Directory: The United Nations System

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3. Directory of International Donors Funding the Youth Sector

The United Nations recognizes that the imagination, ideals, and energies of young people are vital to the development of the societies in which they live. The UN acknowledged this in 1965 with the Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding between Peoples. In 1985, the UN General Assembly observed International Youth Year: Participation, Development and Peace. It drew attention to the important role young people play in the world and to their potential contribution to development and the goals of the United Nations.

In 1995, on the tenth anniversary of International Youth Year, the United Nations strengthened its commitment to young people by adopting an international strategy—the World Program of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond (WPAY). While the implementation of the WPAY is the responsibility of the UN member states, the UN secretariat can “where appropriate” offer assistance and support. The United Nations General Assembly developed specific and measurable goals and targets in 2005 for implementing the WPAY, but the procedure for reporting on progress has not been completed.

MANDATE:

Within the United Nations system, the Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs is responsible for youth issues. Within the secretariat, the program is called the UN Program on Youth. This program defines young people between the ages of 15 and 24. The UN is authorized to work with national governments at the invitation of its member states individually and collectively. This can mean a limited scope of action for UN agencies. Even when governments do not live up to their responsibilities under human rights conventions and other international commitments, UN agencies have great difficulty, despite their mandates, in commenting publicly and effecting change. See www.un.org/youth.

OBJECTIVES:

  • To enhance awareness of the global condition of youth and increase recognition of the rights and aspirations of youth; promote national youth policies, national youth coordinating mechanisms, and national youth programs of action as integral parts of social and economic development, in cooperation with both governmental and nongovernmental organizations; and
  • To strengthen the participation of youth in decision-making processes at all levels in order to increase the impact of young people on national development and international cooperation.

MODUS OPERANDI:

The UN system comprises the general secretariat and many different agencies that recommend different kinds of work on youth issues in accordance with their mandates. Even with WPAY in place, several UN agencies consider themselves “lead agencies on youth.” These agencies have different mandates that affect their ability to cooperate with each other; in fact, sometimes their ways of operating create competition. In any given country, UN activities in the field of youth are highly diverse. The extent and scope of UN investment in youth in one country depends on which agencies are active and their specific mandates, whether one UN agency has traditionally “taken the lead,” and whether or not a UN Theme Group on Youth has been established to ensure coordination of youth-related programming. A UN Theme Group on Youth is a coordination mechanism among all agencies that have youth-related programming in one country and is intended to serve the purpose of the UN system “acting as one” in that context. Specific information on each agency’s youth activities is available at www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/agenda.htm.

THE UN PROGRAM ON YOUTH

www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/mandate.htm

The UN Program on Youth was established to:

  • enhance awareness of the global situation of youth and increase recognition of the rights and aspirations of youth;
  • promote national youth policies, national youth coordinating mechanisms and national youth programs of action as integral parts of social and economic development, in cooperation with both governmental and nongovernmental organizations; and
  • strengthen the participation of youth in decision-making processes at all levels in order to increase their impact on national development and international cooperation.

Its main responsibilities include:

  • the publication of the World Youth Report;
  • the preparation of activities to celebrate International Youth Day every year;
  • the monitoring of progress toward and support for efforts to implement the WPAY;
  • consulting and advising other UN units on youth issues;
  • assistance to governments preparing youth ministerial conferences (i.e., participation in proposed steering groups, and the like);
  • the organization of occasional events, conferences, and forums.

The UN Program on Youth has no direct grant-making activities. No information is available in the public domain concerning its operational budget. Its activities are funded from the general budget of the UN through the division in which it is located, e.g., the Department for Social and Economic Affairs, which has four professional and one general members of staff.

BUDGET: Finding even a “guesstimate” of what the UN system spends on youth activities per year is impossible, partly because of the difficulty of calculating expenditures on youth from highly diverse agencies and the many levels at which the UN works on youth matters—global, regional, and in country—and coordinating that information with budgets drawn from a wide variety of sources, including third parties. Even the UN general secretariat’s costs of implementing and maintaining WPAY through the UN Program on Youth are not available to the public.

