Directory: Other International Organizations

• Sections:     Intro & Context | Themes & Trends | Donors & Funds

3. Directory of International Donors Funding the Youth Sector

THE BRITISH COUNCIL

www.britishcouncil.org/connectyouth

The British Council was formed in 1934 to promote a wider knowledge of the UK abroad, to promote knowledge of the English language, and to develop closer cultural relations between the UK and other countries. No figures are available in the public domain for the volume of funding being spent by the British Council on these projects, but according to its website the British Council’s overall program of activities worldwide reaches over 112 million people. At the same time as hosting the national agency for the implementation of the European Commission’s Youth in Action program in the United Kingdom (through Connect Youth), the British Council runs several large-scale operational programs that provide a framework for young people to become active at the international level, whether through their own projects or the programs provided by the British Council. The most relevant programs are:

International Climate Champions

www.britishcouncil.de/icc/index.htm

British Council’s International Climate Champions is a program that works in 60 countries across the globe, with young people who are passionate and committed to action on climate change. The British Council provides them with training and support to develop and implement projects within their local communities that raise awareness of climate change, limit the impact of climate change (adaptation), and reduce carbon footprint (mitigation). International Climate Champions spend a year working with their local communities carrying out projects that raise awareness of climate change and crucially encourage people to change their behavior. As well as working in their local area, International Climate Champions meet with local and national leaders to share their experiences. Some champions have the chance to express their views to world leaders at international meetings, such as the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen in December 2009. Champions vary in age in different countries but are between 11 and 35 years. During 2009, the British Council was working with champions in a total of 60 countries across the globe, and membership of the network grew to more than 2000.

Global Xchange

www.globalxchange.org.uk

The British Council finances an extensive international youth voluntary service exchange program called Global Xchange, which co-finances young people from the UK and participating countries around the world ages 18 to 25 to go abroad and work on a concrete voluntary project in another community.

International Inspiration

www.britishcouncil.org/sport-international-inspiration-home.htm

International Inspiration is a ₤9 million investment program to support sports projects in five developing countries around the world. The pilot programs are taking place in Azerbaijan, Brazil, India, Palau, and Zambia. Funding for the pilot program, which runs until 2010 and is being led by UK Sport, the government’s international sports agency, includes contributions from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), UNICEF, the British Council, the Football Association (FA) Premier League, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The program is designed to create opportunities for children and young people of all abilities from the world’s most disadvantaged communities to enrich their lives by playing and excelling in sports. Each pilot country benefits from a number of mutually agreed programs in these areas:

  • physical education in schools and school links;
  • sports development and sporting excellence;
  • human and social development through sports.

Skills for Employability

www.britishcouncil.org/nepal-programmes-skills-for-employability.htm

Skills for Employability is a British Council program that addresses the demand for skills in a global economy so that national and training systems are better able to respond to labor market demands and learner needs. The program focuses on building strong relationships with industry and employers, governments and training providers. The program has four core areas: policy dialogue, professional networks, institutional partnerships, and enterprise and technology awards. Skills for Employability is currently operating in many countries across Southeastern Europe, Central and South Asia, the Middle East, Near East and North Africa, China, and East Asia, and will expand into other regions in 2011. Young people are an important beneficiary group because of their school-to-work transitions and the high level of youth unemployment in the regions where the program is active.

THE COMMONWEALTH

www.thecommonwealth.org

The Commonwealth, founded in 1949, is an association of 53 independent states consulting and cooperating in the common interests of their peoples and in the promotion of international understanding. Commonwealth states were formerly British colonies. As independent states they decided to join the association voluntarily. The Commonwealth Secretariat, established in 1965, is the main intergovernmental agency of the Commonwealth, facilitating consultation and cooperation among member governments and countries. The association has always focused on investing in youth, and has had a youth program since the founding of the Secretariat.

Commonwealth Youth Program (CYP)

www.thecommonwealth.org/subhomepage/152816/

The CYP works with young people up to age 29 to help them to become active citizens and to fully participate in development projects that create opportunities for themselves and their communities. CYP operates through its main Commonwealth office (at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London) and four regional centers—in Zambia for Africa, in India for Asia, in Guyana for the Caribbean, and in the Solomon Islands for the Pacific. CYP focuses on three strategic program areas: youth enterprise and sustainable livelihoods; governance, development, and youth network; and youth work education and training. It also works toward enhancing youth participation, the development of evidence-based policymaking, the use of sports to deal with social problems (e.g., exclusion, HIV/AIDS, etc.), the use of technology to its best potential, and the development of standards.

BUDGET: Total allocation of the Commonwealth to activities related to young people in 2007–8 amounted to £2,557,765.

INTERNATIONAL ASTRONAUTICAL FEDERATION (IAF): INTERNATIONAL ASTRONAUTICAL CONGRESS (IAC) 2009 YOUTH GRANTS PROGRAM

www.iafastro.org/index.php?id=632

In October 2008 the member organizations of the IAF approved a new initiative to support the next generation of students and young professionals who aspire to be the future leaders of the international space community. As part of this initiative, the IAF has initiated a program to provide grants that enable students and young space professionals to participate in IAF activities, in particular the IAC. The initiative also envisions the creation of several new awards that recognize achievement by young people in the pursuit and promotion of global space activities. The IAC 2009 Youth Grants Program was open to individuals between the ages of 21 and 33 on 1 January 2009. Candidates could apply regardless of their home country or current residence. While all applications were considered, the IAF through this program encouraged applications from candidates in nations with emerging space capabilities and interests who would otherwise not be able to attend the IAC. The young people selected participated in the 60th IAC, which took place in Daejeon, Republic of Korea, in October. The individuals selected were given the opportunity to participate in other activities held just before and during the Congress.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF THE FRANCOPHONIE [ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE DE LA FRANCOPHONIE] (OIF)

www.francophonie.org/actions/developpement/ini-jeunesse.cfm

The OIF brings together 55 member states and governments and 13 observer states around their common language, French, spoken by 200 million people worldwide and the official language of 32 OIF member states. It has an operational youth program that supports the development of young people’s active and responsible citizenship and works with youth up to the age of 30. OIF’s three main areas of youth programming youth are: (1) meetings among French-speaking young people about issues of society, politics, and policymaking that concern them; (2) technical assistance to member states to reinforce their national and international youth policies; and (3) support and encouragement of French-speaking young people to get involved in the Francophonie volunteer program (Voluntariat Francophone).

BUDGET: According to the OIF’s annual report for 2007, the annual spending of the OIF on its transversal youth program, including the Voluntariat Francophone, is €1,003,000. Total OIF program expenditure for that year came to some €46.5 million.