Welcome!
Positive Youth Development (PYD) is the common thread that runs through all YP2LE activities and the resources we share with the youth development community. Through this newsletter, we provide you with information, tools, and resources that support your work and engagement with young people around the world. In this latest edition, we share details about toolkits arriving this summer, more inclusive and accessible programming, and recommendations from experts in youth in agri-food systems, who weigh in on the future of farming and why youth will make or break it.
Around the World with YouthPower
Youth Inclusion is the Bridge to Agri-Food Gaps
On May 13, Reference Group members of the Youth in Agri-food Systems Learning Activity (YASLA) convened for a dynamic discussion on the current state of agri-food systems, the importance of youth inclusion, and how they hope their work with YASLA can benefit on the ground implementers as well as inform policy decisions.
We asked them about youth’s vital role in agriculture. Here is what they said.
YP2LE Learning Network Webinar: Making International Programming More Inclusive and Accessible
YP2LE recently hosted a webinar focused on making international programming more disability-inclusive and accessible. A panel of YP2LE’s global implementing partners shared their approaches to programming design and modification to be disability-inclusive, underlining the importance of these practices, continuous adaptation and learning, and how we can work together to create more accessible environments. The session was moderated by USAID Agency Disability Rights Coordinator Katherine Guernsey. English Closed Captioning and American Sign Language (ASL) Interpretation was provided during this webinar. Watch it now.
Feedback Request: What is your experience with PYD?
The Youth Power2: Learning and Evaluation (YP2LE) team will be sending out a survey in early June to collect information for our monitoring and evaluation plan and internal research purposes. We hope that you will complete the survey and share information on your experiences with PYD. Be on the lookout for the survey!
A Contest for the Digital Storytellers in All of Us: #WatchOurImpact Begins June 7
Young changemakers around the world are making lasting impacts in their communities, yet their efforts are too often underestimated. USAID’s Global Leadership and Education Advancing Development (Global LEAD) Initiative, YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation (YP2LE), and Generation Unlimited (Gen U) want to change that, so they joined forces to launch a digital storytelling contest on YouthLead.org that leverages video and digital slideshows to tell the story of how youth are using the power of change to make the world a better place. Do you know a young leader who might be interested? Encourage them to visit YouthLead.org on June 7 for more information.
Updates
Passing the Mic to Young Leaders: USAID Launches New Youth Councils
Practicing PYD has long been a priority for USAID and Advancing Protection and Care for Children in Adversity (APCCA) Secretariat-funded programs. Through YP2LE, the APCCA Secretariat established two new youth councils to actively engage young leaders in advising USAID on the implementation of the APCCA Strategy and the newly launched USAID Digital Strategy. The Care Leaders Council (16 members, ages 24 – 35 years) and the Digital Youth Council (12 members, ages 16 – 24) build upon the ongoing success of the YouthLead Ambassadors program.
Coming Soon: Youth, Mental Health, and Psychosocial Support Toolkit
As Mental Health Awareness Month comes to an end, we would like to share the upcoming release of the Youth, Mental Health, and Psychosocial Support Toolkit. This resource will provide USAID staff and implementing partners with strategies and tools to design and implement mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) programs in low and middle-income countries. The strategies and tools can be applied to standalone programs and integrated into youth-focused activities across multiple sectors. To launch the toolkits, a webinar will be held in the early summer. Participants will learn more about the kit’s components and partake in discussion about integrating MHPSS considerations into youth programming. This webinar will have multiple options to accommodate audience members in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia. Be the first to know when registration opens by signing up here.
Youth-Focused Gender Analysis Toolkit to be Released
This toolkit will provide effective tips and links to tools for implementation partners and USAID staff to apply when carrying out gender and/or youth-focused analysis. The resource offers guidance on the start-up phases of economic growth programming to ensure young women’s constraints and opportunities are adequately captured. During the development of the toolkit, the team incorporated tools and analyses shared by USAID, implementing partners, and other donors as well as best practice research. YP2LE hosted a validation workshop with stakeholders to identify any gaps to further enrich the toolkit before its release. The toolkit will be released this summer.
Learning Agenda Advisory Group Meets to Advance PYD Learning
The first YP2LE PYD Learning Agenda Advisory Group (LAAG) meeting of 2021 took place on April 20, with the objective of sharing current research findings and discussing upcoming YP2LE research activities. The LAAG meets quarterly to identify gaps in PYD research, provide input on research activity design, provide peer review of activity deliverables, and support dissemination processes for YP2LE products. At this most recent meeting, Gina Chowa and Miranda Manzanares of the University of North Carolina’s Global Social Development Innovations Research Center presented findings from the YP2LE systematic literature review on vulnerable and marginalized youth, detailed in a now publicly available report and brief. In addition, Cassandra Jessee, International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), presented the learnings from seventeen cross-sectoral youth assessments completed under YouthPower Learning and YP2LE. Those findings will be published in a forthcoming article in the Journal of Youth Development. Based on discussions with the LAAG, the YP2LE team will work with USAID in the coming months to consider next steps for research activities that advance the Learning Agenda.
