Youth Development at Chemonics For more than 37 years, Chemonics has used our interdisciplinary approach across 11 technical areas to work with youth and address their most pressing challenges. Leveraging our expertise in supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and our private-sector led approach, we are empowering youth with real skills and linking them with real jobs. Integrating best practices in community mobilization, public-private partnerships, and policy development across different disciplines, we are also helping youth access high-quality health care. Going beyond post-conflict programming, we are helping youth reintegrate into their communities after war, gain a voice in policy development, and assume leadership positions in innovative ways. Take a look at some of our stories from the field and see how we have merged the best from agriculture, education, energy, environment, finance, gender, governance, health, post-conflict, and private-sector programming for positive youth development in every region.

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Africa Support and Empowerment for Vulnerable Youth (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO) Helping Youth Tap into Agricultural Markets (NIGERIA) Keeping Vulnerable Girls in School (UGANDA)

Improving Teacher Performance and Youth Literacy (ZAMBIA)

AFRICA

D E M O C R AT I C R E P U B L I C O F T H E C O N G O

Support and Empowerment for Vulnerable Youth Using the Champion Communities approach, the Integrated HIV/ AIDS Program mobilizes civil society to identify community needs and develop action plans that prevent infection and provide care for those affected by HIV/ AIDS. The program delivers prevention messages targeted to the local population; for example, it works through local schools and churches to facilitate abstinence education for youth between ages 15 and 24. The program also supports youth centers in integrating family planning and HIV prevention into their activities. As part of this effort, the program organized two five-day workshops for 17 service providers in youth

centers in Bas Congo and Sud Kivu. Program partners, including Programme National de Santé de la Reproduction, Programme National pour la Santé des Adolescents, and Programme National de Lutte contre le SIDA, led the workshops. Major topics included HIV/AIDS, family planning, teenage health issues, male and female reproductive systems, contraceptive methods, and the consequences of early/ unprotected sexual activity. Apart from training, the program provided family planning commodities for the effective start-up of the youth centers’ activities. The Programme Nationale Multi-Sectorielle

de Lutte contre le SIDA and Population Services International supported this effort by providing condoms, health magazines, and educational leaflets to promote responsible behavior.

between 15 and 24 years of age (3.3 percent). Based on this analysis, the program increased its focus on engaging youth in HIV testing and counseling.

The program also found that young people had exceptionally high HIV rates in several communities. Kinshasa had the highest rates for youth below 15 years of age (18 percent), followed closely by Katanga (16 percent). Katanga had the highest rates of HIV for youth

Total people reached with HIV prevention messaging over the past year.

82,346 Youth reached with HIV prevention messaging that focused on abstinence and being faithful.

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284,215

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3,012 Youth between ages of 10 and 14 who received HIV testing and counseling services.

AFRICA

NIGERIA

Helping Youth Tap into Agricultural Markets Nigeria is rapidly urbanizing, but most Nigerians still live in rural areas where agriculture forms the basis of their livelihoods. Yet over the past 40 years, agriculture has declined by almost every measure — its share of GDP, its value of exports, and its productivity. Nigeria is also facing a demographic challenge as a large number of young people enter the workforce. To keep unemployment at current levels (33 percent) over the next 10 years, Nigeria will need to create 15 million new jobs. Another 24 million jobs are needed to cut unemployment by 50 percent. With only half of its 98 million hectares of land being cultivated, Nigeria has the potential to create these jobs in farming, transportation, mechanization, and processing. USAID’s Nigeria Maximizing Agricultural Revenue and Key Enterprises in Targeted

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Sites (MARKETS) II project recognizes the important role that youth must play in modernizing agriculture and driving economic growth. MARKETS II is designed to ensure inclusive economic growth that empowers young people with social and economic opportunities, helping them increase their incomes and serve as change agents. In the project’s first year (2012), 41 percent of beneficiaries were youth. MARKETS II trained 26,235 youth (37 percent female, 63 percent male) on improved agricultural practices and linked them to credit so they could purchase improved inputs like seeds and fertilizer. As a result, young farmers have realized increased yields and income. By closeout, the project expects to train at least 135,000 youth on improved agricultural practices. MARKETS II has partnered with the Ministry of

Agriculture and Rural Development’s Youth Empowerment in Agriculture Program to design programs that encourage young people to enter commercial farming and develop small enterprises that support the agricultural sector. MARKETS II has also rolled out a youth-centered version of the Nigerian Agriculture Enterprise Curriculum with a core of

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young trainers who train other youth in their communities. In addition, the project is stimulating youth-led businesses that deliver services like maize shelling and rice parboiling to other farmers. MARKETS II builds on MARKETS (2005 – 2010) and Bridge to MARKETS 2 (2011 – 2012), which networked with more than 220,000 young farmers.

AFRICA

UGANDA

Keeping Vulnerable Girls in School In Uganda, about 100,000 children and youth below the age of 18 are HIV positive. Staying in school is another challenge they face. Lack of sanitary towels has caused many girls who have reached puberty to miss school. Many eventually drop out, making them more vulnerable to early marriages and, consequently, HIV. Under its orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) interventions, the multi-

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donor Civil Society Fund worked to help girls stay in school.

taught how to make washable towels, some of which they used and others they sold to earn money for other needs. This made the project more sustainable.

One project component sensitized youth to changes during puberty and found ways to help girls stay in school. The project reached 727 OVC in Nagojje sub-county, Mukono District. One of its main activities provided sanitary towels to more than 500 girls between the ages of 10 and 15. Girls were

The needs of young vulnerable men were also addressed. The oldest of seven children, Alex dropped out of school to help his mother support his family but found that working as a casual laborer was not enough.

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Through a one-year skills training program, Alex learned engine mechanics and serviced cars and motorcycles. He estimated that he was able to save $24 per month, which he hoped to put toward his own garage. In 2012, 2,000 vulnerable youth attained skills in a similar program.

AFRICA

ZAMBIA

Improving Teacher Performance and Youth Literacy The Zambian government’s policy to provide basic education to all children has led to nearly 100 percent primary-school enrollment; however, students have shown slow progress in mastering basic skills like reading and mathematics. To address this issue, USAID’s Strengthening Educational Performance – Up (STEP-Up) project worked with the Zambian Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training, and Early Education to organize a planning retreat for 59 national, provincial, and district education officers to develop a common vision for learning performance.

