Needs and Challenges of the Youth at the Local Level VOLUME II Youth are a crucial part of the society that can not only play the role of ordinary participants in the process of change and development, but become an initiator of milestone processes. Thus, over the course of transformation or development, it is important to support them. This implies not just ensuring the availability of services young people need to acquire a variety of skills and knowledge, but also the protection of youth rights, the study of their needs, and the responses to them on both the local and central levels. All this combined creates a convenient environment for youth, and in turn for society’s development. In order to have a youth policy functioning in the municipality, it needs to be research-driven. To this end, “Youth Agency” created a municipal youth policy development program that supports the development of research-driven youth policy documents. The given study is part of a program that was undertaken with the initiative of Youth Agency in collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES). The research aims to study youth needs and challenges at the municipal level. Namely, the study was conducted in the following municipalities: Baghdati Municipality, (2) Sachkhere Municipality, (3) Senaki Municipality, (4) Khobi Municipality, (5) Chokhatauri Municipality, (6) Ambrolauri Municipality, (7) Kaspi Municipality, (8) Gardabani Municipality, (9) Kvareli Municipality, (10) Lagodekhi Municipality by Research and Consulting Company ACT.

The study covers diverse issues such as accessibility on services and programs, civic engagement and participation, values and rights, risky behaviors and provides in-depth analysis of challenges and needs from perspective of young people as well as of other important actors in the field, such as local government and representatives of civil society