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Using human capital theory and resource-based view (RBV), the authors argue that individuals and societies derive economic benefits from investments in people (Becker, 1992; Sweetland, 1996), thus effective management of talent is critical for economic development (Lepak and Snell, 2002; Khilji, 2012a). Next, the authors review governmental policies in three of the world's most populous countries, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, in order to highlight their national talent development efforts. The authors discuss how each country is meeting the challenge of making the talent they own, as well as buying diaspora talent in order to strengthen their local capabilities. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The authors adopted a comparative analysis approach in order to frame our arguments and discussion.

The paper finds that Bangladesh, India and Pakistan have implemented a wide range of initiatives, from skill development programs to citizenship policies for its diaspora, in order to upgrade their local capabilities. In addition, these countries are simultaneously using inclusive, exclusive, and subject dimensions (Gallardo-Gallardo et al., 2013) in developing their national talent. The paper highlights prevalence of the paradox of development and retention particularly in Bangladesh and Pakistan, where youth is also being trained to emigrate.

Global talent management (GTM) has become an increasingly important policy initiative, in view of a global generational divide that will require youth-rich emerging economies and aging developed countries to implement policies that help them meet global talent needs.

This commentary advances a macro GTM view, and argues in favor of promoting a policy perspective to better connect policy, research and practice that may lead to maximizing human potential globally and addressing global talent shortages.

The youth leadership development program is an opportunity to establish best practices for the development of youth and of the wider community. Based on underpinning research related to social cohesion and social capital, the purpose of this paper is to focus on connectedness is consistent with the work of Putnam (Bowling Alone).

Reflecting the multi-level character of all complex problems and also the need to explore common values, social networks and problem-solving mechanisms, the initial approach was a pre- and post-activity survey for participants, and focus groups with elders and parents. The pilot survey, however, revealed participants were unable to discriminate between the nominated Likert scales. The consequent approach turned to appreciative inquiry involving observational data and selected interviews with a random sample of participants from both gender groups, as well as focus groups with community elders.

The study presents findings from an experiential activity in a youth group to bridge social boundaries. Findings are presented using a social-ecosystem model. Key constructs relevant to a discussion of social cohesion and connectedness are discussed, and the youth development initiative identified bridging capital strategies and noted countervailing forces to engagement and successful integration. Central to effective social development strategies is the need for peer- and community-based initiatives to foster shared responsibility, hope and a sense of significance. The social-ecosystem framework offers a potential and realistic approach to enabling families and community groups to be the foundation of a safe and resilient country.

A single case study, where the pilot survey revealed participants were unable to discriminate between the nominated Likert scales. The consequent approach turned to appreciative inquiry involving observational data and selected interviews with a random sample of participants from both gender groups, as well as focus groups with community elders.

Looking first at the participants in this program, engagement requires challenge and buy-in, much the same as in classroom-based educational strategies. There are some preconditions that vary by gender. For young men, there is a mask that they adopt. As well, there is a rift between fathers and sons – confirmed in the community consultation and a more general inter-generational gap that requires attention. There are competing tensions that emerge at the family, community and societal levels. For example, the prevailing discourse is on acute VE related responses. However, what is needed is a greater focus on building social cohesion. Conversely, if family commitment is an important motive to disengage from VE, then cultural realities such as fractured communities, lack of role models, as well as a lack of suitable knowledge and the infrastructure for people to deal with vulnerable youth makes the whole issue highly problematic.

Central to community-based primary prevention responses and to bridging capital is the need for common values, strong social networks and shared problem-solving mechanisms. Table I presents a summary of key insights and countervailing forces (in italics and with a *) that illustrates a tug-of-war between different stakeholders in the social-ecosystem. This list is not exhaustive, but it provides a formative framework for the deeper exploration of community participation and evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of primary prevention.

An experiential approach to bridging social boundaries based on a youth development program in a refugee community is presented. Findings are presented using a social-ecosystem model was presented. Key constructs include an ecosystem model, and a framework that links social cohesion, capital and connectedness. The study presents ideas to activate bridging capital strategies and highlights countervailing conditions to engagement and development.

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the multinational oil companies’ (MOCs) corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Nigeria. Its special focus is to investigate the impact of the global memorandum of understanding (GMoU) on irregular migration urge of rural youths in the oil-producing communities.

This paper adopts a survey research technique, aimed at gathering information from a representative sample of the population, as it is essentially cross-sectional, describing and interpreting the current situation. A total of 2,100 households were sampled across the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

The results from the use of a combined propensity score matching and logit model indicate that GMoU model has made significant impact in dissuading young people from irregular migration drive.

This implies that if the MOCs increase the CSR intervention on young development initiatives that focus on creation of jobs and provision of financial and other resources that support local entrepreneurs, the push factors that compel youth irregular migration in sub-Saharan Africa would be deterred.

The fight against irregular migration of African youths and subsequent demise by sea, deserts and along the Mediterranean route can only succeed if cluster development boards of GMoUs are able to draw on young people to participate fully in the CSR intervention plans and programmes.

This research adds to the literature on multinational enterprises’ CSR initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa and rationale for demands for social projects by host communities. It concludes that business has an obligation to help in solving problems of public concern.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to knowledge and theory building in youth empowerment and entrepreneurship development.

This paper critically examines the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWiN) programme and its relevance as a youth economic empowerment programme through the lens of the UNDP Youth Strategy entry points for promoting economic empowerment of youth and extant literature on critical youth empowerment using participatory development theories.

While YouWiN is a significant intervention towards entrepreneurship development, it presents some flaws and limitations in the design and implementation process, which may challenge sustainable economic development. Hence, there is a need to explore the millennials empowerment paradigm in light of three key complementary action-oriented approaches to youth entrepreneurship development.

