FINAL REPORT  
ON
YOUTH ACTIVITIES ASSESSMENT       May, 2008
Submitted to
CHEMONICS INTERNATIONAL
Remembrance House
Deepkumari Marg, Prime Minister Gate No. 1
Baluwatar, Kathmandu
Nepal
Solutions Consultant P. Ltd. 
Thapathali, Kathmandu
Email : info@solutions.com.np
Telephone : 4224246, 4224814
1
. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 
The study team would like to extend our sincere appreciation to USAID/OTI and 
Chemonics International for entrusting us with the study – Assessing the Impact of Youth 
Activities, under Grant Reference Number KAT091. Without their trust and support, this 
study would not have been successful. Special heartfelt thanks to the USAID/OTI grantee 
organizations, who were a part of this assessment. Without their contribution, this study 
would not have been possible. 
The research team of Mr. Rajesh Gahatraj and Mr. Shyam Purkoti deserve special thanks 
for their hard work and dedication for carrying out field work for the study under difficult 
and trying conditions. 
We would also like to thank Chemonics International team and particularly, Ms. Audra 
Dykman (Chief of Party), Mr. Tek Lawati and Ms. Pramita Dhungana for providing us with 
valuable inputs, support and feedbacks during the course of the assessment. 
Solutions Consultant (P.) Ltd.
Madhusudan Subedi 
Suraj Pradhan 
Subas Risal 
2
TABLE OF CONTENT 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...................................................................................................... 2
ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................... 4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER ONE .................................................................................................................. 9
1. INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY.................................................................. 9
1.1. Background ............................................................................................................ 9
1.2. Objective of the final assessment ........................................................................ 10
1.3. Technical approach / Methodology ...................................................................... 10
1.4. Methodology......................................................................................................... 11
1.5. Limitations of the study ........................................................................................ 15
CHAPTER TWO................................................................................................................ 16
2. ACTIVITIES OF THE USAID/OTI GRANTEES........................................................ 16
2.1. Development and use of awareness raising materials ........................................ 16
2.2. Trainings............................................................................................................... 18
2.3. Workshops ........................................................................................................... 21
2.4. Debate clubs ........................................................................................................ 22
2.5. Rallies and Mass meetings .................................................................................. 23
2.6. Street drama......................................................................................................... 24
2.7. Program aired through radio and TV ................................................................... 26
CHAPTER THREE............................................................................................................ 28
3. YOUTH FOCUSED ACTIVITIES OF OTHER DONOR AND ASSISTANCE 
AGENCIES........................................................................................................................ 28
3.1. MS Nepal.............................................................................................................. 28
3.2. World Vision International .................................................................................... 28
3.3. The Asia Foundation ............................................................................................ 30
3.4. World Education Nepal I and II ............................................................................ 31
3.5. Mercy Corps......................................................................................................... 31
3.6. United Mission to Nepal (UMN)............................................................................ 32
3.7. CARE Nepal......................................................................................................... 32
3.8. Save the Children-Norway ................................................................................... 33
3.9. Save the Children Japan...................................................................................... 34
3.10. USC-Nepal ........................................................................................................... 34
3.11. Enabling State Program (ESP) ............................................................................ 34
3.12. Key Observations................................................................................................. 35
CHAPTER FOUR.............................................................................................................. 36
4. ROLE OF YOUTH IN PEACE BUILDING PROCESS - BEST PRACTICES AND 
CHALLENGES .................................................................................................................. 36
CHAPTER FIVE ................................................................................................................ 38
5. CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS...................................................... 38
5.1. Program activities related issues ......................................................................... 38
5.2. Program Development - Implementation related Issues...................................... 40
3
ANNEX.............................................................................................................................. 42
ABBREVIATIONS 
BASE Backward Society Education 
CA Constituent Assembly 
CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
CPN (M) Communist Party of Nepal 
FGD Focus Group Discussion 
IDP Internally Displaced People 
INGO International Non Government Organization 
KII Key Informant Interview 
NAVAC Nepal Audio Visual Art Center 
NGO Non Government Organization 
OTI Office of Transition Initiatives 
PTA Parent Teacher Association 
SPA Seven Party Alliance 
STEPS Steps to Progressive Society 
TOT Training of Trainers 
TV Television 
4
VDC Village Development Committee 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Following the formation of the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) to restore democratic rule to 
Nepal and the subsequent ceasefire agreement which led to the Comprehensive Peace 
Agreement (CPA) between the SPA and Maoists to end the eleven-year insurgency that 
had crippled Nepal's civil life and economy, the USAID/OTI Nepal program began in 
August 2006. USAID/OTI's goal in Nepal is to bolster the current peace process by 
strengthening key governance mechanisms to effectively implement the Comprehensive 
Peace Agreement (CPA) and by supporting positive, non-violent community engagement 
in Nepal's political and economic future. The USAID/OTI implementing partner for this 
three-year, US$25 million program is Chemonics International. USAID/OTI, through its 
implementing partner, awards in-kind (as opposed to in cash) grants, handles most, if not 
all procurement for its grantees and serves in an active implementation role. 
Regarding the programs being funded by USAID/OTI, it was necessary to determine 
whether or not the current course being followed by USAID/OTI in targeting youth at the 
grassroots level is successfully engaging targeted youth in positive peace building roles. 
The impact assessment is not intended to determine the adequacy of performance or 
management by USAID/OTI-funded grantees other than as incidental to addressing the 
key questions of whether or not the specific targeting of youth by the USAID/OTI Nepal 
program 
• is effective in contributing to progress on the implementation of the CPA; 
• if an analysis of the activities to date, suggests that there are additional, other or 
better approaches that USAID/OTI and Chemonics might take to engage youth in 
the political transition, and 
• adds value to youth-focused activities of other donors and assistance 
agencies in Nepal, particularly those involving constructive participation in the 
political transition. 
The results of the impact assessment will inform further grassroots youth activities in 
support of the peace and democratization process launched by and within the framework 
of the CPA. 
5
The conducted evaluation was intended to analyze the project activities thoroughly in 
terms of intended goals and targets of the projects using various research tools. 
Interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were mainly carried out with grantee 
organisations, beneficiaries (participants and non participants) and other development 
organizations. The study covered the 5 eastern Terai districts of Siraha, Saptari, Morang, 
Sunsari and Jhapa, 5 central Terai districts of Bara, Parsa, Dhanusa, Mahottari and 
Rautahat, and Kathmandu Valley. For the purpose of the overall assessment information was 
generated from two perspectives, mainly at addressing the assessment of the USAID/OTI 
program and best practices of other agencies. 
The analysis for the program assessment has been based on the following activities which were 
carried out by the grantee organizations. The activities were mainly - Development and use of 
awareness raising materials, Trainings, Workshops, Debate Clubs, Rallies and Mass 
meetings, Street dramas and Radio and TV Programs. 
Some of the major study findings are as follows: 
The awareness raising materials such as booklets, pamphlets/leaflets and posters were 
produced and distributed by the grantees. Among the materials produced by the 
grantees, the booklet was considered an effective material in raising awareness among 
youth. This as a result has been helpful to youth in conveying the message of peace to 
the people in their respective communities. However, the posters and pamphlets/leaflets 
which were text based rather than pictorial were learnt to be comparatively less effective 
in instilling awareness among the community members particularly in the rural settings. It 
should be noted that they could be effective if used in the areas where literacy rate is 
relatively high. This argument can be substantiated by the use of pamphlets/leaflets in the 
colleges where students were able to read what was written in the materials. 
The trainings seemed to be an effective modality in raising awareness on the peace 
building effort. The youth that had participated in the trainings seemed satisfied with this 
particular modality. One of the key aspects of the training was the information sharing 
part which the participating youth claimed to have carried out as proposed by the 
USAID/OTI. The dissemination of knowledge on the significance of engaging youth in 
peace building efforts was carried out by those youth at various levels. The information 
was shared with family members, friends and other community members through various 
mediums such as casual conversation. 
Workshops were observed to be an effective means for the grantees to chalk out the 
future strategies of the activities. In the same manner, the workshops provided youth the 
opportunity to share their views on issues related to the CPA. However, there were some 
concerns raised regarding the workshops not being helpful in delivering the message to 
the wider population. 
6
Debate clubs similarly were claimed to be effective in raising awareness on the 
significance of peace building efforts among the people at various levels. Debate clubs 
were intended to carry out debates in various public colleges. It was observed that in 
order to make the debate clubs productive and interactive, certain minimum criteria 
needed to be met, such as basic awareness on the topics to be debated. This helped the 
participants understand further the issues related to the CPA and the constituent 
assembly. At the same time the knowledge the participants gained through the debate 
were effectively shared among their community members. 
Minor difficulties that surfaced while carrying out the debates were tactfully dealt by the 
grantees. One of the grantees STEPS Nepal, faced difficulty with the following topic: “Is 
constitutional monarchy essential in Nepal?” The grantee was charged with promoting 
monarchy with such topics. However it was informed that the grantee managed to 
convince the people that charged them with such accusations otherwise. 
The rallies and mass meetings could be effective in conveying social messages only if 
there was a significant participation of the community members. There was a mixed 
reaction from FGD participants regarding these modalities. 
Some of them mentioned that they were an effective means to raise awareness among 
the people at various levels. While some informed that it was a comparatively less 
effective means to instill awareness than other modalities. 
Street drama was appreciated by both the participant and non participant youth. The 
street drama was taken as entertainment as well as an effective means of 
communication. They have even strongly recommended the continuation of such 
activities. 
While carrying out FGDs with the participant youth in some of the study districts, it was 
learnt that programs aired through television and radio were helpful in instilling 
awareness on the significance of restoring peace at various levels. They further added 
that such programs aired through various mediums reach a wider audience. However, 
this modality was effective only in urban and semi-urban areas where people have 
access and can afford television. For those who dwell in villages without access to 
television, the radio (FM) can be an effective medium of reaching out to them. 
The donor agencies taken into consideration for this study were the ones that support 
youth and peace-related activities and almost all work with the local NGOs and 
Government Organizations. However, it also should be noted that these donor agencies 
do not specifically target youth, peace and CPA issues only but have taken these issues 
as one of the components of the major activities. 
7
USAID/OTI generally does not provide cash assistance to its grantees, rather, it supports 
various kinds of programs depending on the activities of the grantees. It also facilitates 
various activities of the grantees at the field level. Most of the other supporting donor 
agencies seemed to have given a fixed budget depending on the nature and the scope of 
the study. Likewise, USAID/OTI has focused on specific to youth and peace building 
processes including CPA, constituent assembly, conflict management and non-violent 
protests whereas other supporting donor agencies have incorporated them as cross 
cutting themes. With youth focused programs of USAID/OTI, it was observed to have 
raised a higher participation and interest amongst the target youth. 
Lasting peace and development in Nepal is possible only through the uplifting of 
disadvantaged and marginalized youth groups through inclusive development programs. 