Participate in a Community of Practice!
Are you interested in connecting with other youth and youth-serving practitioners? YP2LE’s Communities of Practice (CoPs) are spaces where youth and youth-serving practitioners can come together to share ideas, tools, and build and test practical resources to advance PYD through collaboration, dialogue, and collective learning. Check out our upcoming events and webinars. Join one (or more!) of the six active CoPs today:
- The Business, Entrepreneurship, and Private-Sector Engagement CoP will host a knowledge-sharing webinar on June, 23, 2021 on what information has been gathered and what gaps the CoP can fill. This webinar is the starting point for the product development phase of the CoP.
- The Youth Engagement CoP and Gender CoP are co-hosting a workshop on June 24, 2021 on working with youth in LGBTQ+ communities in honor of Pride Month.
- The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Youth CoP will explore youth and mental health through their monthly meeting on June 17, 2021.
- The Youth Systems Strengthening CoP will continue fostering a common understanding of which type of interventions are most widespread, their challenges, and the best practices to develop the groundwork on which the CoP will generate their deliverable. Their next meeting date will be June 10, 2021.
- The Higher Education Engagement and Transformation (HEET) CoP will host a knowledge-sharing webinar on June 3, 2021 featuring presenters who will speak to the interests identified by community members in the kick-off meeting.
TIPS
- Learn how to join a CoP and engage with its members.
- CoP members receive weekly notifications of ongoing activities from their registered communities. You can change the frequency of the notifications by adjusting the setting on your YouthPower.org profile.
Now Available
Opportunities for Youth Employment in the Health and Social Sectors in Mozambique
Youth employment in Mozambique is a pressing challenge as 15 to 24 year olds represented almost 20 percent of the population in 2020, according to the UN estimates. Like most countries, Mozambique is also facing a health worker shortage and maldistribution, which provides an opportunity to match the supply of young people to the demand for health workers. The new report, Opportunities for Youth Employment in the Health and Social Sectors in Mozambique, summarizes the findings from data mining and a literature review on the viability of creating employment opportunities for young people, especially young women up to the age of 30. Download the report now.
Democracy on the Move: How Young Voices Are Uniting for Change
Scott Warren of Democracy Moves shares his perspective on building a youth-led global movement for democracy. Learn why youth have always been at the forefront of change and how enabling them to lead now, rather than later, can have a meaningful impact on their communities. Listen to the podcast now.
UPCOMING YP2LE EVENTS
June 3: Higher Education Engagement and Transformation (HEET) CoP
June 10: Youth Systems Strengthening CoP
June 17: Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Youth CoP
June 23: Business, Entrepreneurship, and Private-Sector Engagement CoP
June 24: Youth Engagement CoP
June 24: Gender CoP
OTHER EVENTS:
June 17: Preventing Gender-Based Violence in and Through Schools
Sept. 8-9: The 9th ICSD 2021
For more information, visit the Events section on YouthPower.org.
New Resources on YouthPower.Org
YP2LE Learning Resources
- YP2LE Learning Network Webinar: Making International Programming More Inclusive and Accessible (Recording and Slides)
- YP2LE MENA Youth CoP: Youth Engagement during COVID-19 – Experiences from I Learn Jordan (Recording)
- The Ultimate Dialogue Adventure — a free online learning pathway (webinar recording)
- Morocco Cross-Sectoral Youth Assessment Brief
- Setting the Gender CoP Agenda (webinar recording)
- Youth Engagement: Principles and Examples
- Youth Assessments 101 Brief
- Youth Center Toolkit
Agriculture and Food Security
- Designing for Youth Inclusion in Agriculture and Food Systems
- Youth, Women, and Market Systems Development in Agriculture
- Integrated Psychosocial and Food Security Approach in an Emergency Context: Central African Republic
Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance
- 16 x 16 Dialogue Series ‘Youth Leadership for Peaceful, Just, and Inclusive Societies'
- Recommended Strategic Priorities: Youth Employment in the Mozambique Health and Social Services Sector
- Engaging the Potential of Youth as Peacebuilders in Africa
Economic Growth, Education, and Environment
- Regional Economic Outlook: Arising from the Pandemic: Building Forward Better
- Building the Foundations for Sustainable Development: A Case for Global Investment in the Capabilities of Adolescents
- Laws Still Restrict Women’s Economic Opportunities Despite Progress
Health