This report was commissioned by the UNFPA Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECARO) to present good practices from UNFPA on the involvement of young people in programming and policy dialogue, advocacy efforts and national development processes in the region.

The objective was to collect evidence demonstrating that involving young people in programming can produce stronger programme results, including improvements in knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviors; and that policies affecting youth are stronger and more targeted when youth are consulted. The review includes examples, lessons learned and good practices that focus on UNFPA-supported youth programme activities during 2009-2011.

The methodology included a preliminary desk review of UNFPA programme documents and related evaluation and study reports; a web-based survey to collect detailed information about youth programme interventions, primarily focused on involvement of youth in policymaking and programming; and relevant surveys and interviews with stakeholders.

The assessment identified six good practices from Moldova (two cases), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Turkey and Kyrgyzstan, presented here with conclusions, lessons learned and recommendations. This should provide information to UNFPA and other organizations in the EECA region to develop evidence-based policy advocacy for youth-focused initiatives; contribute to institutional memory and organizational learning; and guide future programming and policy dialogue on youth development issues.