It is clear that people will not be able to enjoy their rights in the absence of peace, and 
social justice can not be guaranteed in situation where basic rights remain violated. 
8
CHAPTER ONE
1. INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY
1.1. Background 
9
The USAID Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI) is a special branch of the 
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that works in countries 
in conflict and/or undergoing political transitions. The USAID/OTI Nepal program 
began in August 2006 following the formation of the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) to 
restore democratic rule to Nepal and the subsequent ceasefire agreement which led to 
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the SPA and Maoists to end the 
eleven-year insurgency that had crippled Nepal's civil life and economy. The US 
Embassy and the USAID Mission in Nepal (USAID/Nepal) invited USAID/OTI to 
establish its flexible and quick-response small grants program to supplement 
USAID/Nepal's existing support of the political transition in Nepal. 
USAID/OTI's goal in Nepal is to bolster the current peace process by strengthening 
key governance mechanisms to effectively implement the Comprehensive Peace 
Agreement (CPA) and by supporting positive, non-violent community engagement in 
Nepal's political and economic future. As is typical of USAID/OTI programs, the Nepal 
program is envisioned as a short-term, rapid response mechanism designed to 
advance emerging peace process opportunities while serving as a stepping stone for 
longer term programs that address the underlying causes of political unrest and 
violence in the country. 
The USAID/OTI implementing partner for this three-year, US$25 million program is 
Chemonics International. USAID/OTI, through its implementing partner, awards in-kind 
(as opposed to in cash) grants, handles most if not all, procurement for its grantees and 
serves in an active implementation role. 
This approach enables USAID/OTI to support organizations with limited administrative 
capacity, while ensuring rapid implementation and proper stewardship of funds. The 
USAID/OTI active role in program implementation also provides real-time lessons 
learnt for application to future program initiatives. 
In an effort to remain relevant to the realities of Nepal's dynamic political 
environment, USAID/OTI and Chemonics sought to engage an institution, firm or 
consortium of organizations or individuals to conduct a qualitative impact assessment 
of prior and current activities that specifically target youth, funded by USAID's Office of 
Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI), in the context of Nepal's peace and democratization 
process launched by and within the framework of the CPA. 
1.2. Objective of the final assessment 
As mentioned in the TOR the main aim of the impact assessment is 
• to determine whether or not the current course being followed by USAID/OTI in 
targeting youth at the grassroots level is successfully engaging targeted youth in 
positive peace building roles. The impact assessment is not intended to 
determine the adequacy of performance or management by USAID/OTI-funded 
grantees other than as incidental to addressing the key questions outlined below. 
The results of the impact assessment will inform further grassroots youth 
activities in support of the peace and democratization process launched by and 
within the framework of the CPA. 
Specific objectives
The key questions to be addressed in this assessment are whether or not the specific 
targeting of youth by the USAID/OTI Nepal program 
• is effective in contributing to progress on the implementation of the CPA; 
• if an analysis of the activities to date, suggests that there are additional, other or 
better approaches that USAID/OTI and Chemonics might take to engage youth in 
the political transition, and 
• adds value to youth-focused activities of other donors and assistance 
agencies in Nepal, particularly those involving constructive participation in the 
political transition. 
1.3. Technical approach / Methodology 
10
General Approach and the Scope of Work for the Evaluation
Based on the Terms of Reference of the Impact assessment of youth-focused 
activities funded by USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives and implemented by 
Chemonics International, this evaluation design was formulated to provide the 
concerned authorities with findings or a report that has identified the overall 
achievements of the project in relation to the objects/ purposes, and documents, 
what lessons have so far been learnt from the project implementation, and the 
contribution of the project. Identification of future policy implications and program 
priorities have also been explored. 
The conducted evaluation was intended to analyze the project activities thoroughly in 
terms of intended goals and targets of the projects. 
In relation to this final evaluation, during the consultancy period, the technical team 
devoted its efforts for the following; 
− Desk Review 
o Desk review has been carried out along with the interviews, where needed 
on youth-focused activities by the donors agencies other than USAID/OTI. 
This was intended to help determine the status of USAID/OTI’s activities with 
respect to involving youth in the political transition 
− Development of Tools 
o Study tools were prepared following the initial discussions with the client and 
program staff, and finalized before field work.. 
− Grantees 
o Meetings with grantees that have been carrying out activities funded by 
USAID/OTI were arranged. This activity was aimed at gathering details on 
the activities that have been carried out by the grantees. 
− Development Organizations 
o An attempt was also made to meet other development agencies working in 
similar youth-related activities. 
− Field Level Target Groups 
o To meet the study objectives, meetings were arranged with field level grantee 
staff, USAID/OTI-funded youth activity participants, non-participant youth and 
non-participant youth organizations in the Eastern Terai districts of Jhapa, 
Morang, Sunsari, Saptaru and Siraha 
o To meet the research objectives, meetings were arranged with field level 
grantee staff, USAID/OTI-funded youth activity participants, non-participant 
youth and non-participant youth organizations in the Central Terai districts of 
Parsa, Bara, Rautahat, Mahottari and Dhanusa 
o To meet the study objectives, meetings were arranged with USAID/OTI￾funded youth activity participants, non-participant youth and non-participant 
youth organizations in the Kathmandu Valley area. All these meetings 
followed a structured inquiry process elaborated in the methodology section. 
1.4. Methodology 
11
The evaluation team consisted of 4 core members headed by a team member that 
was supported by 2 research assistants for field activities in the eastern and central 
Terai districts. Additionally, two local assistants were hired for the better access into 
the communities at the field level. Their additional responsibility included carrying out 
translations at the field level wherever necessary. In order to maintain gender 
balance and to create a conducive environment for the female community members 
to share their views, female local assistants were hired. The assessment was carried 
out over a period of nine weeks (effective 54 working days) that also included 4-5 
weeks of field visits to the above-mentioned Terai districts. 
− Secondary Data Analysis/ Document Review 
The team reviewed all related papers, reports, documents and evaluations related to 
the project. During the process of reviewing the project-related papers, the data 
collected from project areas was reviewed and made use of during the preparation 
of report. Study tools were developed, pre-tested and finalized before initiation of 
the field work. 
− Discussion / interview at staff levels 
In order to gain an in-depth understanding and an insight into Youth-Focused 
activities of the USAID/OTI project, the team discussed and interviewed staff at 
different levels both at the center and field and partner NGOs. Discussions and 
meetings with other organizations working on Youth Focused activities were held. 
− Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and/or key informant interviews were conducted 
among the following target groups; 
ƒ 1 FGD session each was conducted with the USAID/OTI-funded youth 
activity participants and non-participant youth in each of the districts. Thus, 
there were 2 FGD sessions in each of the districts; each FGD session had 6-
8 participants depending upon the situation and availability of the 
participants. 
o 1 Key-informant interview was conducted among the field-level grantee staff, 
1 representative of USAID/OTI-funded youth activity organizations and 1 
non-participant youth organization in each of the districts. Thus, totaling 3 
key-informant interviews in each of the districts was carried out. 
Additional 1-2 key informant interviews with other relevant stakeholders at the 
district levels were carried out. 
12
13
Table 1.1 Planned Distributions of Focus Groups Discussions and Key Informant 
Interviews 
Region 
(Districts)
Target group Tools Numbers
USAID/OTI-funded youth activity 
participants 
FGD 1x5 = 5 FGDs 
Non-participant youth FGD 1x5 = 5 FGDs 
Field level grantee staff Key informant 
Interviews 
1x5 = 5 KIIs 
Representative of USAID/OTI-funded 
youth activity organizations 
Key informant 
Interviews 
1x5 = 5 KIIs 
Representative of Non-participant youth 
organization 
Key informant 
Interviews 
1x5 = 5 KIIs 
Eastern Terai (Siraha, Saptari, Morang, 
Sunsari and Jhapa) 
Other key stakeholders Key informant 
Interviews 
2 x 5 = 10 KIIs 
USAID/OTI-funded youth activity 
participants 
FGD 1x5 = 5 FGDs 
Non-participant youth FGD 1x5 = 5 FGDs 
Field level grantee staff Key informant 
Interviews 
1x5 = 5 KIIs 
Representative of USAID/OTI-funded 
youth activity organizations 
Key informant 
Interviews 
1x5 = 5 KIIs 
Representative of Non-participant youth 
organization 
Key informant 
Interviews 
1x5 = 5 KIIs 
Central Terai (Bara, Parsa, Dhanusa, 
Mahottari and Rautahat) 
Other key stakeholders Key informant 
Interviews 
2 x 5 = 10 KIIs 
USAID/OTI-funded youth activity 
participants 
FGD 1FGD 
Non-participant youth FGD 1FGD 
Representative of USAID/OTI-funded 
youth activity organizations 
Key informant 
Interviews 
1 KII 
Representative of Non-participant youth 
organization 
Key informant 
Interviews 
1 KII 
Kathmandu Valley 
Other key stakeholders (staff, other 
organizations, individuals) 
Key informant 
Interviews 
8-10 KIIs 
14 
Table 1.2 Planned Distributions of Focus Groups Discussions and Key Informant Interviews 
Eastern Terai Districts Central Terai Districts 
Target Respondents Tools Kathmandu Siraha Jhapa Morang Sunsari Saptari Bara Parsa Dhanusa Mahottari Rautahat 
TOTAL 
USAID/OTI-funded youth activity 
participants FGD 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 
Non-participant youth FGD 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 
Field level grantee staff KII 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 
Representative of USAID/OTI-funded 
youth activity organizations KII 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 
Representative of Non-participant youth 
organization KII 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 
Other key stakeholders KII 10 3 5 4 4 3 3 2 4 4 3 45 
1.5. Limitations of the study 
The survey was carried out during the conflict that recently surfaced in the Terai 
region (Feb-Mar 2008). Due to the frequent bandhs (closures) and other protests, the 
research team that was dispatched to collect information faced the severe problem of 
mobility. In one particular instance, the research team in the Central Terai had to 
travel to another district in Nepal via India due to the political disturbance and mobility 
problem within Nepal. Likewise, due to the indefinite closures announced by agitating 
groups, the research team had to leave Siraha without completing its work and move 
to Jhapa to begin information collection. However, the team did manage to complete 
the work in Siraha after the situation relatively improved. Additionally, some of the 
grantees wanted the research team to conduct FGDs and KIIs in the peripheral areas 
of the district rather than in the district headquarters. Nonetheless, due to the security 
reasons, FGDs and KIIs were carried out in the place considered to be safe (i.e., 
mostly in the district headquarter). 
15
CHAPTER TWO
2. ACTIVITIES OF THE USAID/OTI GRANTEES 
This chapter essentially focuses on the USAID/OTI-funded activities which were 
completed by the grantees. An attempt has been made to explore the strategies 
adopted to complete the USAID/OTI funded activities. Additionally, an attempt has 
been made to analyze the effectiveness of those modalities. Information gathered 
from study districts through use of various research tools like Focus Groups 
Discussions and Key Informant Interviews were used for this purpose. Similarly 
materials such as brochures collected from the grantees were also used. 