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The director of standards and curriculum led participants in analyzing reading performance and discussing issues that influence teaching and learning. This retreat was the first time that decisionmakers in Zambia came together to analyze the status of reading and to set targets for improvement. Prior to the retreat, educators were not accustomed to linking their priorities to student performance. But with their revised strategic plan, provincial education officers such as Thomas Mwanza and his staff from Zambia’s Eastern Province have been able to mentor head teachers to effectively

monitor school performance and make evidence-based decisions that address problems appropriately. Already there are signs that head teachers are coming on board. According to Mr. Mwanza: “We’ve told the head teachers to produce reports and to keep those reports on their desks. Walk into a school today and you’ll find the head teacher ready to tell you how many pupils are failing and the reasons. This wasn’t the case in the recent past. Remarkably, many head teachers even have reports on the reading levels in their classrooms.”

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Using the numbers gathered from this revised reporting structure, a head teacher, district supervisor, or provincial education officer can now explore the causes of any issue and make the appropriate adjustments. And perhaps more importantly, central reading data now connects everyone in the system, ensuring that all staff work from the same information.

Asia

Building Safe Spaces to Learn (AFGHANISTAN) Engaging Youth in Financial Sector Capacity Building (AFGHANISTAN)

The PRICE of Leather (BANGLADESH)

Harnessing the Energy of Youth to Rebuild a Nation (NEPAL) Negotiating Culture, Building Leadership (PAKISTAN)

Making HIV/AIDS Prevention Work for Youth (VIETNAM)

ASIA

A F G H A N I S TA N

Building Safe Spaces to Learn Through USAID/Office of Transition Intiative’s Afghanistan Stabilization Initiative (ASI), Chemonics strengthened southern communities’ confidence in the Afghan government. Nearly 50 percent of Afghanistan’s population is below the age of 14, and a large portion of ASI’s activities focused on improving the lives of youth through rebuilding, reopening, and equipping schools that had fallen into disrepair. The project issued more than 75 grants and procurement activities worth more than $5 million to communities throughout the South to help schools purchase supplies, library books, and equipment for science laboratories and recreation. The

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grants also funded vocational training workshops, boundary walls to provide protection, and school kits with chalkboards, desks, and pens.

50%

The initiative also procured and delivered educational structures through the Tents for Schools Activity. Working in particularly devastated areas with few functional school buildings, the project provided tents for more than 50 village schools. When some of these tent-schools were damaged in riots, the project responded quickly to help deliver new tents and ensure the learning process continued.

Population in Afghanistan below the age of 14

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ASIA

A F G H A N I S TA N

Engaging Youth in Financial Sector Capacity Building USAID’s Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan (FAIDA) project is creating a brighter future for youth by building a stable financial sector that propels economic growth and job creation. With a median age of 18 and a majority of the population below 30, Afghanistan provides a unique platform for FAIDA’s youth engagement and financial sector strengthening activities. To increase training opportunities for young women, the Afghanistan Women Internship in Financial Sector program is training female students and young professionals

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for six-month internships in commerce and economic programs. This program aims to increase the number of women in the financial sector by training at least 300 female graduates in banking and finance over 18 months. In May 2013, the first cycle of 86 women graduated from the program. Within two months, 53 graduates had already found employment. The second cycle of the six-month internships began in May 2013.

creativity to develop new applications for mobile-money technology. Only five percent of Afghanistan’s population has a bank account, which creates financial challenges in business development and management. On the other hand, 12 million people in Afghanistan own mobile phones. FAIDA identified this potential market and turned to youth innovators as a crowd-sourcing method, sponsoring a nationwide contest among university students to develop sustainable and locally relevant mobile-money technologies. In July 2012, eight Afghan university students were

In addition, FAIDA’s $5 million Mobile Money Innovation Fund is harnessing young people’s

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selected as contest winners. In addition to providing a cash prize and computers for their university libraries, four major mobile network operators in Afghanistan have agreed to introduce two new mobile-money applications from the winning submissions. Students continue to be a critical source of technological innovation in financial sector capacity building in Afghanistan.

ASIA

BANGL ADESH

The PRICE of Leather Bangladesh’s lack of skilled workers, machine maintenance technicians, and floor-level supervisors in the leather industry posed a major constraint for production and growth. Bangladesh also did not have a dedicated institution that produced skilled workers for the leather sector. To address these constraints, the Bangladesh Poverty Reduction by Increasing the Competitiveness of Enterprises (PRICE) project worked with the Leather Goods & Footwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association of Bangladesh and its members to develop a skilled workforce by providing on-the-job training for workers. This training helped many leather enterprises expand and export with the aid of a

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skilled and semi-skilled workforce, which in turn boosted sector growth. The Center of Excellence for Leather launched its first yearlong apprenticeship program in June 2011 to train approximately 1,000 footwear workers on cutting, sewing, and finishing techniques. The apprenticeship program exceeded its target by enrolling 1,572 trainees. Of these, 978 trainees (245 men and 733 women) completed the program successfully. In addition, 893 trainees (206 men and 686 women) received full-time jobs in leather footwear factories as semiskilled operators.

860 Number of new jobs created in partnership with Bengal Shoe Industries Limited in rural Laxmipur, Noakhali

In fiscal year 2013, the PRICE leather products sector facilitated training for an additional 1,980 leather workers on cutting, sewing, and lasting techniques. In total, PRICE’s interventions created

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1,270 new jobs, generated more than $24 million in additional sales, and stimulated $352,000 in investments.

