Exploring Participation Opportunities of Young People Living in Urban Areas of Karachi, Pakistan

Researches in the recent era have indicated the significance of facilitating young people to participate in community development and its positive impact on socio-economic development of a country. This investigation aimed at exploring the opportunities of participation of young people at home, school, neighborhood and community in terms of decision making, school planning, town planning, social campaigning and taking responsibilities of social development. Phenomenological design was approached and a total number of 10 young people aged 12 - 14 years from middle class families in Karachi, Pakistan participated in the study and the data collection semi interview guide was prepared using categories of participation with the reference of Child and Adolescents Scale of Participation - CAPS (Bedell, 2011). The data analysis revealed that lack of policy, security, instability in government and parents' support are key barriers of young people participation in the community work. The study is concluded with a set of recommendations for key stakeholders.