The purpose of this mapping is toidentify and survey existing and defunct Youth Centers (YC)in both urban and rural Timor Leste in order to understandthe needs of YC's, their perspective on community youthneeds and their perception on youth development. A youthcentre, or 'centre Juventude' and 'Uma FoinSae sira', is a physical location where young men andwomen gather to discuss, coordinate and participate in youthrelated activities. An YC could be a designated house onchurch grounds; a room in a school, a Sub District office ora building allocated by the community for the purpose ofyouth related activities. An YC in Timor Leste may be amodestly resourced house, or a derelict building where youngpeople meet to organize national events, sportingcompetitions, or computer and language training. Sometimesit is simply be a meeting point 'for empowerment'where elected youth leaders from sucos (villages) andaldeias (hamlets) meet to raise awareness on youth relatedconcerns. The idea of an YC has existed in Timor Leste formany years and has evolved with time. From its beginningswhen it was used mainly for cultural and traditionalpractices, to a place to conduct underground clandestineactivities, to what they are today. The survival of the YCis determined by economic factors, but more importantly itis determined by the support of which the communityprovides. Nowadays, YC's seem to all hold one commonobjective and that is to strive to deliver a range ofdiverse activities that attempt to improve the social andeconomic conditions of youth.
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