Theme for 2006 competition is “Disadvantaged Children and Youth’’ with four sub-themes: (i) Quality education for disadvantaged children and youth; (ii) Street children and youth; (iii) Out of school, out of work children and youth; and (iv) Participation and Empowerment of children and youth in decision making.
The event is co-organized by the World Bank, Ministry of Education and Training (Primary Education forDisadvantaged Children (PEDC) Project) and YouthNewspaper.
Definition of Disadvantaged
Disadvantaged relates to an individual not being able to take or provided with opportunity, such as access to primary education, further education or a job to provide independence and self-support, which is regarded as a fundamental right to all individuals within a community and greater society. For a child to be disadvantaged means the transition from early childhood to youth provides an uncertain future with possible developmental delay, little if any qualifications and limited opportunities for their progression. For a youth to be disadvantaged means the transition towards adulthood with limited skills and opportunities and a risk of reduced earnings or destitution.
To be disadvantaged creates the risk of children and youth not having access to, for example, housing, health care, and education. This may result in an individual feeling excluded from the community they live in, increasing urban migration and inability to participate or take social responsibility for their actions.
In recent years, Vietnam has experienced rapid development and provision of such services however some children and youth have not benefited from these recent developments and find themselves excluded, unqualified and/or disenfranchised from society. The result is disaffected children and youth with insecure futures.
Defining Children and Youth
Children are defined as between 4 to 14 years of age. A child has the fundamental right to attend and complete pre-school and primary education, be provided with health and social protection services for their development and well being and have a voice in the decision-making around them. Despite this fundamental right, many children particularly in the more remote and mountainous areas of Vietnam meet barriers to being provided equal opportunity and access. Many of these barriers relate to topography and the difficulty of targeting children and their families in distant localities. However, other barriers such as Vietnamese as a second language, gender, poverty, having no family and/or experiencing learning and development difficulties are significant factors for prevention of a child rights being fulfilled.
The definition of youth is complex and debatable but the most common one is that used by the Millennium Development Goals – spanning from 15 to 24 years. Youth is generally defined as a phase when a person moves from a time of dependence (childhood) to independence (adulthood). This transition involves several common shifts that present unique challenges:
The transition from schoolto seeking work and independent sources of income.
The transition towards independence. As young people grow and gain independence, they begin to take more control over their bodies and their actions. Greater independence means that they have greater opportunities for experimentation but are less protected from the consequences.
The transition to work. Their decisions on when to do that, what kind of work to get into, what skills they develop, and where they work will be have broad implications for them and for society.
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