Promoting youth empowerment through engagement with cooperatives

International Journal of Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Development Volume 1, Issue 1 (p. 46-56 )

International Journal of Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Development

Vol. 1(1), 46-56, December 2014 | Maiden Edition © 2014 IJYEED-Journal Available online at http://www.ijyeedjournal.com

Promoting youth empowerment through engagement

with cooperatives

NDUAGUBA CHINEDU C.1*, ADEMU YUNUSA2 AND ALUFOHAI, EDITH A.3

1Department of Economic and Cooperative Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu State

E-mail: [email protected] | Tel: +234(0)706-249-6209 2Registry Department, Kogi State University, Anyigba

Email: [email protected] | Tel: +234 (0)806-709-4775 3Department of Educational Foundations, University of Lagos, Akoka

Email: [email protected] | +234 (0)813-014-5830

Accepted October 26, 2014

ABSTRACT

The young people should commit to the cooperative movement, to promote youth empowerment through engagement with cooperatives. In the context of multiple global crises, youth led social movements and the need for a new development consensus .In recognize that youth development is an increasingly urgent concern that encompasses social, economic, political and environmental dimensions and has taken more central focus for decision-makers at all levels of the economy. In further recognize that young people have long been, and increasingly are, disproportionately affected by unemployment, underemployment, disempowerment and disengagement. Through effective involvement with cooperatives, young people can work together with governments, civil-society, NGOs and other stakeholders, to overcome these challenges. Simultaneously, that emphasizes the need for cooperatives to engage with young people in order to adapt to changing environments, sustain and develop them. The study also takes into account young people without distinction, recognizing the diversity within this group, including specific issues of gender, race, ethnicity, economic background. The study presents this statement recognizing the differing economic, social, and political development contexts among countries. The study also asserts special attention to be given to those groups and countries experiencing adverse pressures. Conclusively, the study emphasizes the specific potential that exists in developing countries for cooperative and youth empowerment; suggested strategies to overcome the challenges; conclusion and the way forward.

Keyword: Cooperative, Cooperative Society, Empowerment, Youth Empowerment

*Corresponding Author: [email protected] | Tel: +234 (0)706-249-6209

http://www.ijyeedjournal.com/

mailto:[email protected]



INTRODUCTION Cooperatives, as economic enterprises and as self-help organizations, play a meaningful role in uplifting the socio-economic conditions of their members and their local communities. Over the years, cooperative societies have successfully operated locally owned people-centred businesses while also serving as catalysts for youth empowerment. With their concern for their members and communities, they represent a model of economic enterprise that places high regard for democratic and human values and respect for the environment (Birchall, 2004). As the world today faces unstable financial systems, increased insecurity of food supply, growing inequality worldwide, rapid climate change and increased environmental degradation, it is increasingly compelling to consider the model of economic enterprise that cooperatives offer (Birchall, 2003). The cooperative societies, especially in Nigeria, also present itself as an important element that can contribute to the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The current financial crisis characterized by the massive public bail-out of private, investor-owned banks worldwide has underlined the virtues of a customer-owned cooperative banking system. Cooperative banks in the form of credit unions, building societies and cooperative banks, by focusing primarily on the needs of their members, have displayed prudence and avoided the excessive risk-taking that plagued many large global financial institutions (Birchall, 2003). As cooperative banks continue to operate and provide loans to their clients and enjoy the trust and confidence of their members and depositors, they play an even more critical role as consumers and businesses face a credit crunch.

The cooperative societies are also relevant in addressing the problem of food insecurity just as the World Bank (2007) estimates that food demand will double by 2030 as the world’s population increases by another two billion people. There is an urgent need for developing countries to increase the output of food yet, as the World Bank’s 2008 World Development Report on Agriculture for Development has shown; the rural economy has been badly neglected. One solution is to encourage farmers to mobilize collectively in agricultural and marketing cooperatives that engage in the production, processing and marketing of agricultural products and gives them access to markets. Farmer cooperatives are growing in most developing countries. For example, India’s 100,000 dairy cooperatives collect 16.5 million litres of milk from 12 million farmer members every day, making a significant contribution to India’s food supply. Nevertheless, farmer cooperatives have yet to reach their full potential as they address their requirements for financing and technical support. Cooperatives can contribute to the achievement of the MDGs by 2015 because of their inherent characteristics. Because cooperatives are economic associations, they provide the opportunity for poor people to raise their incomes. Because they are democracies with each member having one vote, they empower people to own their own solutions, and because they pool risks at the level of the enterprise and offer micro-insurance they increase security. In addition, there is increasing evidence indicating that cooperatives also contribute directly and indirectly to meeting several of the other MDGs, such as primary education for children, gender equality and reducing child mortality (Birchall, 2004). The cooperative societies also presents an important model as many of the worlds poorest and disadvantaged face