ASIA

N E PA L

Harnessing the Energy of Youth to Rebuild a Nation In Nepal, young people were active in the political transition but vulnerable to recruitment by armed groups. To help counter this, the USAID Nepal Transition Activity (NTI) supported the creation of a community development fund to train youth in facilitation skills, participatory rural appraisals, and local development planning skills. These youth then facilitated community meetings to identify development priorities and create community development plans. With NTI funding, they implemented small-scale infrastructure activities, such as the reconstruction of community libraries and rehabilitation of roads and schools. After the success

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of these projects, communities asked youth to implement other local development activities with government funding. Many of these young people are now considered leaders and were invited to join school management committees or local NGOs. The activities mobilized more than 123,000 youth across 11 districts of Nepal. The project also trained and mobilized hundreds of youth as “peace volunteers” to mitigate conflict in their communities, facilitate local dialogue, and encourage residents to support and engage in the peace process. It also trained 900 youth

facilitators on citizen charters and helped them to teach residents about their rights and how to conduct government business, such as registering births and

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transferring land. Through NTI training and mobilization, young people were actively engaged in building a peaceful, democratic transition in their communities.

ASIA

PA K I S T A N

Negotiating Culture, Building Leadership In Pakistan, family support is widely recognized as the numberone factor contributing to women entering and succeeding in the workforce. Likewise, family discouragement is the leading deterrent. The USAID Firms Project is helping to bring young women into the workforce. For example, the project is working with the Institute of Management Sciences to launch a Girls’ Leadership Committee to help female students negotiate with their families about workforce participation, including entering sectors such as the mango industry (see video). These programs empower young women and help them to deal positively with family pressures. USAID Firms is also developing the capacity of Pakistani organizations and institutions, including

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universities, training centers, and women’s chambers of commerce, to help young women and men find job opportunities, hone their professional skills, and start their own businesses. With project assistance, many professional organizations have created internship programs or fostered partnerships with universities. Thanks to the project’s capacity building and analysis efforts, the Sindh Women’s Chamber of Commerce and the Sukkur Institute of Business Administration have launched a partnership between industry and academia to give female students practical business experience and leadership training. The Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry formed a Young Entrepreneurs’ Committee to help young women start and

sustain businesses. Additionally, the Women Entrepreneur Subcommittee of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry started a mentoring program through which its members could mentor female students from local universities. The project is also building the

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capacity of the South Punjab Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, resulting in the creation of an internship program for female university graduates that encourages entry into the workforce.

ASIA

VIETNAM

Making HIV/AIDS Prevention Work for Youth Although HIV prevalence among the general population in Vietnam was relatively low, it had soared among at-risk groups, including youth. Through USAID’s Vietnam Workplace-Based Prevention and Employment and Support Services for High-Risk Individuals project, Chemonics promoted prevention practices among businesses and labor unions and provided vocational training and job placement opportunities for high-risk individuals, many of them youth. For example, the project provided technical assistance to Vietnamese youth unions by creating comprehensive HIV/AIDS programs and integrating them into existing workplace programs. As part of this initiative, the project reached out to 350 union members to promote condom distribution, deliver HIV/AIDS brochures, and provide HIV/AIDS

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services. Such interventions have helped to reach newly employed youth to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and save lives. In addition, by helping youth to find jobs, the project increased young people’s self-esteem as they became a productive part of the community and contributed to their families’ livelihoods. The project also worked with youth-oriented social funds to help people living with HIV/AIDS. It supported the Hai Phong Youth Business Association in hosting a workshop for 200 youth living with HIV/AIDS and identified enterprises that could financially support them. Working with the Vietnam Young Enterprise Association, the project provided technical assistance in mainstreaming HIV/AIDS and establishing a social fund to nurture the development of young

and talented entrepreneurs. And in partnership with the Vietnam Administration for AIDS Control, the Ministry of Health, civil society organizations, and microfinance service providers like the Vietnam Bank for Social Policy, Tau Yeu Mai Fund, and Community Financial Resource Center, the project provided loans and non-financial

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services to target beneficiaries, creating self-employment opportunities for 185 young people. As a result of the project, 878 people living with HIV/AIDS and high-risk individuals obtained and maintained stable jobs from October 2008 to July 2012.

Europe & Eurasia Establishing University Career Centers (ALBANIA) Providing Healthy Social Outlets for Youth (BOSNIA) Higher Education Leadership and Management (GEORGIA)

Facilitating New Economic Opportunities (GEORGIA) Empower Teachers, Boost Student Achievement (GEORGIA)

Matching Education to Market Needs (MOLDOVA)

Creating the Next Generation of Youth Business Leaders (SERBIA)

EUROPE AND EURASIA

ALBANIA

Establishing University Career Centers University students in the developed world are typically given advice on career development, job applications, internships, and networking opportunities through their university career offices. These offices play a crucial role in matching the skills of the future workforce to the specific demands of private-sector companies that want to hire the best and the brightest. In the case of Albania, the concept of university career offices was still in its infancy. The challenges of allocating dedicated space, staff, and resources to establish a university career office were often exacerbated by a lack of practical knowledge on how to successfully run and manage the office and how to provide students with appropriate career advice. Having identified these challenges, the Albania Competitive Enterprise Development Project (also known

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as Rritje Albania) launched an ambitious initiative to support the establishment of fully functional career offices at five public and private universities. Project staff met with the universities to assess their vision and plans for establishing career centers and improving existing services. They also identified staff training needs and provided detailed recommendations for implementing operating procedures and work plans at each university career center. In June 2013, with assistance from the project, the University of Tirana organized its first career fair, bringing together 40 companies and 700 university students to discuss internship and job opportunities. In addition, several business associations, such as the National Chamber of Commerce,

the Tirana Chamber of Commerce, the Albanian Information Technology Association, and other NGOs participated in the fair. The project also delivered one-on-one capacity building and coaching to the newly appointed career center staff, addressing the specific needs of each university and creating linkages with the private sector.

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In addition, the project delivered training sessions to 254 university students on career-related topics, such as writing resumes and motivational letters, delivering presentations, and participating in interviews.

EUROPE AND EURASIA

BOSNIA

Providing Healthy Social Outlets for Youth Post-war recovery was slow to reach many municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, leaving important community infrastructure to deteriorate. The northern municipality of Srbac faced such a problem. The town’s kindergarten, Naśa Radost, was in shambles, incapable of providing its 58 special-needs students with the resources and attention they needed. That is where USAID’s Bosnia Governance Accountability Project (GAP II) came in.

invested up to $90,000 in select capital projects that were identified and developed by the local government and citizens. To generate ideas and ensure citizens would benefit from the projects, municipalities organized town meetings, focus groups, and surveys. To receive funding, a municipality had to match 50 percent or more of the investment; overall, the average municipal investment was 68 percent.

