Starting from Scratch: The Challenges of Including Youth in Rebuilding Southern Sudan

In June 2010, the Women's Refugee Commission undertook a field mission to Southern Sudan as part of its
Displaced Youth Initiative, a global research and advocacy project focused on strengthening educational and skillstraining
programs for young women and men in displaced settings.
Five years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended decades of fighting between the
Sudan People's Liberation Army and the Government of Sudan, access to education and skills-building opportunities
remains minimal across Southern Sudan.
Existing skills-training programs have generally been supply-driven and designed under the assumption that any and
all types of trainings are desirable where provision is so limited. A lack of common standards and a formal certification
system, extremely low literacy rates among participants, language barriers and a general failure to systematically
determine local demand for skills have all impacted the quality of training.
Key Recommendations
The following key recommendations are based on interviews with young women and men, and staff of the Government
of Southern Sudan, UN agencies, international and Southern Sudanese nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) and local businesses. For a complete list of recommendations, please see page 19.