research to active negotiations with communities. NowShow MoreRelatedAccounting12472 Words   |  50 PagesErnst Young â€Å"Business Leaders of Tomorrow† Case Contest Bigg Glowbell (BG) Case Study Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................................ 1 Assignment Background .................................................................................................................................. 2 Bigg-Glowbell Overview ..................................................Read MoreWhat are Green Roofs?770 Words   |  3 Pagespresence of green roofs. 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Key Facts About the War on Drugs

The Outsiders- Dally Free Essays

Dallas â€Å"Dally† Winston: Social Clique: Greasers Age: 17 Status: Deceased * Reason- Provoked police to shoot him because he got a heater out. Abilities/ Strengths: Street smart, knows how to use a variety of different weapons like guns, blades, etc. Natural born leader; Strong personality; excellent fighter; stereotypical â€Å"bad boy†. We will write a custom essay sample on The Outsiders- Dally or any similar topic only for you Order Now Tougher, colder and meaner than rest of the greasers. His parents were very abusive of him Criminal Past:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The real character of the gang,† Dally was arrested his first time at the age of ten. He spent three years on the â€Å"wild side† of New York and likes to blow off steam in gang fights. He is the most dangerous member of the bunch, but he is still a part of their greaser â€Å"family. Enjoys breaking laws. Known for robbing a lot of stores. Personality Traits: Dallas Winston is seen to be cruel, hardened, and usually lacking concern for others. All of these observations are absolutely true. He is also rude, unrefined, angry, and typically selfish. He often finds amusement at the expense of others, and is hideously impolite to most everyone, especially girls that he doesn’t know. Typically, he finds himself quite indifferent with the opinions of others. Dally has no respect for anyone, especially adults and officials of the law. High school Dropout. Gets angry easily and is mentally unstable. He hardly ever lets any emotion other than anger show. Events: After the Johnny Cade killing a soc incident, it was informed that Dallas Winston helped Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny escape and send them to an abandoned church. He also gave them a gun and some money for buying groceries. This also adds up to Dallas crimes by hiding a criminal. Also known to be bugging to so girls earlier that night. He helped the other two kids on saving the children from the mysterious church fire and injured his arm badly; he was in a good condition compared with his buddy, Johnny. He later escaped the hospital by threatening a nurse with a very large blade in order to join a rumble. After watching Johnny Cade’s tragic death, it was learned that he went crazy and robbed another store. This prompted the police to arrive, and after witnessing the large gun that he had, he was shot down by the police. After examining the raits of Dallas Winston, we are pretty sure that Sabrina will make him less tough, mean and cruel with others. Sabrina will respect the law no matter what and will help others to respect it too. Even though Sabrina may not be that street smart, she is very book smart and may also teach Dallas some skills and manners. View on him after death: After reading Ponyboy Curtis award receiving English assignment, (which happ ened after all of this happened) we can now see that Dally was more than just a criminal. Dally was a misunderstood poor soul like many other gang members during the time. It wasn’t his fault that he was tough, the experiences that happened in his life made him that way. I am pretty sure that he wouldn’t like anyone else to be like that. We also learn that Dallas felt very protective of a fellow, deceased greaser, Johnny Cade. Johnny also admired Dallas a lot, and viewed him as a hero. Some people think that Johnny was all that mattered to Dally. In fact, Johnny’s life is  so  valuable to him that he doesn’t think he can live without Johnny. Pony deals with his grief over Johnny’s death by pretending Johnny isn’t dead, but Dally snaps goes on an all-out â€Å"suicide mission†. How to cite The Outsiders- Dally, Essay examples

The Gas and The Oil Industry

Question: Demonstrate a good understanding of the substantive rules of international law applicable to the oil and gas industry Evaluate the key principles of contract formation in international commercial transactions and key international law principles and trends in the oil and gas sector Assess the effectiveness of international law in addressing the environmental impact of oil exploration and exploitation Demonstrate a critical understanding of the importance of oil and gas law as a distinct subject, studied in a practical and commercial context. Answer: Introduction The different players in the gas and the oil industry have to encounter different kinds of risks. There are different kinds of risks and they are HSE accidents, mechanical breakdowns as well as unfavorable price change. Furthermore, there are also risks regarding contract between the host country and government and international oil companies or contractors. With the aim of reducing the exposure, industry players generally carry out different kinds of measures as well practices so that they are able to manage the risks efficiently. It is significant to note that one significant aspect of risk management is the risk allocation between or among the parties who are engaged in an undertaking. But it is quite difficult in the Oil and Gas Industry because there is large number of parties who are involved in a single project. Risk allocation in the Oil and the Gas Industry can be carried out by setting out in the contract clauses. It is these clauses which assess that which party will be held responsible for a certain risks and to what extent. The characteristics of the upstream oil and gas contracts are highly affected by the fundamental interest of the Host Government and the International Contractor. The Host Government is generally concerned with attracting risk capital to modern EP technology for securing the national interest while the international oil companies and the contractor focuses on the ways to acquire the excessive return on their investment. To make a clear distinction between the rights of Host Government and the international oil companies so that they are able to address and manage the risks, Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) has been introduced. Production Sharing Contracts was first introduced in Bolivia in the beginning of 1950s and this contract is able to provide benefit to the host country lacking expertise. Discussions The search of petroleum pushes the gas and the oil companies from their home countries out into the world. The worldwide scope of the exploration for the production of the oil and gas has given rise to multinational and international companies. These companies are generally found in home countries but carry out their business all over the world. It has been found out that presently all the significant oil companies can be found in different oil producing regions of the world. Furthermore, it has also been found out the medium and small petroleum companies also carry put their business in more than one country of the world (Hilyard, 2012). It is significant to note that each country formulates and implements different kinds of laws and regulations which help in developing the oil and gas industry sector of that country. So, it is probable to demonstrate the basic approaches and the concepts which are related with the international petroleum. Several laws have also been passed by the United States which applies to the international operation of the US Companies. Risk Allocation Approaches Usually, there are three kinds of research allocation approaches which are used in the Oil and Gas Industry (Darst, 2007). They are: Indemnity Exemption Limitation of Liability Indemnity Following this agreement, the party which is entitled to obtain a benefit will acquire payment from the indemnifying pay in case the indemnifying party suffers a loss (Benigno and Kk, 2012). Indemnity can be classified as mutual or unilateral indemnity. As per Mutual indemnity, all the parties involved in the contract acts as a potential indemnifier and recipient of probable indemnity. As against this, unilateral indemnity highlights a situation in which one party undertakes the liability of indemnifying another party if the second party incurs a loss in the contractual relationship. Scope of Indemnity for multiple parties: In Oil and Gas Industry, there are large numbers of parties involved. It has been seen that, whenever different parties are involved in a contract, it often creates an abstract result on the indemnity clause (Bowen, 2011). It has been interpreted by the court that whenever several parties are involved in a contract then one party will condensate other for any kind of loss. Scope of Indemnity when there is subrogation: If the indemnifier has undertaken an insurance policy to cover the similar risks which is the subject of the contract, the responsibility to indemnify will be turned off based on the fact whether or not there is an express duty of the indemnifier to take out the policy (SCARANTINO, 2010). Exclusion of liability The clause of Exclusion of liability is to release a party from the obligation for loss arising from outlined risks. However, the forgiveness will depend on the kind of risks or risks rising from the contract. These provisions in a contract generate a class of injury whose happenings are highlighted not to be qualified for remediation by the party with the responsibility to the risk covered (Zinn, 2002). The Oil and the Gas contract Parties agree to exclude liability for the following: Consequential Loss Loss resulting from willful conduct Loss resulting from gross negligence Limitation of Liability A liability clause may allocate the obligation for remedying loss which rises from an action of providing advantage to the party and at the same time put a cap on it. The cap will be put depending on the prearranged segment of the loss or a fixed amount of money. It should be noted that a limitation clause will limit the liability of the duty bearer (LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR MARITIME CLAIMS, 2001). There are different forms of limitation and they have been given below: Fixed amount Limitation: The parties may want to offer for the maximum amount of the loss that has been incurred so that either of them would be responsible for in the event of the risk happenings. The Clause 35 of Logic Standard Contract Supply of Major items are an example of fixed amount limitation. It ensures that: This kind of contracts is generally utilized in Oil and Gas industry. This is because there is option for unlimited as well as probably excessive liability is kept unrestrained (Johnsen Oil signs major Russian filtration supply contract, 2011). They may act as conciliation whenever the parties disagree on a mutual hold. It has been seen that some of the Oil and Gas project are so precious that the losses which are incurred are unbearable for the contractors. Thus, it is evident that a liability cap is carrying out the role of providing a second line of defense of indeterminate liability. Proportionate Liability: There are a large number of contracts which restricts the liability of the parties who are engaged in the proportion of their participation in the undertaking. Production Sharing Agreement Production Sharing Contract is a common kind of contract that is signed by the government of the host country and the international oil producing countries highlighting how much of the oil extracted will be received by government and the oil producing companies. In this agreement, the government of the host country grants the international oil companies with the permission to carry out with the exploration and the production of oil. It is duty of the oil companies to bear the mineral as well as the financial risks of explore and initiative. If the company is successful in acquiring money then the profit will be shared between the company and the government at a rate of 20% and 80% respectively. This contract is able to provide benefit to the host country lacking expertise and want foreign companies to carry out the task. At the same time, his contract can also be profitable for oil companies involved in the project (Zedalis, 2009). Key Features Parties- Generally, this type of contract will be carried by the National Oil Corporation (NOC) in behalf of the government. However, in case of India, these contracts are generally carried out Ministers who are in charge of the Mines and Ministers for Petroleum and Natural Gas respectively. In Tanzania, Tanzanian