The activities made known through the reports that were provided to the evaluation 
team were grouped together in various categories. This was intended to explore the 
modalities of the activities of most of the grantees. 
 The activities have been grouped in the following categories: 
¾ Development and use of awareness raising materials 
¾ Trainings 
¾ Workshops 
¾ Debate Clubs 
¾ Rallies and Mass meeting 
¾ Street drama 
¾ Radio and TV Programs 
¾ Others 
2.1. Development and use of awareness raising materials 
16
Almost all the grantees were engaged in developing and distributing awareness 
raising materials. Some of the major materials included Booklets, Posters and 
Pamphlets/Leaflets. Those materials were developed and distributed by the grantees, 
mostly at college and village levels. The materials essentially were intended to raise 
awareness on the significance of restoring peace in the country among youth. Key 
issues included the peace building process, causes and management of conflict, the 
CPA, social inclusion and the role of youth in the peace building process. Nepali 
language was used in most of the printed materials while some of them were in local 
dialect. 
In response to the key aspects of CPA, the participant youth during the course of 
FGD mentioned that restoration of peace at the village, city and national level is one 
of its key aspects. Additionally, they emphasized the non violent protests and 
commitment of the political parties to effectively implement at least some of the key 
components of CPA. The key informants frequently mentioned the following as major 
components of CPA; 
¾ Restoring peace in the country by disarming the armed rebel groups, 
¾ Non-violent ways of protesting, 
¾ Inclusive politics and, 
¾ Social transformation of Nepali society 
There was a mixed reaction regarding the awareness raising materials from the 
Focus Group Discussions participants and Key Informant Interview respondents. 
The participant youth in some of the 
FGDs mentioned that the materials 
were to some extent effective in 
disseminating the message in the 
villages. The messages were 
essentially focused on significance 
of peace at local as well as national 
level. The FGD participants 
particularly highlighted the effectiveness of the booklet distributed to them during the 
training conducted by one of the grantees namely Samjhauta Nepal. 
One of the key objectives of the booklet was to convey the message of peace at the 
village level. FGD participants (peer educators) of Dhanusa district informed of 
sharing the knowledge with their friends, family members and other community 
members. They claimed that the materials, particularly the booklet was really helpful 
in conveying the message of peace. 
However, the respondents from KII 
carried out in Morang and Dhanusa 
districts had contrasting opinions 
towards the materials like posters 
and pamphlets/leaflets. They 
mentioned that materials were not that effective owing to the low literacy rate in their 
program areas. The posters particularly with textual messages written on them were 
less effective in such program areas. The respondents felt that pictorial messages 
would have been more effective in such areas with a low literacy rate. 
17
“The booklet was really effective in 
instilling awareness among the peer 
educators. We learnt various ways to 
restore peace and to carry out non 
violent protests. Prior to the training I 
was not aware that protest could also be 
non violent. I think such booklet should 
be published by other local agencies as 
well.” 
- KII, Mahottari
“Because of low literacy rate in our 
program areas, posters and pamphlets 
were not that effective. In such areas 
other mediums of communication should 
be utilized. The posters and pamphlets 
would have been really effective where 
people can read.” 
- KII, Dhanusa
One of the key informants from Bara district recommended using pictures that 
portrays the local social issues in the posters. He mentioned that the posters that 
were used did not depict the local social issues. He also raised concern regarding the 
poor print quality of picture used in the posters. 
Pamphlets/leaflets were informed as effective, particularly in informing the people 
about the activities and its importance. It might be due to the fact that they were 
distributed by the grantees in the areas such as public colleges where there was a 
literate population. 
Grantees that proposed to develop and distribute the awareness raising materials 
completed the task without any major difficulty. The grantees managed to develop 
and distribute the materials as proposed to USAID/OTI. For instance, Association of 
Youth Organizations Nepal (AYON) that had the responsibility to publish and 
distribute posters did not face major difficulties in completing the task. 
However in the case of Kathmandu, both the participants and non-participant youth 
raised slight concerns regarding the logo of USAID1
 used in the printed materials. 
The youth informed that there was a negative attitude among the students towards 
the activities run by the Non Government agencies. They mentioned that they faced 
slight difficulties in distributing the materials to the student wings of various political 
parties in Kathmandu valley and eastern development region owing to the logo 
printed on the materials. While conducting discussion programs, the grantees and 
some of the participants mentioned the need to include the participants from CPN(M) 
as well. 
 The booklet, as mentioned earlier, was considered effective in raising awareness 
among youth. As a result, youth have been able to convey the message of peace to 
the people in their respective communities. The posters and pamphlets/leaflets were 
not that effective to instill awareness among the community members particularly in 
the rural settings. However, it should be noted that it might be effective if they are 
used in areas where the literacy rate is relatively high. This argument can be 
substantiated by the use of pamphlets/leaflets in the colleges. As been mentioned 
earlier it was one of the effective mediums to convey the message the peace among 
the students. 
2.2. Trainings 
Trainings have been one of the major activities conducted by almost all the 
USAID/OTI grantees. Trainings were conducted at two key levels: Training of the 
Trainers (TOT) and Trainings to activity participants (street drama, debate and 
 
18
1
 Not all the materials were branded with USAID Logo. USAID/OTI consults closely with the grantees to make 
sure the branding would not compromise the integrity of the program objectives
community mobilizers). 
Some of the USAID/OTI grantees were responsible in carrying out Master TOT. The 
duration of the trainings depended on the activities that were carried out by the 
grantees. For instance, the training conducted by Samjhauta Nepal to the peer 
educators required five days. One of the Key Informants mentioned that it was 
essential to train the peer educators for a relatively longer duration as they were 
responsible for sharing the information with the community members in their 
respective villages following the training. 
The information gathered from 
different study districts 
demonstrates that the Master TOT 
was effective in instilling awareness 
among youth participants. Another 
Key informant (district trainer) from 
Sunsari district mentioned that the Master TOT was helpful in resolving conflict that 
surfaced in the community. In addition to that, it helped significantly in sharing the 
information regarding the peace building efforts at the village level. 
TOTs essentially were intended to 
change the attitudes of youth by 
engaging them in activities aimed at 
conflict resolution and reconciliation. 
It was also informed that the 
trainings attempted to educate 
youth on issues of human rights, 
causes of conflict, CPA, conflict management and conflict resolution. 
The participant youth in Kathmandu 
who were also trainees as well as 
trainers claimed that the training 
was participatory and innovative. 
Experts from different fields were 
invited to facilitate the training. 
In some cases the community people also participated in the TOTs. Some key 
informants claimed that the training was helpful in changing the attitudes of the 
people that participated. 
They further informed that the trainers had sufficient knowledge on the peace building 
efforts currently being made at different levels. This according to them was helpful in 
educating the participants. In the same manner they also mentioned that there were 
19
“The five days training proved effective 
to instill awareness among the 
participants. The duration that we 
proposed was necessary to educate the 
peer educators and district trainers. In 
addition to that it was easy for the 
trainers to allot time for different 
issues.” 
- KII, Mahottarri 
“I was able to convey the significance of 
restoring peace at the village level. I 
went to my village following the training 
where I was able to convince some of the 
villagers regarding the peace restoration 
in the village.” 
- KII, Sunsari 
“We learnt significantly from the training 
as it was facilitated by well known 
figures from various academic 
professional backgrounds. We did not find 
any hierarchy between the facilitators 
and the trainees.” 
- FGD participant youth, Kathmandu 
sufficient materials to educate and distribute to the participants. 
However the information on TOTs 
gathered from the FGDs with the 
non-participant youth in Morang 
district had significant variation. 
Some of the participants mentioned 
that they were not aware of such trainings being conducted in the program areas. 
Among those participants who were aware, expressed their desire to participate in 
the training to gain further knowledge. The participants further raised concern 
regarding the information sharing part. In other words, they mentioned that they did 
not come across anyone raising awareness on peace building efforts. 
Social Organization for Liberal Volunteer Engagement Nepal (SOLVEN) which had 
the responsibility for carrying out the trainings managed to complete the proposed 
task successfully. During an 
interview with the concerned staff of 
the agency it was found that the 
trainings were conducted as 
proposed in their documents without 
any changes. Additionally it was mentioned that trainings were held in a timely 
manner. 
However, most of the key informants 
associated with the grantees faced 
some difficulty in managing the 
number of participants that was 
higher than expected in the 
trainings. They mentioned that the number of training participants in most of the 
trainings was higher than the expected. 
Overall, the trainings seemed to be an effective modality in raising awareness on the 
peace building effort. It should be noted that youth who had participated in the 
trainings were satisfied with this modality. The information sharing was one of the key 
aspects of the training which the participant youth claimed to have carried out as 
proposed. They informed that they were able to disseminate the knowledge on the 
significance of engaging youth in peace building efforts at various levels. They were 
able to share their knowledge to their family members, friends and other community 
members through various mediums such as casual conversation. 
20
“We have time and again heard regarding 
the trainings on peace building being 
conducted by the local agencies. 
However, the participants of the training 
did not share anything with us.” 
- FGD, non participant youth, Morang. 
“The support that we received from the 
donor agency while conducting trainings 
was helpful. This made the whole 
procedure easy for us to handle” 
- KII, Kathmandu 
“We faced problem in distributing 
materials to all the participants owing to 
the number of participants that was much 
higher than expected. In addition to that it 
was not easy to manage the refreshment 
to all the participants.” KII Kathmandu 
2.3. Workshops 
Workshops were another modality used by some of the grantees, mainly Alliance For 
Peace and Association for Youth Organisations Nepal, to raise awareness regarding 
the significance of managing conflict in the village, city and at national levels. The 
workshops were mostly attended by the community members and stakeholders, such 
as teachers and community leaders. The workshops were also used to inform the 
people regarding the activities. Some of the grantees conducted the inaugural 
workshop just to inform the people 
regarding the significance of the 
activities. In most of the FGDs 
(participant youth), participants 
provided positive feedback about 
the workshops. During the course of 
the FGD carried out with participant youth in Kathmandu valley, it was learnt that 
workshops provided an opportunity for youth to share their views. 
Likewise, one of the key informants 
mentioned that the workshop was 
also intended to chalk out the future 
strategies. According to him, the 
workshops were attended by people 
belonging to different walks of life. 
However, this particular modality 
was not free from criticism or in 
other words some of the non 
participant youth of Kathmandu 
valley raised serious doubts . They 
alleged the grantees of making 
dollars by carrying out such 
activities. They further expressed 
concerns regarding such activities as not being helpful in reaching out to the targeted 
population. The FGD participants 
mentioned that such activities were 
only means to make money. 
The participant youth as well as 
non-participant youth informed that 
workshops has been used as a medium to discuss contemporary political issues and 
allow young people to interact on an intellectual level. 
