Quarterly Report: Youth Engagement to Promote Stability

The project aimed to foster responsible participation of youth in Timor-Leste's elections and post-elections processes. To achieve this objective, the project sought to connect youth with political decision makers at a national level to explore and articulate salient issues and drivers of youth-related conflict and how to engage youth to address them. Implementation of the project focused on several key activities. A Baseline Survey was conducted in 6 representative districts and 12 subdistricts of Timor-Leste to provide a starting point for measuring progress made by the YEPS program. The survey included individual questionnaires designed for youth, the general public, NGOs, and Government. SFCG-TL worked with its partner Belun and with National University of Timor-Leste (UNTL) students to conduct the survey. The survey was administered to roughly 1,500 individuals between August 1st and August 15th. In September, SFCG-TL commenced and finalized preparations for its nationwide Youth Mapping of Timor-Leste. The primary purpose of the mapping was to identify civically engaged and dynamic youth from rural, suburban, and urban areas of all 13 districts of Timor-Leste to take part in SFCG-TL's civic education and leadership training and media programming activities. A 3-day media training entitled Promoting the Media to Empower Youth For Stability was held at the SFCG Dili office on September 26th, 27th, and 28th. The training aimed to educate local media on "Common Ground" reporting methods, as well as to strengthen capacity in both technical and non-technical aspects of radio journalism. The training was attended by reporters and presenters from community radio stations representing 10 of the 13 districts of Timor-Leste. The project also expanded and reorganized the operations of its Dili office this quarter, hiring a total of 10 new staff and hosting numerous capacity-building support visits. A two-person Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E) team, a Human Resources and Administration Officer, and 3 new Youth Project Officers joined the SFCG-TL team. The country context in Timor-Leste during the reporting period was marked by the 3rd parliamentary election held on July 7th. The election was characterized by generally moderate campaign themes, with major issues including corruption and the proper management of the Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund. The National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) emerged with the largest share of parliamentary seats but failed to gain an outright majority, resulting in a hung parliament. The election was deemed an overall success by the UN, but the flare-up of political violence following the general election underscores the remaining challenges to Timor-Leste's political development as the country continues along its intended course towards a strong democracy with a loyal opposition. Continued efforts to promote the peaceful integration of all elements of Timorese society into the political process, and to educate marginalized youth on methods of responsible political participation, remain critical in this young and fragile democracy. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon visited Timor-Leste on August 15th to discuss the UN's withdrawal. The withdrawal of UN peacekeepers in 2005 was ultimately deemed premature when disunity within the Timorese security establishment resulted in a major political crisis and widespread civil unrest in 2006. The UN has concluded that Timor-Leste's security forces are now capable of maintaining order within the context of a viable multiparty democracy without external security support. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Timor-Leste on September 6th, meeting with senior government officials and hosting leaders of numerous NGOs supported by USAID, including SFCG-TL Country Director Jose Francisco de Sousa, at the United States Embassy in Dili. During her visit, Secretary Clinton unveiled a $6.5 million higher education initiative to support Timorese students wishing to study in the United States. Secretary Clinton's visit affirmed the United States' continued commitment to assisting the peaceful development of Timor-Leste.