Promoting youth empowerment through engagement with cooperatives 47

social exclusion, lack of access to opportunities and growing economic inequality. As the uneven effects of globalization have led to a rise in the unregulated informal economy, workers in the informal sector have formed shared service cooperatives and associations to assist in their self-employment5. In rural areas, savings and credit cooperatives provide access to banking services which are lacking in many communities. Credit cooperatives also play an important role in the formation of small and micro businesses. They can affect the kind of financial ‘deepening’ that the World Bank envisages, as they consistently reach the poor in a sustainable way (World Bank, 2003).

Concept of Cooperative Cooperatives are member-owned businesses. The simplest way to understand them is that they aggregate the market power of people who on their own could achieve little or nothing, and in so doing they provide ways out of poverty and powerlessness. According to the International Cooperative Alliance (n.d), defines a cooperative as: An autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations, through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise. This definition and the ICA set out seven cooperative principles: voluntary and open membership; democratic member control; member economic participation; autonomy and independence; education, training and information; cooperation among cooperatives; and concern for community. The first four of these are core principles without which a cooperative would lose its identity; they guarantee the conditions under which members own, control and benefit from the business. The education principle is really a commitment to make membership

effective and so is a precondition for democratic control, while cooperation among cooperatives is really a business strategy without which cooperatives remain economically vulnerable. The last principle, concern for community, is about corporate responsibility, and it leads into other concerns that the ICA is promoting such as prevention of poverty and protection of the environment (ICA, n.d).

Concept of Cooperative Society Cooperative Societies according to Chukwu (1990) is defined as those institutions with whose frame work cooperation or joint activities by people take place in a formalized, long-term, deliberate and especially economic spheres or human endeavor. In a similar study, International Cooperative Alliance (1995) defined Cooperative society as an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspiration through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise. Casselman (19) further cited Cooperation as an economic system with social content its idealism penetrates both its economic and social elements. For the purpose of this study, the researchers hereby defined Cooperative Society as a voluntary association of free and independent persons who come together for form cooperative for the betterment of their economic conditions.

Concept of Empowerment Empowerment according to Nweke (2014) is defined as fundamental issue and has influential value in many levels; it can be relevant in political, social levels, economic and can be collectively relevant to an individual level. As people experience increased power of choice, an increased power in control of their lives happens simultaneously (Muluka, 2012). The concept


of empowerment is based on consistent tendencies of sustainable support mechanisms that are why Olakulein and Ojo (2006) opined Empowerment as a means of assisting people to overcome obstacles which might prevent them from achieving their potentials. The need for empower arises from the inability of an individual or a group of people to actualize their dreams and reach their greatest potential due to artificial barriers created by individuals and other groups within the same society. It is widely used in social work and targeted at including people in decision making processes in their communities and raising their level of confidence in life. (Fitzsimons, Hope, Cooper, Russell, 2011). In summary, empowerment seeks to oppose oppression and marginalization; it can be viewed as a process of increasing interpersonal or political power so that individuals can take action to improve their life situation (Gutierrez, 1990; Nweke, 2014) Concept of Youth Empowerment Valrus and Fletcher (2006) defined Youth Empowerment as an attitudinal, structural and cultural process whereby young people gain ability, authority and agency to make decisions and implement change in their own lives and the lives of other people including adults. Youths are empowered when they acknowledge that they have or can create choices of life, and are aware of the implications of these choices, make an informed decision and accept responsibility for the consequences of those actions (Adegun and Komolafe, 2013). Nweke (2014 in Fletcher (2005), defined youth empowerment as a means of creating and supporting the enabling conditions under which young people can act on their own behalf, and on their own terms, rather than at the direction of others.