Grantees that had the responsibility of conducting workshops seemed to have 
21
“Workshops provided us the opportunity 
to interact with our colleagues. This was 
the forum for us to share our knowledge 
and learn from others.” 
- FGD, participant youth Kathmandu 
“The workshop was effective in terms of 
chalking out the future strategies as well 
as informing the participants about the 
proceedings of the activities. This was 
helpful in carrying out the activities 
effectively.” 
- KII, Kathmandu 
“The NGOs have not been able to deliver 
the service to the poor and the needy 
ones. The workshop does not help in 
reaching out to the disadvantaged 
population. All that people do in a 
workshop is sit down and interact with 
each other. There should be concrete 
plan to execute the activities so that it 
can reach the targeted population.” 
- FGD, non participant youth, Kathmandu 
“This has allowed us for intellectual 
development as well as assess youth 
concerns about the state of their nation.” 
- FGD non participant youth, 
Kathmandu 
completed the task successfully. One of the staff of Association of Political Science 
Students (APSS) during the key informant interview mentioned that it was able to 
conduct an inaugural workshop quite successfully. Workshops were also observed to 
be effective means for the grantees to chalk out the future strategies of the activities. 
2.4. Debate clubs 
Establishing debate clubs or carrying out debates was another key activity carried out 
by Steps to Progressive Society 
Nepal. The clubs seem to have 
been effective in conveying the 
message of peace to youth. The 
FGD carried out with youth 
participants in Kathmandu demonstrate the effectiveness of such activities. 
In one of the FGDs where the participants were youth directly or indirectly involved 
with STEPS (Society for Steps to Progressive Society), the discussion mostly 
revolved around the issues related to constituent assembly election. One of the key 
objectives of the activities carried out by STEPS was to instill awareness on the 
process of the constituent assembly election among youth through debate clubs 
established in public colleges. The participants claimed that the debate clubs 
established by STEPS were helpful in making them understand the process of the 
constituent assembly election. Additionally they mentioned that they were further able 
to make people understand the process in their respective communities. 
However, the same participants also 
mentioned that it was not that easy 
to make people understand the 
process of the constituent assembly. 
The participants, who were mainly 
youth, were of the opinion that it was 
particularly difficult in making elderly people understand the positive aspects of 
politics. This was mainly due to the cultural factor whereby education of the elderly by 
a much younger group was not convincing enough. 
There was another major concern 
expressed by the participants i.e., 
exclusion of Maoists from the 
debate clubs. They claimed that in 
one particular instance the Maoists 
attempted to disrupt the debate 
saying that they were a deliberately 
excluded group. They further went on to mention that inclusion of youth belonging to 
22
“The training that was provided to us by 
STEPS was helpful in instilling awareness 
among the community people back 
home.” 
- FGD, participant youth, Kathmandu 
“We are young and in our culture it is 
tremendously difficult to convince 
anything good to the elderly people. 
However, we did manage to raise 
awareness among them.” 
- FGD, participant youth, Kathmandu 
“They have long been involved in armed 
revolution. It would have been really 
effective in changing their attitude if 
they were included in the program. We 
had a hard time in explaining the reason 
for the student group that was 
deliberately excluded from the 
program.” 
- FGD, participant youth, Kathmandu. 
Maoist party would have helped these youth in gaining knowledge on peace building. 
People raised serious concerns and doubted the intention of the grantees carrying 
out the debate contest particularly due to the selection of some of the topics including 
“Is constitutional monarch necessary for Nepal?” Due to the selection of such topics, 
the participants further mentioned that, they were also charged with carrying out pro￾monarch activities. 
Despite some minor difficulties that surfaced, the grantees managed to complete the 
task quite successfully. They further claimed that an attempt was made to include the 
participants belonging to various caste/ethnic backgrounds. 
2.5. Rallies and Mass meetings 
Most of the grantees that had proposed to carry out rallies and mass meetings 
completed the task without much hindrance. One of the key informants representing 
Samjhauta Nepal claimed that the agency was able to carry out rallies and mass 
meetings successfully. She further added that this particular modality was effective in 
raising awareness among the people. 
As in the case of other modalities adopted by Samjhauta Nepal these activities were 
also intended to raise awareness on the significance of restoring peace in the country 
among the people at various levels. 
The participant youth during the 
course of FGD claimed that rallies 
and mass meetings were effective in 
instilling awareness on the 
significance of the peace building 
effort made from different fronts 
(government agencies, non 
government agencies and civil 
society). 
In the same manner, the rallies were intended to pressurize the concerned parties to 
effectively implement the 
components of the CPA. FGD 
participants in Dhanusa district 
mentioned that both the Maoists as 
well as the seven party alliance 
were not serious about implementing CPA components. They further added that the 
implementation of CPA is essential to restore peace in the country. 
23
“The rallies were essentially aimed at 
raising awareness on the significance of 
restoring peace in the society. This 
medium was particularly effective to 
convey the message of peace in the 
village. People were made aware 
regarding the significance of peace 
through ‘easy to understand’ slogans. The 
slogans were in local dialect.” 
- FGD, participant youth, Jhapa 
“Peace and development should go in 
tandem. We are lagging behind in 
different sectors just because of the 
conflict.” 
- FGD, non participants, Dhanusa 
Amongst the participant youth in Dhanusha, it was also mentioned that they had 
received sufficient support materials to carry out rallies and mass meetings. They 
used different materials like banners and placards. According to them the slogans 
they printed were in local dialects. However, one of the key difficulties highlighted by 
the grantees was gathering of people for the rallies and mass meetings. People did 
not participate in rallies and mass meetings for four key reasons - 
ƒ People, particularly the villagers did not have time. They had to go to places to 
look for work. Female members had to look after the household chores. 
ƒ Since such rallies were carried out quite frequently, they were not considered 
important. 
ƒ Social inclusion and Madhesh issues were priority concerns of the people in 
almost all Terai districts in addressing the issue of constituent assembly and 
CPA. The Social inclusion and Madhesh issues were raised by the political 
parties particularly in Terai study districts. 
ƒ Since the rallies and mass meeting were not organized by political parties, 
people were less interested in participating. Likewise, the grantees had few 
volunteers mobilized for the rallies and mass meetings as a result of which the 
information could not reach to a wider population. 
Non-participant youth in the same district (Dhanusa) during FGD had quite similar 
opinions for less participation of people on the rallies and mass meetings. They 
mentioned that rallies and mass meetings were only means to provide opportunity to 
the grantees to demonstrate their visibility in the community. 
To conclude, the rallies and mass meetings can be effective in conveying social 
messages only if there was significant participation of the community members. 
There was a mixed reaction from FGD participants regarding these modalities. Some 
of them mentioned that they were effective enough to raise awareness among the 
people at various levels, while some did not agree. 
During FGDs and KIIs, it was found that the most of the grantees carried out this 
activity as proposed to USAID/OTI. In other words, there were no major changes 
made while carrying out this activity. 
2.6. Street drama 
24
Street drama was considered one of the most effective means of raising awareness 
among youth regarding the restoration of peace, particularly in the villages. This 
modality was taken both as an entertainment and communication means to convey 
the message of peace. The dramas according to the key informant in Rautahat 
district were aimed at exposing the local social problems (fights between neighbors, 
fights between brothers, etc.). Additionally, the street dramas were also intended to 
demonstrate various ways to resolve the problems to the audiences. 
The informants further claimed that they had managed to conduct street dramas in all 
the proposed 42 VDCs. He further added that in each street drama, the number of 
audience ranged from 800-1000. 
The impact of the street dramas has 
been felt to some extent at the 
community level. The audiences 
have gained knowledge on the ways 
to resolve conflict that surfaces in 
the community. One of the key reasons for the success as mentioned was the use of 
a local dialect (Maithali). It was mentioned that the use of local dialect has been 
helpful in raising awareness among the community people. 
However, some concerns were 
raised by the participants during the 
course of FGD carried out with 
youth in Dhanusa district. One of the 
key concerns expressed was the 
rigid budget structure of the donor agencies. 
Even the non-participant youth during FGDs in Rautahat district informed that street 
dramas have been really helpful in raising awareness on the peace restoration in the 
country. They claimed that they learnt much regarding conflict resolution and its 
importance through street drama. The strengths of street drama include the following: 
ƒ It helped to raise awareness among youth in various aspects of conflict. The 
issues included causes and management of conflict, and the positive role of 
youth and local people in the peace building process. 
ƒ It was helpful in instilling awareness among youth regarding the inclusion of 
youth in politics. 
ƒ The drama was presented in such a way that the people took it as entertainment. 
They further mentioned that activities such as street drama should be continued as it 
has been proven effective in conveying messages of peace. 
This particular modality was appreciated by both the participant and non-participant 
youth. As mentioned earlier, the street drama was taken as entertainment as well as 
an effective means of communication. They have even strongly recommended the 
25
“In a particular incident, youth and peer 
educators were successful in resolving 
the conflict between the brothers.” 
- KII, Rautahat 
“PLAN, Nepal organizes the street drama 
very effectively owing to the flexible 
budget they have. We would have carried 
out street drama in more effective 
manner if we had the budget flexibility.” 
- FGD, participant youth, Dhanusa 
continuation of such activities. 
The grantees that had the responsibility of carrying out street dramas completed the 
task as proposed to USAID/OTI. They adopted the modalities as mentioned in the 
proposal. Samjhauta Nepal, one of the grantees, claimed that the agency carried out 
street drama as proposed and was effective. 
2.7. Program aired through radio and TV 
Nepal Audio Video Art Center and Biratnagar FM mainly carried out the radio and TV 
programs. The talk programs aimed at instilling awareness among the people on 
peace restoration, were aired through TV and radio. These talk programs, produced 
by the grantees were claimed to be effective in conveying the message by some of 
the FGD participants and key informants as well. 
The respondent from Nepal Audio Video Art Center (NAVAC) that produced a talk 
program entitled “Tatastha tarka” informed that that this modality was helpful in 
conveying the message of peace. He further mentioned that it was effective in raising 
awareness on the issues related to CPA. 
The same respondent in the course of an interview mentioned that one of the key 
objectives of the project was to instill awareness among youth on the constituent 
assembly through talk programs. Additionally, he mentioned that the talk program 
was aimed at giving opportunity to youth on sharing their knowledge of the 
constituent assembly. 
The respondent mentioned that this activity would have been more effective if the 
project duration was much longer. He also went on to inform that the program should 
have also focused on different issues related to youth like drug addiction, 
employment, sexual and reproductive health, education and safe migration. 
In respect to the selection of media channel, he mentioned that Nepal Television has 
a wider audience in comparison to Kantipur Television. However, he went on to 
report that the programs aired through Kantipur Television are comparatively more 
popular among youth. 
While carrying out FGDs with the 
participant youth in some of the 
study districts, it was learnt that this 
modality was helpful in instilling 
awareness on the significance of 
restoring peace at various level. 
