In 2015, UNDP Regional Bureau of Arab States (RBAS) successfully launched the first annual Youth Leadership Programme (YLP1) that brought together around 40 inspiring young men and women from 18 Arab countries to nurture their creativity, strengthen their leadership skills, and help them realize their ideas to improve their communities, whether local, national or global. 

Building on the success and lessons learned of YLP 1 and in the context of the 2030 Agenda, RBAS launched YLP 2 in April 2016. YLP 2 will support young men and women from across the region in addressing sustainable development challenges in four prioritized thematic areas: Gender Equality, Good Governance, Social Cohesion, and Economic Empowerment.  Over the course of the year, the participating youth will participate and receive ongoing support, a series of interactive hands-on learning workshops as well as targeted mentoring to unpack the SDGs, identify entry points for change, and develop skills in various social innovation approaches and methodologies, especially human-centered design.  The expected outcome of YLP is to mobilize young participants to become better advocates for the SDGs and implementers of ideas for social change.  The initiative is focused on helping young people become engaged citizens, innovative problem-solvers, effective leaders and successful agents of change.  

YLP 2 is launched in 13 countries namely; Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, KSA, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Somalia Tunisia and UAE and who are adopting the programme to benefit the local context and priorities. YLP2 will run for approximately 6 months with several stages: Inception (call for applications and selection), Design (national hands-on workshops and mentoring) and Development (the regional leadership workshop).  Each Country will be working on developing their related national activities in introducing SDGs as framework and working with the youth in guiding them towards developing their ideas and initiatives around SDGs and the four thematic pillars.  At the national level in each of the 13 countries, the participants will be mentored and their ideas nurtured.  As an outcome of the national processes, five participants will be selected from each country to join the regional workshop to further their skills and learning.  The participants will then have the opportunity to network with youth from other countries, debate their ideas in creative and innovative ways. Lastly, five young women and men from this regional cohort will be chosen at the end of the programme to receive the “Change Maker” honor at a final awards ceremony.

Regional Workshop: Youth Action to the 2030 Agenda       

                         

The Ministry of Youth in Kuwait in partnership with UNDP Kuwait and UNDP RBAS will convene the regional workshop on “Youth Action to the 2030 Agenda” in the Arab region, end of October.  The regional workshop will be convened in partnership with UN Women Regional Office for the Arab States and the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth.  It is expected to invite the Regional Director of the Regional Bureau of the Arab States and the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth; in addition to Inspirational speakers to offer the participants a memorable experience and ensured personal and professional development. UNDP will ensure that panels and sessions are gender balanced. 

The main objectives of the regional workshop are: 1) improved understanding of leadership as concept and tool for young women and men to acquire gender equal,  sustainable and innovative solutions for challenges facing their communities 2) Effective capacity built among young  women and men to build core of emerging leaders to act as SDGs Ambassadors, 3) forged network among young men and women to exchange knowledge, stories, resources and skills and 4) strengthen the initiatives and ideas of the young  women and men to implement, advocate and act on the 2030 agenda.

The regional workshop will invest in empowering young women and men as partners and champions for SDGs across the Arab region.  The workshop will use creative approaches to offer a learning environment to discuss in details the 2030 agenda.  The youth knowledge and creativity is essential to realize the development goals.  The regional workshop will address sustainable development challenges in four prioritized thematic areas: Gender Equality, Good Governance, Social Cohesion, and Economic Empowerment.  

The workshop will offer youth a variety of ways to engage and interact: e.g., focused and analytical plenary sessions, hands-on working sessions, and in-depth technical sessions to ensure that youth are aware and ready to take action.  Given the participation from young women and men of all backgrounds across the region, the workshop will serve as a key opportunity for networking, innovation, and collaboration among the participants and their initiatives.  The regional workshop will help young men and women find their voice, take action, and make an impact on vital community issues. 

During the five days of the regional workshop, a variety of approaches will be used to increase understanding of the SDGs and the opportunities for young men and women to contribute to their achievements. Every session will be designed to facilitate interaction, sharing of experiences, and most important, generation of potential solutions that youth can move forward with their implementation.  By the end of the event, it is expected that the participants will fully understand their roles, scope and responsibilities in achieving the SDGs focusing on the four thematic areas: Gender Equality, Good Governance, Social Cohesion, and Economic Empowerment and will have the capacity to innovate, create, inspire change, and take an active role in implementing SDG initiatives. Throughout the five days, participants will develop skills, refine potential solutions, to further develop and refine their projects. The workshop will also strengthen the ideas of the youth that were developed at the national levels in order to scale them up.  The objective is to encourage the participants to work on ideas and initiatives to translate SDGs into actions that suit the different needs of women and men within their communities.  

The participants will recommend several sessions for the regional workshop based on the needs developed at the national activities in each of the 13 participating countries.  The workshop will be facilitated to enhance learning and networking.  The regional workshop will include facilitators and key note speakers to share their experience and expertise.

The Refinery 

Time dedicated for YLP2ers to further refine their ideas/concepts based on feedback and learnings during the workshop.  Evaluation of their ideas will be based partially on their ability to reflect new input

Physical space at the conference venue where participants can reflect upon their YLP2 experiences and share on camera. 

Hands on learning sessions

 

Buzzword Bingo (navigating development jargon)

Reflection Corner (to tape YLP2 testimonies)