Petroleum Development Corporation is a party (Zedalis, 2009). Term of Contract- The length of the terms of the contract depends on a large number of factors and thus terms is negotiable. There is no fixed term period for the Model Contracts. Kenyan Model which follows the Clause 2: Relinquishment It focuses on ensuring speedy and effective exploration. It provides benefits to both the parties. The Clause 7 of the Kurdistans Model PSC is an example of Relinquishment Clause. National Interest Provisions National Interest Provision helps to upgrade and protect national socio-economic well-being of the host country (SCARANTINO, 2010). Cost Recovery Oil With the help of this provision, International Oil Corporation is able to recover its costs from the extracted oil and gas even before the profit is shared. Profit Oil This includes the return on exploration after the international Oil Corporation has recovered the costs. This is shared between the different parties in a sliding scale. The allocation of the government of the host country will increase with the rise in the production or the economic return of the contractor (Pirog, 2006). The product Sharing Agreement was first utilized in Indonesia in the year 1960. This was signed between the International Oil Cooperation and Pertamina. Presently, Product Sharing Agreement was used in developing and maintaining relationship between International Oil Contribution and some of the resource rich state for the exploration, development and the production of the oil and natural gas. As mentioned above, the most significant notion of this contract is the shared production. Generally, Product Sharing Agreement is signed for a time period of 25 to 30 years. However, the contract can be signed for longer years. This can be seen in the contract for developing the oilfield in Kashagan in Kazakhstan (Pirog, 2006). The project was signed in the year 1977 and it continued for about 40 years. After the extraction of the oil, the profit is shared between the parties who are involved in the contract. The share of the host country will be given to SOE. If the contract involves different number of parties, then one of the parties can assume the role of the operational management of the project. However, it should be noted that the function of the operational management will be assigned to the largest investor and he will also be responsible for settling the disputes or any problem that may arise in this case. The technical operational management varies greatly from the commercial operational management. This is because the technical operational management deals with the actual field development procedure whereas the commercial operational management focuses on the process of controlling the financial settlements as well as relation between the different parties about the production sharing calculations (Lai, 2011). The Product Sharing Agreement makes it clear that National Oil Corporation should represent the state. The NOC should possess two responsibilities. Firstly, that of a contractor with proper shares of the contract and secondly, it represents the interest of the state and thus receives the share of the profit of the oil on behalf of the state (Liu and Zhu, 2013). However, it should be noted that the share of National Oil Corporation varies from one country to other based on the negotiation process of Product Sharing Agreement and the share of National Oil Corporation in a specific project. However, different laws of product Sharing Agreement want National Oil Corporation to enjoy a share of the controlling stake of a project. In order to avoid any kind of problem, PSA is planned in such a way so that the contribution of NOC is executed by some other group members and the group members and the government repays the contribution from its share of profit (Lai, 2011). The different principles of Product Sharing Agreement have been analyzed below: On the host state side, an NOC an act as a party of the contractThe state holds legal title to the unproduced natural resources and only changes title to the share of the International Oil Corporation.The International Oil Corporation undertakes the risks at the exploration stage.If the Product Sharing agreement is negotiated and signed then it will become a part of the national legislation (Lai, 2011).The International Oil Corporation is provided with the right to search, develop and extract oil.The capital is invested by International Oil Corporation. The capital expenditure and the cost of maintenance are subtracted from the production in the form of cost oil.Cost oil and the profit oil are computed depending on the exact amount of oil being produced.The parties who are involved in the project will share the profit oil as long as the contract exists. The taxes are paid to government by the parties once the oil has been acquired (BELEW, 2011). Conclusions The entire project highlighted how the different kinds of risks associated with the Oil and Gas Industry are managed by the different parties. It also shows the importance of the Product Sharing Agreements and its role in sharing the risks and the responsibility between the host country and the international oil companies. The Host Government is generally concerned with attracting risk capital to modern EP technology for securing the national interest while the international oil companies and the contractor focuses on the ways to acquire the excessive return on their investment. The report showed that there are three kinds of research allocation approaches which are used in the Oil and Gas Industry. In Oil and Gas Industry, there are large numbers of parties involved. It has been seen that, whenever different parties are involved in a contract, it often creates an abstract result on the indemnity clause. Production Sharing Contract is a common kind of contract that is signed by the g overnment of the host country. References BELEW, S. (2011). Starting an online business all-in-one for dummies. Hoboken: John wiley. Benigno, G. and Kk, H. (2012). Portfolio allocation and international risk sharing. Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'conomique, 45(2), pp.535-565. Bowen, A. (2011). Proportionate liability under the civil liabilty regime. St. Leonards, NSW: Continuing Professional Education Dept. of the College of Law. Darst, D. (2007). Mastering the art of asset allocation. New York: McGraw-Hill. Hilyard, J. (2012). The oil gas Industry. Tulsa, Okla.: PennWell. Johnsen Oil signs major Russian filtration supply contract. (2011). Filtration + Separation, 48(2), p.6. Joshi, H. (2010). Knowledge sharing and intellectual property management. Saarbrucken, Deutschland: LAP LAMBERT Publishing. Lai, N. (2011). New Energy Development and Utilization of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation. AMR, 347-353, pp.1172-1179. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR MARITIME CLAIMS. (2001). Tilburg Law Review, 9(2), pp.250-250. Liu, J. and Zhu, S. (2013). Primary Studies on the Offshore Oil Spill Detection System Using the Satellite Remote Sensing Technology Developed by China National Offshore Oil Corporation. AMM, 316-317, pp.580-585. Noe, R. and Noe, R. (2012). Human resource management. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Pirog, R. (2006). Oil industry profit review 2005. [Washington, D.C.]: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. SCARANTINO, A. (2010). INDUCTIVE RISK AND JUSTICE IN KIDNEY ALLOCATION. Bioethics, 24(8), pp.421-430. Zedalis, R. (2009). The legal dimensions of oil and gas in Iraq. New York: Cambridge University Press. Zinn, C. (2002). Australian government bails out medical indemnity funds. BMJ, 325(7371), pp.988a-988.

Puerto Rico walks away from commonwealth. Essays - Americas

Puerto Rico walks away from commonwealth. I will not pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. This must be the words of thousands of Puerto Ricans living in the island today wishing that their small island would once and for all become free from the colonization of the United States. Puerto Rico has been living under U.S. domination for the past 92 years and it's considered the last nation in Latin America that is still living in colonization. Puerto Ricans want to be free and should be allowed to be free; to have the opportunity to vote for the president who sends its young people to war, to have their own currency, to fly one flag in all their schools and finally to feel pride in being an independent nation and not labeled with terms like "territory" and "commonwealth". Bigger and more powerful nations that inhabit smaller nations for various benefits should never deny a nation's culture and roots, instead in these modern times people should be allowed to govern themselves and be independent nations. In the midst of the struggle over status (U.S commonw ealth or Independency) only one clear realization can come of this, Puerto Rico ought to be independent and refuse commonwealth to the United States of America. One of the many benefits citizens from all democratic countries enjoy is the ability to choose their chief in command. As a commonwealth under the United States, Puerto Rican citizens cannot vote during the presidential campaign. They are allowed to participate in presidential primaries but not the final event. This is somewhat of an insult to the younger generation on the island being sent off to fight wars representing the U.S. having been denied the privilege to choose the person who is sending them. As an independent nation Puerto Ricans would have the right to participate in elections choosing who their leader would be. The island does have its own elections where they get to choose who will become governor and other various members of the political cabinet but all of these have limited power in deciding the fate of the island. The Governor is allowed to run the island and handle domestic issues but Washington has the final word. This struggle for power has also affected the economy and the ability to export and carry out trades with other nations; United Sates keeps a tight hold on who the island does business with, ultimately creating a dependent economy. Puerto Rico should be allowed to diversify their sources of capital and their export market something that would strengthen its economy and eliminate the economic dependency that has been created throughout the years. Many in the island believe that independency would allow Puerto Rico to open a broader trading market and as stated by Eric Negron, tax adviser to the independence party, "as an independent nation Puerto Rico could attract foreign investment and it would at the same time be better able to direct what sort of industries is brought to the island." Remaining a commonwealth takes all of these economic privileges away from the people and the government of Puerto Rico who want to see the island's economy soar to a new level. Nations across the world can be proud of their heritage and culture, which makes up their country and it's the backbone to each individual society. A nation's language is a stamp of their history; the DNA that makes up its people. Puerto Rico as a commonwealth could be in danger of losing its national language. Spanish has been the island's national language since the Spanish conquistadors first discovered it in 1492. United Sates wants Puerto Rico to make the change from Spanish to English and demands that both Spanish and English be the national languages; too many schools across the island have already made the transaction and now teach in both languages. Being a Puerto Rican is not being part of an ethnic group or speaking Spanish is not speaking a dialect; these citizens are people who have their own language and roots and deserve the right to conserve their heritage and most important their culture. However, as a person born in

Separation of church and state