They further added that such programs aired through various mediums reach a wider 
26
“We learnt significantly regarding various 
aspects of conflict i.e, causes and ways 
to resolve it through television programs. 
In addition to that such activities 
pressurize the concerned parties to 
implement the CPA.” 
- FGD, participant youth, Morang 
audience. 
However, this modality was effective 
only in urban and semi-urban areas 
where people have access and 
affordability of Television. For those 
who dwell in villages and without access to television, the radio (FM) can be an 
effective medium of reaching out to them. 
27
“How can such TV programs be effective 
when large proportion of the people 
cannot afford it in rural areas?” 
- FGD, non participant youth, Dhanusa 
CHAPTER THREE
3. YOUTH FOCUSED ACTIVITIES OF OTHER DONOR AND 
ASSISTANCE AGENCIES 
This chapter focuses on youth and peace-related activities that some of the donor 
agencies have been supporting. The attempt has been made to explore the activities 
that these donor agencies have been supporting using the materials gathered from 
various sources. 
Some of the key agencies that have been supporting youth and peace-related 
activities are as follows 
3.1. MS Nepal 
MS Nepal has been supporting peace-related activities in Banke, Bardiya, Doti, 
Kapilvastu and Palpa districts through local NGOs. The activities are being carried 
out particularly in Far and Mid western regions of the country. Some of the relevant 
areas that this donor agency has focused are raising awareness on constituent 
assembly, peace and transition support, conflict management and electoral support. 
In addition to the above, the agency has also supported activities focusing on cross 
cutting issues such as trauma and counseling, women and domestic violence, 
children and peace work and reintegration of the displaced. 
MS Nepal has also been focusing on addressing structural causes of conflict in the 
communities with local NGOs and plays a complimentary role in promoting peace. 
MS Nepal provides further input as well as shares the learning with NGOs and plays 
a complementary role to promote peace. One of the key themes the agency is 
supporting is post-conflict management and peace building. MS Nepal has not yet 
developed a detailed plan. 
3.2. World Vision International 
World Vision International has been supporting peace-related projects in 10 districts 
across the country. It has covered mountain districts like Jumla to Eastern and Far 
western districts of Morang and Kailali districts respectively. In Jumla, World Vision 
International supports the integration of internally displaced people (IDP). Its focus on 
IDP settlement is community health, education and food security. In Kaski, its focus is 
raising awareness among women and adolescent girls about domestic violence and 
also about violence against women in general to the broader communities in its 
working VDCs. 
28
This agency does not support any peace building projects directly. However, it has 
been working in a number of districts which have witnessed intense conflict, and 
proactive in minimizing conflict. Strategies adopted by the agency are: 
ƒ Security management plan for staff 
ƒ Assessment and reduction of risk 
ƒ Negotiation with key political actors regarding project activities 
ƒ Deliberate inclusion of disadvantaged group in the project activities (Dalits, 
indigenous groups and women in particular) 
World Vision has an upcoming plan to promote sustainable peace in Nepal. Some of 
the plans include: 
ƒ Increase focus on the issues of inclusion and ensure particularly disadvantaged 
groups to benefit from the programs. 
ƒ Raise awareness amongst the agency’s staff on key political processes such as 
the Constituent Assembly, inclusive democracy and federalism. 
ƒ Coordinate with other INGOs that are also engaged in raising awareness 
regarding sustainable democracy and peace in Nepal. 
ƒ Develop specific projects focusing on peace building education among 
marginalized women. 
World Vision’s programs aims to encourage children's participation in local, regional 
and national forums about issues which affect them, The ultimate goal of the project 
is to organize programs for discussing issues related to children in a participatory way 
and draw up action plan for future action. 
World Vision International has not produced any specific materials related to youth 
and peace; the international World Vision partnership has produced a number of 
materials and reports on issues such as 
ƒ Peace building in programming 
ƒ Specific case studies of conflict management and peace building in fragile 
countries 
ƒ Peace building assessment tools such as the Do No Harm field manual 
29
World Vision has plans to adopt the following strategies over the next year or so: 
ƒ Increase focus on the issue of inclusion and ensure particularly disadvantaged 
groups are able to benefit from the programs; 
ƒ Raise awareness amongst their staff (both in Kathmandu and in the urban/rural 
programs) regarding key political processes that are taking place in Nepal. For 
example the Constituent Assembly, Inclusion, Federalism etc 
ƒ Coordinate with other INGOs who are also raising awareness about the same 
issues to ensure consistency and to share information; 
ƒ Consider specific projects focusing on peace building (eg peace education, 
raising awareness among women about their role in participatory processes) 
ƒ Take a proactive approach to addressing the needs of these children identified in 
working areas. 
3.3. The Asia Foundation 
The Asia foundation has attempted to cover almost all the districts in the country and 
has been supporting NGOs of various status. The Community Forest User Groups of 
Nepal (FECOFUN), the National Federation of Irrigation and Water Users 
Associations of Nepal (NFIWUAN), the Dalit NGO Federation (DNF), and the Private 
and Boarding Schools Association of Nepal (PABSON), Coalition for Constituent 
Assembly Support (CoCAS), National Election Monitoring Alliance (NEMA), 
Backward Society Education (BASE), Institute of Governance and Development 
(IGD), Center for Legal Research and Resource Development (CeLRRd) are some of 
the NGOs supported by the Asia Foundation. Some of the key areas supported by 
this agency are public awareness on constituent assembly, good governance, human 
rights, youth and democracy and social inclusion. It has been supporting a local NGO 
named Youth Initiative in carrying out activities like public discussions, street drama, 
trainings and workshops on youth, peace, democracy and development. 
The agency has also produced manuals on peace building, public knowledge about 
constituent assembly process, democracy and state restructuring. Likewise, it has 
produced thematic papers on constituent assembly. These materials are produced to 
focus on specific target groups. For example, Mediation Manual, Work Book and 
Trainer Guide is targeted for Community Mediators, Peace Building Manual and 
Trainers Guide for Local leaders, Thematic papers for Constituent Assembly for Civil 
Society and Political Activists. 
30
It has also committed to support initiatives in Nepal which promote a culture of peace 
in terms of diversity, rights and non-violent response to conflict. In the same vein a 
commitment has been made by the agency to support constituent assembly process, 
including civic/voter education, election monitoring and engagement with elected 
Constituent Assembly members. 
3.4. World Education Nepal I and II 
World Education Nepal I has been supporting peace related projects in Gulmi, 
Arghakhanchi, Rukum and Salyan districts through local NGOs. It has mainly 
focused on Peace and Transition Support, Conflict Management, Risk Management 
and Trauma and Counseling. It provides support to organize various activities in 
village level - form the peace forum in the VDC levels, address the issues and 
problems and provide support for the action program in a small scale. It also provides 
support by providing education materials and orientation, community-based 
counseling and service referrals, safe migration materials and scholarship for poor 
and socially disadvantaged children. It has not specifically focused on the peace 
related activities. However, issues related to peace and conflict has been considered 
as cross cutting themes. 
World Education II has been supporting peace related projects in more than 40 
districts from Eastern to Far Western region (majority of them in the Mid Western 
region) and from mountain to Terai districts through NGOs of various status. Rural 
Reconstruction Nepal (RRN), Backward Society Education (BASE), Women and 
Children Development Centre (CWCD) are some of the NGOs which are supported 
by World Education II. These NGOs also have wider coverage of their programs 
compared to others. It has been supporting mainly on community-based counseling, 
peace education materials and orientation, scholarship support for the children of 
poor and Dalits, quality education, Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) development, 
school rehabilitation, school based vocational trainings, micro-enterprise support and 
business development services. It has also committed to support on education and 
peace related issues for the poor, Dalits and children of conflict victim. 
3.5. Mercy Corps 
Mercy Corps has been supporting peace-related projects in Dang, Banke, Bardiya, 
Kailali and Kanchanpur districts of Mid and Far Western Terai through its 
implementing partner Backward Society Education (BASE). Catering mainly to the 
Tharu and Dalit community its major activities include peace and transition support, 
conflict management and mediation development work. Mercy Corps has also been 
supporting Equal Access which has a larger coverage countrywide. 
31
Mercy Corps' major youth program in Nepal is Youth Initiatives for Peace and 
Reconciliation, one of the programs of Equal Access. It mobilizes youth in conflict 
affected areas to get involved in peace and reconciliation initiatives in their district 
through local partners. It provides support to various activities like camps, sports 
competitions, cultural events, radio programs, street theater, and community projects 
— all of which are aimed at promoting tolerance, peace and reconciliation. In addition 
to that it also provides support to local partners to empower youth to create dialogue 
with one another, their parents, government and political leaders about poverty, 
isolation, disenfranchisement, discrimination, and unemployment affecting them. 
One of its key upcoming plans include producing a peace makers training manual 
and curricula specifically targeting youth leaders at village and campus level for 
economic development for peace, and peace building for livelihoods. 
3.6. United Mission to Nepal (UMN) 
UMN has been supporting peace-related projects in Mugu, Sunsari, Rukum, 
Rupandehi and Dhading districts through NGOs of various status. The major 
programs being implemented are the activities related to conflict management, 
trauma and counseling and social justice/reconciliation. The agency has introduced 
various peace related programs in five districts. Though the agency has not 
specifically focus their supports on youth and peace related activities, they have been 
taken care as cross cutting themes. Likewise, they have been producing various 
peace related materials like peace posters and ‘Do No Harm’ trainers manual in 
Nepali language. 
The agency’s future plans include supporting partner NGOs for post conflict 
management and peace building processes. Though the concrete plan is yet to be 
developed UMN intends to support the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction. 
3.7. CARE Nepal 
32
CARE Nepal has been supporting government of Nepal and local NGOs from the 
high Himalayas to the plains of the Terai and seeks a peaceful and harmonious 
society in which poor, vulnerable and socially excluded people to fulfill their basic 
needs and achieve social justice. The peace related programs are mostly in the Mid 
and Far Western regions of Nepal. Some of its key supporting activities related to 
peace and development include awareness trainings on peace building, rights and 
advocacy to community, help to conflict victims with psychosocial counseling and 
income generation. Forum for Youth Awareness Activities, Forum for Local 
Development, Community Forest User Groups of Nepal (FECOFUN), Human Welfare 
and Env. Protection Center and Tharu Mahila Mancha are some of the CARE 
supported peace focused NGOs. CARE Nepal has special program on peace 
entitled “Ujyalo” program. The focus of the program is on vocational skill 
enhancement, enhancing economic opportunity of the poorest households among 
Community Forest Users Groups, community infrastructure programs, peace 
initiatives, women and peace process, constituent assembly and civic education. 
CARE Nepal has also been involved in developing the capacity of civil society 
networks to engage poor, vulnerable and socially excluded groups of women and 
youth in the process of influencing democratic constitution in Nepal. It also focuses to 
mainstream conflict sensitivity into CARE Nepal programming in order to minimize its 
negative impact and to engage in peace building for leading towards sustainable 
peace and achievement of their aspirations. 