It simply means assisting the youth to overcome the difficulties which might prevent them from achieving their potentials. In a similar study, Omotere (2011) define youth empowerment as a process whereby young people gain the ability and authority to make decisions and implement change in their own lives. He further explained that youth empowerment can be exercised at homes, schools, through youth organizations, NGOs, government policy-making, and community organizing campaigns. It is ranges from economic empowerment to social, ideological, educational, technological and political empowerment which leads to manpower development. Conclusively, the concept youth empowerment is an attitudinal, structural, and cultural process whereby young people derive the ability, willingness, readiness and authority to make decisions and implement positive change in their own lives and to the intended beneficiaries around them (Nweke, 2014). Historically, it is not clear when the term ‘Youth Empowerment’ entered into the Nigerian socio-political and economic vocabulary. The term perhaps, resonates more as an attempt by stakeholders to draw attention to the ecological degradation and economic ‘powerlessness’ of those living in the oil-rich Niger Delta area of Nigeria. The Niger Delta youth adopted militant approach to fight for resource control in the region. The Federal Government responded by arresting what they perceive as youth restiveness in the Niger Delta, and thus, introduced various programmes targeted at diverting the attention of the youths. This might have influenced their use of the term ‘youth empowerment’ as a new vocabulary in governance. In line with the above assertion Emielu (2008), stated that crude oil is the main source of the Nigerian Economy, the concept of youth empowerment in the


Niger Delta area could be seen more as a negotiated relationship between government agencies and the ‘restive youths’, born more out of fear of destabilizing the national economy, than by the need to develop the creative potentials of the Nigerian youth. Why Cooperatives? The researchers acknowledge that the cooperative environment provides working conditions more favorable to youth engagement than do other organizational forms. Their democratic governance structure and organizational aims, which go beyond profit maximization, enable young people to explore different working and leadership roles, and to get involved in decision making procedures and multi-Cooperatives are autonomous associations of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise (internationally recognized definition, International Cooperative Alliance) stakeholder dialogue (Obodochi, 1999 and 2011).

Young people can become creative in cooperative environments which allow them to develop their entrepreneurial and managerial capacities. Note that cooperatives motivated by sustainability and long term development perspectives, can be more resilient to crises and offer more stable work environments. Furthermore, cooperatives provide and facilitate employment, income and the development of employment skills. Finally, cooperatives are important agents of financial, economic, community and human development (Obodochi, 1999 and 2011).

Cooperative Development Policy The National Cooperative Policy (2010) provides the policy guideline for cooperative development in Nigeria. The general objective of the Government is to develop and strengthen the cooperative movement in order to enable it play as a leading role in poverty alleviation, employment creation, youth empowerment, and social-economic transformation of the country (Lawrence, 2013). To this end, the Government recognizes savings and credit cooperatives to be significant drivers in the mobilization of young graduates and other intended youths to save as individuals or groups for purposes of enhancing production, investment and capital accumulation. The Government’s goal is to encourage the establishment of Cooperative Societies in each localities and states to spearhead savings mobilization and increased household incomes. Besides the focus on the development of savings and credit cooperatives, the other objectives of Government in cooperative development include:

• Re-building the cooperative movement to efficiently and effectively respond to members’ needs;

• Developing and reviewing the legal and regulatory framework and promoting and enhancing good governance in the cooperative movement;

• Developing the capacity of cooperatives to compete in the domestic, regional and international markets, as well as to provide a framework for improving capitalization and diversification of financing tools appropriate for the movement;

• Facilitating improvement of supply chain efficiency and marketing


infrastructure and diversifying the type and range of enterprises that cooperatives undertake;

• Strengthening the technical capacity of the Department of Cooperative Development and the local government;

• Building an efficient and modern cooperative management information system;

• Addressing the crosscutting issues of gender balance and fair representation of marginalized groups, and sustainable natural resources use. (Lawrence, 2013).

Challenges faced by cooperatives in developing countries The preceding optimistic view has to be tempered with awareness of the constraints that cooperatives in developing countries face. A recent study of 450 cooperatives in Nigeria, Tanzania and Sri Lanka reports that cooperatives lack access to loan finance to help them expand their business (Birchall, 2008). Other constraints include lack of technical knowledge and access to new technology, and training in business and leadership skills; lack of access to markets beyond their locality; and lack of knowledge about opportunities for fair trade. These cooperatives are still held back by issues like over-regulation from governments and poor internal governance which can lead to lack of trust in their own elected officials (Birchall, 2008). For instance, like that of farmer cooperatives who need assistance to improve the quality of produce for export in a global economy that puts the responsibility on producers to meet quality standards? Develtere, Pollet, and Wanyama (2008) suggested that Credit cooperatives need strengthened capacity to do banking and manage risk. The low level of