This paper proposes three key complementary action-oriented approaches to youth entrepreneurship policy/programme design, implementation and evaluation for the multilateral agencies, private and voluntary sectors. These are in the form of facilitating participatory engagement and diversity, managing drivers (push/pull factors) of entrepreneurship, and ensuring access to enablers/support. There is the need for further debate and critical inputs to improve theory building towards a normative framework in youth empowerment and entrepreneurship. This contributes to ending poverty, and promoting intergenerational equity and sustainable development.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between youth empowerment and sustainable development (SD) with regards to the Prime Minister’s Youth Program (PMYP).

Data were collected from randomly selected respondents (n=275) studying in Higher Education Institutions through online and self-administered structured questionnaire and from multiple secondary data sources.

The research findings infer that youth empowerment is significantly affected by the PMYP and there is a significant positive relationship between youth empowerment and SD. Overall, respondents appear to be satisfied with the program offerings and consider it a genuine effort toward youth empowerment for SD, but such notion also necessitates an integrated youth development paradigm in Pakistan.

The cornerstone of nation’s development is an established realization worldwide that the involvement of youth in development processes is essential to save the country from “youth bulge” while converting this contour into a “demographic dividend.” It was, therefore, pertinent to explore how development actors can engage youth in order to transform priority areas into development programming and policies.

This study deals with quite an unexplored phenomenon of youth empowerment; hence, it serves as one of the first studies to provide evidence of the relationship between youth empowerment and SD in Pakistan’s perspective. Further, it also provides a basis for carrying out advance research on youth empowerment which may assist the government, NGOs and other donor agencies to understand youth issues and blueprint apposite strategies accordingly.

The coach−athlete relationship mediates the relationship between sports participation and student-athlete character, health and well-being outcomes. High school athletic administrators (AAs) can provide critical leadership, mentorship and direction for coaches to optimize student-athlete performance and human development. Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an evidence-based approach to developing adult and student competencies for holistic development across the lifespan that has been primarily performed and researched in the classroom. The purpose of this research is to capture the lived experiences of AAs applying a novel SEL-based curriculum (InSideOut Initiative, ISOI) with coaches and student-athletes in high school sports.

Interviews of 10 AAs captured their lived experiences of applying SEL-based leadership and coaching and their perception of its impact on coaches and student-athletes in high school athletics.

AAs described leadership and coaching that are characterized by (1) safety, support and mentorship; (2) skill and support-based behavior modeling; (3) trusting, loving and supportive relationships; (4) self-reflection of values/beliefs and behaviors that impact self, student-athlete and culture; (5) the influence of emotions on the aforementioned; (6) the ability to have a long-term, sustainable impact on student-athletes and (7) alignment with their immediate environmental context.

The data captured in this study suggest that ISOI-trained AAs practice SEL-competent leadership and coaching. Evaluation of the novel application of SEL-based interventions in athletics will be useful to understanding their effects on participant social and emotional competencies and outcomes traditionally associated with classroom-based SEL applications.

Athletic administrator interviews describe an approach to high school sports that requires a reconceptualization of the purpose of athletics. When the high school sport operates as a curriculum, integrated opportunity for its student-athletes and athletic administrator and coach leadership aligns with this overarching philosophy, there may be increased potential for positive youth development.

The results of this research are valuable in demonstrating preliminary evidence of how SEL-based leadership and coaching is applied and impacts adult and student-athletes in a unique sport context.

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the impact of a growth enhancement support scheme (GESS) on youth development in informal farm entrepreneurship in Nigeria. Its special focus is to investigate the impact of the GESS on rural youths’ adoption of new technologies needed to sustainably increase food security in Nigeria.

This paper adopts a survey research technique, aimed at gathering information from a representative sample of the population, as it is essentially cross-sectional, describing and interpreting the current situation. A total of 800 rural youths were sampled across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.

The result from the use of a bivariate probit model indicates that the GESS has a significant impact on rural youths’ innovations in farming.

This suggests that information and communication technology could provide new opportunities for making farming more interesting and enterprising for rural young people.

It implies that while old male and female farmers are less likely to adopt the new farming technologies needed to achieve Nigeria’s agricultural transformation agenda (ATA), a younger generation can help introduce new technologies, while also learning from traditional methods.

This research adds to the literature on informal farm entrepreneurship and rural communities’ debate in developing countries. It concludes that engaging youths in GESS should form the foundation of the ATA in Nigeria, which, in turn, would offer adequate combination of new and traditional solution to address the challenges of food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze fans’ perceptions of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of a professional football club, specifically whether or not perceived CSR performances are then likely to influence patronage intentions of the fans in relation to the football club.

The paper uses the example of a professional football club in China as a case study for data analysis. Based on a sample of 451 home team fans, analysis was conducted through calculation of descriptive statistics, and exploratory factor analysis. Regression analysis was conducted to determine the impact of perceived CSR performance on fans’ patronage intentions.

The results revealed that factor 3 (“CSR to customer and employee”) and factor 4 (“Community development and youth education”) were significantly predictive of all the three patronage intention variables, i.e. repeat purchase, word-of-mouth and merchandise consumption. In addition, factor 2 (“charity”) would also affect merchandise consumption intention, but have no effect on any other dimensions.

A scale measuring perceived CSR performance in professional football clubs by the fans in the Chinese context has been developed. In addition, the authors have identified that the two main CSR factors that would influence fans’ patronage intentions are: “CSR to the customer and employee” and “community development and youth education.” Thus, if football clubs are to use CSR strategically to leverage spend, then it is these two areas that they should focus on, explicitly in relation to CSR activities. This paper adds value to an area that is currently under-researched in respect of CSR activities in Chinese professional football.