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In the last 2 years， the Middle East and North Africa region （MENA） has experienced an extraordinary change and transition. The “Arab Spring” has spread across the region. Mass uprisings and protests in Tunisia， Yeman， Jordan， Algeria， Egypt， Syria， Libya and other countries in the region brought changes in governments and reforms. This wave of change and transition in the MENA region has been mainly led by the urban youth of the region. Their dissatisfaction is mostly related to situations like poverty， unemployment and limited participation in the decision making procedure. They lost confidence in their future.
Form the data released by the World Bank we can see a reality： the total population in the MENA region reached 336 million， and 59% of the population is living in the urban areas. Of which 90 million people living in the cities are aged between 15 and 24 years old， according to the Population Reference Bureau. A significant proportion of these urban youth in MENA region are trapped in the structural unemployment and badly educated， while other well educated are excluded from the social and economic opportunities in the society. Youths are lost and confused in urban areas， Unfortunately， the youth situation in the MENA region mirrors a large scale of demographic change at the global scale.
在过去两年间，中东和北非地区经历了翻天覆地的变化，大规模抗议活动在突尼斯、也门、约旦、阿尔及利亚、埃及、叙利亚等众多国家相继涌起，乃至于政府无法继续坚挺现行政策，改革浪潮接踵而至，一时间这场名为“阿拉伯之春”的运动迅速席卷整个阿拉伯地区，而这一变革大潮的始作俑者正是活跃在一线城市的青年们，他们因为对现状不满，如贫困，失业和在政策制定过程中参与度不高等对未来失去了信心。
从世界银行公布的最新数据中我们也可以看到这样的事实：中东和北非地区的总人口已经达到了3.36亿，这其中59%的人口居住在城市，而城市居民中约9，000万人是年龄在15到24岁之间的青年。这些青年中很大一部分人因为家庭经济状况，受教育程度不高，被结构性失业困扰着，而那些接受过良好教育的青年人往往也得不到机遇，他们在城市中处于迷茫的状态，甚至还可能成为导致社会不安定的因子。更为不幸的是，中东和北非地区青年所面临的状况并非个例，它仅仅是全球范围城市人口结构变化的一个缩影而已。
Youths in the “Problematic” Urban Areas
青年人的城市之困
Our population reaches a highly historic record. In 2012， the US Census Bureau estimated that the global population has reached to almost 7.1 billion. The 2011 UNFPA State of World Population report shows that about 80 million people are added to the world each year and the global population is likely to reach 10 billion by the end of the century， . Most of the population growth is taking place in low and middle income countries.
Our population is also younger than ever. 1.8 billion People are between the age of 10 and 24. Young people aged 15-24 years represent 18 per cent of the world's population. 85 per cent of the world’s young people live in developing countries. “Youth Bulge” becomes a common phenomenon in developing countries， as those regions succeed in reducing the infant mortality but remain the high fertility rate in the last two decades. As a result， a large share of the population is comprised of children and young adults. According to the Population Action International， sixty-two countries are “very young”， which means that two-thirds of their populations are under the age of 30. Those countries mostly locate in sub-Saharan Africa， southern Asia， the Middle East， and the Pacific Islands. The Middle East is considered as one of the youngest region as almost 65% of the population is under the age of 30. More young people are living in the urban areas. The world has a population of 7.1 billion people， and 5 billion people are living in urban areas. Youths compose a significant proportion of the urban population and often comprise a large portion of their communities. According to the UN-Habitat， more than 50 per cent of inhabitants， in many cities， are under the age of 24.
A clear pattern of rural-urban migration occurs in developing countries. This pattern intensifies the urbanization process. In 2009， it is estimated that there were about 145 million rural-urban migrants in China， accounting for about 11 percent of the total population. Among them， about 85 million to 100 million were born after 1980. In fact， young people are more eager to move from rural areas to urban areas than the old， in search of better job opportunities. And young people moving to cities for jobs and opportunities also occurred in developed countries but it's not so obvious.
As the global demographic shift goes on and the world becomes increasingly urban， addressing challenges， in particular unemployment， social exclusion， education mismatch ， being difficult to access quality education， living in slums as well as limited participation in decision making， faced by urban youths become more critical in our time. As the Arabic Spring has demonstrated， governments need to address those challenges promptly and appropriately.
我们的人口总量再创历史新高。2012年，美国人口普查局估计全球人口已达到71亿。据2011年联合国人口基金世界人口状况报告称，新增人口每年约有8，000万，全球人口将于本世纪末达到100亿。其中，绝大部分人口增长都发生在中低收入国家和地区。
我们的人口也前所未有的年轻。年龄在10到24之间的人口约18亿，年龄在15到24岁之间的青年占世界人口总量的18%。在过去的几十年间，发展中国家逐步降低婴儿死亡率，但生育率却仍然居高不下，现今世界上85%的青年人居住在发展中国家，“青年膨胀”也成为发展中国家的普遍现象。于是，青少年在人口总量中所占的比重越来越大。国际人口行动组织称，世界上有62个国家被认为“非常年轻”，这意味着他们国家三分之二的人口都不超过30岁。数据显示此类国家大多分布在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，南亚，中东，和太平洋岛屿地区。中东地区被认为是最年轻的地区之一，因为该地区约65%的人口都在30岁以下。
越来越多的青年人居住在城市地区。在世界71亿人口中，50亿人居住在城市。青年占据了城市人口的很大一部分，常常构成其所在社区人口的大多数。根据联合国人居署统计，该地区许多城市的居民中，超过50%的人年龄低于24岁。
在发展中国家，农村人口向城市转移的趋势日益加强。这一趋势加快了城市化的进程。据估计，2009年中国约有1.45亿农村人口转移到城市，为总人口的11%。其中，约有8，500万至1亿人口出生于1980年以后。事实上，年轻的一代相比上一辈的人来说，更倾向于离开农村到城市寻找更好的工作机会。农村青年到城市寻找工作和机遇的情况也发生在发达国家，但数量上远不如发展中国家。
随着世界人口结构持续变化和城市化进程，如何解决青年所面临的如失业、社会排斥、教育失谐和教育机会不均、居住条件恶劣和有限的决策参与度等挑战，在如今变得至关重要。正如阿拉伯之春运动所表明的那样，政府应采取适当措施，及时有效地解决这些问题。
Hard to Carry on Living
in Cities
难以为继的城市生活
According to the International Labor Organization， youths between 15 to 24 years old make up about 25% of the working population. In 2011， about 75 million youth were unemployed. Young people are 4.7 times more likely to be unemployed than adults in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Region. In the Middle East and North Africa， 26.5% and 27.9% of economically active young people were unemployed in 2011. Although both young men and women are vulnerable in the time of the global financial crisis， the impact on female， at the global level as well as in most regions， was far greater than on male. In Africa， youth unemployment is generally higher in urban areas than rural areas. The High Commission for Planning （HCP） in Morocco disclosed a figure in 2012， which showed that the highest increases in the unemployment rate were recorded among youths in urban areas. With regard to unemployed population in Morocco， 4 out of 5 are living in urban areas， and 2 out of 3 are between the ages of 15 and 29 years old. More importantly， young people in urban areas are less affordable to be unemployed due to the relatively high cost of living in the urban area. In addition to the high living cost， many youths in cities are rural migrants， living far away from home and receiving almost no supports from their family. Therefore， unemployed urban youth are forced to find alternatives to generate income for survival including working in the informal sectors and， in extreme cases， like criminal activities.
