What is the YSB ?

The Youth Sounding Board (YSB) is a consultative space for Nepali youth to have an influence on the European Union’s actions in Nepal, making them more participatory, relevant, and effective for them. It is an all-inclusive, multi-sectoral platform of engagement designed to bring together youth voices at the table to guide the EU’s development cooperation in Nepal. The YSB was launched globally in 2022, the European Year of Youth, and that same year, the European Union Delegation to Nepal established the first Youth Sounding Board for Nepal.

The YSB aims to ensure that young people are brought to the discussion table to advise, guide, and inform how the EU’s actions can be more responsive to youth needs and how the activities can be much more deliberate in addressing youth needs. This platform is an opportunity for youth to be involved and contribute to the design, implementation, and monitoring/review of EU actions in Nepal and a potential platform for dialogue with the EU, EU member states, and the Government of Nepal.

Nepal’s Youth Context

According to Nepal’s National Youth Policy, approximately 20.8 percent of the total population of the country falls in the age group 16-25 years while 40.68 percent of the population lies in the age group 16-40. Youth thus make up the largest segment of Nepal’s population, which provides a unique opportunity for the country. But despite this demographic dividend, youth are often excluded from leadership and decision-making processes. Decisions and allocation of resources and ideas are made on behalf of young people without the presence of young people at the table. It is thus imperative to put youth at the center of planning, designing, and implementing developmental activities. Young people can be powerful forces of global change and development.

How the YSB works?

YSB members will be expected to, among others:

  • Provide feedback on the activities, areas of cooperation, and processes of the European Union’s actions in Nepal, ensuring that young people’s real needs are reflected.

  • Analyse present plans and policies on youth, climate action, disaster risk reduction, human capital development, and governance in Nepal through the lens of youth participation, gender equality, and social inclusion.

  • Hold three periodic consultations per cohort with diverse young people on the agenda of the above topics, existing policies and plans, and their implementation.

  • Attend project events and visit working areas to monitor the activities of projects implemented by the European Union in Nepal.

  • Pitch ideas to implement in their respective communities as an ‘Action at Home’ grant

  • Explore issues of young people on climate change, GESI, and governance.

  • Connect, engage, and collaborate with the National Youth Council.

YSB members will serve an unpaid mandate of 15 months and will work on the following key strategic priority areas to guide their work during their tenure:

Programmatic Engagement: The board ensures and strengthens the youth’s voice and perspectives on and about the EU Nepal’s policy and programme formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

Networking: The board serves as a networking platform with officials from the European Union and its Mission to Nepal, and other national and international organisations that work with the youth.

Communication and Advocacy: The board functions as a communication and advocacy platform that amplifies the voices of young people in Nepal.

Action at Home

Action-at-Home is a key component of the Youth Sounding Board (YSB) engagement plan, empowering members to implement impactful community projects. Through this initiative, YSB members receive resources and grant support to design and execute projects that protect and promote human rights while aligning with the European Union’s priority areas in Nepal. Read More