Similarly, the agency has produced various peace-related materials like a manual on 
community peace building, ‘Do No Harm’ training manual, successful stories on 
peace building and concept of conflict and its resolution. 
Gender and Peace Building, and Women and Youth are some of CARE Nepal's 
upcoming plans to promote sustainable peace in Nepal. Under the gender and peace 
project it has plans to conduct awareness training on gender, peace building, 
mediation, rights and advocacy to community and district level stakeholders. This 
project is planned to help conflict victims with psychosocial counseling and some 
economic development activities. Similarly, Women and Youth project has also been 
planned to develop the capacity of civil society networks to engage poor, vulnerable 
and socially excluded groups of women and youth in the process of influencing a 
democratic constitution in Nepal, leading towards sustainable peace and the 
achievement of their aspirations. It will focus on strengthening capacity of women and 
youth as peace network to advocate for the rights of women and youth, particularly 
those affected by conflict, in four districts of Gorkha, Dhading, Rupandehi and 
Kapilvastu. 
3.8. Save the Children-Norway 
Save the Children-Norway has primarily been involved in education and children in 
peace building. It has mainly focused in Mid and Far Western development regions. 
The agency has produced peace related materials about community reintegration of 
children, peace education model, mine risk education, psychosocial care for children 
in armed conflict, school-based psychosocial care, child rights in the process of 
constituent assembly, lets save children from armed conflict (Nepali series). 
Save the Children-Norway has been supporting the government of Nepal for a 
sustainable peace process through sharing information /experiences, providing 
technical input and sharing resources. 
33
Some of its upcoming plans are to promote sustainable peace in Nepal through 
mobilization of youth in peace process through education, community mobilization 
through reintegration and rehabilitation, constituent assembly awareness and 
campaign, public hearing and networking with various government organizations and 
NGOs on peace process. 
3.9. Save the Children Japan 
Save the Children has focused its support on the activities carried out by local NGOs 
in Central and Eastern Terai- mainly Saptari, Dhanusa and Mahotari districts. It 
supports training activities on community harmony and peaceful co-existence, 
community-based child protection system and direct support to children affected by 
conflict. 
Save the Children is currently engaged in the implementation of a child protection 
project in three districts of the Terai and aims to increase both its coverage and 
intensity. It has also been supporting local NGOs in carrying out awareness on social 
inclusion, human rights, peace and sustainable development. 
Mobilization of youth in the peace process through education, community mobilization 
through reintegration and rehabilitation, networking with GOs and NGOs on peace 
process and Constituent Assembly awareness and campaign are some of the 
upcoming plans to promote sustainable peace in Nepal. 
3.10. USC-Nepal 
USC-Nepal has focused its support to the local NGOs in executing activities like 
peace and transition support, mediation development works, risk management and 
awareness on constituent assembly in Humla, Sindhuli, Rasuwa and Banke districts. 
It has also been focusing on peace building initiatives and interaction programs, 
rehabilitation of conflict victims, education and financial supports to children of conflict 
victim and entrepreneurship skill development training to conflict victims’ families. 
Some of the USC-Nepal's upcoming plans to promote sustainable peace in Nepal are 
renovation/repairs of development infrastructures, entrepreneurship skills 
development training and support to conflict victim families, particularly to women, 
and education and financial support to conflict victim children. 
3.11. Enabling State Program (ESP) 
34
This is an implementing agency of DFID. It has been supporting local NGOs in 
carrying out the activities that focus on peace, social inclusion, democracy, peace 
building and sustainable development. Its focus on the implementation is guided on 
the on basis of the above issues rather than any particular district. It has attempted to 
cover Madhesh issues, constituent assembly and inclusion of socially disadvantaged 
people, natural resource management and media and good governance. It has not 
specifically focused on youth. However, issues of youth are incorporated as cross 
cutting themes in many activities. 
3.12. Key Observations 
The above mentioned entities are the major donor organisations that support youth 
and peace-related activities, and almost all work with local NGOs. There might be 
several other donor agencies supporting youth and peace related activities. It should 
be noted that most of the above-mentioned activities of the donors do not specifically 
target youth, peace and CPA issues. However, those activities have been taken care 
as cross cutting themes. Or in other words the activities’ targeted population includes 
women, children and socially and economically disadvantaged. 
USAID/OTI generally does not provide cash assistance to the grantees; rather, it 
supports and facilitates various activities of the grantees at the field level. Most of the 
other supporting agencies seemed to have given fixed amount of budget depending 
on nature and the scope of the study. Likewise, USAID/OTI has focused on specific 
to youth and peace building processes including CPA, constituent assembly, conflict 
management and non-violent protests whereas other supporting agencies have 
incorporated them as cross cutting themes. 
35
Lasting peace and development in Nepal can be possible only through the upliftment 
of disadvantaged and marginalized youth groups through inclusive development 
programs. This can be possible by affirmative action to increase the representation of 
youth in public policy making and other spheres of social and political life. There is 
also a need for special efforts to end the inequalities in the economic, social and 
political sectors. Youth will remain denied of social justice unless they can experience 
change, which in turn can bring about long term peace and stability in Nepal. Peace 
can help create a situation for causing youth to ensure respects for all basic rights 
enshrined in the Universal Declaration. The people will not be able to enjoy their 
rights in the absence of peace, and social justice can not be guaranteed in a situation 
where basic rights remain violated. 
CHAPTER FOUR 
36
4. ROLE OF YOUTH IN PEACE BUILDING PROCESS - BEST 
PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES 
The Nepalese youth have played a significant role in various democratic movements 
in Nepal in 1990 to 2006. However, they have had few opportunities to participate in 
public forums, to hold a position in the political parties and to be involved in decision 
making processes. They get comparatively less opportunities to discuss the major 
burning social, economic and political issues at both national and global levels. This 
has been one of the key reasons for the suppression of their innovative ideas that 
could well contribute to the social and political development and peace building 
process of the country. 
Youth of Nepal today face innumerable challenges in their everyday life. Some of key 
challenges they face are unemployment and lack of access to basic facilities like 
health and education. Furthermore, it has led to the ever increasing trend of this 
productive force migrating mainly to Gulf countries as manual labours without proper 
preparations. 
In this context, the activities that youth operate for them and by them supported by 
USAID/OTI are basically related to awareness-related issues for promoting the non￾violent activities, spirit of human rights and peace. The program has provided an 
opportunity for the Nepalese youth to open dialogue as an important mechanism for 
developing a new vision and a long term strategy for making a just society, where the 
fundamental human rights of people are respected. 
This program has enhanced a broader dialogue, debate and participation, for 
developing and sharing new visions particularly amongst youth as well as other 
adults for peace, stability and prosperity in Nepal. Youth-focused activities of 
USAID/OTI has encouraged youth to participate in building a New Nepal. It is, 
however, also true that it is not easy to change the behaviour of people within such 
short span of time. Nonetheless the programs have arguably been helpful in 
enhancing the knowledge on various aspects of CPA among youth and targeted 
population. 
One of the grantees Samjhauta Nepal, during the course of KII mentioned that the 
program they were carrying out was popular and they have received requests from 
other donor agencies like MS Nepal to replicate the program in all Mid and Far 
Western Terai districts. This clearly indicates the best practices of such activities. 
The modality, namely street drama, has been considered as a popular means to raise 
awareness. It is expected from the grantees that USAID/OTI continue support the 
grantees that carried out this particular activity. 
USAID/OTI’s modalities of supporting grantees on an in-kind and actual basis has 
helped to maintain the transparency of the cost used for various activities. Some 
grantees were comfortable with this modality where as others wanted more flexibility. 
The exclusion of the Maoist youth and some sympathizers of armed Terai rebel 
groups could hinder upcoming USAID/OTI programs. Most of these youth have joined 
or have become sympathizers of the CPN (M) not because of their willingness, but 
because of lack of employment opportunities and proper counselling. 
Though human rights is a prime concern in the development process of the country, 
education and health rights, poverty, discrimination, democracy, sexual and 
reproductive health and environmental degradation could be other issues to be 
discussed and sensitized by youth for the social justice and betterment of the country. 
37
The FGD participants and KII informants mentioned the following as some 
of the major roles that youth across the country can play in peace building 
process:
ƒ The trainings that focus on the peace building should be provided for at least 
5 youth in every VDCs of the study districts. Those trained youth will then 
have roles in raising awareness on the significance of restoring peace at the 
local level. 
ƒ Educated youth should be mobilized to end the practice of untouchability as it 
has been one of the keys reasons for the on-going conflict. This would be 
helpful eventually in restoring peace in the country. 
ƒ Another reason for the conflict is the significantly high unemployment rate 
among the youth. Employment opportunities would engage them in 
productive activities. 
ƒ Political parties should encourage youth to engage in activities that can be 
helpful in building a better society. In other words, they should not be 
encouraged to participate in violent activities.
CHAPTER FIVE 
5. CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS 
The conclusions drawn from FGDs, KIIs and desk reviews 
5.1. Program activities related issues 
Nepal faces many challenges as it transitions from a conflict-ridden country to one of 
peace and prosperity. One of the main drivers of Nepal's recent conflict was a surplus of 
semi-educated, unemployed youth. The study findings have suggested that there were 
not many programs specifically targeting and addressing the problems related to youth. It 
should be noted that most of the issues related to youth were incorporated as cross 
cutting themes. USAID/OTI is probably among the few international agencies that has 
focused its support on issues related specifically to youth and peace. Its youth-focused 
program has helped bring hope to the Nepalese youth to minimize violent conflict. The 
activities carried out by its grantees have provided youth an opportunity to learn regarding 
various aspects of CPA and CA. However, at the same time it is also essential to explore 
other feasible activities that can be funded by USAID/OTI and can have positive impact 
over the lives of youth: 
ƒ Programs such as youth parliament run jointly by USAID and Equal Access can be 
effective in raising awareness on any social or political issues. This would provide the 
platform to youth to share their thoughts. 
ƒ Programs with high school students can also be effective in raising awareness on 
various social and political issues. They should initially be informed/trained on the 
significance of restoring peace in the country among the students. Then they should 
be mobilized to instill awareness among the people across the country. 
ƒ Leadership development trainings with youth can be another effective means to 
spread message of peace across the country. The trainings would be helpful in 
building youths’ confidence in effectively raising awareness on the significance of 
peace at local and national levels. 
ƒ Skills development trainings could be another activity that USAID/OTI can support. 
As been mentioned earlier one of the key reasons for youth to engage in conflict is 
unemployment. Such trainings would enable them to find jobs that suit them, if jobs 
exist in these fields. 
