KNOMAD: Youth Migration & Development: A New Lens For Critical Times

January 2024

Today’s youth are transitioning to adulthood in times of uncertainty - with global crises, high unemployment, underemployment, flexible labour arrangements, poor governance, persistent gender inequalities, social exclusion and climate change.

International migration can be an opportunity for young people to improve their lives and those of their families by pursuing education or employment opportunities and to leave behind a context where they do not feel safe or heard.

Supported by World Bank and its TWG on youth & migration co-chaired by OECD & UNDP, Samuel Hall's paper with KNOMAD, “Youth Migration & Development: A New Lens for Critical Times”, aims to empirically validate conclusions in KNOMADs scoping paper produced in 2022.

With case studies from Columbia, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Senegal, Thailand and Tunisia, the study employed innovative qualitative research methods, filling crucial research gaps and re-conceptualising ‘youth’ and ‘migration’ through the perspectives of the young people.

Through this study, we aimed to better understand how youth migrant integration behaviour differs across age cohorts, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and countries of origin and between migrants and non-migrants.

The paper's key findings highlighted the problematic nature of expecting youth to conform to a narrow national paradigm, and proved that the responsibility for integration often lies with the young person (migrant or non-migrant).  It concludes with key gender sensitive policy recommendations around integration, equality and contribution. The paper also strongly advocates to include young migrants in governance and decision-making processes. 

Download the paper here 
Read our scoping paper from 2022 here