OYW announces flagship initiative with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs

One Young World is proud to announce a new initiative with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Enterprise for Peace, which supports 50 delegates to participate in the upcoming One Young World 2018 Summit in The Hague. These delegates are key driving forces in creating youth employment opportunities for prosperous and peaceful societies in some of the world’s most challenging environments.

The lack of employment opportunities for young people, as a result of the 2008 global economic crisis and the youth bulge being experienced in many countries around the world, is considered as one of the most significant security and development challenges we face.  The consequences for young people such as unemployment, inequality, marginalization and disaffection are far-reaching but wider communities also suffer from the effects of high levels of youth unemployment; namely poverty, violent extremism, political instability, drugs and crime. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs prioritises improving young people’s prospects in a number of developing countries and fragile states by encouraging local entrepreneurs and creating jobs. The initiative will have the objectives of:

  1. Empowering young leaders to create sustainable job opportunities in selected regions
  2. Leveraging the potential of young people as widely as possible for job creation and highlight their potential as a solution to fostering prosperous and peaceful societies.
  3. Raising awareness of youth unemployment opportunities for young people and sharing best practice.

15 of the scholars have been selected by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency which is part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and works at the instigation of ministries and the European Union. 35 of the scholars have been selected by One Young World in consultation with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The young leaders selected have all demonstrated a commitment to creating a positive impact through social entrepreneurship in their communities and a capacity for innovation and values-driven problem solving.

A huge congratulations to the 50 young leaders selected! To learn more about this cohort, please visit this link.

Meet some of the Dutch MFA Scholars:

Imrana Alhaji Buba, Nigeria. Founded the Youth Coalition Against Terrorism (YOCAT), a volunteer-based coalition of over 600 youth in north-eastern Nigeria that works to unite young people against violent extremism through job creation, after being directly confronted with the violence instigated by Boko Haram.

Salam Al-Nukta, Syria. Started ChangeMakers, a youth-led initiative to stimulate passion and innovation, celebrate young people's ideas, create an ecosystem for young innovators, in addition to connecting these young people with volunteer mentors. ChangeMakers focuses on technology and coding as key taught tools for young people

Charif Hamidi, Morocco. Launched Ed4.0, a mobile school programme that travels across the most remote rural areas to close educational gaps in numeracy and literacy through the implementation of our differentiated pedagogical programs in edtech. So far, they have impacted over 1200 children, mainly in Morocco, the UAE, and Bosnia.

Yasmin Dunsky and Noga Mann, Israel. Co-founded QueenB, a non-profit aimed at increasing the number of women in the tech industry. QueenB offers girls in middle school coding and app development lessons once a week throughout a year.

Spandana Palaypu, India/United Arab Emirates. Initiated and leads ZoEasy, an organization committed to helping job seekers realize their potential by placing them in positions based on skills and experience rather than job desperation. ZoEasy is dedicated to bringing a positive change to blue-collar workers, with particular focus on improving youth employment and reducing gender bias.  

John Jal Dak Ruot, South Sudan. Launched the Youth Social Advocacy Team, a youth-led initiative aimed at resolving tribal clashes between youth of various ethnicities fueled by the ongoing conflict in my country. So far, the Youth Social Advocacy Team supported 5 youth groups (150 people) with start-up funds to run their enterprises and trained over 250 refugee leaders, women, youth and church leaders as mediators and counsellors on trauma healing, leadership and conflict resolution skills.

To read more about the 50 Dutch MFA Scholars, click here.

 

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