Due to the financial crisis， the youth employment crisis continues worsening in the urban areas of both developing countries and developed countries. Discouraged by the high youth unemployment rate， many young people living in the urban areas have given up the job search. Excluding young people from the job market can lead to social exclusion， as the inability to find employment results poverty and creates a sense of uselessness and frustration. Eventually， it precludes young people from having an acceptable standard of living， and participating social and community activities.
据国际劳工组织统计，15岁到24岁之间的青年占据工作人口的25%，而仅2011年一年，全球就约有7，500万青年失业。在东南亚和太平洋地区，青年失业的机率甚至是成年人的4.7倍。在中东和北非分别有26.5%和27.9%的青年失业。尽管在全球经济危机的时期青年男性和女性都不免受到影响，但无论在全球层面还是地区层面，青年女性受到的冲击更远远大于男性。
在非洲，城市青年的失业率普遍高于农村。摩洛哥规划委员会于2012年公布的数据显示，失业率上升最显著的人群是城市中的青年。在摩洛哥的失业人口中，每5个人中有4个生活在城市，每3个人中有2个年龄在15到29岁之间。更重要的是，由于城市的生活支出相对较高，城市地区的青年人更无法负担失业后的生活。除了高昂的生活费用，许多生活在城市中的年轻人来自农村，远离家乡使他们很难得到家人的帮助。因此，失业的城市青年为生活所迫不得不寻求其他赚钱的方式，包括在非正式部门任职，甚至参与犯罪活动。
由于经济危机的影响，无论是在发达国家还是发展中国家，青年就业危机都在加剧。高失业率使许多住在城市地区的年轻人失去信心，放弃寻找工作。而就业市场排斥年轻人也很可能导致社会排斥，因为就业失败不仅会导致贫困，而且会使人有自卑感和挫败感。最终，自卑与自我放逐让社会将这些青年人排斥在基本生活水准之下，并且就连他们参与社会和社区活动的机会也被剥夺了。
Problems of Social Exclusion：
社会排斥之痛
If the social exclusion among young people persists， social stability will be jeopardized. One by-product of social exclusion is the gang crime. As shown by experiences in Central America， young people in urban area who feel alienated from society and excluded from job opportunities are more likely to join territorial or identity-based gangs. Gangs bring rampant crime， commit thousands of murders， and contribute to a flourishing drug trade. Those bring serious challenges to prosperity and stability in society. In addition to instability， a high number of socially excluded youths and unemployed youths can haunt the economic growth in the long run. When young people can’t break into the job market， young people are missing out on opportunities to gain practical work experience， which can have a scarring effect lasting for a long time. “In the economy as a whole， there’s less skill that’s built up. That will have a long-term negative impact on the knowledge collection and GDP growth，” Charles Beach， economics professor at Queen’s University said.
Another side-effect of being excluded is health issues. Socially excluded youths have a distinctly higher risk for health-related problems， in particular mental health and psychosocial problems. Feelings of general vulnerability， inferiority， worthlessness and uselessness， and depression lead to a decrease in self-esteem and a higher dissatisfaction with the own life. They also have a higher risk for suicidal behaviors.
Social excluded youths also exhibited more ill health than their counterparts， as excessive consumption of alcohol and cigarettes and drug abuse are also common among socially excluded youths. Youths often use those substances as a way “to escape from reality”. Smoking， excessive alcohol use and drug abuse can have serious consequence to health. Almost every system in the body can be negatively affected.
In short， for those out of the job， they are more likely to suffer from the social exclusion. In the most obvious sense， investing in education， including vocational trainings， is a solution to urban youth unemployment and a way to avoid cumulative issues associated with social exclusion.
如果青年中的社会排斥持续存在，社会稳定将很难维持。社会排斥的一个附带品就是团伙犯罪。中美洲的事件可以表明，被社会排斥并无法得到就业机会的城市青年很有可能加入地区性的或基于身份特征的帮派。这些帮派带来猖獗的犯罪活动，数以千计的谋杀案，和盛行的毒品贸易。这些都是威胁社会繁荣和稳定的严重挑战。
除了不稳定性，被排斥青年和失业青年数量的增长还会影响经济的长期增长。当年轻人不能打入工作市场，他们就失去了获得实际工作经验的机会，这会对青年产生持续的不可弥补的影响。皇后大学的经济学教授查尔斯比奇认为：“就整个经济而言，技能的累积会减少。这将对集体知识库和GDP增长产生长期的消极影响。”
社会排斥所带来的另一个副作用是健康问题。被社会排斥的青年在健康相关的问题方面明显有更高风险，尤其是精神健康和心理问题。长期的弱势感，自卑感，自我否定和失落感可能导致自尊的受损和对人生更为不满。他们也是自杀行为的高风险人群。
被社会排斥的青年的健康状况相较被社会接纳的青年来说要差，因为酒精、烟草的过量摄入以及滥用药品在这些青年中十分普遍。吸烟、过量饮酒和滥用药品对健康有着极大危害。几乎身体的每个系统都会受到负面的影响。
简言之，失业的人更容易遭受社会排斥。显然，对教育的投资，包括职业培训的推广是解决城市青年失业的办法之一，也是避免由社会排斥所引发的一系列问题的途径之一。
Saving the Education Rights of the Youth
教育权利的救赎
Education is a basic human right. Every individual， regardless their socio-economic background， should have a right to access education. However， in reality， not everyone have the equal opportunity to access good quality education. Those underprivileged youths living in poor urban areas are most affected. Although education in urban areas is generally more advanced than those in rural areas， accessing good quality education in neighborhoods remains beyond the reach of many urban youths. In many developing countries， quality of available schooling options are lacking in poor urban areas， especially in slums， where there is often little or no public schooling. Overcrowded public schools can be found in poor urban areas and many schools do not equip with appropriate facilities such as quality teachers and toilets.
Urban youths from disadvantaged households also tend to be less competitive in the education system， and perform less well in school than those from more advantaged households. Study after study has demonstrated that teenagers from well-off backgrounds are several times more likely to go to university than those from the most deprived areas. The underprivileged youths also tend end up in the less preferred institutions and receive possibly poorer quality education. In the end， their diploma is less respected in the public. As a result， they face difficulties in looking for a decent job after graduation.
Public schools provide free education， but the ancillary costs of education like purchasing uniforms， classroom supplies or paying examination fee can leave underprivileged youths at a disadvantage. All these extra-fees are often expensive enough to prevent urban youths from attending school or to make youths drop out from school. And in many countries， post-secondary education even at public institutions is not free. Costs include tuition， room， stationeries and other living expenses. Those who are unable to afford the expense of college have to give up the post secondary-education， which creates an unequal access of education.
In addition to the unequal to access quality education， the link between education and jobs seems to be breaking down. Many young people in urban areas see their improved literacy and educational achievement unrewarded with suitable jobs. This situation mostly attributes to education mismatches.