Separation of church and state Introduction Separation of church and state is one of the concepts, which have been misread, distorted, and criticized, mostly in the current spiritual, lawful, and political debates (Wilson, 34). According to Cline, there is an argument presently by some of the Christians, that the idea of separating church and state was not considered by the founding fathers.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Separation of church and state specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They, rather, think that it is a modern and harmful policy that was brought up between the 1950’s and 60’s by the decisions of the Supreme Court. As Cline indicates, this is not true. The idea is as old as 1802, when Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the union of Danbury Baptist as a response to a letter the Baptist Association had written to him. The letter of the Baptist Association regarded to a gossip that concerned a certain denomination, which w as said to be recognized as a national denomination. According to Cline, in his response, he reassured them that none of the Christian denominations would be recognized by the government to be the national denomination. He indicated that an obstacle of separation had been raised to separate the Church and the State. Discussion The issue of separation of the church and the state is so critical in today’s political climate. According to Cline, the idea, which evolved from the Bible, came up with Christians. Prior to Jefferson picking it up, the preachers had applied it for 200 years. In the letter, that Jefferson wrote to the union of Danbury Baptist he made it specific that due to separation, the government would never barricade with public activities carried out by religions. The expression was appended to the Free Exercise Clause of the first Amendment. Cline adds that, in the subsequent 150 years, the words â€Å"separation of church and state† were applied to expres s religiously in public, as well as keep government from materializing the public (Wilson, 45). It was later in the late 1940’s that the Court came up with the idea that Jefferson rather muddled up. They thought that instead of him appending the expression to the Free Exercise clause, he would have appended it to the Establishment Clause. This has made separation today to be denoted that the government can obstruct any spiritual doings. Secularists can go against overpowering the greater part of the nation by using this idea. The uncertainties concerning separation have been ancient. Separation of church and state is a concept that many do not understand and so misinterpret. The key players are separationists, who support separation, non- preferentialists, who call for close relationships between the government and the spiritual groups, and lastly, the accomodationists, who are against the separationists’ approach, which unfortunately is leading in courts (Wilson, 62). Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Separation of church and state is a discussion that looks at what the Bills of Rights and Constitution mean. Some think that the government is given authority by the constitution to control some features of faith, and that the First Amendment avoids the launching of a national church only. Others believe that the government, via the constitution, has no authority over faith, and that the First Amendment ought to be largely read to forbid any kind of meddling with faith. According to Cline, because religious authorities and civil authorities are different, the same persons, or organizations should not be assigned to them. This means that municipal power cannot order, or manage structured spiritual bodies. The concept being a two-way traffic denotes that religious bodies cannot order, or manage the government. As Cline indicates, the concept make s certain that when private populaces are performing in the position of some government official, they cannot have any feature of their private spiritual beliefs forced on others. This calls for ethical self-control on government representatives, and to an extent, on private populace. Self-control is important for a spiritually pluralistic culture to live on, without going down into spiritual public battle. It makes sure that the government remains a government of all, but not that of one spiritual tradition, or denomination. It also ensures that political allotments are not drawn beside spiritual lines, with Christians or Catholics fighting Protestants, or Muslims, in order to receive what is publicly meant to be theirs. Separation of church and state is a concept that is important in the constitutional liberty, protecting the public from oppression. It defends everyone from spiritual oppression of any spiritual group, or culture, and it defends everyone from a government aim of op pressing some, or any spiritual group. The founding fathers did not mean for separation of church and state to be carried out as it is carried out today by the courts. They wrote what they wrote purely to protect the freedom of religion. The term â€Å"separation of church and state† is not found anywhere in the Constitution, or in the documents of the founding fathers. What the founders were aiming for was to defend the human being autonomy, and freedom of ethics, not generate a nonbeliever culture that is devoid of even the declaration of God publicly (Wilson, 71). As Cline indicates, The Bill of Rights denotes to faith, and not place of worship. This means that Marxists, Humanistic –spiritual faith structures, Novel Age conservationism, among others, are all covered up when it comes to the subject of the state prying in the free implementation of belief, or autonomy of ethics.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Separation of church and state s pecifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conclusion Separation of church and state is an ancient issue. From the above research, many people do not understand the concept. Some think that it is included in the constitution, while others think that the state can interfere anytime with the affairs of the church. The courts today are considering actions that are done in the name of religion like polygamy, immorality promotion, among others as unconstitutional, and hence punishing them (Wilson, 67). The concept that was developed by the founding fathers, meant to protect religion, but not to be handled the way it is being handled by the courts today. The most important detail according to the concept is to avoid religious oppression, and war amongst denominations (Wilson, 92). Cline, Austin. Separation of Church and State 101. Issues, People, and Arguments. https://scribd.com/document/185292/Separation-of-Church-and-State-101-from-About-com. Wilson, Jam es Q. American Government: Institutions and Policies. Lexington, Mass: D.C. Heath, 1986. Print.

Multicultural Care Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Multicultural Care - Assignment Example In order to ensure that Ms. Lamas freely expressed her needs and better communicate with others, the counselor provided the client with permission to express herself without judging her. Additionally, the counselor validated the client’s feelings of abandonment, helplessness, and isolation. The cultural beliefs that the counselor took into account when conceptualizing Ms. Lamas’ case included the role of women and men, culture shock stages, bicultural identity as well as valuing the culture of others just the way she valued her culture. Ms. Lamas’ immigration experience and minority status exposed her to discrimination. For example, for being a Latino immigrant she was discriminated an aspect that led to depression and anxiety. Similarly, she felt guilt after migrating to US (Hays and Iwamasa, 2006). This was due to the way she was ignored and informed to do things as a woman Ms. Lamas expect her sons to take care of her due to the way she underwent great financial hardship while she provided for them. Due to lack of adequate finance, she was even unable to pay for their fees. In order to build a strong relationship with Ms. Lamas, the counselor ensured that the information regarding the counseling approach was provided to the client. Additionally, the counselor utilized self-disclosure where it was necessary. Rather than viewing the client symptoms as manifestations of pathology, the counselor also informed her that they were specialized coping behaviors. As a result, the client was able to express herself freely.

Money laundering and corruptions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Money laundering and corruptions - Essay Example The most common business thus was Laundromats. A famous gangster known as Al Capone was one owner of such Laundromats where he made his dirty money look legitimate. However, in 1931, he was convicted for tax evasion. Many experts have conceded that the claim of origin of the phrase money laundering is a myth. Rather, they cite that since the money was gotten from illegal sources, it was considered â€Å"dirty†. In a bid to â€Å"cleaning it up† so that it looked legitimate, the phrase laundering of money was coined for this literal meaning. The process of money laundering is mainly meant to obscure the source of money by the use of a number of transfers and transactions. Meyer Lansky who was referred to as the Mob’s Accountant was very troubled that the monies gotten from the illegal activities could get people in jail for tax evasion. As such, he set about looking for the best way to launder money without consequences. It was when he discovered the value of Swis s banks. Here, he used the loan back concept where money would be â€Å"loaned† to people by the compliant foreign banks and then declared to the revenue with the bank even taking a tax deduction. Money laundering is a crime. However, since its conception, the term was first publicly used in the 80s where drug trafficking was the context in which it was mostly applied. The trigger for action against drug trafficking was the realization by the government that huge profits were being made at the expense of the society. The US government anticipated that such money would eventually corrupt and contaminate its structures. Money laundering is now regarded as a global phenomenon affecting all nations. The complications of dealing with this organizational and transactional crime are many since it is very adaptable and flexible assisted by the latest technology and the contracting of professionals. The global nature of the operations is also a challenge for the authorities to deal wi th. The presence of a large pool of resources, the ingenuity of its operators and the quest for profits are the major threats of money laundering as it expands and moves into new frontiers every day. Corruption is treated as an incurable disease because it affects every core of the social and moral fiber. There are many evils that are associated with corruption. Indeed, in most cases, it starts small and then grows into a cancer to all sectors of society, government and the economy. There is however no clear-cut correlation between the effects of corruption and the economy. The most visible consequences of corruption are the inequalities in the society with some earning more than others and an erosion of individual morals and the degradation of the moral fiber of the society in general. These are however not parameters that can be considered as being able to determine the economic consequences of corruption on the national scale. There are nations that do have a very high corruption index but yet are economically sound. There are also those that exhibit low levels of corruption but are poor performers in the economy. This is not an indictment to corruption but it is meant to show that corruption is so disguised in the society that it may affect or it may not affect the general economy (Mauro, 1995). Effects of money laundering and corruption The role that financial institutions play in the process of money laundering is the major contributor to the problems associated with the

Nonfunctional Requirements with Data Mining

Nonfunctional Requirements with Data Mining INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The use of software has invaded our daily lives as it enable us to accomplish many tasks especially those which are associated in doing various business processes and in dealing with different business systems. It enables the use of knowledge on both computing and computers to be able to help solve various problems which confront everyday situations. The often most encountered problems encountered in the field of software engineering deals with computers and computing although its underlying causes are not actually on such dimensions, and oftentimes go beyond such. To be able to distinguish a good software engineering program, the following criteria must be accordingly observed: there is quality in what we can recognize but we cannot define; there is fitness of purpose; there is an existence of conformance relative to specifications; it is tied to inherent product characteristics; and it can also be assumed to be dependent on the amount at which the customer is wi lling to pay (Pfleeger Atlee, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the complexities and the complications confronting the businesses nowadays, the requirements for system engineering has been seen to offer a solution. The requirements are the ones which form the basis for planning the development of a system and accepting it on a completion. They can form a basis for project planning, risk management, acceptance testing, trade-off, and change control (Hull et al, 2005). Requirements are meant to specify the specific sets of features which are essential to the software or program. They can either be functional or non-functional. Functional requirements can be defined as the specification of a function that the system must support while non-functional requirements refer to the constraints associated on the operation of the system that is not directly related to