Abstract:
Youths are the most energetic and productive segment of the total population
of any country. Generally, transitional period from childhood to adulthood
is considered as youth. But the age limit of youth varies from country
to country. People in Bangladesh within the age group of 18-35 years are
considered as youth as per its National Youth Policy. Among the total population
of Bangladesh about one-thirds are of youth group. As individuals
move into youth from adolescence their needs and demands are changed.
But what is the nature of needs of the youths of Bangladesh? Do they face
any barrier to meet their needs? What kind of strategies do they follow to
meet their needs? These questions should be addressed with empirical evidence
for the betterment of the youths. Therefore, an exploratory study has
been carried out by following qualitative approach to address the abovementioned
research questions and the findings have been presented in this
paper with policy implications and concluding remarks at the end. The findings
show that quality education, pure and fresh food, healthcare and reproductive
health services, employment opportunity, housing with utility services,
training for skill development and recreational facilities are their
prime needs. They could fulfill their needs to some extent but still there are
a lot of barriers to fulfill their needs. Accordingly, they adopt a variety of
indigenous mechanisms to cope with this situation. However, the findings
would be useful for the policy makers, social workers and development
practitioners, and create a new avenue for further study in this field.
