Worldwide Workshop on Youth Involvement as a Strategy for Social, Economic and Democratic Development

The Ford Foundations Worldwide Workshop on Youth Involvement as a Strategy for Social, Economic and Democratic Development took place in Costa Rica in January 2000. It had three purposes: to acknowledge and explore the potential of youth service as a strategy for social, economic and democratic development; to identify new work that needs to be undertaken by program practitioners, researchers, policy makers and funders to build the field of youth service internationally; and to increase knowledge about youth service worldwide. Attended by 55 participants from 15 countries, the workshop program comprised five issues papers, which examined different perspectives on youth service, one evening presentation, and four panel discussions on country experiences of youth service in South Africa, Mexico, Russia and Brazil. One morning participants visited community service projects undertaken by students from the University of Costa Rica.