a function of the system (Bruegge Duttoit, 2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In simpler terms, non-functional requirements take into consideration not what the software will do but how the software will do it. It is geared towards a much wider scope as it deals more with the requirements for process rather than just the tools which are necessary for functionality. The researcher agrees to the fact that non-functional requirements are indeed important because they are able to address various issues which are important in the achievement of quality. They are very vital for the success of the system and if they are not properly addressed, the result can be damaged and they can be inconsistent and poor quality, users and customers would end up being dissatisfied, and it can also affect time and cost which are associated with running the system. LITERATURE REVIEW   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most recognized importance of non-functional requirements in software engineering is its capacity to define system properties and constraints. Non-functional requirements can be classified as product requirements, organizational requirements, and external requirements. Product requirements refer to specifications which deal with how a particular product which is delivered should behave in a particular way such as those related to execution speed and reliability. Furthermore, organizational requirements refer to the consequences of the policies and procedures of the organization such as the variety of process standards which are sued as the requirements undergo implementation. Lastly, external requirements are those which arise because of the various factors which are external to the development process and system. The main reason on why non-functional requirements arise because of the needs from the users, budget constraints, and existing policies of th e organizations, there is a need for interoperability with other hardware or software systems, and because of the presence of external factors such as standards for safety (Puntambekar, n.d.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Chung et al (n.d.), software engineering illustrates both pragmatic and systematic alternatives in which we are provided with the ability to to establish software systems of the highest standards and quality with regards to its usage and functionality. It calls for the need of software engineered systems to be modifiable, accurate, and secured which are some of the indications of a high performing software system. However, they are very subjective making them a hard subject for the purpose of evaluation. The system typically interacts with each other making their functions affect the general system and therefore it also affects the entire system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Non-functional requirements are also being characterized for being hard to deal with as compared with functional requirements primarily because their impact is not generally localized to only a specific part of the system. Instead, it involves the entire system. The various changes with functional requirements in software will also inevitably affect the non-functional requirements. An effective software architecture evaluation is often the tool which is used to be able to deal with the numerous impacts of non-functional requirements (Aurum Wohlin, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Data mining can be considered as one of the important aspect of software system and of software engineering. Data mining involves solving data problems which already exist in the software particularly referring to the process of discovering patterns in the data. The process should be either automatic or semi-automatic and it should be present in substantial quantities to be able to reap the maximum benefits out of these existing data (Witten Frank, 2005). It can be aptly defined as â€Å"extracting or mining knowledge from large amounts of data† (Han Kamber,2006). It can be actually treated as the process of mining knowledge from existing data and not the other way around. The process of data mining could include the following procedures: data cleaning, data integration, data selection, data transformation, data mining, pattern evaluation, and knowledge presentation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Data mining activities are some of the practices executed by organizations, especially among software engineers, to be able to improve software quality and productivity. Data mining in the field of software engineering ahs recently emerged because it ahs been recognized among industries that such is needed in order to increase the abundance of data and they are also helpful in solving different types of real-world problems. Data mining algorithms are by being increasingly used in different software engineering tasks to be able to improve the productivity of the system or the software. These algorithms can be able to help engineers to what code locations must be changed when another code location is changed. Data mining in the field of software engineering can be done in the series of the following procedures: collection or investigation of software engineering data; determining software engineering tasks; pre-processing of data; adapting or developing algorithm wh ich will be executed for mining; and post processing or application of mining results (Xie 1t al, 2009).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The non-functional requirements in data mining could come from the operating environment, the users, and the competitive products. In the operating environment, data can be affected by the system which is used in supporting the process. It poses problem on how the software will work towards establishing dynamic data architecture. Furthermore, users are also behind the non-functional requirements for data mining in software engineering primarily because they control a big fraction of the entire program and they are the ones who completely understand the attributes of the system. Lastly, the existence of competitive alternatives affects the non-functional requirements because of their features which generally affect the quality of the system (Malan Bredemeyer, n.d.) RESEARCH QUESTIONS:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to properly carry out the purpose of the research, that is to provide an insight on the various non-functional requirements which exist with regards to data mining, the study will attempt to answer various research questions which will form foundation of the research and which will form the backbone of the study. The research questions which the researcher will attempt to shed light to will include: What is the nature of non-functional requirements in software engineering and how they are different with functional requirements with regards to the extent of use and practice in the general industry? What are the examples of non-functional requirements in data mining? How are these non-functional requirements in data mining addressed by the software engineers of today? Are they addressed effectively? What does the future of requirements analysis in the field of software engineering hold for the non-functional requirements in software engineering? RESEARCH METHODOLOGY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be able to successfully carry out the purpose of this research, the researcher will employ an exploratory research design wherein the primary objective of the study will be the provision of insights into and comprehension of the topic at hand. The research will be qualitative in nature, which will take into account significant data and previous researches which are related to the topic rather than dealing with quantitative techniques of research.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In carrying out a qualitative research, the researcher will make use of widely available secondary data and literature from credible sources such as books, scholastic articles, academic journals, credible websites, and other reputable sources which will provide the researcher with additional information regarding the non-functional requirements of data mining in the field of software engineering. Because of the very nature of the topic, first hand information will be quite hard to obtain that is why second hand information will be preferred for this study. Widely available references will provide significant researches which have been previously done and will be geared towards shedding light to the topic. It must be however understood that although the topic is limited to data mining in software engineering, where the researcher finds its niche against other works, resources and references regarding software engineering in general will also be sued in order to pro vide a general perspective of the topic at hand. RESEARCH PLANNING   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To successfully finish the paper and generate significant findings, there will be a pre-determined time-frame which will include all the activities which will be related to the completion of this research. In the first weeks of conducting the study, the researcher will focus into redefining or reshaping the fundamentals of the research given that some modifications can be eyed. However, since the topic seems to be good enough as an area of study in the field of software engineering, the succeeding weeks of the research will be focused towards extensive research which shall form the big part of the entire paper. Since the researcher decided to make use of secondary sources widely available, much of the time will be spent browsing through books and other reputable sources to gain more idea regarding the topic. Once the information needed has already been enough and sustainable to support the researchers claim and to give answers to the research questions earlier ide ntified, writing the general research based on a previously outlined structure will commence which will be followed with subsequent proof reading and revisions which will ensure that the work is fully furnished before finally submitting the work and the final presentation of the research. REFERENCES: Aurum, Aybuke, Wohlin, Claes, (2005). Engineering and Managing Software Requirements. Sweden: Springer Bruegge, Bernd., Duttoit, Allen (2010). Object-oriented Software Engineering. 3rd ed. USA: Pearson Education Inc. Chung, L., Nixon, B., Yu, E., Mylopoulos, J. (n.d.). Non-functional Requirements in Software Engineering. Han, Jiawei., Kamber, Michelin (2006). Data Mining Concepts and Techniques. Elsevier: USA Hull, Elizabeth., Jackson, Ken., Dick, Jeremy, (2005). Requirements Engineering. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: Springer Malan, Ruth, Bredemeyer, Dana, (n.d.). Defining Non-functional Requirements. Bredemeyer Consulting Pfleeger, Shari Lawrence., Atlee, Joanne (2006). Software Engineering: Theory and Practuce. 3rd ed. USA: Pearson Prentice Hall Puntambekar, A. A. (n.d.). Software Engineering. Technical Publications Pune Witten, Ian., Frank, Eibe (2005). Data Mining: Practical Machine Learning Tools and Techniques. USA: Elsevier Xie, Tao., Thummalapenta, Suresh., Lo, David., Liu, Chao (2009). Data Mining for Software Engineering

Youth and Economic Development in the 21st Century Africa

