What Are Life Skills?
- Life skills are a set of abilities, attitudes, and socio-emotional competencies that help individuals:
- Learn effectively
- Make informed decisions
- Exercise their rights
- Lead healthy, productive lives
- Become agents of positive change
Why Are Life Skills Important?
- They:
- Promote mental well being and resilience in youth【1】
- Enhance foundational academic skills like literacy, numeracy, and digital literacy【2】
- Are applicable across areas like:
- Gender equality in education
- Environmental and peace education
- Livelihood and income generation
- Health and relationship education
Role in Empowerment
- Life skills enable young people to:
- Take positive action
- Participate in their communities
- Engage in lifelong learning
- Build healthy social relationships
- Protect themselves and promote health
How Organizations Define Life Skills:
| Organization | Definition Focus | Summary |
| WHO (World Health Organization) | Health | Life skills are abilities that support adaptive and positive behaviours to help individuals cope with everyday life challenges. |
| World Bank | Gender & Rights | Life skills are social and behavioural (soft) skills, also called non cognitive skills, that help individuals deal with life demands. |
| UNICEF (MENA Framework) | Holistic Education | Life skills development is a process across four dimensions: cognitive, individual, social, and instrumental. It integrates knowledge, values, attitudes, and skills into quality, cross-cutting education【3】. |
📚 References:
- World Health Organization (WHO) (1997) Life skills education for children and adolescents in schools. Introduction and guidelines to facilitate the development and implementation of life skills programmes. Geneva: WHO.
- UNESCO (2021) Life skills supporting foundational and digital learning – aligned with global education goals. Paris: UNESCO.
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (2017) MENA Life Skills and Citizenship Education (LSCE) Initiative: Four-dimensional approach to life skills education. Amman: UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Office.
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