Youth Development Through Participation in Decision Making

The purpose of this chapter is to argue that there is a need for youth development for participation in decision makings of the country. Programs for youth development should be geared towards changing the behavior of the youth from undesirable to desirable conduct. This chapter follows a qualitative approach in understanding and explaining in detail what youth development and participation in decision making in the society, entails. Data were collected via literature reviews on youth development and participation and on factors contributing to the importance of how laws, most notably laws on youth participation in matters, concern them. These factors are important, but key to developing the youth for participative decision-making and for ensuring that children's right to participate is implemented. The aim of this paper is to ensure that the youth are involved as partners in communities because they are deemed to be assets in the decision-making process of the country.