Youth and Economic Development in the 21st Century Africa By: Ikechukwu D. Ikerionwu Dept. of Peace & Conflict Studies, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, USA. Preamble In the context of youth and economic development, leadership is a multi-layered phenomenon characterized by two main features: 1. The economic challenges facing African youth warrant responsible leadership by governments and international partners; 2. As leaders, youth can themselves play an important role in the promotion of economic development.This paper seeks to address these aspects of leadership by exploring seven main issues of economic development that are central to the well-being of youth in Africa: education and training; employment and migration; entrepreneurship; access to information and communication technology; health and HIV/AIDS; environmental and sustainable livelihoods; and participation in economic decision-making. The paper looks in particular at how governments have responded, how internationa l partners have supported efforts, and how youth themselves are taking the lead in addressing these issues.The main message is clear: while African governments are increasingly putting youth concerns at the heart of the development agenda, a lot more remains to be done. Both governments and international partners should commit to fully engage young Africans in all aspects of their programmes and initiatives that target youth and economic development. Youth have repeatedly demonstrated a willingness and an ability to contribute to the development process from the identification of issues to implementation and monitoring.However, to reap full benefits of their contributions, youth participation in programmes such as NEPAD, MDGs and PRSs needs to be strengthened. As motivated and inspired citizens, young people are agents of change with the potential for taking a leading role in tackling Africa’s development challenges for themselves, their families and the society. The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. Education and Skills Training for African YouthYoung Africans need access to both decent formal education and opportunities to acquire a range of vocational and life skills to actively participate in all spheres of an increasingly knowledge-intensive society, today as young citizens and tomorrow as the continent’s future leaders. Unfortunately, young people in Africa struggle to acquire an education that provides them with the right set of skills and knowledge. As a result, the transition from school-to-work is a major challenge such that many young Africans end up either unemployed or underemployed in the informal sector with little protection and prospects.Governments and international partners have made concerted efforts in recent years to improve this situation. In particular, to achieve the goal of universal primary education, many African countries have directed much effort and resources to improving primary school enrolment. The abol ishing of school fees at the primary level has been a major driving force to achieve this goal. In Malawi, for example, free primary school education has considerably increased the youth literacy level. Even while enrolments have been increasing, the quality of education in many African countries appears to be on the decline.Inadequate infrastructure and training facilities, poor and inappropriate curricula, and lack of well-trained and motivated teachers are among the main reasons explaining this decline. The Nigeria government is still having issues with the labour unions over the implementation of the N18,000 ($115. 38) minimum wage. Though access to primary education is a necessary first step and a fulfilment of a human right, it is also clear that it does not provide needed skills for a young African to compete in an increasingly competitive labour market.Moreover, at the country level, a critical mass of secondary and higher education graduates are required in order to acceler ate economic development. In most African countries, secondary schools are limited in capacity, which is largely due to inadequate budgetary resources for this sector. Consequently, the chances of young people proceeding to secondary school, not to mention tertiary institutions, are significantly hampered. To deal with this predicament, African governments and international partners must take a more holistic approach to education, broadening their focus from just primary education.In this context, African girls and young women need special attention. Overall, in most of Africa, gender disparities continue to impede young girls’ acquisition of a decent education and employable skills. This keeps young African girls away from their rightful place as agents of development and leaders of tomorrow. Fortunately, the gender situation has greatly improved in recent years in some African countries. A number of them, such as Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Swaziland, Nig eria, Zimbabwe etc, are in fact on track to achieve the goal of eliminating gender disparities in primary education. 1] Other countries have turned to a range of measures to reduce the gender disparity in access to education – one illustration is the provision of free uniforms and books to girls in Kenya. There are also considerable regional disparities within countries in terms of education and educational attainments. In this regard, the uneven distribution of educational infrastructure in most African countries reflects the weak commitment of governments in addressing this issue. Most secondary schools and tertiary institutions in Africa are located in the cities, with rural pupils struggling for access.This situation contributes to the persistent urban-bias that has so much distorted Africa’s development. The difficulties of the school-to-work transition would be reduced if young people end up with skills that are demanded by employers. One approach is to design cu rricula to suit the changing needs of the labour market, or alternatively, to combine formal education with workbased training as has been adopted in Egypt. Different forms of training are also needed to address the limited skills of young Africans once they have left formal education.In this context, African governments can provide public funded training or financial support for private provision of such facilities, which could focus on either general training or more specific vocational skills. Apprenticeships have been utilized in a number of African countries as a measure to address skills and employability of out-of-school youth for example the National Open Apprenticeship Scheme in Nigeria. In 1987, the Government of River State in Nigeria launched an innovative programme dubbed the National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (NOAS) as an attempt to link education and training with the workplace.The scheme provides vocational education and training to unemployed youth. It utilizes fac ilities such as workshops and technical instructors from private industries, government institutions, and by way of subcontracting arrangements, way-side craftsmen and tradesmen in the informal sector. Under this scheme, unemployed youth and school leavers are trained for a period of 6 to 36 months under reputable master craftsmen. They are also taught management, business and administrative skills.The scheme has succeeded in training over 600,000 unemployed youth in over 80 different trades out of which about two-thirds started their own micro-enterprise. A mobile training scheme dubbed School-On-Wheels programme introduced in 1990 has provided vocational training to over 21,000 school leavers and other unskilled persons in rural areas. The programme is of a three-month duration, after which graduates are absorbed into the NOAS. Another related scheme is the Waste-to-Wealth Scheme under which youth are trained in the techniques of converting waste material into useful objects.At le ast 8,000 people have been trained under this scheme. [2] Besides the provision of training, the private and non-profit sectors also have a role in providing formal education at all levels. For example, religious bodies are actively involved in the educational sector in Africa, even at the tertiary level. Since governments are constrained by limited financial resources, African leaders need to explore the use of pubic-private partnerships (PPPs) to overcome shortfalls in the education sector.PPPs can also enhance the linkages (forward and backward) between the formal education sector and the private sector. This can in turn ensure that curricula are demand-driven, helping to improve the skills match between school leavers and requirements of employers. Trained and motivated young people can themselves play a substantial role through peer education initiatives. Peers can reach out either in an organized manner or informally to other youth, imparting information and knowledge on issue s such as health and well-being.Peer education can happen in small groups or through individual contact, and can take place in a variety of settings such as in schools and universities, clubs, churches, workplaces, on the street or in a shelter. In Africa, peer education has been used successfully for raising HIV/AIDS awareness and developing life-skills amongst vulnerable youth. Initiatives of development partners. Development partners have also played a major role in pushing the education and skills agenda forward in Africa and in promoting initiatives to increase education access and attainments throughout the continent.One innovative project developed by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) together with the Canadian Bureau for International Education aims at providing education and training to participants in a number of African countries. Known as the CIDA Youth Education and Training Awards – Africa, the project focuses on young people already involved in non-governmental organizations and community groups. The education and training provided to winners of the awards include short courses and academic programmes.Having these programmes in the country also helps stem brain drain. Youth Employment and the Challenges of Migration Having a job provides one not only with a source of income but also a basis for dignity and self-respect. To be leaders in the context of their families and in the broader community, young Africans need to secure a decent job. However, young people have a hard time in African job markets; with inadequate education and skills and few opportunities, most young Africans face a future of low-wage employment, unemployment and underemployment.An increasing youth population adds to the pool of job seekers every year, worsening the situation. In Nigeria, over 300,000 youth participate in the National Youth Service Corps scheme annually, but sadly, only about 5% secure decent jobs. The rest are either unemployed or u nderemployed. In Northern Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa, young women also face particular barriers in the labour market, much of which is attributable to cultural attitudes towards them.The expansion of employment opportunities is far below the growth in the youth population because of a lack of appropriate technologies and investment. For example, Africa’s continued dependence on rain-fed agriculture causes much underemployment among rural youth for most part of the year. With little access to land, these youth lack educational, economic and cultural opportunities. As a result, young people consciously decide to move to the towns in the hope of greater chances for employment, as well as a more exciting life, causing massive urban drift.Sadly, once in the big city, African youth lose hope of finding a decent job and are compelled to cross dangerous paths and waters to better pastures, with all too tragic consequences. It is no longer news that less than one-third of the tho usands of young Africans who attempt to reach Europe through the Sahara desert and other illegal channels make it to their dream destinations. Another problem is the rising incidence of youth poverty, crime, prostitution and drugs among youth, as well as the involvement in armed conflict – direct consequence of the lack of decent jobs.In Nigeria one we have the Boko Haram sect, the Niger Delta militia etc. This is of particular concern, not only due to its profound impact on the lives of young people but for society as a whole. Tackling The Challenges Of Youth Employment For many decades, governments and international partners focused on macroeconomic stability and structural adjustment as a means to promote economic growth and thereby create jobs. The underlying faith in this approach was that these measures alone would lead to job creation and poverty reduction, for youth and adults alike.There is now a growing consensus among governments and development partners that speci fic policy measures are required to tackle the main barriers to employment generation for Africa’s youth. One relatively effective measure is the public works programme, which has been implemented in a number of African countries with some success in creating jobs for unskilled youth. Public Works Programmes in Senegal With the assistance of the World Bank and the African Development Bank, the Senegalese government set up in 1989 a US$33 million public works programme that targeted the growing number of unemployed youth.The main objectives of the programme, which was administered by the Agence pour l’Execution de Travaux d’Interet Public contre le Sous-emploi (AGETIP), were to provide short-term employment to these young people through labour-intensive public works projects such as construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of public services, and provision of essential services. The work was subcontracted out to small and medium-scale enterprises. During the first phase of the programme, around 80,000 jobs were created for young people in 416 projects in small-scale enterprises.Overall, AGETIP has implemented 3,226 projects resulting in the creation of 350,000 temporary jobs annually. More importantly, the projects also led to the establishment of 6,000 permanent jobs, an outcome that is not usually associated with a public works programme. [3] The International Labour Organization (ILO) is involved in a number of projects that target job creation for young people as part of their Employment Intensive Investment Programme (EIPP). EIPPs are public works-type projects in the area of infrastructure, and have been implemented in over 20 African countries.Under the umbrella of this initiative and with assistance