UN Youth Trust Fund

The UN Trust Fund for Youth was established in 1980 as part of the UN Trust Fund for International Youth Year. Its purpose was to provide funds for the preparation and follow-up to International Youth Year 1985. Since 1985 the resources in the fund have been used to provide seed-money grants that support catalytic and innovative action in the field of youth by governments or by the nongovernmental community. This fund enables governments to voluntarily contribute financial resources to WPAY. Governments can determine the size and frequency of contributions and indicate how their contribution should be spent. For example, in 1998 the Portuguese government hosted the first Ministerial World Conference on Youth and a parallel youth event in Braga, Portugal. In order to finance its organization and preparation at the global level, the Portuguese government contributed to the UN Trust Fund on Youth. Also, contributions not earmarked for any specific purpose are used to supplement the UN Program on Youth’s budget for implementing WPAY. For example, the UN Program on Youth is responsible for drafting the World Youth Report. Occasionally additional research is required to complete the report and the Trust Fund is used to finance the outsourcing or commissioning of this research.

OVERALL BUDGET: No information is available to the public about the size of the fund and about which governments regularly contribute to it.

UN GRANT-MAKING INITIATIVES FOR YOUTH

The UN has two main sources of direct funding for international youth-led initiatives. Both are relatively new, operational only since 2008.

The Alliance of Civilizations (AoC)

www.unaoc.org

The AoC was established in 2005 by the governments of Spain and Turkey under the auspices of the UN. The AoC aims to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions and, in the process, to help counter the forces that cause polarization and extremism. Working with all social partners, the Alliance supports a range of projects and initiatives aimed at building bridges among diverse cultures and communities.

AoC Youth Solidarity Fund

www.unaoc.org/content/view/93/128/lang,english/

The AoC has launched a Youth Solidarity Fund, which provides seed funding in amounts up to US$20,000 to a small number of outstanding youth-led projects in the fields of intercultural and inter-religious exchange, youth leadership training, and youth voices in the media. Projects must have long-term goals that help youth from disenfranchised communities to overcome perceived or real cultural and religious divides, and must be entirely managed by young people for the benefit of young people. The aim of this competitive funding mechanism is to facilitate genuine bridge-building among young people of different cultural and religious backgrounds.

The Youth Solidarity Fund provides funding for projects that are entirely managed by young people for the benefit of young people between the ages of 18 and 35. To be eligible, applicants must:

  • be membership-based youth organizations (youth-led or primarily youth-serving) or a network composed of several youth-led organizations;
  • be nongovernmental organizations (with the exception of national youth councils) registered in the country of operation as a charity, trust, foundation, or association, that have funded and implemented projects for a minimum of one year;
  • have a democratic governance structure that nominates leaders and implements formal priorities and member policies;
  • demonstrate proper and consistent record-keeping of its activities, including minutes and accounts;
  • monitor, evaluate, and assess the impact of activities and projects;
  • reflect gender perspective and balance in staff and membership;
  • not adhere to or have affiliations with violent ideologies or antagonism against any particular country, religion, ethnic group, color, or sex.

The pilot phase of the Youth Solidarity Fund was announced at the Alliance of Civilizations Madrid Forum in early 2008. During the 2008 application period, over 110 proposals came from a total of 55 countries on all continents. Young people played a critical role in the selection process; an international team of seven young people was called upon to review submitted project proposals and make recommendations for funding. Six projects were identified as winners and received grants ranging between US$10,000 and $20,000. The projects were implemented between July 2008 and April 2009. A detailed report of these projects’ results was made available in September 2009 and, after appropriate fundraising, a second phase was launched during the second half of 2009 that allowed a much larger number of projects to be supported, including regional projects needing bigger grants. The AoC is working to significantly increase the total amount of funding available. A review of the pilot phase included recommendations for a stronger focus on innovation and on synergy among projects receiving grants in the framework of the second phase of grant-making.

