Understanding the Youth Perspective in the Western Highlands: The Participatory Youth Assessment (PYA) 2015
Introduction
Guatemala is considered a ‘youth bulge’ nation, with almost 70 percent of the population under age 30.1 Since 2011, approximately 8,000‐10,000 youth have engaged in gangs, drug trafficking, and illicit narcotics2 and increasing numbers of youth are emigrating, with over 14,000 unaccompanied minors at the US border in recent years.3 Yet crime and violence is not the whole story. In order to build a baseline for the five-year, USAID-funded Guatemala Lifelong Learning Project (2014-2019), led by Juarez and Associates, Inc., Plan International administered the Participatory Youth Assessment (PYA) 2015 to understand the motivations and real circumstances of youth in the Western Highlands.
The Lifelong Learning Project aims to combat negative perspectives of youth in order to provide them with more education and economic opportunities in the Western Highlands. The project aims to increase economic growth and stability through alternative education models and education for employment, while promoting sustainability through inclusion of local and national actors. The PYA
provides interesting insight into the factors that influence youth decision-making in the Western Highlands, which can also be applied to other youth projects in the area.
Research Methods
The PYA assessed 12 core dimensions: youth characteristics; household characteristics; employment prospects and migration; educational offerings; social risk; access to education; entrepreneurship; discrimination and violence due to gender; ethnicity and disability; social capital; civic engagement; and communication/ICTs using a survey of 600 questions. The research team conducted 200 quantitative interviews, 24 focus groups, and 97 open-ended and/or semistructured interviews over a two-week period in late 2014.
Results of the Assessment
The PYA produced a database of approximately 1,300 variables, indicating a high level of apathy among youth, high levels of unemployment, and extensive gender discrimination towards women. Of the 640 participants, 49 percent were young women and 51 percent were young men, between the ages of 15-24. A large percentage identified as indigenous (84.2 percent).