participation by women is a challenge faced by many cooperatives, a problem that is worse in agricultural cooperatives compared to other types such as credit cooperatives. One way to address this problem is through setting up youth’s cooperatives Society or youth multipurpose cooperative society. In addition, the authors further explained that the challenge of low level of involvement of youths and the need to provide them with decent work could be addressed through setting up specialized youth cooperatives and running awareness campaign in existing cooperatives (Develtere, Pollet, and Wanyama, 2008). The cost in human resources loss of trained employees and committed members adds to those imposed by the difficult business environment. In particular, credit cooperatives face increased risks from default on loans, and need to provide insurance that may, in the long run, be costly. One challenge is to meet the needs of members with HIV/AIDS and their families, and this can only be done by businesses that are sound. Nevertheless, cooperatives are an ideal setting for increasing awareness and HIV education. For instance, in India cooperative networks are being used for health education, while in Calcutta and West Bengal the sex workers of Usha Multipurpose Cooperative Society, with more than 7000 members, have started a microcredit scheme, help with supply and marketing of handicrafts, and a peer education programme. One opportunity provided by the crisis is to develop new types of cooperatives for home care provision, such as the Soweto Home-based Care Givers Cooperative, which is supported by the Canadian cooperative movement. Civil wars and ethnic conflicts have caused major disruptions and destroyed cooperative infrastructure and social capital. Yet there is some evidence that even during conflicts cooperatives can survive. In Sri Lanka and


Nepal, they have been the only independent organizations allowed by both sides in the civil war zone. In post conflict areas, cooperatives also play a crucial role in restoring both the economy and civil society. Bibby (2006) suggested and cited Rwanda as an example of cooperative, which stands as a credit union system in Rwanda that was rebuilt by the World Council of Credit Unions without regard to ethnicity, and now there are 149 unions with nearly 400,000 members to reposition the life of people through cooperative. He further cited others, such as: Bosnia cheese cooperatives, and Montenegro dairy cooperatives, which have encouraged displaced refugees to return, while in El Salvador electricity cooperatives have boosted the local economy so ex-combatants can find work. Similar stories can be told of Guatemala, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Serbia and Montenegro (Bibby, 2006). There is also evidence of cooperatives bridging longstanding ethnic divides; electricity cooperatives in Bangladesh have a common membership among the 28 million users, and in India dairy cooperatives treat members of different castes as equals (Bibby, 2006). Therefore, with this little example above, we believed such innovative can also be applicable in Nigeria to enhance and as well readdress the means of unemployment and above encourages savings among the up growing youths in Nigeria. Acknowledge that Cooperatives enable Young People to: a) Pursue opportunities for securing and

increasing income, when engaged as employees or members.

b) Pursue avenues for productive self-employment through the pooling of knowledge and resources, and

improving access to markets and productive resources;

c) Develop work ethics that are characterized by self-motivation through allowing young people to be the owners of their work;

d) Build self-confidence through allowing individual and team achievements;

e) Explore and master various working situations and develop problem solving skills which institutions of formal education may often fail to transmit;

f) Acquire general working and specific professional skills relevant to future employment;

g) Develop professional networks within and beyond the cooperative sector; and

h) Develop leadership skills for taking over responsibility within and beyond the cooperative sector.

In effectively run cooperatives, where collective achievements and social impacts carry more weight than individual concerns, we appreciate that young people have the opportunity to develop social consciousness and attain a sense of self actualization. Through their democratic governance, cooperatives also expose young members to democratic values and culture. The experience attained through engaging with an environment of accountability and solidarity gives young people the confidence to take on leadership roles in various contexts, even beyond the cooperative movement. Despite these real and potential benefits, are conscious that many hurdles exist that inhibit the ability of youth to engage effectively with cooperatives and vice versa.

Challenges as Necessary to Overcome:

Basically, they observe the following challenges as necessary to overcome:


a) There is a lack of comprehensive evidence regarding involvement mechanisms, as well as outcomes and impacts of cooperatives on young people. As a result, knowledge concerning the impact of the cooperative model is limited and often anecdotal. A more rigorous evidence base from which to draw may encourage greater promotion and support to youth engagement with cooperatives. As young people, we can contribute to the generation of that knowledge base.

b) The cooperative difference is often misunderstood or unknown by young people and the key influencers in their development, such as parents, teachers and decision makers.

c) Within cooperatives themselves, dialogue and mechanisms for effective youth involvement are lacking. In addition, cooperatives may have difficulty engaging with youth due to a lack of resources, capacity and supportive environments.

d) The cooperative difference or advantage is the way in which cooperatives and their members concisely refer to the many inherent social and economic benefits unique to the cooperative model. A generational divide exists between the younger and older generations leading to difficulty in integration of youth into the cooperative movement. Younger people see cooperatives as outdated or do not perceive them as viable job options. Youth who have integrated into cooperatives face vertical mobility and representation barriers. The older generation perceive youth as competition, or as lacking commitment.

e) In some cases, governments have misappropriated the term “cooperative” due to a misunderstanding of their nature as

people-driven businesses. The result is a reputation that has created a lasting reluctance to engage with cooperatives.

