Inter-program Collaboration for Youth in Colombia

The Responsive Governance (RG) and Youth Resilience (YRA) Activities, funded by USAID/Colombia, joined efforts to strengthen the impact of young people in the Youth Participation Subsystem, as an innovative space for political participation, even on an international level. 

The commitment to strengthening youth political participation system responds, among other things, to the demands that arose during the social protests that Colombia experienced in 2021, led in large part by young people who took to the streets to demand changes and demand greater participation in regional and national issues.   

Both programs recognized the opportunities to work on strengthening the Municipal Youth Councils (CMJ) and the Municipal Youth Platforms (PMJ), forums for discussion on public issues that have acquired an important role in the country.   

This challenge is easier thanks to the applicability of the CLA approach. Due to the common interest of both Activities to strengthen capacities and opportunities for youth in areas of territorial overlap, we sought to establish networks of collaboration and knowledge exchange between the technical teams. This resulted in the establishment of joint strategies to support the CMJs and PMJs, aimed at strengthening their capacities to achieve an effective dialogue with the territorial governments.   

The process was based on the analysis of territorial experiences and the recognition of the barriers faced by youth, particularly vulnerable youth, to participate in these instances, thereby motivating the participation of diverse youth (female heads of household, victims, LGTBIQ+ community, people with special abilities, youth in the Juvenile Justice System, etc.).