Lima Joven: a youth-led development strategy

Faced with the problem of the limited spaces for participation that encourage the involvement of young people in the decisions of their locality, support was needed to develop collective action and empower youth in public decision-making, attending to their most pressing social needs in an articulated way, to overcome the limited budget assigned to the adolescent and young population.

The most direct way to deal with this problem was to create spaces for citizen advocacy in the design, implementation and evaluation of the Metropolitan Youth Strategy – the local public policy that is developed in coordination with public institutions, district municipalities and youth organizations – with what we involve the young citizen in reducing the gaps in access to services, making them part of the solution.

This is the origin of Lima Joven (Young Lima), the metropolitan policy proposed by the Municipality of Lima that promotes the protagonist participation of the youth of Lima in the design, implementation and evaluation of public services, in coordination with strategic allies, that allow this group to be direct part of the solution to the problems that afflict them. Its purpose is to promote the active participation of young people as agents of change in the political, social, cultural and economic life of the local government.

In this sense, the contribution of the Young Lima initiative is not only an action aimed at responding to specific needs, but also at achieving the implementation and strengthening of national public policies at the local government level, in order to reduce the gaps in access of young people for their integral development.

Given the insufficient programs for young people between 15 and 29 years of age that respond to their generational needs, the youth organizations that participate in the service implementation processes are protagonists of the solution to the problems of their peers and strengthen their negotiation capacities , dialogue and democratic participation in local decision-making. In addition, each service developed is based on the solution proposals presented by the youth themselves, through the metropolitan meetings for the design of this practice, and validated by local authorities and organized youth. The metropolitan government is the facilitator of this development process, which has a positive impact on the lives of young people.

Lima Joven also plays a decisive role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals proposed by the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations Organization. This practice trains citizens who learn to be dialoguing, conciliatory and purposeful actors, seeking to promote a message of sustainability, relevance and trust in institutions.

All those who make Lima Joven possible: a development strategy from the youth in multiple ways, are agents of change that improve people's quality of life and generate an impact on citizens. The replicability of the experience makes it possible for the impact achieved in the short term to be also possible in the long term.

More information:

https://www.munlima.gob.pe/

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