from donors, a number of projects in labour-based road construction and maintenance have been supported on the continent. Facing a dire situation in the labour market, many young people stop actively searching for a job. A South Afri can survey in 2000 revealed, for example, that 39 per cent of unemployed youth had stopped searching for employment. [4] Job-search assistance can be provided or funded by the government to help encourage African youth to re-engage with the labour market through activities like writing job applications and curriculum vitae, and preparing for interviews.A number of global initiatives have been set up to accelerate efforts in tackling youth unemployment and underemployment. For example, the United Nations, along with the ILO and World Bank, established the Youth Employment Network (YEN) in 2001 to provide support to the global commitment of â€Å"developing and implementing strategies that give young people everywhere a real chance to find decent and productive work† as embedded in the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2000.National and regional programmes aside, young people continually demonstrate their own ability to cope with the situation they face in the labour mar ket. Promoting The Benefits Of Migration While Mitigating The Costs While migrating to an urban area is a rational act for a young person in search of a job and a better life, too often, the end result is poverty and exploitation. To rectify this, governments must look at job creation in rural areas, though these initiatives need to be both intensified and expanded.At the same time, very little effort has been made in Africa to reduce emigration or to promote the return of emigrants. It is unreasonable for so many Africans living outside Africa (who are making giant strides) to return home. In response to this situation, the African Union has established a â€Å"Strategic Framework for a Policy on Migration† with the goal of addressing the causes of internal and international migration and its challenges.The ILO together with the European Commission has also set up a project on â€Å"Managing Labour Migration for Development and Integration in the Maghreb, West Africa and Ea st Africa†. This project has increased awareness of stakeholders on different aspects of labour migration, promoted understanding of its causes and consequences, and collected data and information, which are critically needed to develop comprehensive policy frameworks and labour migration management measures.Youth and Entrepreneurship Given the right combination of motivation, ideas and opportunities, youth are more than able to establish productive and creative businesses. Engaging in entrepreneurship shifts young people from being â€Å"job seekers† to â€Å"job creators,† and also from social dependence to selfsufficiency. Many self-employed youth also contribute to the upkeep of their family, sometimes in a leading role in the absence of parents.Despite these potential benefits entrepreneurship, the majority of youth continue to look up to the state for employment rather than creating their own jobs and employing others. This failure of young people to engage in entrepreneurship has also been attributed to a range of factors: sociocultural attitudes towards youth entrepreneurship, lack of entrepreneurial training in the school curriculum, incomplete market information, absence of business support and physical infrastructure, regulatory framework conditions, and in particular, poor access to finance.The youth strongly recognized their involvement in small business development as an important vehicle for national development but lack of financial resources has always been a major constraint for youth entrepreneurship and business development. Owing to the lack of collateral and business experience, young people are considered a very high risk by lenders. The limited number of micro-finance institutions that target young people in business continues to constraint the development of youth entrepreneurship. On the gender front, very few young women in Africa engage in establishing and running their own enterprises.For instance, in Zambia onl y around 5 per cent of females aged 15-19 are running enterprises as proprietors compared to 15 per cent among their male counterparts. While 25 per cent of female youth aged 20-24 are engaged in running enterprises in Zambia, as much as 40 per cent of male youth are self-employed. The Effect of Combination of Training And Funds Providing capital alone to young potential entrepreneurs is only part of the solution. Studies have shown that what is more effective is the provision of capital together with training in managerial and entrepreneurial skills.In South Africa, for example, the Umsobomvu Youth Fund (UYF), a government-created development finance agency for skills development and employment creation for youth, has developed a number of initiatives such as micro loans for young entrepreneurs, the creation of a venture-capital fund underwritten by a mainstream bank with the UYF providing guarantees, and the development of a voucher programme to access business development service s. Private institutions, especially non-profit organizations, also play an important role in training and funding young entrepreneurs.One example of this is TechnoServe’s business plan competition: ‘Believe, Begin, Become’, which is supported by the Google Foundation, and now active in Ghana and Swaziland. Since 2002, TechnoServe’s competitions have helped launch or expand 165 small and medium-scale enterprises that have generated US$8. 2 million in additional revenues and created more than 1,000 new jobs. In the international policy context, the Youth Employment Network (YEN) and the Commonwealth Youth Credit Initiative (CYCI), for instance, help promote youth entrepreneurship in a number of African countries.Partnerships between such international institutions and the private sector have seen the creation and development of young entrepreneurs Young Africans can also benefit from the experiences of established business leaders. Through mentoring schemes, internships and training opportunities, young people can gain an insight into setting up and running a business, and importantly, how to avoid the potential pitfalls in the real world of business.Governments need to encourage the private sector to take on this role. As with other areas of economic development addressed so far, one key weakness in the formulation of youth entrepreneurship initiatives is the inadequate involvement of youth in their design and implementation, which will be discussed later. Youth and ICT – A Powerful Combination for Promoting Leadership The information and communication technology (ICT) revolution has radically changed the world we live in.Young people in particular have demonstrated an aptitude in developing, adopting and disseminating such technologies, and their leadership role in this sphere is evident throughout both the industrialized and developing world. In fact, it is common practice for adults to learn ICT skills from youth. ICT Is Cro ss-Cutting ICT adoption can be used both as a tool to promote youth as leaders in the ICT sector and to foster broader youth leadership. With an impact that is cross-cutting, ICT can, therefore, contribute to youth participation in a wide range of economic, social and political activities.For example, new technologies can be used for improving access to and quality of education for African youth. With the necessary infrastructure, technologies like online learning can bring a high standard of education to remote, rural communities. Moreover, in a global economy characterized by skill-intensity, young Africans increasingly require a range of ICT skills in order to get a decent job. Equipping youth with such skills can also have a catalytic effect on innovation and entrepreneurship, contributing to economic development.ICT entrepreneurship is evident on the streets of all African cities in vending kiosks, where young people provide such services as mobile phone calls, sale of recharge cards and repairs. The number of tele-centres in countries like Senegal and the proliferation of Internet cafes across the continent have also been a source of employment opportunities for youth. In Nigeria, we have computer village in Lagos, GSM village in Abuja etc, engaging thousands of youths in different spheres of ICT, thereby providing job opportunities for them.Besides these small, informal businesses, ICT-related youth enterprise opportunities include: producing/reselling hardware, software and telecommunications products; data entry services; ICT-based business services; software customisation; distance learning; computer training; consultancy; content provision; communication (e-mail/Internet/mobile); data processing (small business information systems) and ICT-based manufacturing systems. African Youth also employ ICT to develop social enterprises.For instance, the Mobile for Good (M4G) programme in Kenya. M4G is a social franchise project designed to use mobile technol ogy to improve the lives of people in Kenya, the majority being young people. It aims to send essential health, employment and community content via SMS on mobile phones in order to inform and empower disadvantaged individuals. The pilot project, which started in September 2003 in Kibera, an informal settlement situated on the outskirts of Nairobi, has successfully evolved into a self-sustainable Kenyan owned and managed venture.The project seeks to empower marginalized individuals by offering a unique SMS-based information service to disadvantaged communities. The services that have been developed include: Kazi560, a job information service for the casual jobs sector, Health Tips, which provides daily tips to subscribers about Breast Cancer, HIV/AIDS, and Diabetes, and a Community News service, which provides free, locally sourced news to those living in informal settlements in Kenya via SMS.The Community News service reaches over 5,000 people in Kibera. The information is collecte d by a group of 11 Youth Mobilizers who are all residents in the community. Information can vary from events, to health clinics, to jobs on offer. All the information is designed to promote economic and social development in communities and to provide a means of accessing information otherwise costly or unavailable. The success of M4G has been staggering.The project has fulfilled its subscriber targets considerably ahead of schedule, with the number of subscribers now exceeding 30,000. Hundreds of people have found employment through the jobs service, Kazi560. [5] ICT also facilitates youth participation in civic discussions, providing young people with a voice on a range of topics. Electronic fora involving African youth have been successfully undertaken by international agencies like the United Nations.Such initiatives not only assist young people to exchange and develop ideas, but also help inform policy makers and practitioners. The success of the struggle for leadership change in Egypt and other places by the youth can be attributed to one of the effects of ICT. ICT Adoption In Africa Remains Insufficient Despite its advantages, ICT adoption in much of Africa remains low. For instance, there are only 0. 75 computer users per 100 inhabitants – this is to say that only a small proportion of young Africans have access to the Internet.Moreover, due to differences in income and access to infrastructure, the digital-divide on the continent is demarcated not only by national boundaries but also within countries. Fortunately, decreasing prices and recent advances, particularly in mobile telephony, have helped expand access to ICT on the continent, especially amongst the youth. Nonetheless, governments and partners have a lot more to do to eliminate disparities in ICT adoption. Governments should focus on: a pro-poor ICT policy; promotion of ICT investments in rural areas and public-private partnerships; financial and trategic support of ICT youth-led enter prises; career counseling for young people on ICT opportunities and different areas of specialization; promotion of affordable ICT rural infrastructure and local content; development of multipurpose community tele-centres in rural areas; and dissemination of best practices. One way of building capabilities and networks between public institutions (governments and universities) and the private sector is the support of technology parks and business incubators for the ICT sector, in particular to nurture youth-led ICT enterprises.Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia are pioneers in promoting ICT-youth led enterprises through such initiatives. International partners are also playing an important part in the promotion of information and communication technologies for development, known as ICT4D. For instance, the African Youth and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) Network – AYIN- (www. ayinetwork. org) was established in 2005 as a pan- African platform for youth input into the African information society agenda.It is a vision of a â€Å"networked generation of young Africans empowering themselves and contributing to the continent’s active participation in the Information Society†. The network has commenced the implementation of its Action Plan with the development of strategies to promote youth involvement in policy development on the continent. Improving Health and Fighting HIV/AIDS Through Youth Leadership The ability of African youth to contribute to economic development and become leaders in all walks of life critically depends on their health status.In Africa today, young people are, however, vulnerable to debilitating illnesses and health problems such as malaria, tuberculosis, water-borne diseases, maternal complications, and above all, HIV/AIDS. Consequences of HIV/AIDS for Development The HIV/AIDS pandemic, especially in Southern Africa, poses one of the greatest economic, social and politic al challenges of our time. AIDS reduces the earning capacity of affected individuals and increases their medical expenses, pushing families and households further into poverty, creating a icious cycle of material deprivation and health problems. The disease leaves behind a generation of orphans, many of whom are left to be brought up by other relatives or are forced to fend for themselves. Besides the tragic consequences of the pandemic for individuals and their families, HIV/AIDS remains a major burden for affected countries; it severely hampers efforts of governments to improve the health status of the countries and achieve sustainable economic development, in particular by diverting scarce resources from other development priorities.HIV/AIDS also reduces labour supply and productivity levels, which in turn have a negative impact on economic growth. This is nowhere more evident than in the education sector, where the disease is cutting back the numbers of trained teachers and dimi nishing aspirations for achieving the Millennium Development Goal II of universal primary education by 2015. Young African Women Are The Most Vulnerable To HIV/AIDS Young Africans are more vulnerable to HIV infection than adults with young women being at the highest risk of getting the virus.In terms of the vulnerability of young women, the figures are quite alarming – young women (aged 15-24) in sub-Saharan Africa are two and half times more likely to be infected than males in the same age group. In some areas, up to six times more women than men are affected in the 15-24 age group. [6] The vulnerability of young Africans to HIV infection stems from both physical and social aspects of their lives. Physical vulnerability results from the damaging effects of malnutrition and ailments such as bilharzia.A weakened immune system, particularly for adolescence during growth spurts, significantly increases their susceptibility to becoming infected. HIV prevalence can also be attribu ted to a range of socio-economic factors such as: poverty, inequality, and social exclusion; low levels of education and lack of information; poor access to health services; and societal attitudes. Young women are especially vulnerable because of migration, poor living conditions in informal settlements, isolation and proneness to sexual exploitation and abuse.The Need For Targeted Interventions The conventional approach to tackling HIV/AIDS focuses on changing people’s behaviour in order to reduce HIV infection rates. Young people have been targeted by such campaigns via the media, youth centres and peer education. The most well known initiative using this paradigm is the ABC campaign (Abstain, Be faithful and use a Condom). However, ABC initiatives fail to address the physical and social environment that creates the conditions for high infection rates.The United Nations Secretary-General’s report on young women in Southern Africa recognized this limitation and called for broader measures that also aim at creating safe places for young women, amongst other actions. [7] Youth As Key Partners African youth and their organizations have been already at the forefront of tackling HIV/AIDS in terms of raising awareness and developing life skills, and also supporting others such as orphans. In this respect, youth centres and peer education have proven to be one of the most effective initiatives undertaken by African youth.For example, the Anti-Aids Youth Clubs in Ethiopia, with UNICEF support, youth clubs have sprung up in the country to fight stigma, discrimination and ignorance about HIV/AIDS. There are now more than 230 such clubs alone in Ethiopia’s Somali region, where the stigma of the disease and societal attitudes make it particularly challenging to get the message out. In this region, the use of condoms is estimated to be as low as 0. 5 per cent, and female genital mutilation, a major factor behind HIV transmission, is almost universal a mongst women.Youth clubs are more successful than government interventions because young people can more effectively influence their peers by using appropriate media to target them. A comment by one member of a club about music written for this purpose captures this point: â€Å"Young people don’t stop in the street to read a banner they don’t understand. But they listen to the music and the lyrics†. The songs written address such themes as prevention, stigma and friendship.Other clubs use poetry and drama to get the messages across to other youth. Besides promoting HIV/AIDS awareness, these clubs also give young people a sense of responsibility and pride in regions where jobs are few and far between. [8] One limitation of peer education in the area of HIV prevention is that it often fails to reach young women, who are the most vulnerable. To rectify this situation, governments, partners and youth organizations need to consider targeted measures that focus on yo ung vulnerable women.Moreover, attention must also be given to addressing the causes of their vulnerability so that some of the contributing factors are tackled, including the danger of sexual exploitation and abuse. While there is a compelling need to focus on HIV/AIDS in many African countries, there must also be a concerted effort to improve the overall health situation of young Africans including improving access to sanitation and drinking water, increasing nutritional levels, and expanding preventive health programmes.Broadening the focus of health services can help reduce stigmatisation and the subsequent reluctance of youth to use these services. In all initiatives, full participation of young people in the development and promotion of health-related policies and programmes must be encouraged to enable them to become agents of change in their communities. Above all, continued international cooperation and a collective global effort are necessary for the containment of the HIV /AIDS pandemic and other health challenges affecting young people in Africa.The Role of Youth in Protecting the Environment and Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods As heirs to the environmental risks and hazards the world is producing today, ‘it is imperative that the youth take on a leading role in protecting the environment and promoting sustainable livelihoods. [9] Africa faces a number of environmental risks and hazards that disproportionately affect young people, not only because they result in deteriorating physical conditions for both rural and urban dwellers. Erosion, pollution in all its forms, reduced biodiversity, over-exploitation f natural resources such as water and forests, and desertification, among many others, also severely compromise economic development and prosperity. Already, forest size in Africa has been drastically reduced over the last century, due to human activity, contributing to desertification and water scarcity. In many countries on the continent, access to clean drinking water may soon become a reason for conflict. In addition, the rate of urbanization in Africa poses an environmental challenge in waste management, access to water and sanitation facilities.With only an estimated one-third of the total municipal waste on the continent formally disposed of, the amount of waste generated in African cities far exceeds the capacity of most municipalities. Already exposed to economic hardship, the youth need to take responsibility for the state of the environment by becoming full participants in society. But the question remains: Are young people sufficiently engaged? The voice of youth is an invaluable asset to environmental conservation and management.Some governments and non-governmental organizations in Africa are committed to advancing the role and active involvement of youth in the protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development. Initiatives include youth participation in advisory bodies such as y outh councils within the context of Chapter 25 of Agenda 21, adopted at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg in 2002.The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) also recognizes the importance of a healthy and productive environment and the role that the young people of Africa can play within this agenda. But commitment does not always mean action. For example, even though many African countries are signatories to various UN conventions, many have yet to be implemented. And, even in cases where conventions have been adopted and implemented, youth involvement has been at a minimum. Youth Taking Leadership The best prospect for the environment in Africa is an empowered youth.The involvement of youth in environment and development decision-making at the local, national and regional levels is critical to the implementation of sustainable development policies. M any youth organizations are already taking a leading role in the area of environmental protection. For example, in January 1993, Environment JEUnesse (ENJEU, or Environment- Youth), Quebec's youth environmentalist network, took the initiative to create a Francophone network of youth organizations for environment and development.The essential aspect of ENJEU's action plan is to mobilize and encourage youth to come together regionally in each major pocket of the Francophone world, including Africa. Some youth organizations in Africa such as Tensing, Internationally Committed Youth (ICY), YMCA/YWCA for Africa, Organization for International Resource Management, and Friends of the Earth clubs, have carried out education campaigns, tree planting and waste management exercises in their respective communities, especially during the commemoration of the World Environment Day.Other best practices of youth involvement include â€Å"For the Love of Water† in Botswana, â€Å"Uniting You th across Northern Africa†, â€Å"Students on the Move† in Uganda, ‘Painting Ghana Green† and â€Å"Ecological Youth of Angola† among others. To improve awareness across the board, governments must integrate environmental issues into school curricula and training programmes for teachers. Youth in schools, communities and organizations must be educated on sustainable ways of living such as recycling and the sustainable use of environmental-friendly technologies.An example is the efforts of the Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa and Friends of the Earth clubs in the region. In Angola, Juventude Ecologica Angolana (JEA) (The Ecological Youth of Angola) is a non-profit environmental NGO, which was established in 1991 with the primary purpose of promoting environmental conservation and sustainable development through the involvement and participation of young people in environmental education and active learning processes and activities . JEA now has over 5,000 conservation volunteers and environmental educators based in eight of Angola’s provinces.These young volunteers address different environmental issues facing the country: sanitation, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, desertification, and urban solid waste. The organization has developed programmes and projects such as the Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) initiative, capacity building, database management, clean-up and waste recycling campaigns, research and environmental assessment, and tree planting. In June 2002, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recognized the contribution of this organization by awarding it the UNEP Global 500 Youth Environmental Award. 