Africa: Other Initiatives

• Regions:     Africa | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East & North Africa | Latin America & Caribbean

Regional Youth Funding in Africa

This section includes some initiatives for youth that have been undertaken in the region. These may not form part of the work of the “traditional” youth sector of the region, but they nevertheless constitute examples of good practice and demonstrate the extent of development and innovation under way in the youth sector in this region

AFRICA FILES

http://www.africafiles.org

Africa Files is a network of volunteers committed to promoting African perspectives and alternative analyses for human rights and economic justice in Africa. It is active in the fields of information and research and was launched in 2002 by former volunteers in two well-established groups based in Toronto, the Economic Rights in Southern Africa group of the Inter-Church Coalition on Africa and the Toronto Committee for the Liberation of Southern Africa. When these groups ceased operation in 2001, members from each group came together to explore ways to continue their work and express their solidarity with Africa. It is also a useful and up-to-date information resource for youth-related activities. Within Africa Files, there are several important initiatives:

Action Focus: This platform takes action on specific Africa-related human rights and justice issues. Some Action Focus items target major issues involving Africa and offer alternative analyses and responses, with a more radical perspective than is often found in government and mainstream media sources. Other Action Focus items are direct calls for immediate urgent action coming from Amnesty International or Africa Files’ sister organizations. Action often involves writing letters to members of Parliament or other leaders on specific issues, or solidarity messages with those suffering injustice.

Africa InfoServ: This free e-mail information service features up-to-date reports on African events, issues, and people, drawn from a variety of sources, including News From Africa, All Africa News Agency, IRIN, New People, SARDC, Inter-Press Service, Women’s E-News, and E-Africa, as well as other news groups and individuals. Among its 18 thematic categories is one dedicated to youth and children; see www.africafiles.org/youthchildren.asp.

At Issue Ezine: This web resource was launched in February 2005 by Africa Files to publish well-researched, provocative, and insightful original articles on important current themes in sub-Saharan Africa.

FRIENDS OF AFRICA INTERNATIONAL (FAI)

http://www.fafrica.org/index.html

FAI was founded in 2005 with the mission to promote human rights, social justice, democracy, and good governance in Africa. It provides policy advice, advocacy, training, and resources to regional and international institutions through its multifaceted programs in Africa. Program areas include human rights and democracy, women’s rights, youth and development, HIV/AIDS, peace and security, and economic and socio-cultural rights.

FAI organizes the Pan African Youth Leadership Forum, first held in Ghana in 2007, and then in Egypt in 2008. The goal of the Pan African Youth Leadership Forum is to provide African youth with the essential education and training necessary for leadership, and to offer a forum for youth to share their unique knowledge and experiences among colleagues.

NORTH–SOUTH CENTER, COUNCIL OF EUROPE

http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/nscentre/

The European Center for Global Interdependence and Solidarity, more commonly known as the North-South Center, was set up by the Council of Europe in Lisbon, Portugal, in May 1990. It has the dual objective of advancing European cooperation to heighten public awareness of global interdependence issues, and of promoting policies of solidarity, respect for human rights, democracy, and social cohesion. A specific objective of the North-South Center is to provide training and capacity building of young people and youth organizations outside of Europe, and several programs are undertaken addressing African youth. See http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/nscentre/default_en.asp.

The following are important initiatives:

Africa-Europe Training Course for Youth Organizations: This long-term training course for trainers on Africa-Europe youth cooperation is held annually or bi-annually. Over the period of one year, 30 trainers per course participate in a curriculum that consists of four elements: two week-long residential training seminars, a practice phase, a virtual learning and communication platform, and a mentoring process. In so doing, the course hopes to strengthen the role of youth organizations as civil society actors, and to advance active citizenship among young people in Africa and Europe. It focuses building the capacity of multipliers in youth organizations in Europe and Africa, and equipping them with skills necessary for Africa–Europe cooperation programs. Past courses took place in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008. For more detail, see http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/nscentre/Youth%5CUYD%5CUYD_EA1_LTTC_en.pdf.

Africa-Europe Youth Summit: Taking place Lisbon, Portugal, in 2007, the summit brought together 250 youth representatives of Africa and Europe, and 60 observers, representing governments, regional and international organizations, and media. It aimed to increase young people’s participation in Euro-African cooperation and to reinforce youth work in Africa and Europe by influencing the youth policy. The summit concluded with a final declaration that was delivered to the heads of state during the second EU-Africa Summit. For detailed information, see http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/nscentre/Youth%5CYouth_Summit%5Cconcept_paper_Africa_Europe_Youth_Summit_en.pdf.