Education systems fail to prepare young people adequately to face the needs of job market. A recent study found employers most likely to hire graduates with engineering， business， accounting or computer science degrees. Therefore， graduates in such fields have less problems finding employment than those from the social sciences or humanities. However， these latter fields have much higher enrolment and graduation numbers In South Africa， in 2012， 600 000 university graduates， mostly with a degree in social sciences and arts， are unemployed， but there are over 800000 vacancies unfulfilled， mostly in management， engineering， law， finance， accounting and medicine. Universities also trend to focus on theoretical knowledge and do not provide enough practical skills education to students. Fresh graduates， without enough practical experiences， make them less desirable in the competitive job market.
Another mismatch is jobs and graduates. Higher education has expanded too quickly in a short period of time and the job market cannot catch up. The number of tertiary students has been growing in every country in the world as a result of the rapid expansion of tertiary enrollment. An expert said that China delivers 6 million fresh graduates each year， but only 2.5 million white-collar jobs generated by the economy. With the oversupply of college graduates， fresh graduates find it more difficult to obtain jobs， the average wage levels of fresh graduates are brought down and many are forced to take low-paying manual jobs. They will have to accept positions with lower starting salaries， on short-term contracts or at a lower rank. Most seriously， they may be unemployed after graduation. Such a situation carries with it knock-on effects for both college and secondary school graduates.
人人都有接受教育的权利，无论他们有着怎样的社会经济背景。然而，在现实生活中，并不是每个人都有平等的机会享受优质的教育。这一影响突出体现在那些生活在城市贫困地区社会底层的青年人身上。
尽管城市地区的整体教育水平比农村地区更为先进，仍然有许多生活在城市中的年轻人没有机会接受优质的教育。在许多发展中国家，城市贫困地区中可选择的学校教育质量不高，特别是在贫民窟地区，有些贫民窟缺少甚至没有公立学校。在城市贫困地区，人数超额的公立中小学随处可见，但许多学校缺乏相应的配套资源和设施，如教师和厕所等。
城市中来自贫困家庭的青年往往不能很好的适应教育系统，他们在学校中的表现通常不如那些来自优越家庭的青年。许多研究可以证明富裕家庭孩子上大学的可能性是那些来自贫困地区的孩子的好几倍。那些处于社会底层的青年通常在一些不入流的学校中接受质量可能并不高的教育。毕业后，他们的学历在社会中不受重视，寻找一份体面的工作因此变得十分困难。
公立中小学提供义务教育，但是其他附加费用如校服、文具、考试费等会给来自贫困家庭的青年人带来很大负担。所有这些额外的费用都有可能成为城市青年走进学校接受教育的障碍，或成为他们辍学的理由。在许多国家，高等教育，即便是公立院校，也不是免费的。学生需要支付学费、住宿费、学习用品费用和一些其他的生活开支。那些不能负担的学生不得不放弃接受高等教育，这就使接受教育的机会变得不平等。
除了教育机会不平等之外，教育和就业之间的纽带也被打破。城市中许多年轻人上了学，有了学历，却无法找到合适的工作。这一情况是由教育失谐导致的。
教育系统未能将年轻人培养成能满足就业市场需要的人。从一份近期的调查我们发现，雇主更倾向于雇佣拥有工程、商业、会计、和计算机科学学历的人。因此，这些专业的毕业生比社会科学和人文科学专业的学生更容易找到工作。然而，就读于和毕业于后两个专业的学生人数更多。在南非，2012年有60万社会科学和文学专业的大学毕业生找不到工作，但是仍然有80万工作岗位空缺，主要是在管理、工程、法律、金融、会计和医学。
大学教育趋向于注重理论知识，并没有向学生提供充足的实践技巧教育。应届毕业生在缺乏实践经验的情况下，很难在竞争激烈的就业市场受到欢迎。
另一种失谐出现在工作和毕业生之间。就业市场无法跟上高等教育飞速扩张的步伐。由于不断扩招，世界上每个国家的高等教育毕业生都在增加。专家称，中国每年会有600万应届毕业生，但是经济发展每年只能产生250万个白领岗位。随着大学毕业生的供大于求，应届毕业生发现就业变得越来越难，工资也越来越低，许多大学毕业生不得不从事收入微薄的体力劳动。还有一些人不得不签订短期的就业合同，从底层做起，接受起薪较低的工作岗位。更有甚者，有的大学毕业生根本无法就业。这种情况对大学毕业生和中学毕业生都有着连锁反应。
Unsatisfied Living Environment
居住环境的无奈
In addition to the education， urban poor youths have difficult to access decent housing， and it's a result of the high land price in cites. Many of them have no choice but live in slums. As estimated around 830 million people worldwide live in slums in developing countries. Slum is often used to describe informal settlements within cities that have inadequate housing and squalid， miserable living conditions. Slums usually built on land prone to disasters like flooding， beside busy city roads and railways， on shorelines， river banks and around rubbish dumps.
Like all informal settlements， housing in slums is built on land that the occupant does not have a legal claim to land. The residents may face forced evictions. And many slums have been un-serviced and un-recognized for long periods. Not having a formal， legal address can prevent youths from accessing services including healthcare， education， water and electricity.
Slum buildings can vary from simple shacks to permanent and well-maintained structures but lack infrastructures such as clean water， electricity， sanitation and other basic services.
Poor sanitation means diseases spread more， making the lives of the youths living in slum even harder. According to experts， the living condition in slums makes the settlements a breeding ground for pathogens. When outbreaks of diseases such as cholera， diarrhoea， and typhoid fever in densely packed urban areas， it can quickly turn into epidemics. The unhygienic environmental conditions pose a health hazard to the general public， in particular to millions of urban youths living in slum.
Being without toilets and other sanitation facilities also creates a safety issue to young women， especially for women needing to go to the toilet at night or in early morning. In 2010， Amnesty International published “Risking rape to reach a toilet”. It surveyed 130 women living in four slums in Nairobi and found that： "The shortage of toilets （including latrines） and places to wash in the slums exacerbates women's insecurity and heightens the risk of gender-based violence." Also youths living in slums are more exposed to crimes like drug trafficking， extortion， armed robbery， theft， murder and carjacking， as high rates of crime and violence prevail in slum areas.
All these social problems faced by youths trigger frustration and anger which in turn trigger civil unrests. To give them a path to channel their disappointments， we should include youths to the decision makings.