YOUTH @ UN HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PROGRAM (UN-HABITAT)

www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?typeid=19&catid=531&cid=4421

UN-HABITAT is the UN agency for human settlements. Mandated by the UN General Assembly, it promotes socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities that provide adequate shelter for all. UN-HABITAT recognizes young people as active participants in the future of human settlements. UN-HABITAT initiates and fosters interagency partnerships with youth organizations. It engages young people at an international level to help formulate an international understanding of pressing youth issues. Working with young men and women and understanding their diverse abilities, realities, and experiences is an essential element of UN-HABITAT’s long-term success of achieving sustainable urbanization. Young people need acknowledgment, guidance, resources, and training in order to reach their full potential. UN-HABITAT has a Youth Strategy for Enhanced Engagement, an integrated approach to urban youth development that guides the operations of the agency when working with young people. This strategy provides a road map for the promotion of urban youth empowerment.

UN-HABITAT: Opportunities Fund for Youth-Led Development

www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?typeid=19&catid=531&cid=6329

The Opportunities Fund for Youth-Led Development was officially established by the UN-HABITAT Governing Council (GC resolution 21/6) in 2007, in direct response to requests from youth, including those attending the Third World Urban Forum (Vancouver, 2006). Championed by Norway, this fund has US$1 million to spend annually in support of initiatives promoting youth leadership in sustainable urban development. The aim of the fund is to promote leadership and participation of young women and men in achieving sustainable urbanization. The fund bridges the policy-practice divide by promoting model youth-led projects that demonstrate the global community’s commitment to youth, and identify best practices that advance research and policy in all development sectors, including government, civil society, and the private arenas. Governments agreed that a new fund to expand the agency’s youth programs would be created to:

  • strengthen youth-related policy formulation;
  • build the capacities of governments, civil society organizations, and the private sector to better address youth concerns, and support new information and communication for young people;
  • test new approaches to employment, good governance, adequate shelter, and secure tenure, and promote the sharing of best practices;
  • promote vocational training and credit mechanisms to encourage entrepreneurship and employment for young women and men, in collaboration with the private sector and with other UN bodies.

The fund was established with US$2 million provided by the Norwegian government for an initial two years of grant-making and the possibility of renewal. The fund provides between $5,000 and $25,000 to organizations led by young people, ages 15 to 32, and organizations for youth-led urban development initiatives in developing countries. The first round of applications was closed on June 15, 2009. Overall, 1,116 applications were received—816 for the larger grant for up to $25,000 and 290 for the smaller grant of up to $5,000—from urban youth-led organizations from 86 countries. The second call for applications launched in February 2010. In this round US$1 million was available to projects led by young people, ages 15 to 32, who were piloting innovative approaches to employment, good governance, shelter, and secure tenure. Funding ranged between US$5,000 and $25,000. More information about the fund is available at www.unhabitat.org/youthfund.

United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF)

http://www.un.org/democracyfund/

UNDEF supports projects that strengthen the voice of civil society, promote human rights, and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes. The large majority of UNDEF funds go to local civil society organizations – both in the transition and consolidation phases of democratization. In this way, UNDEF plays a novel and distinct role in complementing the UN’s more traditional work – the work with Governments – to strengthen democratic governance around the world. In four Rounds of Funding so far, UNDEF has supported more than 330 projects in 115 countries at a total amount of US$93 million. UNDEF provides grants ranging from US $50,000 to US $500,000 for a two-year project in one or more of six main areas of community development, rule of law and human rights, tools for democratization, women, youth and media. While applications from all countries will be considered, strong preference will be given to applicants from countries and regions where the challenges of democracy are more critical, such as countries emerging from conflict, new and restored democracies, the Least Developed Countries, Low-Income countries and Middle Income Countries. UNDEF supports projects which either take place in one country only, or occur in several specified states of a region or sub-region or intend to operate at the global level. UNDEF will reserve at least 70% of its programmable resources in each funding round for projects taking place in one country and will allocate no more than 30% to global/regional projects. Applications have to be submitted online (either in English or French) through the On-line Project Proposal System (OPPS) available at the UNDEF website. There are no permanent deadlines for applications, UNDEF makes calls for projects.