GAP II, in partnership with the Swedish and Dutch governments, introduced capital improvement planning systems to 72 municipalities across the country. In each municipality, the project

With a combined investment of $88,000 from GAP II and Srbac (with almost 60 percent from Srbac), the municipality was able to reconstruct Naśa Radost in spring 2010.

“Thanks to the new kindergarten, my Bojan, along with 57 other children with special needs, finally has a place where he can not only spend time with his peers, which is what every child wants, but also

work twice a week with a speech therapist and a teacher for those with special needs,” said Mira, a citizen of Srbac.

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EUROPE AND EURASIA

BOSNIA

Providing Healthy Social Outlets for Youth

Community members and youth alike have become energized by the hall’s opportunities. A member of Vlasenica’s judo club said, “I believe that this sports center will support the youth of Vlasenica to show themselves in sports and other activities, and I think that it was really necessary.”

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In 2011, baseline values were established for 20 partner municipalities and four control municipalities using the Municipal Youth Capacity Index (MYCI). The MYCI considered three indicators: (1) development of municipal youth strategies or policies; (2) youth participation in youth policy development and implementation; and (3) youth participation in leadership and management skills training to improve their understanding of project cycle management and funding. Over the next five quarters, the MYCI rose 64 index points among the 20 partner municipalities, as shown in the graphic at right.

80 Percentage of Maximum Number of Points

In 2006, the municipality of Vlasenica began its five-year capital improvement plan, which included building a new sports hall for youth. Completed in 2010, the hall offered a healthy social outlet for youth, keeping them off the streets and away from negative alternatives like drugs and alcohol. The sports hall now hosts many youth clubs, ranging from sports to folklore dance troupes.

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Selected Municipalities Control Municipalities

60 50 40 30 20 10 7/2011 10/2011 1/2012

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4/2012

7/2012 10/2012

EUROPE AND EURASIA

GEORGIA

Higher Education Leadership and Management Recognizing that outdated curricula and teaching methodologies were major constraints to improving the quality of education in Georgia, USAID’s Education Management Project supported the creation of a modern, decentralized education management system. It also established the first master’s of

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education administration program at Ilia Chavchavadze University in Tbilisi. Twenty-four students enrolled in the new program during its first year and received financial sponsorship from the Georgian government. The project introduced much-needed courses, including theories of curriculum

and instruction, introduction to management and organizational behavior, social foundations of education, and effective communication. The project also included a foursemester practicum designed to link students’ theoretical knowledge

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to education management practices. The project also helped establish relationships with 20 schools in Tbilisi as practicum sites. Over the life of the project, 145 students enrolled and 60 graduated.

EUROPE AND EURASIA

GEORGIA

Facilitating New Economic Opportunities Although Georgia has achieved significant economic growth in the past decade, poverty rates in rural areas remain high. This discrepancy threatens the country’s social, economic, and political stability. Through the New Economic Opportunities (NEO) Initiative, Chemonics will assist 84 rural communities in enhancing economic development planning processes, boosting entrepreneurial skills, strengthening market linkages, and supporting small-scale infrastructure projects. Targeting highly vulnerable households and individuals, including youth, the project’s recent labor market survey

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indicated that the majority of highly vulnerable individuals lacked the skills to be competitive in the local job market. In response, NEO has established partnerships with local vocational training centers in target regions to prepare young people and vulnerable populations to excel in the most in-demand trades, including electrical work, apparel making, masonry, tile setting, welding, and bookkeeping. To date, approximately 43 percent of participants in NEO’s vocational training have been youth, accounting for 90 percent of participants in rafting/kayaking for tourism, 69 percent in plumbing,

49% The percentage of youth below the age of 29 participating in NEO’s vocational training

67 percent in electrical work, and 70 percent in hairdressing. Youth have also participated in vocational training for beekeeping, grafting, and general maintenance.

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EUROPE AND EURASIA

GEORGIA

Empower Teachers, Boost Student Achievement Student achievement in Georgia is largely influenced by the presence of inspiring and informed teachers in primary classrooms. The USAID Georgia Primary Education (G-PriEd) project is working with the Ministry of Education and Science to train teachers on innovative, student-centered practices, which will ultimately advance the ministry’s goal of enhancing primary school children’s reading skills.

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In the spring of 2013, G-PriEd kicked off its first training course for math and reading teachers (grades 1 to 6) from 122 Georgian language and ethnic minority primary schools. The initial training course, delivered by 93 national trainers, provided teachers with innovative instructional strategies that would enable their students to become better readers and mathematical problem-solvers. More than 1,200 primary teachers,

including 100 from ethnic minority schools and 67 from Georgian language schools, will participate in similar training during the project’s pilot phase. Understanding that occasional teacher training will not result in significant instructional change in the classroom, G-PriEd has instructed national trainers to conduct teacher observations directly in the classroom to encourage teachers, answer questions, and address challenges

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that may arise as teachers implement their new classroom practices. G-PriEd is also creating learning circles for teachers to support one another and learn new instructional practices that will improve student learning.

EUROPE AND EURASIA

MOLDOVA

Matching Education to Market Needs In Moldova, widespread demand for skilled information and communications technology (ICT) labor had not been met by the existing education and training system. USAID’s Moldova Competitiveness Enhancement and Enterprise Developments (CEED) project responded to this market demand by partnering with Cisco Systems and Microsoft to introduce Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA), Cisco IT Essentials, and the Microsoft IT Academy to high schools and universities across Moldova. CEED also introduced a voucher program to cover the costs of certification exams so that students could obtain a certificate of completion. Students who completed the CCNA course could then take an exam in English to obtain its internationally recognized certificate.

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Approximately 360 students have enrolled in the program. In addition, the Microsoft IT Academy began in 2008 with certification tracks for systems engineers, Web developers, and Windows developers. More than 90 students enrolled in these courses. Cisco’s IT Essentials program launched in 20 rural high schools. Its curriculum covered the computer hardware and software skills necessary for entry-level ICT professionals. Approximately 43 instructors were trained and 241 students participated.

