Lessons Learned, Lessons Shared: Reflections from the International Learning Group on Youth and Community Development. Community & Youth Development Series, Volume 5.

The International Learning Group on Youth and Community Development (ILG) was formed to examine the convergence of youth development and community development. In 1999, ILG commissioned a set of papers from young people involved in national efforts to engage youth in the political processes of their countries and brought ILG members together for a week to learn from programs and leaders in five Latin American partners--Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, and Paraguay. After 3 days of site visits in the five countries, ILG members and their host teams attended a conference to share lessons learned from the site visits and to share experiences from ILG members' own work. Section 1 provides an overview of the centrality of young people's participation to the health and development of communities and discusses links between youth development and community development. Section 2 presents essays by young people and program descriptions. In a neighborhood above Caracas, Venezuela, young people are the leaders in creating educational opportunities for children and youth. In Oaxaca, Mexico, teenagers and young adults are replenishing stocks of quail that had been part of the traditional livelihood of their Indigenous community. In Ecuador, young people of Cefocine helped rebuild a community ravaged by floods. In Paraguay, young activists halted a threat to democracy in their country. In Uruguay, young people are struggling to find input into broader community change. Section 3 presents lessons learned by ILG members during the Latin American experience and its impact on their youth engagement projects. An appendix presents information about ILG members. (TD)