Youth-led solutions to the pandemic recovery are at the heart of the Global Youth Mobilization, which is investing more than USD 2 million in young people’s ideas, innovations, and their futures.
The Global Youth Mobilization’s Local Solutions Project Initiative is a call to all young people, regardless of background or location, to submit their solutions to the health and societal COVID-19 challenges facing young people and their communities today. Selected projects will receive funding to turn these ideas into reality. To date the GYM has received more than 1600 Local Solutions applications from 70 countries.
World YMCA and the global YMCA Movement is a proud and active member of the Global Youth Mobilization, and it now invites young YMCA people and YMCA-linked youth-led grassroots organisations to submit their ideas and receiving funding to make them happen.
APPLY HERE FOR GLOBAL YOUTH MOBILIZATION LOCAL SOLUTIONS FUNDING
And – to help your application – join us for a World YMCA webinar on 23 February at 13:00 CET. You will learn more about the projects and young people who have been making positive change helping their peers and communities during COVID-19.
REGISTER HERE FOR THE LOCAL SOLUTIONS FUNDING INFORMATION WEBINAR
More detail about the GYM-funded Local Solutions Project Initiative
Funding is available in four tiers – from $500 through to $5,000 – and designed for individual young people, informal groups, and youth-led community groups. All funding applications are judged and decided by panels of young people – with several from the YMCA Movement.
Funding is granted on a range of themes, including COVID-19 prevention/protection measures and vaccination, addressing the impact of education disruption, improving employability, improving metal or physical health. The full range of the topics is here.
You must be between 14 and 30 to submit an application, and you need to have:
- A reference from an adult 18+.
- A breakdown of how you plan to spend the funds.
- A named adult if you are under 18.
- A short video explaining your project (optional, but highly encouraged).
- For Tiers 3 and 4: Please attach Government documentation of organisational status (CBO, NGO, Non-profit, 501c3 status, etc.)
Applications will be reviewed on a three-month rolling cycle. There is no deadline to apply. The application platform will stay open for requests as long as funds are available. A small number of these local solutions will also be selected for upscaling and replication through an accelerator program.
No matter how big or small the idea, we encourage you to have the confidence to apply for funding. All you need to do is complete a short application form setting out your idea, what you want to achieve with the funding and upload a short video explaining why you should be awarded the funding.
More detail on the Global Youth Mobilization
In December 2020, a new ground-breaking global youth mobilization was launched to invest in and scale up youth-led solutions and engagements in response to COVID-19. The initiative was launched by an alliance of the world’s largest youth movements and organizations (including, of course, World YMCA), together with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Foundation.
Over a year later, the Global Youth Mobilization is now a powerful movement of young people addressing the negative impact of the pandemic on young people and supporting them to build back better. Through a fund of USD 5 million, the Mobilization aims to support young people to engage in and design efforts to turn around the impact of the pandemic by supporting local and national youth organizations. The YMCA is proud to be a founding member of the GYM.
For any questions, please contact Nathalie Thomas, Programme Manager nathalie@ymca.int