Suggested Strategies to Overcome these Challenges:

a) Urge governments and policy makers, educational and research institutions, cooperatives, civil society, and the international community to work together with us to address effective youth engagement with the cooperative sector.

b) In support of the ICA Blueprint for a Cooperative Decade and basing on the ILO Youth Employment Strategy and Non-Governmental Organization we encourage governments to include youth specific language into their proposed International Plan of Action on Cooperatives. In going forward with the implementation Government Wide Action Plan on Youth, we encourage agencies to engage with cooperatives in addressing issues of youth empowerment.

c) Need opportunities for learning and understanding the cooperative values and principles, and for seeing the cooperative model at work in a youth friendly environment where young people‘s needs and concerns are acknowledged and addressed.Calluponthecooperativecommunity,governments,internationalorganizations, educational institutions, civil-society and the media to deploy resources in order to enact communication strategies that include education and research, which are adapted to and accommodate the needs of young people.

d) We request that governments and policy makers at all levels ensure policy environment that facilitates effective


youth engagement. We recognize that many governments have worked to promote cooperatives, encouraged youth involvement, implemented national cooperative development plans and other support strategies in both the short- and long- term. However, bureaucratic hurdles and over-regulation sometimes pose a problem, and governments must be careful to respect the autonomy and independence necessary for effective cooperative development. Governments should continue engaging with cooperatives and vice-versa, ensuring enabling policy environments lending themselves to co-operatives by updating the laws and regulations that would generate opportunities to create and develop co-operatives.

e) We call upon educational and research institutions to work with governments and other stakeholders to properly integrate cooperative education into national curricula from the primary to tertiary levels and in vocational and technical education and training. We remind that early and effective education remains a proven mechanism for raising levels of awareness and improving the likelihood of youth engagement with any issue or opportunity. In the same line, we emphasize that business advisory services need to increasingly present the cooperative form of organization as a viable option. By educating young people about the cooperative model, we can establish a spirit of collectivism that makes reducing competitive attitudes between younger and older generations possible. Cooperatives and civil society stakeholders also have a role to play here in providing opportunities for informal education on the cooperative

way. also by establishing cooperative department and school.

f) We need to build upon the cooperative models track record of fostering equitable socio-economic development. It is necessary to do this by creating financial and technical support for cooperative development. International financial institutions, governments, the broader cooperative community, and we as individuals need to allocate significant monetary support for cooperative development. We can do this through the creation of cooperative development funds and greater access to financial products for cooperatives.

g) To effectively track and assess youth engagement, we call upon the international cooperative and governmental communities to collaboratively establish benchmarks and measures of youth engagement in cooperatives alongside indicators of their social and economic development. These standards need to be rooted in a cooperative understanding, modeled after proven best practices and successes of various cooperatives.

h) We further call upon all multi-stakeholders to collaborate and cooperate on all issues by allowing the inclusion of youth representatives on cooperative boards and on national cooperative councils. Authentic inclusion involves affording youth full voting rights and responsibilities. To facilitate this level of engagement in governance, attention will need to be given and changes made to legislative measures restricting those of certain ages and genders from being board directors or member- owners of enterprise. This would be a vital step in engaging with younger members of cooperatives and give them a greater


understanding of the organizational processes.

i) In appreciation of the many forms of social, economic, and political oppression that impact the lived realities of people in varying ways, we acknowledge there is no universal method to youth cooperative development - there are myriad mechanisms and methods that will need to be employed to empower young individuals and groups across the world to contribute to the cooperative community.

CONCLUSION AND THE WAY FORWARD

a) Building upon the momentum created that commit to continue raising awareness, particularly among young people, of the existing and potential role of cooperatives in society.

b) Commit to promoting the strategic usage of the 6th principle of cooperatives, “Cooperation among cooperatives”, through networks that will strengthen the local economy and foment social cohesion.

c) Finally, we as young and empowered members of the global community, commit to taking an active role in civil society, sharing our experiences with one another and being innovative and forward-thinking in our engagement for a more equitable world. Those of us already engaged in the cooperative community, commit to encouraging our peers to participate, sharing our cooperative stories with others,, and utilizing our voices to strategize within and between our cooperative institutions to become more inclusive of young people and give greater attention to youth issues.

