1. Executive Summary The National Youth Policy was developed in 2000 to provide an enabling framework for the development and empowerment of youth in a comprehensive, coordinated and multi-sectoral manner. The policy seeks to ‘empower the youth by creating an enabling environment and marshaling the resources necessary for undertaking programmes and projects to fully develop the youths’ mental, moral, social, economic, political, cultural, spiritual and physical potential in order to improve their quality of life’. However, since it was developed in 2000, some important developments have occurred at the national, regional and international levels that have necessitated the Government of Zimbabwe to review the Policy to determine that it becomes consistent with these developments and the current youth situation. In reviewing the policy, extensive consultations were held with youth organisations, sectoral groups as well as the young women and men themselves. In addition, the Zimbabwe Youth Council embarked on an extensive youth awareness and consultative process involving provincial as well as sectoral consultative meetings as well as launching electronic media programmes. Through these programmes and the participation of these groups in the policy formulation process, the revised National Youth Policy has been designed to address the major needs, challenges and opportunities of young men and women, accommodating provincial variations and specific sectoral issues. The Policy has also received contributions from a number of guiding frameworks that include the African Youth Charter (AYC), the United Nations World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) and the Global Political Agreement (GPA). It also incorporates aspects from the Nziramasanga Education and Training Commission Report. The policy is consistent with the Constitution of Zimbabwe and major regional and international Conventions and Agreements that the Government of Zimbabwe is Party to. It is based on a set of eleven guiding principles and values that have influenced its design and direction. These principles and values lay the foundation on which the goals, objectives and strategies of the policy have been formulated. By placing young people as central to all development initiatives, the revised National Youth Policy recognises and values young women and men as a key resource and national asset and highlights the importance of youth 1