除了教育，由于城市中地价高房价高，贫困青年很难居住在舒适的房屋中。他们中的许多人不得不落户在贫民窟。据估计，全世界发展中国家约有8.3亿人居住在贫民窟。
贫民窟通常是指城市中非正式的居住场所，一般都较为简陋，卫生条件差，居住环境恶劣。贫民窟通常建在洪涝等自然灾害高发区、繁忙的城市公路、铁路旁，河岸、海岸上、或在垃圾场附近。
像所有非正式建筑一样，贫民窟的房屋甚至没有合法的土地使用权。那里的住户可能随时面临被驱逐。许多贫民窟都已经年久失修，不被承认。缺乏正式、合法的地址使居住其中的青年人无法享受医疗、教育，甚至自来水、电力等社会服务。 贫民窟的房子有简陋的窝棚，也有一些保存良好但缺乏水、电、卫生设备等基础设施的建筑。
恶劣的卫生条件导致疾病高发，使居住其中的年轻人的生活更加艰难。据专家称，贫民窟的居住环境是各类病菌的温床。一旦霍乱、疟疾和伤寒症等疾病在人口密度极高的市区中爆发，就可能很快蔓延。贫民窟恶劣的卫生环境对大众来说无疑是一个健康隐患，尤其是对于数百万居住在贫民窟中的青年。
没有厕所和盥洗设备也成为女性青年的一个安全隐患，尤其是当晚上或凌晨她们需要使用厕所的时候。2010年，大赦国际发布了名为“冒着被强奸的危险去厕所”的调查。130名女性参与了调查，她们来自内罗毕的四个贫民窟。调查显示“贫民窟内厕所（包括公共厕所）和盥洗室的缺失加剧了女性的安全隐患，使她们遭受暴力性侵犯的风险更高。”同时，因为贫民窟内的高犯罪率和暴力盛行，居住在贫民窟中的青年还要经常面对贩毒、勒索、武装抢劫、偷盗、谋杀和劫车等犯罪行为。
青年所面临的这些社会问题很容易激发他们的沮丧感和愤怒感，而这些情绪会进一步加剧社会的不安定。为了使他们通过正确的渠道表达不满，我们应该使青年更多的参与到决策制定的过程中来。
Frustration of Excluding from the Decision Making
政治参与权利的沮丧
In the past decade， a growing recognition of the importance of youth participation in decision-making has been seen. Conventions like Convention on the Rights of Child is a consensus that participation in the decision making process is a right of all children and young people. However， in much of the world and especially in cities of the developing world are often with little say or ability to participate in decision-making processes.
UNICEF estimated that 87% of the youths are living in developing countries. Most of them are living in the urban areas and are directly affected by poverty， hunger， disease and violence. Therefore， they have the best understanding of the difficulties of living in the urban areas. However， they are generally excluded from the decision making procedure， even though they represent a majority population in some regions like MENA and Africa.
Youth participation in the decision making can lead to better decisions and better policy outcomes， promotes social integration and cohesion in society and strengthen young people’s understanding of human rights and democracy. Including youth in decision makings should be encouraged. As United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated "Youth should be given a chance to take an active part in the decision-making of local， national and global levels". Excluding urban youths from decision can be seen as unproductive and undesirable. Why do so many decision makers， governments and institutions continue to exclude youths from decision-making？
In societies around the world， youths and children are discriminated against by adults because they are young. Traditionally they are regarded as having a lower social status than adults despite the integral part young people play in families， schools and communities. This discrimination limits the equal opportunities of young people participating in decision-making and being treated equally as adults. The situation is even worse for young women， as they are not given the same opportunities as young men because of their gender. This attributes to traditional beliefs and cultural attitudes regarding the role and status of women in society. In many cultures， the woman’s role is limited to homemaker. On the other hand， the man is bread winner， head of household and has a right to public life. These views are still prevalent. Many women find it difficult to break this culture and tradition. The generation gap between younger and older people leads to a number of challenges like mutual lack of understanding， and trust and lack of cooperation in incorporating youths in decision making processes. Older generations generally have negative and conceived ideas about the abilities of youths to bring change to society and to make right choices for the society， as younger generations do not do or think the same way as older generations. Many still believe the outdated notions， or media misinformation， that portrays young people as transient， chaotic and unreliable. This deters many adults from consulting younger generations. Therefore many youths are not eager to participate in civil societies and to have their voice heard.
Many urban youths lack direct access to institutional systems and structures within governments， the media， the private and civil society sectors to address issues that directly related to them. This severely impedes their ability to advocate for their rights. In a rare case， young people can influence decision makings or even make decisions， but those young people are trend to be elite males with reasonably well-educated background. However， marginalized urban youths and those elites can have dramatically different needs and demands. Therefore， it should be questioned in what extend those elite youths can represent and advocate for the needs the majority marginalized urban youths. Furthermore， the complicated structural mechanisms within institutions have tended to destroy young people’s confidence and bring frustration to young people， and lead them to give up.
As a result， youth’s needs are likely to be ignored or insufficiently addressed when youths are not included or consulted in the policy-making process. This exclusion of youth， whether deliberate or unintentional， from policy-making processes and power structures can create significant tensions in society； it can manifest itself in creating a serious threat to the social stability. As demonstrated by the Arabic Spring， under-representation of youths in decision-making processes promotes frustration toward the society and alienation from their government. By incorporating urban or marginalized youth in the decision making process， decision makers can more effectively redress the existing social problems and channel their frustrations.
在过去的十几年中，人们逐渐认识到青年参与决策制定的重要性。《儿童权利公约》等公约体现了儿童和青年享有参与决策制定权利的共识。然而，在世界上大多数地方，尤其是发展中国家的城市中，青年很少有发言权也很难参与决策制定过程。 联合国儿童基金会估计世界上87%的青年居住在发展中国家。他们中大多数人居住在城市地区，并直接受到贫困、饥饿、疾病和暴力的影响。因此，他们对城市地区中生活的艰辛有着充分的体会。然而，他们一般都被排斥在决策制定过程之外，即使他们在众多像中东和北非等地区代表着多数群体。
青年人参与决策制定可以优化决策，得到更有效的成果，推动社会统一，增强社会协调性，增进年轻人对人权和民主的理解。青年人参与决策制定应该得到鼓励。正如联合国秘书长潘基文所说：“青年应该拥有参与当地、国家、甚至全球层面决策制定的机会”。将城市青年排斥在决策制定之外是无益的，不受欢迎的。为什么如此多的政策制定者、政府、和机构仍然把青年排斥在决策制定之外呢？
在全世界的社会中，青年和儿童都因年轻而被成年人歧视。传统意义上认为他们的社会地位比成年人低，尽管年轻人是在家庭、学校和社区中不可或缺的一部分。这种歧视使年轻人不能得到平等的对待，不能像成年人一样参与决策制定。这一情况对年轻女性来说更为严重，他们因为性别原因不能得到男性可以得到的机会。这要归咎于传统信条和文化态度中对于女性的角色和社会地位的认识。在许多文化中，女性的角色局限于家庭主妇，这些老的观念仍然盛行，许多女性仍然被这种文化和传统所局限。
年轻人和长辈之间的代沟导致二者之间缺乏理解和互信，也使二者在决策制定过程中缺少合作。老一辈对青年人改变社会的能力怀有偏见，他们不相信青年人能为这个社会做出正确的选择，因为青年人通常和他们有着不一样的思路和做法。许多老一辈的人仍相信过时的理念和媒体误传，他们认为年轻人是善变的、不遵守秩序的、不可靠的。这使许多成年人不愿意寻求年轻一代人的建议。因此许多青年人也不愿意加入公民社会发表他们的看法。
许多城市青年缺少进入涉及自身的政府组织系统、媒体、私人和民间组织的途径。这严重削弱了他们为自身权利辩护的能力。极个别的年轻人可以影响决策制定甚至直接作出决定，但是他们都是来自上层集团的男性，来自显赫的家庭，有着良好的教育背景。然而，生活在社会边缘的城市青年的需求和那些精英人士完全不同。因此，不得不怀疑那些青年中的精英究竟能在什么程度上代表和倡导大多数被边缘化的城市青年的需求。而且，体制内复杂的机制通常会破坏年轻人的自信心，使他们感到挫败而放弃。
总之，在缺少青年参与和建议的政策制定过程中，青年人的需求很有可能得不到充分解决，甚至被忽略。这种将青年排斥在政策制定过程和权力结构之外的行为无论有意无意，都可能造成严重的社会紧张。正如“阿拉伯之春”所表明的，在决策过程中缺少青年代表，因而使得政府和公民之间的距离越发疏远。通过在决策制定过程中吸收城市青年和边缘化的青年，决策制定者可以更有效的解决现今存在的社会问题，为青年人的不满情绪提供表达途径。
Form the data released by the World Bank we can see a reality： the total population in the MENA region reached 336 million， and 59% of the population is living in the urban areas. Of which 90 million people living in the cities are aged between 15 and 24 years old， according to the Population Reference Bureau. A significant proportion of these urban youth in MENA region are trapped in the structural unemployment and badly educated， while other well educated are excluded from the social and economic opportunities in the society. Youths are lost and confused in urban areas， Unfortunately， the youth situation in the MENA region mirrors a large scale of demographic change at the global scale.
