Nepal today stands at the edge of transformation with the introduction of the federal system of governance. The elections to the three tiers of autonomous governments at the central, provincial and local levels have been successfully held.  Of significance, is the presence of 41.12% of elected women representatives in local governance as a result of the affirmative action provided by the Constitution.

Although, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has developed a ten-year strategy and programme entitled,  “Youth Vision 2025”, for harnessing youth resources with the aim of promoting their professional growth and entrepreneurship, every day around 1500 to 2000 people migrate for overseas labor employment mostly to the Gulf countries and Malaysia. The majority of them are youths. The remittances that they send to the country contributes 30% to the GDP. Nevertheless, the socio-economic costs of migration for labor employment are high. Most of those who opt for migration often end up being victims of unsafe migration and trafficking. Worst still, it is reported that almost 8-10 corpses of migrant laborers arrive at the Tribhuvan International Airport every day. The hidden dimension of labor migration in the form of injured labor migrants, psycho-social problems either suffered by them or their families, especially wives of migrant laborers yet to be addressed by the Government of Nepal.

Today, youths comprise 40% of the world’s population. This is a sizeable number that holds promise for driving the economic development of the country as they represent a vital resource for the transformation of any nation. In Nepal, out of the total population of more than 29 million, youths between the ages of 16 – 40 constitute 40%.  The government has formulated several policies that target the youths to encourage their participation in national development such as the 2004 Agricultural Policy, 2006 Labour and Employment Policy, 2011 Industrial Policy and 2014 National Employment Policy. Nevertheless, half of the youth population is either unemployed or under-employed. In twenty years time, they will become old. In recognition of the fact that they play determining roles and to bring that undeniably effective force into the mainstream of development in Nepal, the Nepal Youth Council (NYC) is proposing to host a three-day National Youth Conference from 10-12  August 2019.