>500 Number of students enrolled in ICT training programs

Moldova, which brings together entrepreneurs from around the country to work together to develop business plans and strategies and pitch them to judges for feedback and potential funding. Various Moldovan businesses supported the event through promotions as well as prizes for winners, while the French Alliance in Moldova supplied the venue. The event attracted

As a follow-on project, CEED II is building on the successes of its predecessor by increasing entrepreneurship and supporting IT start-ups. In November 2013, CEED II successfully ran the 5th edition of Startup Weekend

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both foreign mentors and judges and gathered 80 participants. During the weekend, 28 ideas were pitched, 13 teams were formed, and 9 coaches helped the teams work on their ideas. During the final stage, 7 judges evaluated the progress of teams and the viability of ideas and selected the winners.

EUROPE AND EURASIA

SERBIA

Creating the Next Generation of Youth Business Leaders Similar to its neighbors in Eastern Europe, Serbia often faces gaps in the supply and demand of skills on the job market, particularly among youth. The Sustainable Local Development Project (SLDP) seeks to improve the employability of youth as a key component of Serbia’s economic development. To start, SLDP is collaborating with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to implement the national strategy on career guidance and counseling, which stipulates that high schools must

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furnish students with information about continuing education, employment prospects, and career counseling. To this end, the project sponsored mobile career guidance teams, who have already reached more than 1,500 young people (700 of whom directly received career counseling). SLDP is also working with the National Employment Service and Erste Bank to implement the Youth Business Serbia program, which offers business mentoring support and specialized training

to young entrepreneurs. Through its partnership with local firms, SLDP provides business-mentoring services while the National Employment Service delivers entrepreneurship literacy training. Participants can then put their new skills into practice with the support of Erste Bank, which provides loans at favorable rates to participants. SLDP has also teamed up with a local youthdriven NGO, Group 484, to help youth find employment and establish companies through the

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guidance of local and international experts. Through these initiatives, SLDP has supported nearly 500 youth in finding new jobs. Moving forward, the project is focusing on several new programs that target youth workforce development; for example, it just launched a Youth On-The-Job Training Program (in cooperation with 32 partner municipalities), which targets private companies looking to hire new employees.

Latin America & the Caribbean Substantive Internships in Rural Regions (BOLIVIA) Training Unemployed Youth (BOLIVIA) Engaging Youth Affected by Civil Conflict (COLOMBIA)

Empowering Youth to Stabilize Community (HAITI) Making Healthy a Lifestyle (PERU)

Taking Steps to a Coca-Free Livelihood (PERU) Assessing At-Risk Youth and Workforce Development (CENTRAL AMERICA)

L AT I N A M E R I C A A N D T H E C A R I B B E A N

BOLIVIA

Substantive Internships in Rural Regions Finding opportunities for youth from disadvantaged families is a major challenge across Bolivia. USAID’s Bolivia Rural Competitiveness Activity, which focused on smallholder farmers and rural businesses, addressed this challenge through internships and mentors. The project’s innovative internship program allowed youth from rural areas to gain practical experience and complete their degrees. In addition to teaching technical skills and providing experience, the project used the internship program to communicate entrepreneurial values, develop social inclusion methods, and promote gender equity — all of which helped youth find jobs. A key component of the

three- to six-month internships was substantive work in young people’s fields of interest, rather than just limited administrative roles. Additionally, interns were directly supervised by mentors in their field and project staff. Interns learned about techniques to improve production, increase productivity, and improve post-harvest and marketing practices. They also participated in farmer-to-farmer exchange visits, and were directly exposed to the business model promoted by the project.

80% Percentage of students involved in the Bolivia Rural Competitiveness Activity’s technical training program for high school graduates who were provided jobs through internships

banana and pineapple production, journalism, business advisory services, and monitoring and evaluation. More than 20 of the 36 students found jobs in their fields of study based on the knowledge and skills they gained from their

By 2011, 36 students had completed or were in the process of completing the program. They gained experience in fields such as clean coffee production practices,

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internships, including working as small business advisors in their communities and further promoting local economic development.

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BOLIVIA

Training Unemployed Youth Even though today’s Bolivian youth have easier access to education than previous generations, youth unemployment levels in the past 10 years have been roughly twice those of the general population. Young people need the opportunity to develop skills that will make them more employable. In October 2007, a pilot project of USAID’s Bolivian Trade and Business Competitiveness 2 program launched in the city of

Cochabamba. Focused on the textile sector, its goal was to support three training institutes selected by Fundación Educación para el Desarrollo (with funds from The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland) for training high-school graduates in sewing, washing, and industrial pattern-making. Since January 2008, a total of 99 youth have been trained in industrial sewing and washing by Assistance to

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Economic and Social Development, flat-weave sewing by Salesian School, and industrial design and pattern-making by the Institute for the Development of Small Production Units. This project was later expanded to El Alto, La Paz, Sucre, and Santa Cruz, cities that also worked with Fundación Educación para el Desarrollo to support the technical strengthening of training institutes

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responsible for training high-school graduates in the textile and wood manufacturing sectors. This joint effort sought to standardize the level of training and support the articulation of firms’ labor demands and placement of trained youth. The project trained 45 instructors in four cities and placed 278 young people in jobs across the country.

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COLOMBIA

Engaging Youth Affected by Civil Conflict Youth and children have suffered disproportionately in Colombia from human rights abuses due to forceful recruitment to illegal armed groups and displacement. The third phase of the Colombia Human Rights Project (HRP III) builds off its predecessors by strengthening human-rights institutions at the community level, increasing Colombian ownership of project activities, and expanding awareness of human-rights services among youth in the most affected regions. Through its partnership with grantee Benposta, HRP III has strengthened community protection networks for more than 300 at-risk children and youth by mobilizing families, schools, ombudsmen, and other local agents in rural and indigenous communities to monitor the situation and offer protective

services. Benposta also provided safe housing, comprehensive care, education, and psychological support for 60 youth with a high risk of being recruited and used by armed groups. In April 2013, HRP III partnered with grantee Familia Ayara, an Afro-Colombian foundation from Chocó, to train and work with 60 youth on a human-rights campaign. The campaign uses hip-hop songs and music videos to encourage Colombians to prevent human-rights violations and actively protect human rights. As part of the campaign, Familia Ayara works with youth to educate communities on how to identify human-rights violations and collectively respond. A recent hiphop video on human rights was produced and distributed in Chocó under this grant.

