Moving from issues based to a system approach in empowering children and youth through law and participation: lessons for policy and programming

Abstract

Children and youth in Ethiopia have faced challenges and bottlenecks. This paper aims to explore the recent initiatives from the perspective of the system approach to empower children and youth in Ethiopia, as it recognizes that children and youth empowerment is complex and requires a multifaceted approach involving multiple stakeholders and systems. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted for this paper to understand the existing knowledge concerning system approach in Empowering Children and Youth through Law and Participation, highlighting the current knowledge's limitations, and a total of 45 studies were assessed for methodological quality. The study aimed to look at the opportunities for participation, the roles of multifaceted actors in strengthening youth and children's rights and anticipation, and the existing mechanism, challenges, and opportunities of the law to enhance participation from the lens of the knowledge system approach. Furthermore, non-governmental reports on the System Approach to Empowering Children and Youth through law and participation in Ethiopia were examined to identify key themes. The system-strengthening efforts are more cost-effective and benefit more significantly in tackling the diverse range of child and youth protection concerns that affect girls and boys of different ages and backgrounds.