在过去两年间，中东和北非地区经历了翻天覆地的变化，大规模抗议活动在突尼斯、也门、约旦、阿尔及利亚、埃及、叙利亚等众多国家相继涌起，乃至于政府无法继续坚挺现行政策，改革浪潮接踵而至，一时间这场名为“阿拉伯之春”的运动迅速席卷整个阿拉伯地区，而这一变革大潮的始作俑者正是活跃在一线城市的青年们，他们因为对现状不满，如贫困，失业和在政策制定过程中参与度不高等对未来失去了信心。
从世界银行公布的最新数据中我们也可以看到这样的事实：中东和北非地区的总人口已经达到了3.36亿，这其中59%的人口居住在城市，而城市居民中约9，000万人是年龄在15到24岁之间的青年。这些青年中很大一部分人因为家庭经济状况，受教育程度不高，被结构性失业困扰着，而那些接受过良好教育的青年人往往也得不到机遇，他们在城市中处于迷茫的状态，甚至还可能成为导致社会不安定的因子。更为不幸的是，中东和北非地区青年所面临的状况并非个例，它仅仅是全球范围城市人口结构变化的一个缩影而已。
Youths in the “Problematic” Urban Areas
青年人的城市之困
Our population reaches a highly historic record. In 2012， the US Census Bureau estimated that the global population has reached to almost 7.1 billion. The 2011 UNFPA State of World Population report shows that about 80 million people are added to the world each year and the global population is likely to reach 10 billion by the end of the century， . Most of the population growth is taking place in low and middle income countries.
Our population is also younger than ever. 1.8 billion People are between the age of 10 and 24. Young people aged 15-24 years represent 18 per cent of the world's population. 85 per cent of the world’s young people live in developing countries. “Youth Bulge” becomes a common phenomenon in developing countries， as those regions succeed in reducing the infant mortality but remain the high fertility rate in the last two decades. As a result， a large share of the population is comprised of children and young adults. According to the Population Action International， sixty-two countries are “very young”， which means that two-thirds of their populations are under the age of 30. Those countries mostly locate in sub-Saharan Africa， southern Asia， the Middle East， and the Pacific Islands. The Middle East is considered as one of the youngest region as almost 65% of the population is under the age of 30. More young people are living in the urban areas. The world has a population of 7.1 billion people， and 5 billion people are living in urban areas. Youths compose a significant proportion of the urban population and often comprise a large portion of their communities. According to the UN-Habitat， more than 50 per cent of inhabitants， in many cities， are under the age of 24.
A clear pattern of rural-urban migration occurs in developing countries. This pattern intensifies the urbanization process. In 2009， it is estimated that there were about 145 million rural-urban migrants in China， accounting for about 11 percent of the total population. Among them， about 85 million to 100 million were born after 1980. In fact， young people are more eager to move from rural areas to urban areas than the old， in search of better job opportunities. And young people moving to cities for jobs and opportunities also occurred in developed countries but it's not so obvious.
As the global demographic shift goes on and the world becomes increasingly urban， addressing challenges， in particular unemployment， social exclusion， education mismatch ， being difficult to access quality education， living in slums as well as limited participation in decision making， faced by urban youths become more critical in our time. As the Arabic Spring has demonstrated， governments need to address those challenges promptly and appropriately.
我们的人口总量再创历史新高。2012年，美国人口普查局估计全球人口已达到71亿。据2011年联合国人口基金世界人口状况报告称，新增人口每年约有8，000万，全球人口将于本世纪末达到100亿。其中，绝大部分人口增长都发生在中低收入国家和地区。
我们的人口也前所未有的年轻。年龄在10到24之间的人口约18亿，年龄在15到24岁之间的青年占世界人口总量的18%。在过去的几十年间，发展中国家逐步降低婴儿死亡率，但生育率却仍然居高不下，现今世界上85%的青年人居住在发展中国家，“青年膨胀”也成为发展中国家的普遍现象。于是，青少年在人口总量中所占的比重越来越大。国际人口行动组织称，世界上有62个国家被认为“非常年轻”，这意味着他们国家三分之二的人口都不超过30岁。数据显示此类国家大多分布在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，南亚，中东，和太平洋岛屿地区。中东地区被认为是最年轻的地区之一，因为该地区约65%的人口都在30岁以下。
越来越多的青年人居住在城市地区。在世界71亿人口中，50亿人居住在城市。青年占据了城市人口的很大一部分，常常构成其所在社区人口的大多数。根据联合国人居署统计，该地区许多城市的居民中，超过50%的人年龄低于24岁。
在发展中国家，农村人口向城市转移的趋势日益加强。这一趋势加快了城市化的进程。据估计，2009年中国约有1.45亿农村人口转移到城市，为总人口的11%。其中，约有8，500万至1亿人口出生于1980年以后。事实上，年轻的一代相比上一辈的人来说，更倾向于离开农村到城市寻找更好的工作机会。农村青年到城市寻找工作和机遇的情况也发生在发达国家，但数量上远不如发展中国家。
随着世界人口结构持续变化和城市化进程，如何解决青年所面临的如失业、社会排斥、教育失谐和教育机会不均、居住条件恶劣和有限的决策参与度等挑战，在如今变得至关重要。正如阿拉伯之春运动所表明的那样，政府应采取适当措施，及时有效地解决这些问题。
Hard to Carry on Living
in Cities
难以为继的城市生活
According to the International Labor Organization， youths between 15 to 24 years old make up about 25% of the working population. In 2011， about 75 million youth were unemployed. Young people are 4.7 times more likely to be unemployed than adults in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Region. In the Middle East and North Africa， 26.5% and 27.9% of economically active young people were unemployed in 2011. Although both young men and women are vulnerable in the time of the global financial crisis， the impact on female， at the global level as well as in most regions， was far greater than on male. In Africa， youth unemployment is generally higher in urban areas than rural areas. The High Commission for Planning （HCP） in Morocco disclosed a figure in 2012， which showed that the highest increases in the unemployment rate were recorded among youths in urban areas. With regard to unemployed population in Morocco， 4 out of 5 are living in urban areas， and 2 out of 3 are between the ages of 15 and 29 years old. More importantly， young people in urban areas are less affordable to be unemployed due to the relatively high cost of living in the urban area. In addition to the high living cost， many youths in cities are rural migrants， living far away from home and receiving almost no supports from their family. Therefore， unemployed urban youth are forced to find alternatives to generate income for survival including working in the informal sectors and， in extreme cases， like criminal activities.