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To address child recruitment, HRP III organized a “Place for Peace” Youth Meeting in Southern Tolima in November 2012, bringing together 150 displaced youth, NGO representatives, and local and national government officials. Participants learned about the protection mechanisms to prevent forced recruitment and the national

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government’s responsibilities to acknowledge the rights of displaced youth. As a follow-up, HRP III, in collaboration with a local civil society organization, provided assistance to municipalities to develop youth recruitment community prevention strategies in October 2013.

L AT I N A M E R I C A A N D T H E C A R I B B E A N

HAITI

Empowering Youth to Stabilize Community In Haiti, the crumbling education system and unemployment levels after the 2010 earthquake severely impeded community stabilization and economic development. The Haiti Recovery Initiative (HRI), funded by USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), worked to stabilize communities by engaging youth in vocational training and education initiatives. In partnership with Haiti’s Department of Agriculture, HRI trained 75 students to develop 50 micro-farms in the northern region, which was suffering from chronic food shortages. In addition, HRI trained young people in masonry, geographic

information systems mapping, and first aid and emergency response. Through this training and mobilization, young people are now actively engaged in community development.

have received IT training. HRI also rehabilitated two floors of a music school and procured a generator, instruments, and other equipment for the school. The grantee of this activity, Compas Direct Music School, provided free music lessons to vulnerable children and adults, while the Ministry of Social Affairs paid the teachers’ first six months of salaries. In just one month after the school opened, 219 students had already enrolled. Approximately 25 students were using recorders to learn the basics of musical composition.

Many students in Haiti do not have access to the modern technology that supports education and enables them to compete in the job market. To address this challenge, HRI funded a computer lab with 20 computers and two computer teachers at a public high school in Martissant. This initiative created a modern learning environment for youth who might not otherwise

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In addition to music, sports also provide an excellent opportunity for youth to engage with one another in Haiti, learning about teamwork, leadership, and healthy living. HRI rehabilitated Haiti’s only indoor gym, Gymnasium Vincent, as well as outdoor basketball courts in Bel-Air and Martissant. It also rehabilitated four soccer fields in the Northern Development Corridor. These rehabilitated areas gave youth a safe place to engage in recreational activities.

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PERU

Making Healthy a Lifestyle Peru Quality Healthcare (QHC) improved the quality of health care service delivery, particularly for youth between the ages of 10 and 29. QHC contributed to USAID’s designated critical outcome: “Youth better able to live healthy lives, and contribute to household, community, and national wellbeing.” The project focused on improving health care service delivery in reproductive health, family planning, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), tuberculosis (TB), and HIV/AIDS by implementing a performance improvement methodology. The project improved service delivery through new approaches in counseling, such

as motivational interviews for people with STIs and HIV/AIDS and balanced counseling and orientation in reproductive health and family planning. QHC provided technical assistance to support the development of the first National Technical Norm on Care of Pregnant Adolescents. This not only provided technical guidance on the care of pregnant adolescents, but also provided post-partum family planning counseling in a comprehensive manner within an adolescentfriendly environment.

and Counseling to include a chapter on counseling adolescents and a chapter on family planning for adolescents that emphasized the need for differentiated care. In addition, the Contraceptive Methods Use Manual now includes specifications on the use of family planning methods for adolescents. The improved Prenatal Information System (SIP2000 v3.0) allows analysis of events related to pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum among youth. And finally, the revamped National Guideline provides STI and HIV/ AIDS counseling, mainly for youth.

Other accomplishments included updating the National Guideline for Reproductive Health Orientation

QHC is also developed and implemented leadership development programs to

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strengthen local leaders’ ability to conduct health initiatives. One of these initiatives included the implementation of a Youth Development Center in the Santa Rosa district, La Mar-Ayacucho, to increase reproductive health counseling among adolescents as part of a strategy to reduce unwanted pregnancies. After the first six months, an unprecedented increase from 23 percent to 65 percent of adolescents received reproductive health counseling.

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PERU

Taking Steps to a Coca-Free Livelihood In Peru, youth often saw illicit coca production as their only viable option for earning a living. USAID’s Peru Alternative Development Program built space for youth to explore other options by constructing 274 community centers and schools. With these central meeting locations, young people now have space to pursue education and participate in licit community activities. Sonia Rojas, a secondary school teacher in Tocache, a village in the San Martin region, said, “While before there would be 15 applicants for 40 vacancies to study agriculture at the university, today there are 80 applicants. Few of us see any future in coca farming and prefer

a legal product like palm oil or cacao. None of us wants to take a step back.” The project also strengthened the Peru Network of Young Reporters and Women, which allowed young people to express their ideas about community and alternative development. By teaching young reporters communication and advocacy skills and launching national television, radio, and billboard campaigns developed with the National Commission for Drug-Free Development, the project changed the attitudes of young people and oriented them toward productive futures that did not involve coca.

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L AT I N A M E R I C A A N D T H E C A R I B B E A N

CENTRAL AMERICA

Assessing At-Risk Youth and Workforce Development Under the Youth Violence and Crime Prevention Task Order with USAID, Chemonics implemented a series of initiatives assessing juvenile justice and alternative sentencing in Central America. In 2011, a Chemonics team assessed juvenile justice and youth violence prevention in Nicaragua and El Salvador. The study found that as justice and public security institutions were pressured to clamp down on gang violence and juvenile delinquency, the institutions imposed increasingly long prison terms on young people.

This failed to reduce violence levels in the northern triangle of Central America and even contributed to the rise of violence among youth. Chemonics recommended a comprehensive, coordinated response from government institutions and civil society that focused on restorative juvenile justice — striking a balance between assigning responsibility for the harm caused and factoring education and changes in community conditions that gave rise to crime. This approach has already yielded positive results in

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several Central American countries, including Nicaragua. Similarly, in 2012, a Chemonics team assessed the possibility of developing and implementing a system of restorative justice in Honduras. The assessment found that the political, organizational, and cultural frameworks needed to support a system of restorative juvenile justice in Honduras were nascent at best. Multiple development stages were necessary for establishing a restorative system: first,

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cultivating organizational capacity, programmatic frameworks, and political support; second, developing training and program implementation with full family and community involvement; and finally, evaluating progress. By informing USAID program design, this assessment contributed to a more effective and responsive criminal justice system in Honduras that used alternative measures (other than incarceration) for young offenders.

