(Photo: WFP)
CIPE’s Youth Essay contest was established to provide a platform for those nascent advocates, encouraging them to let their ideas and their creativity flourish. The winners in each of this year’s three entry categories – Democratic Transitions, Corruption, and Economically-Sustainable Development – will be published here on the CIPE blog over the course of the next several months.
In this week’s Economic Reform Feature Service article, Economically Sustainable Development first place winner Sarita Sapkota talks about the need for many developing countries to shift from an aid-dependent economic model to one that is more robust and sustainable, and how young people are helping to effect that shift.
Article at a glance:
- In Nepal, foreign aid has remained at the very core of development planning over the last six decades, making a powerful case for both international and local actors to focus on sustainable development and address issues of aid dependency.
- Countries like Nepal do need basic necessities such as food and water, but in order for development initiatives to take root they also need growing economies based on democracy and the rule of law, where citizens have business plans and jobs rather than tents and food parcels.
- Nepal’s youth have been finding their own ways to respond to problems around them by initiating projects, creating businesses, and using social media tools to make their voices heard.
- The path to sustainable development is through making sure that economic growth is stable and that citizens, especially youth, have the opportunity to secure a reliable income.