Children and Youth

In Sweden, the law was changed in 2012 so that access to health care is now guaranteed and free for all children under 18, and for all adults in case of emergency, without any requirement to provide documents. Strong rules on confidentiality apply to citizens and non-citizens, both for access to health care and education, creating a robust firewall in the sphere of health, hence patient confidentiality includes undocumented migrants. 

Numerous programs encourage links between schools and communities to foster social inclusion of children and their families. For instance, in the Netherlands for second-generation Turks and Moroccans; in Pakistan for Hazara girls; in Canada among African and Caribbean-born immigrants; and in the US for Latin America and Vietnamese communities.

Social innovation initiatives have been launched in many countries to find solutions to local challenges involving migrants, refugees and host communities in social entrepreneurship ventures.

Numerous programs empower young people to identify challenges in their communities and to create entrepreneurial solutions to address these barriers. Through a combination of training, mentorship and in some cases seed funding, youth learn transferable skills to become social innovators and entrepreneurs.

Some examples of these programs (see links below) are:

The Youth College is a free education, training and mentoring programme for young migrants (mostly asylum-seekers) aged between 15 and 21 in Vienna. As part of the city’s broader “Start Wien” integration initiative, the aim of the Youth College is to help young migrants lead an independent life as quickly as possible by preparing them for further education, vocational training or the workplace.

The partnership between the Moroccan National Federation of Public Works (FNBTP) and the German training organization 'Otto Benecke Stiftung', together with professional federations and German and Moroccan vocational training institutions, provides young people with vocational training in Morocco. The aim of the project is to contribute to the battle against youth unemployment and against irregular migration to Europe, as well as to provide vocational training in Morocco that meets international standards. 

Migrants as Messengers is a peer-to-peer messaging campaign by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) where returning migrants share with their communities and families the dangers, trauma, and abuse that many experienced while attempting irregular migration.  From smartphones to social media platforms and social networks, returning migrants from Senegal, Guinea, and Nigeria share their stories to generate awareness and provide advice and information on misconceptions about living abroad.

UNICEF's 'Children Uprooted' campaign is a broad communications campaign focusing on refugee and migrant children. As part of this campaign, UNICEF has urged governments and partners to realize a Six-Point Agenda For Action to: 

FAO is working towards building the capacity of poor and vulnerable youth in migration prone areas, including cash transfers beneficiaries, and engaging them in productive activities along agro-food value chains; and support youth entrepreneurs to scale-up their businesses along selected value chains.

FAO supports rural youthwith alternatives to migration in a number of countries through fostering decent rural employment in sustainable agriculture and agribusiness along value chains.

The second implementation phase (2015-2018) of FAO's Integrated Country Approach (ICA) for boosting decent jobs for youth in the agri-food system targeted Senegal, Uganda and Guatemala. FAO's efforts in this programme are aimed at providing rural youth with alternatives to migration through decent rural employment in agricultural value chains, and by fostering diaspora engagement in agri-business.