From the above findings, following recommendations could be proposed for the future 
youth focused activities; 
38
ƒ Due to the diversity of the participants and relatively wide set of expectations on 
peace and democracy, the advocacy part of the training focused on skills 
development (critical thinking and communications). The trainings were essentially 
conducted to efficiently carry out the activities such as street drama and debate. The 
study findings suggest that trainings were helpful in instilling awareness among youth 
participants. This particular modality had two-fold benefits; the training participants 
gained knowledge on different aspects of CPA such as the rules to be abided by the 
seven party alliance and Nepal Communist Party (Maoist); the process of constituent 
assembly election and ways to resolve conflicts and; minimize destruction during 
protests. Such information could be shared with the wider audiences at the rural as 
well as urban settings. This demonstrates the need of the trainings to youth in 
various parts of the country in future as well. 
ƒ One of the key problems that surfaced while conducting the training was the number 
of participants that was higher than expected. As a result, grantees could not 
distribute the materials to all the participants. This suggests that grantees be provided 
with spare materials to distribute to as many participants as possible. 
ƒ The trainings received positive evaluation with the debate component of the training 
being particularly successful and the majority of participants expressed interest in 
learning more about debate as well as in starting debate clubs in their educational 
institutions, organizations and communities. 
ƒ Participants also mentioned that the trainers used a highly interactive approach with 
participants. Likewise the training was met with an enthusiastic response from the 
trainees and a lot of interest was observed among the participants. Grantees have 
shown their interest to continue such trainings and to expand of the program into 
various colleges and districts. 
ƒ Street drama was considered as one of the popular means to convey the message of 
peace at the village level in particular. As mentioned earlier, it was taken as 
entertainment, as well as an effective source of information in the villages. NGOs 
informed that such activities should be continued. 
ƒ The street dramas were particularly used to raise awareness among the people 
regarding the significance of restoring peace at the local as well as the national level. 
This has helped youth to gain knowledge on various aspects of CPA. This indicates 
the necessity of such activities in future. 
39
ƒ Some concerns were raised by the grantees that had the responsibility to carry out 
street drama regarding the rigid budget structure. They mentioned that if there was 
flexibility in budget, they could have conducted street dramas more efficiently. Hence 
it is recommended that USAID/OTI be more flexible in its financial arrangements. 
ƒ The use of local dialect was one of the key reasons in making dramas effective. The 
audiences were able to understand the content of the drama. This suggests the use 
of local dialect while carrying out street drama in future as well. In addition, street 
dramas attempted to expose the local social problems and as a result people could 
relate to the content. This demonstrates the need of exposing the local social 
problems through such activities in future. 
ƒ Likewise, rallies and mass meetings were used as various mediums to raise 
awareness. They were carried out both in the villages and cities. However, they were 
considered less effective in comparison to other modalities, as people do not usually 
have time to participate. Looking for work, particularly for the rural population, is more 
important than the participating in rally. 
ƒ The rallies and mass meetings essentially focused on various aspects of the CPA. It 
should be noted that people in the study districts particularly the Terai region were 
engulfed in ethnic violence. People were more interested in the issues related to the 
Terai than the CPA. Hence it is recommended that rallies and mass meetings 
address the emerging local issues in future. 
ƒ Unlike the political parties, the grantees had very few volunteers to publicize and 
support the rallies and mass meetings. The grantees should initially be asked to 
strengthen their network so that they can increase the number of volunteers. In 
addition, the grantees should be provided training on effective mobilization of 
volunteers. 
ƒ Programs aired through TV were learnt to be effective particularly in urban and semi￾urban settings. The programs provided opportunities to youth from various walks of 
life to share their views on peace building effort in the country. However the coverage 
of the TV programs to wider audience might be taken into consideration. 
5.2. Program Development - Implementation related Issues 
ƒ The programs also provided opportunities to small NGOs without any prior 
experiences to carry out activities. At the same time its grantees also include NGOs 
with already strong and proven links to the communities they serve. 
40
ƒ There is plenty of potential for the development of a youth debate program in Nepal 
as the study has demonstrated an enthusiastic participation from youth participants. 
However, it is mainly limited to urban and semi-urban areas. The mission of 
supporting organizations and its partners in Nepal should be to bring the debate to 
the general youth population, as well as to communities where issues of CPA, CA, 
democracy and peace are essential in strengthening the democracy and peace 
process in Nepal. 
ƒ One of the major issues raised by the FGD participants and Key Informants was the 
exclusion of Maoists from the activities. To bring them into political mainstream, the 
research team finds it essential to include them in the activities. Since they are from 
the violent background, such activities would have helped raising awareness on the 
significance of peace building efforts among them. These groups, in some study 
areas were learnt to have disrupted the proceedings of the activities. If they were 
provided an opportunity to participate in the activities they would have supported the 
programs. 
ƒ Today’s youth want to gain knowledge about youth education, unemployment, 
activism and socio-political awareness. These issues could be included as cross￾cutting issues. 
ƒ Participant as well as non-participant youth mentioned that youth be invited to the 
discussion series of contemporary environmental, social and political issues, and 
allow young people to interact on an intellectual level. This would, as they expect, 
allow for intellectual development, leadership and dissemination of ideas and 
information. This would also help to increase interest in civic affairs, as well as to 
assess youth concerns about the state of their nation. This would be an effort to 
rescue youth from loneliness and frustration arising from civil disorder, and unite 
them through shared goals and commitment to positive social change. 
ƒ The program could develop a strong network with youth engaged in various social 
movements for sharing their ideas and experiences to develop peace and inclusive 
democracy at various levels like democracy within the political parties, inter party 
relationships and protection of human rights in the country. This would further help to 
develop the combined voices of young people against injustice, social exclusion, 
discrimination, violence and exploitation of marginalized people. 
ƒ The grantees that are focusing on youth, peace and development could develop a 
coordination team to minimize the duplication of the programs. 
41
ƒ Some of the respondents mainly in the Central Terai districts mentioned that some of 
the USAID/OTI funded programs were carried out in their respective districts without 
proper co-ordination of DDC, VDC or the NGO federation. As a result of this lack of 
co-ordination, it was felt that the DDC, VDC or the NGO federation were not very 
keen on taking ownership of the USAID/OTI funded programs. Such lack of 
ownership could lead to further duplication of similar works as well as lack future 
prospects of monitoring and evaluation from these bodies. However, in the case of 
the Eastern Terai districts, which had a presence of Chemonics branch office and as 
a result of the relations and networks built from this office, the informants were very 
positive about the programs of USAID/OTI funded programs.
ANNEX 
42
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE 
NON-PARTICIPANTS YOUTHS 
Participants Name Age Sex Caste/Ethnicity Education 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
Section 1. 
Self Introduction and introduction to discussion topic <use this session to make everyone 
comfortable> 
<Greet everyone> 
<Introduce yourself and the objective of the focus group discussion> 
The objective is to get feedback from the youth in your community regarding the engagement of 
the youth in positive peace building roles. The information provided could be useful to further 
improve grassroots youth activities in support of peace and democratization process. 
<Ask everyone to introduce themselves to verify participants> 
<Ask if they have participated in similar group discussions before; ask what the topic was about> 
Section 2 
Core Issues 
<Instigate Discussion> 
1. Are you aware of CPA? What is CPA? Why is it important for the peace building process in 
Nepal? 
2. Do you know any of programs and organizations in your area, which are targeting the 
youth on issues related to CPA and peace building process? 
3. Are you aware of the youth activities conducted by those programs? 
a. How did you come to know about? 
b. Who told you about these activities? 
c. What did these activities focus on? 
4. Which organization(s) had funded and implemented the program? 
 FGD Guide – Non Participant Youth Page 1 of 3 
a. Were you aware of these organizations? 
5. Did you participate in any of these programs? 
a. If Yes, what did the program(s) focus on? 
b. What did you learn during these programs? 
c. What did you do after participating in these programs? 
d. Did you share the information with your friends or others? 
e. If YES, how did you share the learning? 
6. If you DID NOT participate or could not participate in such youth activities related to CPA 
and peace building process, what were the reasons? 
IF USAID/OTI funded youth activities ARE NOT reported in earlier discussions, THEN ONLY 
ASK question below. 
7. Are you aware of any USAID/OTI funded youth focused activities in your area? 
8. Why did you not participate or could not participate in those activities? 
9. What do you know about the program? What was its focus? 
10. How did you come to know about it? Who told you about the program and its activities? 
11. Have any of your friends participated in youth activities or programs focusing on CPA and 
peace building process? 
a. If YES, Have they talked to you about the programs and activities? 
b. If YES, what do you know about it? 
c. How did you get this information? 
12. In you opinion, what were the strengths and positive aspects of these activities? Do such 
activities help towards peace building process? 
13. Are the participants of such programs active in sharing their learning? 
a. If YES, what did they tell you? How did they disseminate their learning? 
b. Was the information shared important and relevant? 
• If YES, how did it change or influence you and your knowledge and perception 
on CPA and peace process? 
 FGD Guide – Non Participant Youth Page 2 of 3 
14. In your opinion, how should the youth be involved in the process of peace building? 
15. How can the youth (like you all) help in the peace building process and in achieving the 
goals of CPA? 
<Ask if anyone has anything more to say> 
 FGD Guide – Non Participant Youth Page 3 of 3 
<Thank all the participants> 
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE 
FOR USAID/OTI FUNDED YOUTH ACTIVITY PARTICIPANTS 
Participants Name Age Sex Caste/Ethnicity Education 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
Section 1. 
Self Introduction and introduction to discussion topic <use this session to make everyone 
comfortable> 
<Greet everyone> 
<Introduce yourself and the objective of the focus group discussion> 
The objective is to get feedback from the youth in your community regarding the engagement of 
the youth in positive peace building roles. The information provided could be useful to further 
improve grassroots youth activities in support of peace and democratization process. 
<Ask everyone to introduce themselves to verify participants> 
<Ask if they have participated in similar group discussions before; ask what the topic was about> 
Section 2 
Core Issues 
<Instigate Discussion> 
CHECKLIST FOR FGD 
1. Are you aware of CPA? What is CPA? Why is it important for the peace building process in 
Nepal? 
2. In your opinion has the CPA addressed the Issues of Women, Janjati, Dalit, Madhesis and 
the other socially excluded groups? 
3. In your opinion, what are some of the challenges to implement the CPA? 
4. Do you know any of USAID/OTI funded programs and organizations in your area, which 
are targeting the youth on issues related to CPA and peace building process? 
5. Are you aware of the youth activities conducted by those programs? 
a. How did you come to know about? 
b. What did these activities focus on? 
 FGD Guide – Participant Youth Page 1 of 2 
6. Did you participate on the activities mentioned above? 
a. Who invited you / who told you about these activities? 
b. In your opinion, what were the criteria for the participation? 
c. What did the program(s) focus on? 
d. What did you learn during these programs? 
e. Was the information shared important and relevant? 
i. If YES, how did it change or influence you and your knowledge and 
perception on CPA and peace process? 
