PESHAWAR, Feb 16: The Executive Director of the Innovation in Civic Participation (ICP), US, Ms Susan Stroud, said here on Wednesday that youth could play a pivotal role through community participation in nation-building work in underdeveloped countries.

Ms Stroud, who heads the Washington-based NGO, made a presentation on volunteerism at the Peshawar Press Club's Guest's Hour programme. "We think that young people in Pakistan are an extraordinary resource, which can be mobilized for development of the country."

If this major resource, she said, was activated, it could play a constructive role in community development. Ms Stroud who had worked in president Bill Clinton's first administration in mobilization of youth for community development got passed an act on voluntary services of youth in civic sector.

"I have worked in this sector during Clinton's administration and other organizations for eight years and had fully recognized that without involving young people a community cannot be developed," she said. Ms Stroud said there were ample examples around the world where young people had made a difference.

"In South Africa and Nicaragua youths were the key drivers in national development of these countries," she said, and added that sensible policies of the governments of these countries and the effective use of these resources, these nations had made tremendous progress within very short time.

Ms Stroud said the Chinese government had encouraged university graduates to go to the underdeveloped western part of the country and help the community develop and this policy had profound effects on the progress and development of that area.

Ms Stroud said in the 1930s when the US economy was totally collapsed, the then government formed the Civilian Conservation Forum and the unskilled people were taken for public service projects like planting of trees, building of bridges, etc.

In Pakistan and other underdeveloped countries, she remarked, the same principals could be applied for development. She said one Ali Khan, a Pakistani, had taken the initiative here and started the Pakistan Youth Service which had 1,000 members mostly working in education sector on voluntarily basis.