Chile: Support for Organisations which Work with Young People in Poor Areas (1997-2006)

With the support of GIZ (former GTZ), the Chilean Government passed a national youth plan in 2004, prescribing the comprehensive promotion of children and young people. To facilitate implementation of this plan, the project focused on setting up local structures specifically targeted at youth work. More than 42 municipal administrations in the country now have their own youth welfare services. In addition, GIZ provided training for officials and youth workers in how to work with children and young people, above all in deprived areas. The training courses, originally conducted as distinct, individual courses, grew into regional, structured training programmes and continued to develop into university education programmes. Thanks to these services, 1,348 youth advisers across the country have become acquainted with new methods and concepts of youth work.

Kenya: Integrated Promotion of Street Children and Youth at Risk (2000- 2006)

With support from GIZ (former GTZ), the Kenyan Government passed the national Children's Act in December 2001. For the first time, this act stipulates a duty of care on the part of the state and parents. As a consequence of this, the government set up a separate Ministry of State for Youth Affairs. When the project first began just a single member of staff was conversant with the subject of youth promotion; now there are five departments in a separate ministry that address the concerns of young people. In 2006, the ministry had a budget of EUR 35.9 million. In addition, the government has set up a Youth Development Fund with financial resources of almost EUR 11 million. Moreover, targeted advisory services provided to 100 state and non-governmental organisations led to a considerable improvement in the situation of street children: around 45,000 children and youths were able to improve their personal circumstances due to the strengthening of their self-help potential.

Latin America (El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Colombia, Peru, Argentina): Promotion of Youth and Prevention of Violence (2001-2008)

The goal and also the success of this supraregional project was to network governmental and non-governmental actors with young people and each other.  In the five countries involved, networks have become institutionalised that lobby the governments and the private sector in the interests of young people. Together they have drawn up violence prevention strategies and instigated their integration into the national youth policies. They have also conducted training courses on the subject. For example, 128 staff of the Honduran education and health ministry and personnel from non-governmental and youth organisations in Honduras took part in these training courses in 2007.

Nepal: Improving the Situation of Child Labourers (1997-2006)

Many children in Nepal drop out of school at a very young age in order to work. This project helped to ensure the Government of Nepal now takes greater steps to counter and punish child labour and that it also offers alternatives. More than 4,000 children aged between six and 16, who were not attending school when the project began, have since been integrated into regular school life through a range of programmes. Furthermore, several kindergartens and youth centres were set up by local residents on their own initiative: following initial impetus provided by the project, local groups now continue to run the support centres for small children on their own and meet a large share of the costs. Thanks to the opportunities offered the target group by the youth centres, the children and young people helped by the project have become much more self-confident: today 100,000 boys and girls now organise their own leisure activities in youth clubs.