Youth turn up their volume in land conversations

New York - Brazil, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Nepal have devised youth and land projects that will promote land tenure awareness among the demographic and participation in land governance, reports Kate Fairlie of the Young Surveyor's Network.

The action research projects presented at a workshop held at UN Secretariat between 12 - 16 September "have a major challenge of addressing perceptions about young people. As a generational category, young people are treated with suspicion and marginalized from decision making," said Tayiona Sanangurai, a representative of the Young Voices Network, Zimbabwe.

Youth participation in land-related issues is critical due to the prevalence of informal settlements in the developing world. According to GLTN's What Land Means to Youth, there is need, among the youth, for land for public spaces, tenure security and economic activities, from employment, migration to entrepreneurship – and need to understand their rights, and opportunities for their voices to be heard.

A key outcome of these projects will be the development and refinement of youth responsive land tools that can be replicated to promote youth engagement in land governance.