Due to the financial crisis， the youth employment crisis continues worsening in the urban areas of both developing countries and developed countries. Discouraged by the high youth unemployment rate， many young people living in the urban areas have given up the job search. Excluding young people from the job market can lead to social exclusion， as the inability to find employment results poverty and creates a sense of uselessness and frustration. Eventually， it precludes young people from having an acceptable standard of living， and participating social and community activities.
据国际劳工组织统计，15岁到24岁之间的青年占据工作人口的25%，而仅2011年一年，全球就约有7，500万青年失业。在东南亚和太平洋地区，青年失业的机率甚至是成年人的4.7倍。在中东和北非分别有26.5%和27.9%的青年失业。尽管在全球经济危机的时期青年男性和女性都不免受到影响，但无论在全球层面还是地区层面，青年女性受到的冲击更远远大于男性。
在非洲，城市青年的失业率普遍高于农村。摩洛哥规划委员会于2012年公布的数据显示，失业率上升最显著的人群是城市中的青年。在摩洛哥的失业人口中，每5个人中有4个生活在城市，每3个人中有2个年龄在15到29岁之间。更重要的是，由于城市的生活支出相对较高，城市地区的青年人更无法负担失业后的生活。除了高昂的生活费用，许多生活在城市中的年轻人来自农村，远离家乡使他们很难得到家人的帮助。因此，失业的城市青年为生活所迫不得不寻求其他赚钱的方式，包括在非正式部门任职，甚至参与犯罪活动。
由于经济危机的影响，无论是在发达国家还是发展中国家，青年就业危机都在加剧。高失业率使许多住在城市地区的年轻人失去信心，放弃寻找工作。而就业市场排斥年轻人也很可能导致社会排斥，因为就业失败不仅会导致贫困，而且会使人有自卑感和挫败感。最终，自卑与自我放逐让社会将这些青年人排斥在基本生活水准之下，并且就连他们参与社会和社区活动的机会也被剥夺了。
Problems of Social Exclusion：
社会排斥之痛
If the social exclusion among young people persists， social stability will be jeopardized. One by-product of social exclusion is the gang crime. As shown by experiences in Central America， young people in urban area who feel alienated from society and excluded from job opportunities are more likely to join territorial or identity-based gangs. Gangs bring rampant crime， commit thousands of murders， and contribute to a flourishing drug trade. Those bring serious challenges to prosperity and stability in society. In addition to instability， a high number of socially excluded youths and unemployed youths can haunt the economic growth in the long run. When young people can’t break into the job market， young people are missing out on opportunities to gain practical work experience， which can have a scarring effect lasting for a long time. “In the economy as a whole， there’s less skill that’s built up. That will have a long-term negative impact on the knowledge collection and GDP growth，” Charles Beach， economics professor at Queen’s University said.
Another side-effect of being excluded is health issues. Socially excluded youths have a distinctly higher risk for health-related problems， in particular mental health and psychosocial problems. Feelings of general vulnerability， inferiority， worthlessness and uselessness， and depression lead to a decrease in self-esteem and a higher dissatisfaction with the own life. They also have a higher risk for suicidal behaviors.
Social excluded youths also exhibited more ill health than their counterparts， as excessive consumption of alcohol and cigarettes and drug abuse are also common among socially excluded youths. Youths often use those substances as a way “to escape from reality”. Smoking， excessive alcohol use and drug abuse can have serious consequence to health. Almost every system in the body can be negatively affected.
In short， for those out of the job， they are more likely to suffer from the social exclusion. In the most obvious sense， investing in education， including vocational trainings， is a solution to urban youth unemployment and a way to avoid cumulative issues associated with social exclusion.
如果青年中的社会排斥持续存在，社会稳定将很难维持。社会排斥的一个附带品就是团伙犯罪。中美洲的事件可以表明，被社会排斥并无法得到就业机会的城市青年很有可能加入地区性的或基于身份特征的帮派。这些帮派带来猖獗的犯罪活动，数以千计的谋杀案，和盛行的毒品贸易。这些都是威胁社会繁荣和稳定的严重挑战。
除了不稳定性，被排斥青年和失业青年数量的增长还会影响经济的长期增长。当年轻人不能打入工作市场，他们就失去了获得实际工作经验的机会，这会对青年产生持续的不可弥补的影响。皇后大学的经济学教授查尔斯比奇认为：“就整个经济而言，技能的累积会减少。这将对集体知识库和GDP增长产生长期的消极影响。”
社会排斥所带来的另一个副作用是健康问题。被社会排斥的青年在健康相关的问题方面明显有更高风险，尤其是精神健康和心理问题。长期的弱势感，自卑感，自我否定和失落感可能导致自尊的受损和对人生更为不满。他们也是自杀行为的高风险人群。
被社会排斥的青年的健康状况相较被社会接纳的青年来说要差，因为酒精、烟草的过量摄入以及滥用药品在这些青年中十分普遍。吸烟、过量饮酒和滥用药品对健康有着极大危害。几乎身体的每个系统都会受到负面的影响。
简言之，失业的人更容易遭受社会排斥。显然，对教育的投资，包括职业培训的推广是解决城市青年失业的办法之一，也是避免由社会排斥所引发的一系列问题的途径之一。
Saving the Education Rights of the Youth
教育权利的救赎
Education is a basic human right. Every individual， regardless their socio-economic background， should have a right to access education. However， in reality， not everyone have the equal opportunity to access good quality education. Those underprivileged youths living in poor urban areas are most affected. Although education in urban areas is generally more advanced than those in rural areas， accessing good quality education in neighborhoods remains beyond the reach of many urban youths. In many developing countries， quality of available schooling options are lacking in poor urban areas， especially in slums， where there is often little or no public schooling. Overcrowded public schools can be found in poor urban areas and many schools do not equip with appropriate facilities such as quality teachers and toilets.
Urban youths from disadvantaged households also tend to be less competitive in the education system， and perform less well in school than those from more advantaged households. Study after study has demonstrated that teenagers from well-off backgrounds are several times more likely to go to university than those from the most deprived areas. The underprivileged youths also tend end up in the less preferred institutions and receive possibly poorer quality education. In the end， their diploma is less respected in the public. As a result， they face difficulties in looking for a decent job after graduation.
Public schools provide free education， but the ancillary costs of education like purchasing uniforms， classroom supplies or paying examination fee can leave underprivileged youths at a disadvantage. All these extra-fees are often expensive enough to prevent urban youths from attending school or to make youths drop out from school. And in many countries， post-secondary education even at public institutions is not free. Costs include tuition， room， stationeries and other living expenses. Those who are unable to afford the expense of college have to give up the post secondary-education， which creates an unequal access of education.
In addition to the unequal to access quality education， the link between education and jobs seems to be breaking down. Many young people in urban areas see their improved literacy and educational achievement unrewarded with suitable jobs. This situation mostly attributes to education mismatches.
Education systems fail to prepare young people adequately to face the needs of job market. A recent study found employers most likely to hire graduates with engineering， business， accounting or computer science degrees. Therefore， graduates in such fields have less problems finding employment than those from the social sciences or humanities. However， these latter fields have much higher enrolment and graduation numbers In South Africa， in 2012， 600 000 university graduates， mostly with a degree in social sciences and arts， are unemployed， but there are over 800000 vacancies unfulfilled， mostly in management， engineering， law， finance， accounting and medicine. Universities also trend to focus on theoretical knowledge and do not provide enough practical skills education to students. Fresh graduates， without enough practical experiences， make them less desirable in the competitive job market.