Middle East

Promoting Young Entrepreneurs (EGYPT) Economic Growth Through Sustainable Tourism (JORDAN) Giving Voice to the Youth (LEBANON) Engaging Youth in the Political Process (LIBYA)

Cleaning Up for the Greater Good (SYRIA) Empowering Youth to Lead Healthy Lifestyles (WEST BANK AND GAZA) Growing Jobs by Demand (YEMEN)

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EGYPT

Promoting Young Entrepreneurs Through the USAID’s Egypt Competitiveness Project (ECP), Chemonics is helping young leaders unleash their ideas into the world. With an entire component dedicated to vocational training and entrepreneurship, the project is providing opportunities for young entrepreneurs to pitch their best business ideas, receive business planning and marketing support, and even compete for startup capital. Tapping into young people’s energy and excitement, the project has launched a series of start-up weekends to connect aspiring entrepreneurs with mentors and investors. In September 2011, the project launched a start-up weekend in Alexandria. From more than 3,000 applicants, 300 entrepreneurs were selected to attend. During the weekend, entrepreneurs formed teams, developed new

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relationships, received support from 28 mentors with proven entrepreneurial experience, and met with several investors. The top three ideas were awarded seed money, and the weekend’s top innovator, Sarah Galal, had the opportunity to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Istanbul. Ms. Galal is currently receiving business mentoring and visiting companies in New York and the Silicon Valley to learn how to make the most of the seed money she received from an Egyptian businesswoman, who she calls “a true angel investor.” ECP also supports the Ministry of Education’s efforts to improve the quality of vocational education and increase productivity in 17 technical secondary schools through the creation of schoolbased training units. These units, modeled on the Ministry

of Education’s “teacher cadres” in public schools, link teachers and target industries to ensure that training focuses on the skills needed by the market. During the first and second years, ECP conducted intensive one-week courses for 76 teachers. After training, teachers returned to their schools to complete three

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objectives with ECP assistance: assess school training gaps, design a first-year training plan to address those gaps, and finalize the first school-based training units training package. So far, 7,000 employment opportunities have been identified and 2,520 positions have been filled.

MIDDLE EAST

JORDAN

Economic Growth Through Sustainable Tourism In Jordan, tourism is expected to create 25,000 new jobs in the next five years. Yet youth continue to have difficulty finding jobs and many employers complain that young people lack relevant job skills. USAID’s Jordan Tourism Development II (JTDII) project is helping to prepare a new generation of young professionals in Jordan’s dynamic and fastgrowing tourism sector. The project has leveraged more than $2 million in private-sector investments in tourism and created hundreds of new jobs, many of which are held by youth. The JTDII project established partnerships with the Ministry of Labor, local communities, vocational training centers (VTCs), and companies in the tourism

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value chain to break down misperceptions about youth and connect young people to jobs and career paths. The project revamped the curriculum and facilities for major VTCs that teach about tourism and hospitality and established a popular internship program. In 2005, roughly 300 students attended VTCs. By 2012, that number more than tripled to 1,339. More than 30 percent of VTC students are young women, and those who graduate are highly competitive in the tourism sector and quickly move into management positions. A total of 72 percent of graduates find employment immediately. These students have inspired other youth in their communities to look to tourism as a promising and lucrative career — a domino effect

that will boost livelihoods for years to come. In its second phase, JTDII focused on increasing VTC capacity and redesigning secondary- and university-level hospitality curricula. The follow-on to JTDII, Economic

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Growth Through Sustainable Tourism, began in July 2013 and aims to modernize secondary school programs with a vocational focus and to increase the capacity and quality of VTCs.

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LEBANON

Giving Voice to the Youth Through the USAID/OTI-funded Lebanon Civic Initiative and its successor, the Lebanon Civic Support Initiative (LCSI), Chemonics has helped youth to promote dialogue and mitigate tensions in conflict-prone areas, supporting community-level initiatives to bridge political, religious, and social divides. For example, through a grant to a local youth organization, the project gathered 120 youth from different villages to participate in conflict mitigation workshops and exchange-host programs. Participants in the exchange-host program stayed overnight with families, building a solid foundation for increased trust and tolerance. LCSI also supported the creation of 13 independent media outlets that provide a platform for youth to voice their ideas and views. By

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promoting leadership and giving youth an active voice, the project has empowered young people to create positive change in their communities and country.

grantees, youth groups, and newly established groups from Beqaa to lay the foundation for crossregional collaboration. The event attracted more than 150 people in the network, and many were pleasantly surprised to see that municipal leaders sat in the back seat and allowed youth to have more exposure to the community. Youth group representatives delivered speeches to highlight the significance of coordination among grantees and groups in the region. They also encouraged municipalities to support youth groups and benefit from wellconnected youth partners who are active in their communities.

In Beqaa, Lebanon, a youth group filmed interviews with influential community members about the condition of roads in their neighborhoods, illustrating how it was negatively impacting the town’s economy. The youth screened the video at a public event attended by municipal government officials and decision-makers; as a result, the community decided to repave several major roads. In another initiative, LCSI organized an event to launch the Salam Network, which brings together civil society organizations in the south of Lebanon to address common issues. The network linked LCSI

The ongoing violence in Syria and the resulting influx of refugees into Lebanon has increased sectarian tensions and strained resources

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in Lebanon’s host communities. In early 2013, LCSI was extended to focus on mitigating tensions in areas heavily affected by the Syrian crisis in Lebanon. LCSI provided vocational training to 58 participants between the ages of 16 and 30 in conflict-prone neighborhoods in Tripoli, helping youth to overcome polarization and interact more with one another. In Arsal, LCSI helped more than 70 youth to organize a bike race for peace in reaction to major security incidents in the region. Through these and other projects, LCSI is contributing to stabilization efforts in Lebanon and helping youth create peaceful solutions in response to a radicalizing region.

