" THE WORLD PROGRAMME OF
ACTION FOR YOUTH
TEN YEARS AFTER "
Meeting of Young Francophones
Cairo Egypt
May 27 to 29, 2005
Original: French
SYNTHESIS EVALUATION REPORT OF THE WPAY
We, the representatives of young people involved in actions and initiatives which are destined to the
youth of the member States and governments of the Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie,
having met in Cairo, Egypt between May 27 and 29, 2005 for the purpose of adding to the supplement
of the Evaluation Report of the World Programme of Action for Youth, which will be submitted to the
60th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in October 2005.
State:
That youth occupy an important place in the global economy and that they have the necessary abilities
to build a fair, just and viable world alongside other development leaders.
That the role of youth in the present and future of our countries cannot be ignored; they must assume
with the help of the member states and the international community, a full and effective participation in
the decision-taking of the citizens through a better coordination and democratic management of their
organizations as part of a wave of intergenerational solidarity; and
That, taking into account the vulnerability of youth facing risks of all kinds, young people must play an
effective role to prevent and fight against juvenile delinquency, drug addiction, AIDS/ HIV and conflicts.
Recognize:
Youth in the Global Economy
That poverty touches primarily youth in rural areas and that their concerns are not taken into
consideration in national policies for poverty reduction, thus leading to an incoherence and lack of
efficiency in the resulting actions.
That despite its importance to the development of a country, the democratization of teaching is not
always effective, the quality of education is eroding progressively, and its adequacy with needs is
limited by a lack of means.
That youth who lack experience or who have received inadequate training have problems entering the
work-force and often are confronted by the precariousness of employment.
That faced with the complex mechanisms of globalization which elude them, youth get involved in
alter-globalization movements for the building of a more equitable world by means of good
governance, the abolition of the external debt of developing countries and the effectiveness of public
aid to development.
That access to information and communication technologies has improved but it has not
eliminated disparities, especially those dealing with Internet governance, and that the financial
mechanisms are ineffective or non-existent.
Synthesis Evaluation Report of the WPAY, Cairo, May 2005
Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie
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Youth in Civil Society
That, relative to the requirements of sustainable development, the awareness of youth remains low
and that the actions of the State are insufficient with respect to the environment.
That access to leisure-time activities in a number of countries is characterized by great inequalities
based on sex, religion, social conditions or handicaps; that the development of quality leisure
activities requires infrastructures adapted to these needs as well as financial and human resources.
That the full and effective participation of youth faced with citizenship decision-making is low because
of a lack of support, and that youth organizations lack coordination and are often used to profit other
interests than their own.
That few programs exist which encourage intergenerational relationships, just as developed
countries are faced with the problems of an ever-aging population and youth becoming the greatest
fringe group in developing countries.
Youth Facing Risks
That the inaccessibility of youth to primary quality care, in addition to the shortage of vaccines,
malnutrition, starvation and armed conflicts are obstacles to health.
That a shortage of preventive programs, an expansion of trafficking of drugs and other narcotics make
youth much more vulnerable to drug addiction.
That poverty and the degradation of the family unit contribute to the increase of juvenile delinquency.
That the non-respect of basic liberties, bad management, intolerance and interference of economic
and financial outside interests in developing countries are sources of conflict to whom the greatest
victims are young people
That infection with HIV/AIDS is one of the greatest dangers confronting youth and that it causes
demographic, socio-cultural, judicial, economic, political, and ethical problems all over the world.
Considering:
The prominent and undeniable role of the United Nations and its World Programme of Action for Youth
(WPAY) in its support to the member States in the design of policies that favour youth;
The will of the Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie to pursue its implementation of
cooperative action for youth in agreement with the objectives of the WPAY; and
The determination of the Francophones youth organizations to fully play their role in the planning,
implementation, and evaluation of the WPAY.
Prioritize:
Youth in the Global Economy

Hunger and Poverty
1. Adaptation of national poverty-reduction policies to the concerns of youth
2. Promotion, valorization and strengthening of primary sectors especially agriculture
3. Increased opportunities for exchanges between youth in both rural and urban areas
Synthesis Evaluation Report of the WPAY, Cairo, May 2005
Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie
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
Education
4. Universality of education and democratization of teaching
5. Improvement in the quality of educational systems made appropriate to the labour
market and socio-cultural values
6. Valorization of the teaching profession

Employment
7. Improvement and establishment of policies for the development of employment for
youth
8. Promotion of entrepreneurship

Globalization
9. Reduction of inequalities between countries of the North and South
10. Encouragement of collaboration between youth organizations regarding global issues
11. Maintenance of cultural and linguistic diversity

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
12. Setting up policies which allow all levels of society, an easy, fair, and just access to
information and communication technologies
13. Promotion of sound and optimal use of ICT so that they contribute effectively to
development, education and training
Youth in Civil Society

Environment
1. Implementation of environmental policies
2. Promotion of education for sustainable development

Leisure
3. Accessibility of leisure-time activities for all
4. Public support of youth associations for the development of well-organized and quality
leisure-time activities

Participation
5. Taking into account the opinion of youth in the implementation of national and
international policies
6. Education to promote citizenship and participation
7. Support to youth organizations all the while preserving their autonomy

Intergenerational Relations
8. Promotion of intergenerational solidarity
Youth Facing Risks

