
Young People As Key Actors
of Positive Change!
Youth are positive actors during a crisis, while also representing the future of their communities.

Young People in Emergencies
Numbers at A Glance
Young people’s needs, vulnerabilities and risks are exacerbated in humanitarian and protracted crises.
- Today some 408 million youth aged 15–29, or 23 per cent of the global youth population, are affected by violence or armed conflict.
- There were 9.7 million young people aged 15–24 living in internal displacement because of conflicts, violence or disasters at the end of 2019. Of those, 3.1 million were under the age of 18.
- Approximately 175 million children every year will be affected by natural hazards attributed to climate change.
- 70.8 million people around the world have been forced from their homes, among them nearly 25.4 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18.
- Internal migration peaks among those in their 20s, who often migrate to learn new skills or make the most of those already acquired.
- 225 million youth in the developing world (20 per cent) are not in education, employment, or training.
(IASC Guidelines, 2021) Compact For Young People in Humanitarian Action
https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/events/iasc-guidelines-working-and-young-people-humanitarian-and-protracted-crises

During crises, donor priorities were always centered on life-saving basic needs, such as food, water, shelter, and child protection. Budgets rarely stretch far enough to reach the needs of young people (10-24 years old), who are often lost between programming for children and programing for adults. This gap has had tragic consequences as crises tend to be ever more protracted, often lasting for years or even decades. If adolescents and youth are not given any opportunities, they will become extremely vulnerable to illegal activities, gangs, underage labor, drug trafficking, sexual abuse, sex trafficking, violence, and more.
RET provides young people with the skills to confront these threats, develop their resilience, and enable them to become self-reliant.
Young people are at the center of RET’s strategy, from program design to implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, and in all measures that respond to their interlinked needs across multiple sectors. RET is committed to protecting the rights of young people affected by conflict, violence, disasters and/or displacement and promotes their meaningful participation to engage in all matters that affect their lives constructively..
As such, RET does not consider young people as solely “beneficiaries”, but active participants, respected contributors, partners and/or leaders in humanitarian crises, stabilization and peace operations, and in development contexts. We believe in the meaningful and positive role young people can play to voice, advocate for, and address issues affecting their lives, as well as the ones of their families and communities.
RET commits to empowering refugee and host/local youth to be resilient, fulfill their potential, and become actors of positive social change. By realizing their rights and assuming their responsibilities, young people can rebuild fairer, more prosperous societies in tandem with meeting their individual and collective life projects.

Youth with Disabilities
During crises, donor priorities were always centered on life-saving basic During emergencies, inequalities linked to disability are exacerbated as normal support systems such as family ties, specific infrastructure, social services, or transportation networks collapse. The inclusive approaches that RET follows mean that affirmative actions have to be taken into consideration to ensure that all members of society have access to their universal rights.
Therefore, special attention to young people with disabilities is a question of addressing specifically acute needs to guarantee all young peoples’ rights.
However, as in the case of focusing on young women, working with youth with disabilities also serves a broader purpose. The way communities treat the most vulnerable influences how they view solidarity and social cohesion as a whole. Developing the potential of youth with special needs allows them to play substantial roles in raising the awareness of their communities on the intrinsic value of all its members.
RET addresses the needs of youth with special needs on multiple levels. First, we mainstream the issue of access to educational facilities and opportunities to youth with special needs in all our programs worldwide. In specific contexts, we have developed methods to train governmental institutions to integrate youth with special needs within the formal education system’s response to natural disasters.
Our work then extends to the educational institutions themselves, training teachers to understand the needs and particular vulnerabilities of their students with disabilities and integrate them into the school’s contingency plans. Finally, RET works with the youth themselves, raising their awareness of their roles and responsibilities in case of emergencies, allowing them to become positive actors in the school’s overall safety.
Check out the latest articles!
Visit News & Blog!
New Project Launch – MALI – Empowering Vulnerable Women & Youth
RET officially launched its new project in Mali to address Food Insecurity, Peaceful Relations and Economic Interdependence among the Affected Communities. Project Title: Improved Livelihoods and Food Security through Training in Climate-Adaptive Agriculture, Handicrafts, and Peaceful Relations and Economic Interdependence among Communities. (2022-2025) Insecurity, high population growth, weak infrastructure, and low levels of human capital…
Addressing the Multidimensional Barriers to Girls’ Education in Niger
Addressing the Multidimensional Barriers to Girls’ Education in Niger Niger is among the world’s countries with the lowest girls’ enrolment, retention, and school completion rates. According to UNICEF, 2.5 million children and adolescents are out of school.[1] 5 Only 19% of girls in rural areas complete primary education. This number drops to a worrying 8% among the…
RET won the “Prize of Excellence” for its work with child soldiers and the communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Sunday, September 11th, 2022, RET Germany was awarded the “Prize of Excellence” by the Association Sans But Lucratif (ASBL) “Tous vers un-Congo Nouveau”, (T.C.N) -All towards a new Congo- for its work with child soldiers since 2012 in DRC. During the ceremony, multiple awards were distributed to individuals and non-profit organizations working to promote youth…
Webinar “Comprehensive Approach within Women’s Socio-Economic Empowerment Programmes are Key for Collective Sustainable Development: Leap Women’s Co-Operative and Leap Natural Social Enterprise Example from Türkiye.” The Regional Forum for Sustainable Development 2022 | The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Check out the Webinar Recording here! Türkiye hosts around 7 million refugees (Syrian, Iraqi, and Afghan) who have fled their home countries. Disproportionately affected by crises, women and girls face more adversities, including barriers to access to basic services, such as health services, education, livelihoods, and employment opportunities, coupled with protection risks and higher risks…
Gender Equality today for a Sustainable Tomorrow
International Women’s Day – March 8, 2022 The International Women’s Day, March 8, is an opportunity to reflect on the advances and gaps in gender equity and commemorate how women and girls are leading the solutions to address global problems, including climate change within RET’s programs. The UN 2022 theme focuses on “Gender equality today for…
Pest Monitoring and Integrated Pest Management – Lebanon
RET is implementing a project aimed at “Strengthening the resilience and peaceful coexistence of Lebanese and Syrian refugees through increased income generation in the agricultural and food production sectors” in Lebanon, in partnership with the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute. A Training of Trainers (ToT) was organized in Tel Al-Amarah station, tackling traps and attractants and their…