MIDDLE EAST

L I B YA

Engaging Youth in the Political Process After surviving 42 years of repression and a bloody revolution, Libya is undergoing a transformation. For the first time in a generation, Libyans have an opportunity to shape their government by creating a new national constitution. Through USAID/OTI’s Libya Transition Initiative (LTI), Chemonics works with nascent NGOs to raise young people’s awareness of the transition and to increase civil society involvement, integrating all people and perspectives into Libya’s political process. In Benghazi, LTI provided a grant to the Bokra Youth Foundation to promote voter education.

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Bokra Youth Foundation leaders collaborated with their peers at Derna University and Al Baydah University to speak with 800 students about their crucial role in the electoral process. They distributed more than 1,000 voter education booklets and posted 300 posters around the city as part of the foundation’s awareness campaign. They also produced “Vote! For Libya,” a short public service announcement that highlighted local voices and opinions from around the country, and used social media platforms to encourage citizens to vote. By providing information and positively engaging youth in

the political process, the Bokra Youth Foundation increased public participation in the transition and helped citizens learn more about Libya’s legislative process. In a similar initiative, LTI worked with the Tripoli-based grantee H2O to support a voter-education campaign aimed at Tripoli’s student population. H2O worked with the National Election Commission to create and disseminate a simplified voter education booklet to students during its four-day-campaign. The booklets were well-received. One student at Tripoli University stated, “The pictures in this book help me understand the election process

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and grasp what is to come... I now feel comfortable with the upcoming elections.” H2O volunteers worked in groups to disseminate the booklets and speak with students, and in the evenings, students shared their booklets with people leaving their offices in the busy centers around Tripoli. By gathering young people’s views on the constitution throughout Libya, H2O and LTI ensured youth participation in the constitutional drafting process — a key element of the country’s democratic transition.

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SYRIA

Cleaning Up for the Greater Good Syria’s ongoing conflict has led to a collapse of public services, resulting in piled-up waste in the streets of many opposition-held urban areas. This represents a significant health hazard and increases risk of disease as temperatures increase. This risk is especially pertinent in Al Atarib, an opposition-controlled city in northern Syria. The USAID/OTI Syria Regional Program supported a local youth organization, Al Atarib Youth Forum, to conduct an eight-

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week clean-up campaign in the city. The Youth Forum provides a range of public services, including municipal cleaning, water and electricity network maintenance, relief provision, and volunteer coordination.

assistance, the Youth Forum has mobilized more than 50 volunteers on a daily basis. These volunteers have cleared 43 roads and areas in Al Atarib, using their collective energy to remove waste and rubble from residential and commercial areas, sweep roads, and paint. Local residents have joined the campaign and supported the volunteers’ efforts, and the Local Council of Al Atarib has also publicly supported the campaign. The Youth Forum promoted

The Syria Regional Program provided protective gear for volunteers as well as equipment, trash bags, and stipends for volunteers and vehicle rentals to support the campaign. With this

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the clean-up campaign on its Facebook page, posting pictures and videos of volunteers in action. Many Syrians have commented on the images, expressing their appreciation for the campaign. More than 100 have liked the page since its launch. One Facebook user even commented, “This is very important work. Thank you Al Atarib.”

MIDDLE EAST

WEST BANK AND GAZA

Empowering Youth to Lead Healthy Lifestyles In helping to strengthen the Palestinian health care sector, the Palestinian Health Sector Reform and Development (Flagship) Project focused on youth empowerment activities that promoted healthy living. In the summer of 2012, Flagship worked with local schools and NGOs to sponsor youth summer camps that encouraged health discussions and promoted healthy behavior. More than 1,500 children from 28 towns in the West Bank attended these “Healthy Lifestyles Summer Camps.” Through fun and educational activities, children and their mothers learned about nutrition, hygiene, and healthy living habits from NGO volunteers trained in public health.

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In December 2012, channeling the momentum of the summer camps, Flagship launched the Child-to-Child initiative to encourage children who attended the camp to share the health lessons they learned with their classmates. Students led the majority of presentations and served as the primary health teachers, taking part in activities like rapping about healthy eating, giving demonstrations on hand washing, and holding small group discussions on health issues affecting children in the West Bank.

children with disabilities often faced. Flagship provided more than $1.3 million in grants to NGOs that served people with disabilities. One grant recipient, the Caritas Baby Hospital, helped 46 young patients with cystic fibrosis understand and manage

Flagship also supported the education of children with disabilities and raised community awareness to remove the barriers and stigmatism that

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their conditions. Another grant recipient, the Palestinian Happy Child Clinic, uses intensive physical and speech therapy to help youth with cerebral palsy learn to walk independently and improve their speech.

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YEMEN

Growing Jobs by Demand In Yemen, unemployment — especially youth unemployment — is a critical challenge and one of the main factors influencing political instability and insecurity in the country. More than 75 percent of the Yemeni population is below the age of 25, and youth between the ages of 18 and 24 suffer from a 50 percent unemployment rate. At the end of 2012, the Asia and Middle East Economic Growth (AMEG) Best Practices project conducted an assessment of enterprise development for USAID/Yemen’s economic growth office, recommending activities

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to enhance youth employment opportunities and boost needed skills in the private sector. The AMEG project also developed demand-driven, results-oriented activities that would place qualified Yemeni youth in appropriate positions. Following an extensive appraisal of employment challenges and constraints in February 2013, which involved conducting interviews and focus groups with USAID, Yemeni youth, the private sector, vocational training partners, and the Yemeni government, the AMEG project presented a report to USAID/

Yemen. The report recommended short-, medium-, and longterm activities that targeted employability, entrepreneurship, and vocational training in Yemen. USAID/Yemen has since engaged the AMEG project to implement scalable, demanddriven vocational training and job retention activities recommended by the study. Working with a local organization called Yemen Education for Employment, the AMEG project is currently piloting a job growth program in Sana’a, Aden, and Taiz to recruit, train,

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and place more than 600 youth in internships between 2013 and 2014. Participants will receive technical and life skills training to prepare them for their internships, as well as professional mentorship opportunities and networking contacts. With its strong partnership with the private sector, this exciting pilot program aims to place a majority of youth participants into full-time employment positions within six months of completing their training.