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Educated unemployed youth as institutional innovators

In rural Uganda there is a generation of young women and men who are the first in their family to go to school. Most do not have jobs. Many also participate in local institutions: churches, courts, committees.

  • What changes are poorer, educated, often unemployed youth bringing to these institutions?
  • What ways does their participation reconfigure gender issues? What concepts and categories do youth use to understand what they are doing?

Available  research on education focuses on learning outcomes and economic impact, or on spread of modern attitudes among male urban youth. Much less is known about changes youth are bringing to rural communities.

Our “Challenging Categories – Educated Youth as Institutional Innovators in Rural Uganda” research programme is designed with and by young people, and in partnership with a Ugandan community organisation. Through an interdisciplinary approach that brings the voices of young people centre stage, we examine participation in local institutions to challenge understandings of  youth, education and unemployment.

This text herein above is the project abstract authored by the Principal Investigator

Funded by the British Academy, our challenging categories research project will start in April 2021 and will be implemented through to December 2022, if all goes well. It was initially planned for April 2020 to December 2021, but our plans were disrupted by the breakout and rapid spread worldwide of the highly infectious and deadly coronavirus COVID-19.

Under the mentorship and supervision of our Managing Director, Ms. Norah Owaraga, eight young innovators, unemployed university graduates from disadvantaged communities of the Greater Northern Uganda, who are beneficiaries of our project: “Mentoring young adults into innovators against poverty,” will be selected and they will be part of our challenging categories project research team.

32 responses to “Educated unemployed youth as institutional innovators”

  1. It was a great honour having CPAR team visiting the young adult innovators in their respective business places. When the team came to my ICT shop in Lumumba, Lira city, the community around were wondering what was happening, they saw huge cameras, new faces, movements and actions taking place inside the shop and outside making me to respond to many questions after the exercise from the commit. But I simply told them those are team of experts making follow-ups on us whom they trained in business management!

    From home, my parents were happy as some seedlings were purchased and they earned some money that morning. They were happy for me as I made them proud as people in neighborhood saw camera interviews live from home and others were saying they use to see only on TV but it was live/physically that day.

    The field visit also made me realized that CPAR has long term plans for changing the communities in Northern Uganda and Uganda at large, but it’s just a matter of time. I urge my fellow beneficiaries to work hard as we shouldn’t wait to be employed by others but rather focus much on strengthening the small businesses we have started to expand and we recruit people in nearby future, in that context we shall be offering job opportunities to members of our communities as well giving them services hence economic empowerment and reduction in poverty shall be realize.

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  2. Its really a great pleasure to be apart of the innovators team,I almost gave up but when I got introduced to CPAR ,I became more courageous after attending atraining on the cashflow it made me learn a lot n also helped me improve on my savings, money discipline and recordings in my business,whereas for the field visit I gained a lot of confidence and communication skills and also interpersonal skills,all thanks to CPAR’S field team,am looking forward to more of those field visits and hopefully working together as a team for the betterment of our community most esp the disadvantaged unemployed educated youth

    Liked by 2 people

  3. “I would love to be do something for my community ” was my dream but did not know exactly what it was
    CPAR UG LTD has done it for me by helping me achieve that dream of being an inspiration to members of my community . The experience during the field visit at my shop and home in kakoge by CPAR UG LTD was amazingly beautiful. I feel blessed to be part of this life changing journey and hoping for the best .

    Liked by 2 people

  4. Am really humbled to be part of the Young Adults being mentored by Cpar Uganda Ltd, Appreciation to the Management Team that came to visit me at my shoes business at AMUGU Trading Center.
    It made me feel like am doing what is of great value both to me and my community at large because some of my friends who are also unemployed graduates update are inspired with what am doing and they’re yet to start their own businessess too.

    Liked by 2 people

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