REFERENCES Amahalu, A.C. (2004). Business Studies for

tertiary institutions. Enugu Alpha and Omega Press

Adeola, A. & Comfort, O. A. (2013). Entrepreneurship education and youth empowerment in contemporary Nigeria Scholarly Journal of Education, 2(5), 52-57, Retrieved June 2013 from: http:// www.scholarly- journals.com/SJE

Berwo, S.Y.(1989). Fundamental of Cooperation (A Pre-Publication Edition) Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu.

Birchall, J (2003). Rediscovering the Co-operative Advantage: Poverty reduction through self-help, ILO, p20-25

Bibby, A. (2006). HIV/AIDS and Co-operatives, Manchester: Co-operative College

Birchall, J. (2004). Co-operatives and the Millennium Development Goals, ILO , Ch.4 for case studies, and Simmons, R and Birchall, J. (2008) ‘The role and potential of cooperatives in poverty reduction’ ICA Research Conference, Trento, October, for findings from a survey of cooperatives in Tanzania and Sri Lanka

Birchall, J. (2008). ‘The role and potential of co-operatives in poverty reduction’ ICA Research Conference, Trento, October, for findings from a survey of cooperatives in Tanzania and Sri Lanka

Chukwu, S.C. (1990). Economies of the Cooperative Business Enterprise. Marburg: Merburg consult for self-help promotion, Germany.

Co-operatives UK (2008) Co-operative Review 2008, Manchester

Develtere, P; Pollet, I.; & Wanyama, F. (2008). Cooperating out of Poverty: the renaissance of the African co-operative movement, Geneva: ILO forthcoming


Fletcher, A. (2005). Guide to students as partners in social change. Retrieved from http//en.wkipedia.org/wiki/youth empowerment.

Ijere, M. (2000). The Role of cooperative in Marketing of Nigeria Agriculture product.

International Cooperative Alliance (1995). Principles of Cooperatives. Journal of Nigeria cooperative studies 1 (1), 36

International Co-operative Alliance (n.d) Retrieved from website, www.ica.coop Igwe, C.C. (1993). Perspectives on

cooperative business. Enugu: Acena Publishers

LIFYEAD (2010). Magazine 1(1) 24 Lawreance, K. M. (2013). Cooperatives: The

sleeping economic and social giants in Uganda. CoopAFRICA Working Paper No.15. Retrieved September 13, 2014, from: http://www.ilo.org/coopafrica

Muluka, G. (2012). Community Development Work and Youth Empowerment: The Role of Radio Median Capacity Building at the Helping the Poor and Needy Organization (H-PAN), Manchester United Kingdom. Diaconia University of Applied sciences

Nweke, P.O. (2014). Constraints to implementation of youth empowerment programmes in Abia State, Nigeria. Unpublished Postgraduate Thesis: Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Okonkwo, J.P.N. (1998). Hints on Cooperative Field Work, Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu State, Nigeria

Olakulehin, F.K., Ojo, O.D. (2006). Distant education as a women empowerment strategy in Africa. Turkey online Journal of distance Education TOJDE 7(149- 154).

Onoh, F.A. (1996). Cooperative Auditory and field Administration. Enugu: Amazing Grace Publishers

Obodoechi, O.B. (1999). Global Cooperative. Lagos: Cwmex publications

Onuoha, E. (1986). Principles of cooperative Enterprise. Enugu: Empress Publishing Company

Omotere, T. (2011). The Challenges Facing the Implementation of Youth Empowerment Programmes/Economic and Development Strategy (NEEDS) in Northern Nigeria: A Case Study of Some Selected Local Government Areas in Taraba State. Retrieved from: Ego Booster Books

Obodochi, O.B. (2011). International and Comparative Cooperation. Enugu: Chimex Publications.

Pure, S.S. (1978). Ends and Means of Cooperative Development National Cooperative Union, India.

Valrus, J., Fletcher, A. (2006). Guide to Social Change led by and with Young People. The Free Child Project. Retrieved from http/en.wikipedia.org.wiki/youth empowerment on 25/7/12.

World Bank (2007) Finance for All, Washington

http://www.ilo.org/coopafrica

Promoting youth empowerment through engagement with cooperatives

Documents

Transcript of Promoting youth empowerment through engagement with cooperatives