10] Environmental And Sustainable Livelihoods Is Cross-Cutting Promoting environmental and sustainable livelihoods has a number of indirect, but nonetheless important benefits for countries in Africa. For example, there is a double dividend from developing sustainab le technologies in the area of renewable energies. On the one hand, these technologies reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, while at the same time they can be generators of employment for vulnerable youth. Creating Jobs Under the SunThe Kibera Community Youth Project (KCYP) produces solar panels in a small workshop in the middle of Kibera, Kenya’s largest informal settlement. Using skills and equipment passed on to them by a British volunteer, young people in this project are involved in all aspects of production. The solar panels are sold to power radios and charge mobile phones and rechargeable batteries, services that are in high demand in an area where electricity supply is erratic at best. [11] Many of the young people involved in KCYP have never had a job before and often live in jobless households.This project provides them with an opportunity to earn an income, while the simple technology helps improve people’s lives in a sustainable way. To further enhance such synergies, governments in collaboration with youth organizations should initiate programmes that promote the participation of African youth in reforestation, combating desertification, waste management, recycling and other environmental practices. Youth participation in such programmes would provide training and encourage awareness and action, while also generating potential income-generating activities and employment opportunities.Youth Participation in Economic Decision-Making Youth in Africa face specific challenges in the areas of education, employment, migration, entrepreneurship, ICT, health and environmental and sustainable livelihoods. To address these issues, African governments must prioritize youth in policy-making, or forego the chance of meeting their development goals. Until recently, policymakers rarely included youth in the decision-making process or even consulted with them on their concerns. Cultural attitudes have been a major stumbling block to establishing inter-generational dialogue, not just in Africa but also globally.Traditionally, wisdom was seen as an increasing function of age, and subsequently, adult leaders and policymakers took it upon themselves to make decisions on behalf of youth. But such policymaking largely resulted in inappropriate policies that failed to address the requisite needs and aspirations of youth. Having incidentally proven their ability to take leadership in the area of economic development, acting as agents of change, this traditional attitude requires urgent modification. Justifying youth participation It would appear to the onlooker that the case for including youth in policymaking is compelling.Nonetheless, it has been necessary to argue why economic decision-making should be both inclusive and youth-focused. For example, the UNFPA’s report â€Å"The Case for Investing in Young People as Part of a National Poverty Reduction Strategy† offers a number of arguments: 1. Equitable distributio n of resources – Young people make up a large proportion of the population and the poor; 2. Achieving the MDGs – Five goals explicitly refer to young people in terms of educational attainment, gender balance in education, improved maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and developing decent employment opportunities for young people; 3.Economic benefits – By investing in education and health, governments can increase productivity and economic growth; 4. Youth poverty requires special attention – Young people experience particular vulnerabilities that make them prone to suffering from poverty, unemployment, etc; 5. Long-term benefits – Through investing in young people, it is possible to embark on the demographic transition by lowering population growth; and by improving the situation of youth, countries can decrease the chance that they will later become involved in criminal activity and civil conflict.Youth participation in major d evelopment strategies – PRSPs, MDGs and NEPAD New initiatives now dominate the development agenda on the continent, including Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), the quest to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). These approaches are a departure from the past with a shift to a focus on pro-poor policies, participatory and consultative processes, and ownership by countries. Though youth often figure prominently on paper, their involvement in any of these initiatives has usually been limited.For instance, in a review of 31 completed PRSPs, over half mention that youth were consulted as a group as part of the PRSP process. However, the initiatives targeting youth have been piecemeal and inadequate in their scale and impact. [12] It is encouraging that the more recent PRSPs are more likely to have a major youth focus. In terms of youth employment, another analysis of PRSPs found that out of 21 Afri can PRSPs, only 11 had at least one core section analyzing the issue. [13]Clearly, there is a lot more governments could do to improve youth participation in the PRS process, particularly as part of the next generation of strategies. African governments should complement efforts of both the UN and youth organizations to achieve these goals. A good example of this is the TPT scheme below. Tackling Poverty Together (TPT) aims to enhance the role of African youth in poverty reduction strategies. The project was established by the United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs’ Programme on Youth together with the National Council of Swedish Youth Organizations (LSU).Other UN agencies and the Economic Commission for Africa provided technical support to the project. The TPT project brought together teams of youth from six African countries, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, along with a youth team from Sweden. Through workshops and ongoing support, thes e teams developed strategies and action plans consisting of concrete steps to improve the inclusion of youth in poverty reduction efforts in their respective countries. [14]Youth have also been actively involved in the MDG agenda as reflected by their participation and articulation of ideas at various international fora including the World Youth Summits. For instance, in 2005 a group of international youth leaders representing a range of non-governmental organizations, including representatives from Africa, prepared a report, â€Å"Youth and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): Challenges and Opportunities for Implementation†. [15] This report outlines how young people can be included and empowered as part of strategies for achieving the MDGs.The aim is that the report can be used as a lobby tool and guide for programmatic action, but ultimately, it is also a call to all member States, UN specialized agencies, and civil society to create mechanisms for youth to participat e in the implementation of the MDGs and take advantage of the work and activities youth are already leading. In 2005, the NEPAD Youth Summit was organized to launch a broad social movement to promote youth participation in the implementation and monitoring of NEPAD at the country level.The establishment of NEPAD e-Africa Youth Programme is another platform that aims to promote youth involvement in the implementation of NEPAD. This initiative seeks to build a cadre of young people who will raise awareness on the issues of the information society and serve as active participants in building an inclusive information society in their countries. Conclusion Young people in Africa have enormous potential that could be harnessed for promoting economic development on the continent.African governments and international partners, therefore, need to focus policy initiatives and resources on improving the leadership role of African youth. The success of such interventions depends on the particip ation of young people in all aspects of the public policy process from the crafting of economic policies to their implementation, and subsequently, monitoring and evaluation. In particular, youth need to be part of the current development agenda in terms of poverty-reduction strategies, meeting the MDGs, and implementing the objectives of NEPAD.Young people need to have opportunities to carry out their activities. At the same time, governments and international partners can provide technical and financial support to youth in order for them to fulfil their potential as agents of change. To achieve this goal, practical and achievable measures need to be put in place by both governments and international partners, including: – Strengthening the capacity of youth clubs, associations and organizations at community and national levels; – Promoting interaction between economic policy makers, international partners and youth to learn about their problems and experiences; Insti tuting regular consultations with youth organizations to get their inputs into the development process; and – Promoting youth leadership at local, national, subregional and global levels through regular interface with community and national authorities. References 1. Agenda 21, adopted at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg in 2002. 2. du Toit, R. (2003) â€Å"Unemployed youth in South Africa: the distressed generation? Paper presented at the Minnesota International Counselling Institute, 27 July – 1 August 2003. 3. Kanyenze G. , Mhone G. , and T. Sparreboom (2000) â€Å"Strategies to Combat Youth Unemployment and Marginalisation in Anglophone Africa,† ILO/SAMAT Discussion Paper, No. 14. 4. Mabala, R. (2006) â€Å"From HIV prevention to HIV protection: addressing the vulnerability of girls and young women in urban areas,† Environment and Urba nization, Vol. 18(2). 5. Sarr, M. (2000) â€Å"Youth employment in Africa: the Senegalese experience,† Background Paper No. , UNO-ILO-World Bank Meeting on Youth Employment, New York, 25th August 2000. 6. United Nations (2004) Report of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Task Force on Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa: Facing the Future Together, United Nations, New York. 7. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) (2002) â€Å"Youth and Employment in Africa†, Paper prepared for and presented at the Youth Employment Summit, Alexandria, Egypt, September. 8. UNECA (2005a) the Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Progress and Challenges, UNECA, Addis Ababa. 9.UNECA (2005b) The Economic Report on Africa 2005 – Meeting the Challenge of Unemployment and Poverty in Africa, UNECA, Addis Ababa. 10. United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) (2005) Africa Environment Outlook for Youth: Our Region – Our Life, UNEP, Nairobi. 1 1. United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) (2005) The Case of Investing in Young People as part of Poverty Reduction Strategy, UNFPA, New York. 12. uk. oneworld. net/section/mobile 13. World Health Organization (WHO)-AFRO (2003) HIV/AIDS Epidemiological Surveillance Update for the WHO African Region 2002, WHO, Regional Office for Africa, Harare. 5. www. un. org/esa/socdev/unyin/TPT 16. www. un. org/esa/socdev/unyin/mdgs. htm 17. www. kcyp. kabissa. org ———————– [1] UNECA (2005a) the Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Progress and Challenges, UNECA, Addis Ababa. [2] UNECA (2002), â€Å"Youth and Employment in Africa† A Paper prepared for and presented at the Youth and Employment Summit, Alexandria, Egypt, September 2002. [3] Sarr M. , â€Å"Youth employment in Africa: the Senegalese experience†, Background Paper No. 3, UNO-ILO-World Bank Meeting on Youth Employment, New York, 25th August, 2000. 4 ] Kanyenze et al. â€Å"Strategies to Combat Youth Unemployment and Marginalization in Anglophone Africa,† ILO/SAMAT Discussion Paper, No. 14, 2000. du Toit, R. â€Å"unemployed Youth in South Africa: the distressed generation? † Paper presented at the Minnesota International Counseling Institute, 27 July-1 August 2003. [5] uk. oneworld. net/section/mobile [6] Mabala, R. (2006) â€Å"From HIV prevention to HIV protection: addressing the vulnerability of girls and young women in urban areas,† Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 8(2). [7] United Nations (2004) Report of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Task Force on Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa: Facing the Future Together, United Nations, New York. [8] World Health Organization (WHO)-AFRO (2003) HIV/AIDS Epidemiological Surveillance Update for the WHO African Region 2002, WHO, Regional Office for Africa, Harare [9] Agenda 21, Chapter 25 United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) (200 5) Africa Environment Outlook for Youth: Our Region – Our Life, UNEP, Nairobi. 10] United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) (2005) Africa Environment Outlook for Youth: Our Region – Our Life, UNEP, Nairobi. [11] www. kcyp. kabissa. org [12] United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) (2005) The Case of Investing in Young People as part of Poverty Reduction Strategy, UNFPA, New York. [13] UNECA (2005b) UNECA (2005b) The Economic Report on Africa 2005 – Meeting the Challenge of Unemployment and Poverty in Africa, UNECA, Addis Ababa [14] www. un. org/esa/socdev/unyin/TPT [15] www. un. org/esa/socdev/unyin/mdgs. htm