2. Introduction 2.1 Background Young people have long been a priority of the Government of Zimbabwe since the attainment of independence in 1980. Recognizing the large numbers of youth who were denied opportunities for education and basic human rights, as well as their vast potential to collectively contribute to national development, the Government of Zimbabwe, at independence, created the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Recreation which was charged to address youth development issues. Thus, the Government introduced various programmes to advance the interests and welfare of youth in social and economic spheres. In recognition of the demographic, socio-economic and political significance of the youth and to demonstrate its commitment to addressing their development and empowerment needs, the Government of Zimbabwe in 2000 developed the National Youth Policy. The policy seeks to empower the youth in a comprehensive, coordinated multi-sectoral manner, by ‘creating an enabling environment and marshaling the resources necessary for undertaking programmes to fully develop the youths’ mental, moral, social, economic, political, cultural and physical potential in order to improve their quality of life’, (National Youth Policy, 2000). The National Youth Policy represents a declaration of the priority areas for addressing youth issues and outlines strategic interventions that the government intends to provide for the development of young women and men. Furthermore, the policy provides a framework for the involvement of different organizations and sectors in supporting the development of young people in Zimbabwe. In general, the youth policy priorities are based on an analysis of the situation of youth presented at the time of the development of the policy. Since the initial policy was developed in 2000 several developments have occurred at national, regional and international levels which have necessitated the Government of Zimbabwe to review the policy to determine that it is consistent with these developments and the current youth situation. 4