Experts and young people from around the world gathered for an international symposium on youth development data at the Commonwealth's headquarters
Experts from the Commonwealth, United Nations, regional intergovernmental organisations and civil society, as well as leading academics and young people, gathered at the Commonwealth’s headquarters in London on 19-20 June for an international symposium on youth development data.
Hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat with input from UN-Habitat and UNDESA, the Expert Group Meeting reviewed targets and indicators that measure the social, economic and political empowerment of young people globally, while assessing progress and challenges to data collection. The aim being to agree a framework to help governments and donors target finite resources and monitor the effectiveness of policies that impact young people.
The Expert Group Meeting comes as global policymakers look to replace the Millennium Development Goals, which expire at the end of 2015. Determining quantifiable, timely and reliable youth indicators is integral to the process of setting new Sustainable Development Goals for the post-2015 period.
The meeting at Marlborough House included a presentation on the UN Secretary-General’s proposed indicators for the World Programme of Action for Youth, and a presentation on the first-ever Youth Development Index, launched by the Commonwealth and partners in September 2013.
Youth Development Index
The Youth Development Index aggregates existing data sources to measure the empowerment of young people globally across five key areas: education, health, employment, civic participation, and political participation. Future editions will incorporate new data sources and indicators.
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