The 2nd Africa-Europe Youth Summit was held in November 2010, Tripoli, Libya, preceding the 3rd Africa-EU Summit, at the same location. The Youth Summit was designed to offer to young people and youth organisations from Africa and Europe the opportunity to strengthen their dialogue and cooperation on regional and global issues and to promote their meaningful participation in the Euro-African cooperation, contributing to the further development of the Africa-EU strategic partnership.

African University on Youth and Development: Taking place for the first time in 2009, the African University on Youth and Development aimed at creating a space for debate and reflection, affirmative youth action and promotion of youth policies, training and non-formal education, as well as intercultural and interregional dialogue within the context of Euro-African youth cooperation and the follow-up of the Africa Europe Youth Summit. One hundred youth leaders from Africa and Europe came together in Tarrafal, Cape Verde, for a week to live and learn together and to co-develop training activities and political participation of youth in the context of Euro-African cooperation. The university is organized by the North-South Center of the Council of Europe in partnership with the National Youth Council of Portugal, Cape Verde Federation of Youth, the European Youth Forum, and the Pan-African Youth Union, with the support of the European Commission and the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP). Detailed information is available at http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/nscentre/Youth%5CUYD%5CUYD_EA1_en.pdf.

SEED Funding for Africa Europe Youth Cooperation is a grant allocation intended to promote Africa Europe youth exchanges, networking and political participation of non-state actors. It aims at funding initiatives, which provides the possibility for youth leaders, youth workers, experts and trainers to participate in Euro African Youth activities and youth exchanges projects. The grants are of a maximum 2000 € per project/organization. The SEED funding aims to strengthen the role of young organizations as civil society actors and youth (leaders) ability to organize and take action as well as strengthen young people’s political participation in Euro-African cooperation.

The application should be submitted by a youth organization, network or non-state actor at local, national, (sub)regional or international level that is active in promoting Africa Europe youth cooperation. Priority is given to projects presented by organizations coming from Africa and/or from the African Diaspora Living in Europe, and organizations/networks that submit projects which will allocate the grant support for African youth participants in the project and/or participation of African Diaspora in the project. The participants in the project benefiting from the grant should be under 35 years of age.

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT NETWORK (YEN)

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/yen/index.htm

YEN is a partnership of the United Nations, the International Labor Organization, and the World Bank. YEN was created in 2001 to mobilize action on the commitment of the Millennium Summit for decent and productive work for young people. YEN is a global platform to prioritize youth employment on the development agenda and to exchange ideas on policies and programs to improve employment opportunities for youth. The network includes development agencies, governments, the private sector, youth groups, and other NGOs. To date, YEN has mobilized US$7 million for its activities, with current support from the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) and the UK Department of Work and Pensions. It has developed and disseminated various publications and advocacy products on youth employment, and trained over 1,500 youth representatives as advocates on youth employment. In Africa, YEN operates several programs.

Competitive Grant Scheme supports youth employment projects in the Mano River Union (MRU) (Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone). The program identifies and supports small-scale, innovative projects with potential to provide employment opportunities for young people while allowing youth organizations to actively participate in development. Youth organizations have firsthand experience of the needs of young people but need financial or technical support to reach their goals. Grants of US$2,000 to $50,000 are awarded to projects that contribute to youth employment in several areas: community projects and services, transition from school to work, vocational training for young people, youth entrepreneurship, and economic empowerment of young women.

The selection criteria for projects supported under the Competitive Grant Scheme are:

  • Target: aim at improving the employment opportunities for young people between the ages of 15 and 30.
  • Innovation: extent to which the proposed project differs from existing approaches. YEN is particularly interested in projects that introduce a new approach, process, or technology.
  • Sustainability: organizational capacity and expertise to continue the activities after the end of grant funding.
  • Results and Measurability: well-defined and quantifiable outcomes and outputs.
  • Growth Potential: potential of the project to be applied on a larger scale or replicated elsewhere.
  • Partnerships: potential to initiate strategic alliances and bring different stakeholders together.
  • Gender equity: promote inclusion and active participation of young women.

The Private Sector Initiative (PSI) is a project of YEN’s subregional office for West Africa. The PSI is a multistakeholder platform for business action on youth employment supported by the UK’s Department of Work and Pensions. The PSI aims to strengthen the role that business in West Africa can play in enhancing employment opportunities for youth. To achieve this task, the initiative is divided into three areas of action. Under knowledge development, it seeks to take stock of existing and planned business sponsored youth employment interventions. Under network building, it brings together private sector representatives and civil society organizations to advocate for and share experiences on business support for youth employment. Finally, this project works closely with its network partners to match business interests in the field of youth employment with existing or possible intersectoral partnerships on youth employment in the subregion.