7. After you participated in these programs focusing on CPA and peace building process 
have you talked about the programs and activities with your friends or others in your 
community? 
a. If YES, who have you shared this information with? 
b. How did you share the information (verbally, through posters and other materials, 
conducting training)? 
c. Do you feel that you had enough support materials (advocacy materials, 
necessary skills acquired during trainings) to share these information with others? 
d. Were you faced with any difficulty while sharing these information with others? 
8. Has there been any follow up activity by the organization who implemented these 
activities? 
9. In you opinion, what were the strengths and positive aspects of these activities? Do such 
activities help towards peace building process? 
10. What were the limitations of the program? 
11. What would be the further areas of improvement for the betterment of the program? 
12. Do you know any of any other programs and organizations in your area, which are 
targeting the youth on issues related to CPA and peace building process? 
13. Are you aware of the youth activities conducted by those programs? 
a. How did you come to know about? 
b. Who told you about these activities? 
c. What did these activities focus on? 
14. Which organization(s) had funded and implemented the program? 
a. Were you aware of these organizations? 
15. Did you participate in any of these programs? 
a. If Yes, what did the program(s) focus on? 
b. What did you learn during these programs? 
c. What did you do after participating in these programs? 
d. Did you share the information with your friends or others? 
e. If YES, how did you share the learning? 
16. If you DID NOT participate or could not participate in such youth activities related to CPA 
and peace building process, what were the reasons? 
17. In your opinion, how should the youth be involved in the process of peace building? 
18. How can the youth (like you all) help in the peace building process and in achieving the 
goals of CPA? 
<Ask if anyone has anything more to say> 
 FGD Guide – Participant Youth Page 2 of 2 
<Thank all the participants> 
CHECKLIST FOR KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS 
YOUTH-FOCUSED ACTIVITIES OF DONORS AND 
ASSISTANCE AGENCIES 
Name of the Donors or Assistance Agencies: 
Name of the Respondent: 
Designation: 
A. Background Information 
Major Youth Focus Activities: 
 1. 
 2. 
 3. 
 4. 
Number of NGOs Supported: 
No of District Covered: 
No of VDC covered: 
Target Group: 
Target Beneficiaries: 
 Direct: 
Indirect 
 Key Informant Interviews – Donors and Assistance Agencies Page 1 of 2 
B. Youth Focused Activities 
1. What are the objectives of your youth focused programs? 
a. What are the strengths of your modalities? 
b. What are the areas of improvement for the betterment of the youth activities in 
future? 
2. What are some of the challenges faced by your implementing partner organizations? 
3. Are you facing/ did you face any difficulty to implement the activities? 
a. If YES, what strategy are you planning or did you plan for the successful 
implementation of the project? 
4. Do you know about USAID/OTI funded Youth Activities? If yes, what are the similarities 
and differences between your youth focused organization and USAID/OTI funded youth 
activities? 
5. Do you know any other donor organizations which are also supporting for Youth Activities? 
 Key Informant Interviews – Donors and Assistance Agencies Page 2 of 2 
6. If yes, please mention the name of the organizations that you are familiar with and their 
activities. 
CHECKLIST FOR KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS 
FIELD LEVEL GRANTEE STAFF 
A: Background Information 
Name of the Organization: 
Name of the Respondent: Designation: 
Age: Sex: 
Caste/Ethnic Background: Education: 
Total Duration of the Project (Date): 
From ……. To ……… 
Respondent's involvement for the Project (Date): 
From …….. To ……… 
B: USAID/OTI Supported Youth Focused Information 
1. As part of the USAID/OTI funded programs, what were the proposed Youth Activities in 
your district? (Refer to the specific activity/objectives of the Grantee organization) 
2. Was there any change on the proposed activities? 
a. If, YES what were the changes? 
b. Why did you change the proposed activities? 
3. What were the actual activities completed? 
a. Which activities were you involved in? 
b. Who were the beneficiaries of your activities? 
c. Did you face any difficulty to implement the activities? If yes, where and why? 
4. In your opinion what were the strengths of the modalities adopted by your organization? 
a. Have you observed any changes (among the target group) as a result of the 
activities completed? 
 Checklist for Key Informant Interviews – Field Level Grantee Staff Page 1 of 2 
b. What are the areas of improvement for the betterment of the youth activities in 
future? 
5. Have you collected any suggestion/feedback from the participants after the completion of 
the programs? 
a. If YES, can you share some of the feedback? 
6. Is there any other ongoing Youth Focused Project in your organization? 
a. If YES, who is funding for the project? 
b. In your opinion, what are the strengths of this project? 
c. What are the limitations of this projects? 
7. Do you know any organizations which are supporting for Youth Activities in this district? 
8. If yes, please mention the name of the organizations that you are familiar with and their 
activities. 
9. To what extent are the people in your project area aware about the components of the 
CPA? 
10. What are the some of the challenges and constraints for implementing CPA in your
district? 
11. Do you think that your program have helped towards CA election? If yes, how? 
 Checklist for Key Informant Interviews – Field Level Grantee Staff Page 2 of 2 
CHECKLIST FOR KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS 
NGO Offices at their Head Office (Central Office) 
A: Background Information 
Name of NGO: 
Respondent Information: 
Name: Designation: 
Age: Sex: Education: 
Organization Information 
Head of the Organization for Day to Day Activities: 
Chairperson of the Organization: 
Date of Establishment: 
Central Office: 
Contact Details: 
Branch Offices: 
Major Focus: 
1. 
2. 
 Key Informant Interview – NGO Central Office Page 1 of 4 
3. 
Major Supporting Organizations: 
 1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
Major Ongoing Activities: 
 1. 
2. 
3 
4. 
Project Areas (districts): 
Target Groups: 
Target Beneficiaries: 
Direct: 
Indirect: 
B: USAID/OTI Supported Youth Focused Information 
1. Name of the Coordinator of USAID/OTI Supported Youth Activities: 
2. Number of Core Staff Involved in the project: 
Participants Name Designation 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
 Key Informant Interview – NGO Central Office Page 2 of 4 
3. As part of the USAID/OTI funded programs, what were the proposed objectives of 
your program? 
4. Was there any change on the proposed activities? 
a. If, YES what were the changes? 
b. Why did you change the proposed activities? 
5. What were the actual activities completed? (Refer to the attachment on the 
specific questions for each activity completed by the organization) 
a. What modality was used to deliver/implement these activities? 
6. Who were the primary target group? 
a. How many of them were direct beneficiaries of the program? 
b. How many of them were indirect beneficiaries of the program? 
7. Did you face any difficulty to implement the activities? 
8. After completion of the project, has there been any kind of monitoring/evaluation 
activity to observe the impact of the activities/programs implemented? 
a. If YES, can you share some of your observations? 
9. In your opinion what were the strengths of your modalities? 
a. What are the areas of improvement for the betterment of the youth 
activities in future? 
10. Is there any ongoing Youth Focused Project in your organization funded by other 
organization? 
a. If yes, who is funding for the project? 
b. In your opinion, what are the strengths of this project? 
c. What are the limitations of this projects? 
11. Do you know any organizations which are supporting for Youth Activities? 
 Key Informant Interview – NGO Central Office Page 3 of 4 
12. If yes, please mention the name of the organizations that you are familiar with and 
their activities 
Attachment: Specific questions for each activities 
1. Training of Trainers (TOT) 
a. If you have conducted any workshops / trainings on the CPA, what were the contexts of 
the trainings/workshops? 
b. Do you think you delivered the trainings successfully. Please explain. 
c. Do you feel that you were adequately supported and informed during your work? 
d. What would you do differently if you were to conduct this type of activity again? 
e. If you have conducted any workshops/trainings on the CA, what were the contents of the 
trainings/workshops? 
2. Posters 
a. Did you feel that this/these posters (Please show the posters) adequately presented the 
information? Was it simple enough for people to understand? 
b. How were the posters displayed/placed? 
c. What did you learn from this poster? 
d. What suggestions would you give to make the posters more effective in the future? 
3. Peace Volunteers Mobilization 
a. Do you think you delivered the training successfully to the Peace Volunteers? Please 
explain 
b. Do you feel that you were adequately supported and informed during your work? Please 
describe 
c. What would you do differently if you were to conduct this type of activity again? 
4. Street Plays 
a. Do you feel that the street theatre is a good mechanism for disseminating information? 
Why or why not? 
b. Was the information adequate? 
c. What was the impact of the message? 
d. Was the information simple or complex? (get the information on language, content etc.) 
e. Would you like to see more street plays on the peace process? 
5. School-level activities (quiz or public speaking contests) 
a. Do you feel that this activity helped to raise awareness? Why or why not? 
b. What was the impact of the message? 
 Key Informant Interview – NGO Central Office Page 4 of 4 
CHECKLIST FOR KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS 
NON PARTICIPANT YOUTH ORGANIZATION 
A: Background Information 
Name of Youth Organization: 
Respondent Information: 
Name: Designation: 
Age: Sex: Education: 
Organization Information 
Head of the Organization for Day to Day Activities: 
Chairperson of the Organization: 
Legally Registered Date: 
Informally Formed Date: 
Organizational Structure: 
Central Office: 
Contact Details: 
Branch Offices: 
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Major Activities Conducted: 
1. 
2. 
3. 
Major Supporting Organizations: 
 1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
Major Ongoing Activities: 
 1. 
2. 
3 
4. 
Project Areas (districts): 
Target Groups: 
Target Beneficiaries: 
Direct: 
Indirect: 
B: USAID/OTI Supported Youth Focused Information 
1. Do you know any organizations which were funded by USAID/OTI for youth activities? 
2. Do you remember the youth activities conducted by above mentioned organizations? 
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a. If YES, What were these activities 
3. Why you did not apply on youth activities supported by USAID/OTI ? 
4. In your opinion what are some of the strengths of the activities? 
5. Do you feel that there are areas of improvements regarding these the activities? 
C: Other Youth Focused Program Information 
6. Are you conducting any youth focused activities? 
a. If YES, what are the objectives? 
b. What are the various activities being carried our 
c. Who are the primary target group? 
d. How many districts or VDC are you covering? 
7. Which organization is funding for the program? 
8. What are the strengths of the program, and what are the areas of improvement for the 
betterment the program? 
9. If you compare your youth focused program with USAID/OTI funded program, what 
similarities and differences do you see? 
10. Have you heard other organizations which are focusing on youths? If yes, please mention 
the name of the organizations and their activities. 
D: CPA and Peace Building Process 
11. Does your organization have specific program on CPA and peace building process? 
a. If YES, what were/are the objectives mentioned? 
b. What were/are your implementing mechanism? 
c. Who were/are your target groups? 
d. How many districts or VDC are you covering? 
12. Which funding organization supported this program? 
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13. Are you still continuing the program? 
14. Did you experience any challenge to implement the program as per the schedule and the 
objectives formulated? 
15. What kinds of measures did you take to address the constraints and challenges? 
16. Are you aware of other organizations who are involved in disseminating information about 
CA in your community? 
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