Another mismatch is jobs and graduates. Higher education has expanded too quickly in a short period of time and the job market cannot catch up. The number of tertiary students has been growing in every country in the world as a result of the rapid expansion of tertiary enrollment. An expert said that China delivers 6 million fresh graduates each year， but only 2.5 million white-collar jobs generated by the economy. With the oversupply of college graduates， fresh graduates find it more difficult to obtain jobs， the average wage levels of fresh graduates are brought down and many are forced to take low-paying manual jobs. They will have to accept positions with lower starting salaries， on short-term contracts or at a lower rank. Most seriously， they may be unemployed after graduation. Such a situation carries with it knock-on effects for both college and secondary school graduates.
人人都有接受教育的权利，无论他们有着怎样的社会经济背景。然而，在现实生活中，并不是每个人都有平等的机会享受优质的教育。这一影响突出体现在那些生活在城市贫困地区社会底层的青年人身上。
尽管城市地区的整体教育水平比农村地区更为先进，仍然有许多生活在城市中的年轻人没有机会接受优质的教育。在许多发展中国家，城市贫困地区中可选择的学校教育质量不高，特别是在贫民窟地区，有些贫民窟缺少甚至没有公立学校。在城市贫困地区，人数超额的公立中小学随处可见，但许多学校缺乏相应的配套资源和设施，如教师和厕所等。
城市中来自贫困家庭的青年往往不能很好的适应教育系统，他们在学校中的表现通常不如那些来自优越家庭的青年。许多研究可以证明富裕家庭孩子上大学的可能性是那些来自贫困地区的孩子的好几倍。那些处于社会底层的青年通常在一些不入流的学校中接受质量可能并不高的教育。毕业后，他们的学历在社会中不受重视，寻找一份体面的工作因此变得十分困难。
公立中小学提供义务教育，但是其他附加费用如校服、文具、考试费等会给来自贫困家庭的青年人带来很大负担。所有这些额外的费用都有可能成为城市青年走进学校接受教育的障碍，或成为他们辍学的理由。在许多国家，高等教育，即便是公立院校，也不是免费的。学生需要支付学费、住宿费、学习用品费用和一些其他的生活开支。那些不能负担的学生不得不放弃接受高等教育，这就使接受教育的机会变得不平等。
除了教育机会不平等之外，教育和就业之间的纽带也被打破。城市中许多年轻人上了学，有了学历，却无法找到合适的工作。这一情况是由教育失谐导致的。
教育系统未能将年轻人培养成能满足就业市场需要的人。从一份近期的调查我们发现，雇主更倾向于雇佣拥有工程、商业、会计、和计算机科学学历的人。因此，这些专业的毕业生比社会科学和人文科学专业的学生更容易找到工作。然而，就读于和毕业于后两个专业的学生人数更多。在南非，2012年有60万社会科学和文学专业的大学毕业生找不到工作，但是仍然有80万工作岗位空缺，主要是在管理、工程、法律、金融、会计和医学。
大学教育趋向于注重理论知识，并没有向学生提供充足的实践技巧教育。应届毕业生在缺乏实践经验的情况下，很难在竞争激烈的就业市场受到欢迎。
另一种失谐出现在工作和毕业生之间。就业市场无法跟上高等教育飞速扩张的步伐。由于不断扩招，世界上每个国家的高等教育毕业生都在增加。专家称，中国每年会有600万应届毕业生，但是经济发展每年只能产生250万个白领岗位。随着大学毕业生的供大于求，应届毕业生发现就业变得越来越难，工资也越来越低，许多大学毕业生不得不从事收入微薄的体力劳动。还有一些人不得不签订短期的就业合同，从底层做起，接受起薪较低的工作岗位。更有甚者，有的大学毕业生根本无法就业。这种情况对大学毕业生和中学毕业生都有着连锁反应。
Unsatisfied Living Environment
居住环境的无奈
In addition to the education， urban poor youths have difficult to access decent housing， and it's a result of the high land price in cites. Many of them have no choice but live in slums. As estimated around 830 million people worldwide live in slums in developing countries. Slum is often used to describe informal settlements within cities that have inadequate housing and squalid， miserable living conditions. Slums usually built on land prone to disasters like flooding， beside busy city roads and railways， on shorelines， river banks and around rubbish dumps.
Like all informal settlements， housing in slums is built on land that the occupant does not have a legal claim to land. The residents may face forced evictions. And many slums have been un-serviced and un-recognized for long periods. Not having a formal， legal address can prevent youths from accessing services including healthcare， education， water and electricity.
Slum buildings can vary from simple shacks to permanent and well-maintained structures but lack infrastructures such as clean water， electricity， sanitation and other basic services.
Poor sanitation means diseases spread more， making the lives of the youths living in slum even harder. According to experts， the living condition in slums makes the settlements a breeding ground for pathogens. When outbreaks of diseases such as cholera， diarrhoea， and typhoid fever in densely packed urban areas， it can quickly turn into epidemics. The unhygienic environmental conditions pose a health hazard to the general public， in particular to millions of urban youths living in slum.
Being without toilets and other sanitation facilities also creates a safety issue to young women， especially for women needing to go to the toilet at night or in early morning. In 2010， Amnesty International published “Risking rape to reach a toilet”. It surveyed 130 women living in four slums in Nairobi and found that： "The shortage of toilets （including latrines） and places to wash in the slums exacerbates women's insecurity and heightens the risk of gender-based violence." Also youths living in slums are more exposed to crimes like drug trafficking， extortion， armed robbery， theft， murder and carjacking， as high rates of crime and violence prevail in slum areas.
All these social problems faced by youths trigger frustration and anger which in turn trigger civil unrests. To give them a path to channel their disappointments， we should include youths to the decision makings.
除了教育，由于城市中地价高房价高，贫困青年很难居住在舒适的房屋中。他们中的许多人不得不落户在贫民窟。据估计，全世界发展中国家约有8.3亿人居住在贫民窟。
贫民窟通常是指城市中非正式的居住场所，一般都较为简陋，卫生条件差，居住环境恶劣。贫民窟通常建在洪涝等自然灾害高发区、繁忙的城市公路、铁路旁，河岸、海岸上、或在垃圾场附近。
像所有非正式建筑一样，贫民窟的房屋甚至没有合法的土地使用权。那里的住户可能随时面临被驱逐。许多贫民窟都已经年久失修，不被承认。缺乏正式、合法的地址使居住其中的青年人无法享受医疗、教育，甚至自来水、电力等社会服务。 贫民窟的房子有简陋的窝棚，也有一些保存良好但缺乏水、电、卫生设备等基础设施的建筑。
恶劣的卫生条件导致疾病高发，使居住其中的年轻人的生活更加艰难。据专家称，贫民窟的居住环境是各类病菌的温床。一旦霍乱、疟疾和伤寒症等疾病在人口密度极高的市区中爆发，就可能很快蔓延。贫民窟恶劣的卫生环境对大众来说无疑是一个健康隐患，尤其是对于数百万居住在贫民窟中的青年。
没有厕所和盥洗设备也成为女性青年的一个安全隐患，尤其是当晚上或凌晨她们需要使用厕所的时候。2010年，大赦国际发布了名为“冒着被强奸的危险去厕所”的调查。130名女性参与了调查，她们来自内罗毕的四个贫民窟。调查显示“贫民窟内厕所（包括公共厕所）和盥洗室的缺失加剧了女性的安全隐患，使她们遭受暴力性侵犯的风险更高。”同时，因为贫民窟内的高犯罪率和暴力盛行，居住在贫民窟中的青年还要经常面对贩毒、勒索、武装抢劫、偷盗、谋杀和劫车等犯罪行为。
青年所面临的这些社会问题很容易激发他们的沮丧感和愤怒感，而这些情绪会进一步加剧社会的不安定。为了使他们通过正确的渠道表达不满，我们应该使青年更多的参与到决策制定的过程中来。
Frustration of Excluding from the Decision Making
政治参与权利的沮丧
In the past decade， a growing recognition of the importance of youth participation in decision-making has been seen. Conventions like Convention on the Rights of Child is a consensus that participation in the decision making process is a right of all children and young people. However， in much of the world and especially in cities of the developing world are often with little say or ability to participate in decision-making processes.
