Discovery Framework

To be young and poor in today's society is to be at risk. Young men in particular suffer disproportionately from the disconnect between what society expects of them and what their environment can offer. Our public institutions often fail young men - low-quality schooling tracks youth into unequal occupations; then unstable and low-wage employment exacerbates that inequality, which magnifies the risk of drugs, violence, and crime, prompting society to react with punishment.

Thus, many young men are caught in a vicious cycle of inequality, instability, and institutionalization. The result is anger and disengagement and a lost generation of human capital.

But what if the public and private sectors focused on investing in the human capital represented by these youth? What if we focused on changing the trajectory for a generation of youth as a way to tip the balance of violence and despair in so many communities? What will lead schools, employers, law enforcement, and funders of numerous well-meaning programs to embrace a collective responsibility toward the health and well-being of young men in our society? And how do we bring forth these youth as the change agents of their own futures?

Some of the entrepreneurs listed in the mosaic have taken the first steps toward enlisting these institutions as allies, rather than treating them as bureaucratic hurdles or agents of failure. They have re-imagined the way their society works, and created programs and systems that break down old thinking and create unique partnerships with positive influencers. Companies such as DeBeers in Botswana, Volkswagen in Brazil, and Eskom in South Africa, are investing in curbing risky behaviors to protect not only their workforce, but also their bottom line. Others, such as Cemex's housing construction loans in Mexico, are investing in, literally, building opportunities. Such "unlikely allies," as Ashoka fellow Van Jones calls them, are those who regardless of ideology or class will not accept inequality and institutionalization as inevitable.

We ask the entrepreneurs for this competition to help re-frame the conversation about young men at risk, from one of achieving the potential of one individual at a time to one of realizing the potential power of a generation of young men to develop successful adult lives.

Barriers:

• Low self-value and stability leads to risky choices (Individual/behavioral level): Young people, particularly those living in poverty, may not have enough stability to know where they will live tomorrow, let alone where their next meal will come from. Such uncertainty often can lead young people to disengage or disinvest in building relationships, setting goals or committing to choices that will benefit them in the long run. Young people may not believe in their own potential to lead a different life than what they witness. As a result, young men in particular may begin unsafe sexual relationships, or join gangs to feel a sense of belonging. Suicide is disproportionately high among young men around the world. To be sure, young people need to take responsibility for their self-esteem. But a social structure that promotes and rewards risky behavior also needs to change.
• Young men's missing voices and input leads to disconnection and failed policies (Individual and systems level): Over the past 10-15 years, policies intended to address young men have only further marginalized them. A few examples include: punitive fines for crimes involving low-income men, increasing institutionalization of young men in foster care or the corrections system, and welfare policies that either ignored or penalized poor fathers. Worse, this dismantling of the opportunity structure occurred in many countries with very little input from men. As a result, neither the public policy nor private sector community represents the constituency of young low-income men and thus excludes their voices from vital decisions. In particular, the disenfranchisement of the growing number of incarcerated men ignores those who most need society's support.
• Culture/environment of conflict exposes and enlists young men in violence (Individual and systems level): The growing duration and intensity of international, civil and local conflict has affected young men in particular. Recruited as soldiers, many die young in international conflicts. Recruited into gangs, many lead a life of instability, if not crime. With no other sense of mission or no other demands made of young men, they may find themselves continuing a cycle of violence they hoped to leave behind.
• Market failures and shakeups displace young men's opportunities (Systems/structural level): The changing global economy has either eliminated manufacturing jobs once occupied by men or forced men to migrate and separate from their families in order to keep working. These changes can ripple through communities, creating unintended tensions as young men compete with their more experienced elders, or immigrants compete with young men for the few jobs remaining. Meanwhile, because of the growing research favoring women as productive users and consumers of credit, loans and subsidies, many public, private and citizen-sector programs effectively exclude men from the creation of a new opportunity structure.
• Culture of no accountability: Neither society nor men at risk act accountable to each other (Cumulative effect): The accumulated effect of the previous barriers is a problem of perception and action. Young men see a system that rejects, isolates, and disinvests in them. Society sees a cohort or group that seeks risk and whose choices hurt themselves and those around them. Thus, neither young men nor society behaves with accountability to each other, reinforcing the perception that the other does not warrant their time or understanding. This culture of missing accountability creates a roadblock that stalls policy discussions and a sort of prisoners' dilemma in which neither party is willing to trust the other.

Innovation Principle: Create Communities of Enrichment that Foster Successful Adulthoods

We present these principles roughly in the order that successful programs implement them. The idea is that a single program may evolve through these phases with the young people they address, or that society as a whole must manifest these steps in order to create a true path to excellence for its youth.

• Create stability and safety without condescension or judgment: Young people, men in particular, often feel judged-not only about their music and clothes, but also about their beliefs and values. Such a sense of judgment often isolates and marginalizes youth. Programs that create a sense of belonging and safety by involving youth in an authentic way can engage youth in a more lasting dialogue and relationship. Often this involves meeting young people's interests and building a scaffold of support and stability around that. It also means that young people do not want programs that smack of charity or patronage. Connecting young people with their peers to create their own safety networks may be as important as pairing them with a mentor who advises them more directly.
• Award responsibility with support: Young men in particular need to feel trusted, but not isolated, with a challenge. From fatherhood to employment, young men want to assume roles of increasing responsibility, and are more likely to maintain those roles if they feel they are guided, not controlled. Presenting young people with opportunities paired with guidance is a critical step toward placing them on a path to understanding and fulfilling their potential.
• Create credible choices and opportunities: Many young people are tired of being told they are the future when no one and no institution around them is engaged in creating that future with them. They often find a disconnect between job training and real work opportunities; in effect, programs focused on the input rather than the consequence. Young men in particular need to see choices and value in those choices available to them. Often this means not just offering incentives to attend school or to acquire IT skills, but also ensuring that those incentives link up with practical opportunities. To work with youth sincerely, it requires delivering on realistic promises. For instance, they need real jobs don't take people out of their communities or overwhelm them with expectations of being the exception rather than the rule.
• Unleash creativity that channels experiences of risk and vulnerability toward leadership: Today's youth often avail themselves of multiple media - from blogs to neighborhood murals to street theater - to express their hopes and fears. As youth experience international migration, the consequences of environmental change, and other bellwethers of a changing world, young people may be those most vulnerable to change but also best prepared for what is to come. Programs that tap into young people's creative dimension may create a lasting engagement that allows them to discuss and diagnose change, and to use those experiences to move into leadership positions.
• Change surrounding cultures to create a society that values and enriches young people's transition to adulthood: Respecting young people's experiences is an important step toward changing a culture that often blames or punishes young people for society's ills. Entrepreneurs in this field need to think beyond incremental approaches or the program flavor of the day. Instead, they need to build communities built on respect for young people, which can then motivate, expect and create competence. Setting and fostering those expectations requires engaging young and old, business and government alike. Such a shift toward respecting and building communities demonstrates trust in young people's potential, as well as a commitment toward supporting that path. With trust, support and a positive set of expectations, the path to adulthood seems tangible and desirable, laying the foundation for communities and coherence around a shared vision.