UN-HABITAT’s Urban Youth Fund 2014 now open!

UN-HABITAT’s Urban Youth Fund 2014 now open!

Posted by maghestra on Friday, February 21, 2014 0

Deadline: 15 April 2014

The UN-HABITAT’s Urban Youth Fund provides funding support to young people from developing countries to work towards advancing the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the Habitat agenda.

The Urban Youth Fund aims to assist youth-led organizations to develop and implement projects that will contribute to sustainable urbanization in the developing world. The fund further aims to document best practices from successful youth-led projects, and create greater awareness of the need for youth mainstreaming in development policies and strategies. Its aims are to:

• Mobilize young people for better youth-related policy formulation;
• Help governments, non-governmental, civil society and private sector organizations better understand and respond to youth concerns;
• Support youth information networks;
• Pilot and demonstrate new ideas on employment, governance, adequate shelter and secure tenure;
• Share and exchange best practices;
• Promote vocational training and credit mechanisms for entrepreneurship and employment;
• Promote gender mainstreaming in all urban youth matters.

The Urban Youth Fund has an annual budget of USD 1 million allocated for grants to youth-led projects in the developing world. Grassroots initiatives and projects are eligible for grants up USD 25,000.

Applicant organizations must be led by young people aged 15-32 years. However, adults above the age of 32 years may still take part in the organization and youth-adult partnerships are highly encouraged.

Support is given to youth-led development projects involving young people actively creating a better future for themselves and their communities. These projects often take place at the grassroots level and are largely carried out by youth volunteers. Initiatives address a broad range of community needs such as employment, access to affordable housing and secure land tenure, safer cities and participation in decision-making. Youth-led Development gives young people valuable skills such as project management and teamwork, thus boosting their ability to acquire jobs and participate actively in society.

To apply for this funding opportunity, visit this link.