UNICEF estimated that 87% of the youths are living in developing countries. Most of them are living in the urban areas and are directly affected by poverty， hunger， disease and violence. Therefore， they have the best understanding of the difficulties of living in the urban areas. However， they are generally excluded from the decision making procedure， even though they represent a majority population in some regions like MENA and Africa.
Youth participation in the decision making can lead to better decisions and better policy outcomes， promotes social integration and cohesion in society and strengthen young people’s understanding of human rights and democracy. Including youth in decision makings should be encouraged. As United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated "Youth should be given a chance to take an active part in the decision-making of local， national and global levels". Excluding urban youths from decision can be seen as unproductive and undesirable. Why do so many decision makers， governments and institutions continue to exclude youths from decision-making？
In societies around the world， youths and children are discriminated against by adults because they are young. Traditionally they are regarded as having a lower social status than adults despite the integral part young people play in families， schools and communities. This discrimination limits the equal opportunities of young people participating in decision-making and being treated equally as adults. The situation is even worse for young women， as they are not given the same opportunities as young men because of their gender. This attributes to traditional beliefs and cultural attitudes regarding the role and status of women in society. In many cultures， the woman’s role is limited to homemaker. On the other hand， the man is bread winner， head of household and has a right to public life. These views are still prevalent. Many women find it difficult to break this culture and tradition. The generation gap between younger and older people leads to a number of challenges like mutual lack of understanding， and trust and lack of cooperation in incorporating youths in decision making processes. Older generations generally have negative and conceived ideas about the abilities of youths to bring change to society and to make right choices for the society， as younger generations do not do or think the same way as older generations. Many still believe the outdated notions， or media misinformation， that portrays young people as transient， chaotic and unreliable. This deters many adults from consulting younger generations. Therefore many youths are not eager to participate in civil societies and to have their voice heard.
Many urban youths lack direct access to institutional systems and structures within governments， the media， the private and civil society sectors to address issues that directly related to them. This severely impedes their ability to advocate for their rights. In a rare case， young people can influence decision makings or even make decisions， but those young people are trend to be elite males with reasonably well-educated background. However， marginalized urban youths and those elites can have dramatically different needs and demands. Therefore， it should be questioned in what extend those elite youths can represent and advocate for the needs the majority marginalized urban youths. Furthermore， the complicated structural mechanisms within institutions have tended to destroy young people’s confidence and bring frustration to young people， and lead them to give up.
As a result， youth’s needs are likely to be ignored or insufficiently addressed when youths are not included or consulted in the policy-making process. This exclusion of youth， whether deliberate or unintentional， from policy-making processes and power structures can create significant tensions in society； it can manifest itself in creating a serious threat to the social stability. As demonstrated by the Arabic Spring， under-representation of youths in decision-making processes promotes frustration toward the society and alienation from their government. By incorporating urban or marginalized youth in the decision making process， decision makers can more effectively redress the existing social problems and channel their frustrations.
在过去的十几年中，人们逐渐认识到青年参与决策制定的重要性。《儿童权利公约》等公约体现了儿童和青年享有参与决策制定权利的共识。然而，在世界上大多数地方，尤其是发展中国家的城市中，青年很少有发言权也很难参与决策制定过程。 联合国儿童基金会估计世界上87%的青年居住在发展中国家。他们中大多数人居住在城市地区，并直接受到贫困、饥饿、疾病和暴力的影响。因此，他们对城市地区中生活的艰辛有着充分的体会。然而，他们一般都被排斥在决策制定过程之外，即使他们在众多像中东和北非等地区代表着多数群体。
青年人参与决策制定可以优化决策，得到更有效的成果，推动社会统一，增强社会协调性，增进年轻人对人权和民主的理解。青年人参与决策制定应该得到鼓励。正如联合国秘书长潘基文所说：“青年应该拥有参与当地、国家、甚至全球层面决策制定的机会”。将城市青年排斥在决策制定之外是无益的，不受欢迎的。为什么如此多的政策制定者、政府、和机构仍然把青年排斥在决策制定之外呢？
在全世界的社会中，青年和儿童都因年轻而被成年人歧视。传统意义上认为他们的社会地位比成年人低，尽管年轻人是在家庭、学校和社区中不可或缺的一部分。这种歧视使年轻人不能得到平等的对待，不能像成年人一样参与决策制定。这一情况对年轻女性来说更为严重，他们因为性别原因不能得到男性可以得到的机会。这要归咎于传统信条和文化态度中对于女性的角色和社会地位的认识。在许多文化中，女性的角色局限于家庭主妇，这些老的观念仍然盛行，许多女性仍然被这种文化和传统所局限。
年轻人和长辈之间的代沟导致二者之间缺乏理解和互信，也使二者在决策制定过程中缺少合作。老一辈对青年人改变社会的能力怀有偏见，他们不相信青年人能为这个社会做出正确的选择，因为青年人通常和他们有着不一样的思路和做法。许多老一辈的人仍相信过时的理念和媒体误传，他们认为年轻人是善变的、不遵守秩序的、不可靠的。这使许多成年人不愿意寻求年轻一代人的建议。因此许多青年人也不愿意加入公民社会发表他们的看法。
许多城市青年缺少进入涉及自身的政府组织系统、媒体、私人和民间组织的途径。这严重削弱了他们为自身权利辩护的能力。极个别的年轻人可以影响决策制定甚至直接作出决定，但是他们都是来自上层集团的男性，来自显赫的家庭，有着良好的教育背景。然而，生活在社会边缘的城市青年的需求和那些精英人士完全不同。因此，不得不怀疑那些青年中的精英究竟能在什么程度上代表和倡导大多数被边缘化的城市青年的需求。而且，体制内复杂的机制通常会破坏年轻人的自信心，使他们感到挫败而放弃。
总之，在缺少青年参与和建议的政策制定过程中，青年人的需求很有可能得不到充分解决，甚至被忽略。这种将青年排斥在政策制定过程和权力结构之外的行为无论有意无意，都可能造成严重的社会紧张。正如“阿拉伯之春”所表明的，在决策过程中缺少青年代表，因而使得政府和公民之间的距离越发疏远。通过在决策制定过程中吸收城市青年和边缘化的青年，决策制定者可以更有效的解决现今存在的社会问题，为青年人的不满情绪提供表达途径。