Perception survey of Northern Uganda Youth Development Centre

For the Advisory Consortium on Conflict Sensitivity

Following the 2006 ceasefire after 20 years of conflict between the Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Peace, Recovery, and Development programme for Northern Uganda was put in place. The government was dealing with a youth population that was traumatised by the aftermath of the conflict (including a significant number of orphans and LRA abductees), low rates of formal education, and the consequential high levels of unemployment - factors that could potentially lead to further regional instability. The DFID-funded Post-Conflict Development Programme (PCDP) was designed to aid the creation of economic, social, and political opportunities that could improve the lives of people affected by the conflict.

One PCDP project is the Northern Uganda Youth Development Centre (NUYDC) in Gulu, established in 2006 to deliver formal and informal vocational training to young people (aged between 15-25) in the region, with a view to preparing them for work, improving their livelihoods, and assisting them to make a positive contribution to the recovery and economic growth of Northern Uganda. In order to minimise the risk of future instability, a conflict-sensitive approach needs to be incorporated into the programme development work, and so Saferworld/NUYDC worked on behalf of the Advisory Consortium on Conflict Sensitivity to conduct a perception survey at and around the centre, supporting the NUYDC to be conflict sensitive.

The survey collected data from 733 respondents in the 15 districts of Acholi and Lango, and was backed up by interviews and focus group discussions. It looked at a range of areas, including the criteria the NUYDC applies to select youth beneficiaries, the quality of the training it offers, and whether this helps the graduates of the centre to access job opportunities.

The report highlights findings and recommendations to key stakeholders, including: ensuring that information on the opportunities afforded by the centre is widely disseminated through popular media, like radio advertisements; formalising the admissions process; and developing links between students and employers.

“In terms of the work being done at the centre, being conflict sensitive is not only about understanding the context but also about acting upon this understanding; and with this it is important to adapt on-going interventions so they do not exacerbate but help to reduce conflict tensions.”

Perception survey of Northern Uganda Youth Development Centre