The thematic on youth has been –since almost ever- a Topic of interest for internacional organisms, but this took major visibility beginning with the preparation and celebration of the Internacional Year of Youth, in 1985, under the motto “participation, development, peace”. Since then, a number of plans, programs and projects have been developed in many different levels (local, nacional, regional and internacional) and in many different topics (work, education, health, participation, etc).

Nevertheless, unlike other emergent contemporary thematic (as the ones related first with the woman and then more precisely with the gender) the thematic on youth have not deserved a clear priority in the agenda of the different international organisms. Only recently, actions have been performed trying to catch up with the –demographic, social and political- relevance of young men and women.

In this section, the Portal gives systematic and permanent information on the labor of different international organisms, largely assuming the sectoriality with which these organisms operate and giving –when possible) the corresponding overview (integral and integrated). In a way, this is possible beginning with a chronic of the actions of specialized organisms –as the Ibero-American Youth Organization (OIJ in spanish) that gathers the governments of the region- that try to face integrated answers in this domains.

Without a doubt, almost every governmental institution (municipal, departmental and nacional) perform actions related –one way or another- to young men and women, but some of them (Ministries of Education, Health and Work; Institutes of Childhood and Adolescence; and Secretaries of Culture, Recreation and Sports, for example) make it on a more systematic and explicit way. Still, the labour more specifically related to juvenile dynamic, on the sphere of our governments, is the one displayed by Official Organisms of Youth, which with different denominations (Ministries, Secretaries, Institutes, Boards, etc) exist in almost every country of the region.

In general, it is about new organisms, created in the last ten to twenty years, that are trying to legitimate their existence, through the display of different political, institutional and financial initiatives. Their institutional dependence is very varied, given that while some are appointed to the Presidency of the Republic, other depend on Ministries of Education or Social Development (or even Planning) and unlike other related institutions (Secretaries of Childhood, Woman Secretaries, etc) still have little effective implementation on the State’s structure. The bond with juvenile movements (gathered or not in Councils or Nacional Networks) is also very varied, and more could be mentioned on its institutional acknowledgment among young men and women.

In this context it is remarcable that their roles and functions are –also- very diverse (coordination, execution, lodge, etc) that’s why it is hard to refer to them base don more or less homogeneous criteria. For this, from this section of the Portal we intend to inform about their programs and activities, making particular emphasis in each of them in particular. In this sense, we will separate Nacional Organisms (or Federal) from  Regional Organisms (or State) and Municipal (or Local). At the same time, we include relevant information on other governmental organisms, when the mentioned is mainly refered to young people.

Increasingly the formation and development of Youth Networks and/or in Youth is growing, understanding by these, the articulations, horizontal, flexible and dynamic group coordinations, organizations and/or people, in this case of young people and/or on youth. There are several experiences in the region, each one of them with processes, organizational models, operative styles and very different thematics. 

There are conjunctural networks for the development of any action or group of particular actions but there are also other networks, more permanent. There are networks focused on the information, others in the creation of reflection spaces, others are structured to develop particular national or international actions. There are many networks that make privilege spaces out of this spaces of young men or on youth, in order to promote actions, information, solidarity, cooperation, etc.

The networks allow to perform in a more flexible and agile way, different activities among persons and/or groups of young people, causing synergisms that increase –in general- the dynamic generated by the actors involved themselves. The Portal intends to be a support instrument to the novel and growing creation of youth networks in different topics, offering support with direct services and promoting actions arranged among networks and the Latin American and the Caribbean Youth Portal.

Juvenile movements and organizations in Latin America –almost as in the whole world- are many and very different, besides they change throughout time. Experts in youth identify at least four big groups: (i) more “politicized” movements, such as student organizations and young people from political parties; (ii) those which work within complex and international structures with predomination of adult logics; (iii) those which are related to programmatic initiatives in local spaces impelled –among others- by Municipal Youth Commissions; and (iv) more informal groups including those that work around cultural expressions.

This organizations gather thousands of young people of Latin American and the Caribbean working on topics as juvenile participation, volunteering, ecology, recreation, politics, student movements, cultura, the territorial-communal (urban and rural), etc. Many of this organizations are exclusively upheld by the volunteer work of its members, while others combine different modalities of volunteering with rented professionals that perform leadership, training and accompaniment roles.

With few exceptions, in this strategic sector of young people, the organizations keep weak (if not inexistent) relationships. There opportunities of interchange are limited, as well as the ones to make connections and therefore, to learn from the experiences. Their labours tend to focus on the local and scantily on the regional and international dimension. This situation inhibits the generation of bonds, sensitivities and initiatives that will contribute, from young people themselves, to the development of regional integration. The Portal gives information of networks, groups and juvenile movements, as well as documentation and activities related to the subject, making a contribution in order for them to have greater visibility and with the intention of promoting bigger interrelations among organizations.