Health
1. Access to health services for all
2. Promotion of health and preventive education
Synthesis Evaluation Report of the WPAY, Cairo, May 2005
Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie
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
Drug Abuse
3. Implementation and strengthening of policies to fight drug abuse among young
people

Juvenile Delinquency
4. Implementation of policies and programs to prevent delinquency
5. Development of programs to reintegrate juvenile delinquents

Conflicts
6. Strengthening of national policies to assure good governance, democracy, and
freedom of expression
7. Social integration of disadvantaged groups

AIDS/HIV
8. Strengthening of national policies for HIV/AIDS
9. Access to treatment and prescription drugs
Recommend the following:
Youth in the Global Economy

Hunger and Poverty
1. Involve youth in the development and implementation of programs that fight against
hunger and poverty and create funding to encourage young entrepreneurs;
2. Revalorize activities in the primary sector through vitalization of cooperative and
productive techniques; and
3. Diversify revenue opportunities for youth in rural areas by building infrastructures,
promoting new sectors of activities and giving value to reciprocal exchanges with
young urbanites.

Education
4. Promote equal opportunity by eliminating all discrimination, developing specific
actions and alternative training, decentralizing school infrastructures, and continuing
awareness programs of the stakes of educating girls;
5. Integrate the use of information and communication technology, local languages,
extra-curricular cultural activities, and partnerships with the private sector and develop
varied pedagogical strategies aiming to interest students especially young girls and
better prepare them for the work force; and
6. Insure training for teachers, improve their life and work conditions and put into place a
framework for dialogue between all involved parties.

Employment
7. Stimulate the inclusion of youth in professional life by recognizing and giving value to
volunteer work, encouraging companies which hire their quota of youth, encouraging
continuing education and creating business opportunity funds for youths; and
8. Integrate the informal sector, develop technical and professional streams and microfunding, encourage entrepreneurship, promote innovative initiatives with high valueadded ratios within job development strategies.
Synthesis Evaluation Report of the WPAY, Cairo, May 2005
Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie
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
Globalization
9. Promote solidarity by cancelling external debts of developing countries to allow for
local development;
10. Ratify and apply the engagements taken in the matter of public aid for development
ann also cultural and linguistic diversity; and
11. Mobilize and network youth organizations during global negotiations and develop
intercultural exchanges.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
12. Democratize access to ICT by favouring the disadvantaged social classes especially
rural youth through the creation of financial mechanisms, the lowering of fiscal and
duty charges on equipment, and the multiplication of public Internet access;
13. Establish an Internet governance mechanism that is fairer and more just, one which
integrates developing countries and safeguards the freedom of expression of
individuals while fighting against illegal content; and
14. Use effectively information and communication technology by systematically creating
a bridge between the developers and users of these tools and diversify the learning
opportunities.
Youth in Civil Society

Environment
1. Make more effective the international obligations of the member States within
restrictive judicial frameworks and give priority to the management of water, waste
and polluting products; and
2. Conduct national campaigns for sustainable development within the scope of the
Decade of the United Nations for Education by favouring the participation of youth and
a close dialogue on eco-citizenship.

Leisure
3. Build public infrastructures for leisure-time activities by having youth participate in the
management in order to favour access for all; and
4. Use leisure-time activities to improve the social inclusion of youth ; give the financial
means, logistics and necessary material to youth groups and train leisure-time
professionals.

Participation
5. Favour through development of durable and democratic mechanisms the effective
participation of youth in the decision-making process at the national level and in
international authorities;
6. Provide financial support to youth, training facilities to insure their active participation
in decision-making process well as activities for development; and
7. Assure transparency in the youth organizations’ functioning by providing actions of
accompaniment, follow-up and evaluation.

Intergenerational relations
8. Develop programs that promote intergenerational solidarity that favours dialogue,
shared experiences and know-how.
Synthesis Evaluation Report of the WPAY, Cairo, May 2005
Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie
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Youth Facing Risks

Health
1. Guarantee access to basic and quality health services and create more help-line and
information centres; and
2. Promote health education by including basic hygiene and reproductive health in
schools and extracurricular programs, and activities of youth organizations.

Drug Abuse
3. Associate youth and parents in the establishment and strengthening of policies and
programs fighting drug abuse.

Juvenile Delinquency
4. Create educational programs adapted to the socio-cultural reality by involving families;
and
5. Create professional counselling programs and give value to artistic, cultural and sport
activities so as to encourage the social inclusion of young delinquents.

Conflicts
6. Promote a culture of peace, build youth capacity and insure their participation in the
process of reconciliation and initiation of peace; and
7. Fight against all forms of exploitation of youth by supporting, demobilizing, educating
or reintegrating all vulnerable groups in a social and professional life (childsoldiers,
refugees, displaced populations…).

HIV/AIDS
8. Render the prevention of HIV/AIDS more effective by means of high-level political
involvement, appropriate funding for national programs fighting against AIDS, and
significant community involvement;
9. Establish several screening and control centres to facilitate knowledge about youth
serology; and
10. Insure psychological and medical support to People Living with AIDS (PLWA).
Commit:
To mobilize and unite to establish a platform of dialogue between Francophone youth organizations in
order to actively participate in all actions converging toward the implementation, the follow up, and the
evaluation of WPAY, locally, nationally, regionally as well as internationally.
Synthesis Evaluation Report of the WPAY, Cairo, May 2005
Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie
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