We, the representatives of member and associate member governments and representatives of non-governmental organizations attending the Asia-Pacific Meeting on Human Resources Development for Youth (Beijing, 22-26 October 1996), transmit this statement to the World Youth Forum of the United Nations System. We transmit this statement as a contribution from Asia and the Pacific to the evolution of a global vision of the role of youth in development in the twenty-first century.
　　In considering the challenges for human resources development for youth in Asia and the Pacific, we took as our point of departure the Jakarta Plan of Action on Human Resources Development in the ESCAP Region, which identifies youth as a priority target group for human resources development in terms of each of the three interdependent components comprising the human resources development process: investment in human resources to enhance productive capabilities; utilization of those human resources to produce increased output; and consumption of the resulting outputs to improve the quality of life.
　　We were also guided by the World Programme of Action for Youth to the year 2000 and Beyond, which contains proposals for integrated action to address more effectively the problems of young people and enhance their participation in development. In reviewing the specific priority areas for youth identified in that global instrument, we considered four areas of special concern for human resources development in the Asian and Pacific context: education, health, employment and participation.
　　Our discussions on each of those priority areas resulted in a series of practical proposals for action for possible implementation by the year 2000, each focusing on regional cooperation to promote human resources development among youth in Asia and the Pacific. The major proposals are summarized below:
　　Education:
　　Promoting continuing education through distance learning - This proposal would target marginalized and out-of-school youth, particularly girls, young women and disadvantaged groups, to provide basic life skills, including literacy and numeracy skills, through continuing education, applying distance learning technologies. The main activities would include the sharing of national experiences in distance education technologies and curriculums, regional networking of distance education institutes, and the establishment of a regional database on continuing education through distance education.
　　Improving the quality of secondary, technical and vocational education and training - This proposal would seek to enhance acquired competencies to empower youth for effective participation in the world of work and community life. The main activities would include curriculum development and teacher training through curricular research, teacher-trainers' exchange programmes and information sharing.
　　Health:
　　Promoting reproductive health of youth-The proposal would pursue a series of youth-oriented reproductive health promotion activities, involving the participation of youth, including: situation studies on reproductive health among youth; sensitization and awareness promotion among policy makers, programme implementors and youth organizations; exchange of experiences on successful approaches; capacity strengthening of regional and national resource centres; and training of health professionals.
　　Eliminating sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of youth -The proposal would, involving the participation of youth, undertake a series of activities to combat the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of youth, including: research to determine the current status of the problem in the region; sensitization and awareness promotion among policy makers, youth organizations and the tourism industry; exchange of experiences on successful approaches in combating the problem; training of health providers to meet the special needs of the victims; promotion of gainful alternatives for the victims and potential victims; and strengthening of the capacity of regional and national centres for the prevention and elimination of the problem.
　　Employment:
　　Preparing youth for the world of work-This proposal would introduce and strengthen career and vocational education and counseling programmes for youth and explore options for career and vocational tracking of youth within the educational process. The main activities would include: research studies on alternative career and vocational tracking systems through needs assessment surveys among youth; Development and implementation of training-of trainers programmes on career education and counseling for youth leaders as well as for government and NGO youth personnel; cooperation between educational institutions and the private sector to promote the concepts of "earning while learning" and "learning while earning"; and development of curricular and learning materials for career education and vocational guidance and counseling.
　　Matching youth education and skills with employment opportunities-This proposal would seek to ensure that the employment skills imparted to youth fit the employment opportunities arising within the changing labour market. The main activities would include the sharing of national experiences regarding labour-market clearing mechanisms; promotion of information exchange on partnership relationships between the private and government sectors for promotion youth self-employment opportunities; a regional conference to develop a plan of action for promoting and supporting youth entrepreneurship; and establishment of a regional revolving fund to support income-generating activities for youth.
　　Participation:
　　Developing youth participation indicators (YPIs) -This proposal would develop a series of youth participation indicators to facilitate the analysis of, and thereby promote youth participation in the planning, implementation and evaluation of national youth and related policies. Among the main activities would be: the formulation of an agreed list of YPIs; survey and analysis of national situation with respect to those indicators; exchange of information on national experiences; and national workshops and regional meetings to monitor the YPIs and consider appropriate response.
　　Strengthening national youth coordination mechanisms-This proposal would provide regional support to the establishment and strengthening of national youth coordination mechanisms as the institutional cornerstone of action to promote youth participation in decision-making and development. Among the major activities will be: technical assistance to establish and strengthen in each Asian and Pacific country and area a national inter-ministerial coordinating mechanism, operating in close association with a national non-governmental youth council or committee; regular dissemination of information on national youth programmes in the region; a series of national and subregional workshops of national youth coordinating mechanisms to promote regional cooperation in the field of youth participation in development and to review the implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth, and a regional intergovernmental meeting, with the participation of both governments, NGOs and other concerned bodies, to review the implementation of the proposals for action adopted by this Meeting as well as to review progress in the implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth.
　　We, the representatives of member and associate member governments and representatives of non-governmental organizations concerned with youth in the Asian and the Pacific region commend these proposals to the attention of the World Youth Forum of the United Nations System as practical means of energizing increased regional, inter-regional and global cooperation in pursuit of human resources development of youth into the twenty-first century.

　　26 October 1996