Welcome!

We started off the year with a celebration. Over 190 youth development experts gathered in person and online for the YouthPower Annual Learning Network Meeting held in Washington, D.C. on January 23. This meeting was an opportunity to recognize YouthPower achievements, reflect on the lessons learned, and discuss next steps as YouthPower Learning comes to an end in April, after five years of accomplishments. 

Project Director Cassandra Jessee and USAID’s Nancy Taggart and Robert Burch kicked off the meeting, emphasizing the USAID Office of Education’s commitment to youth development and the impact of YouthPower Learning’s work in advancing PYD globally. Through panel sessions and roundtable discussions, participants heard from young changemakers; applauded achievements across the entire YouthPower mechanism; reviewed the range of PYD tools that were created by YouthPower Learning, YouthPower Action and other YouthPower projects, and got a brief preview of what is planned next.

Explore the annual meeting recordings and list of tools on YouthPower.org, and take advantage of the many PYD resources available on our website. And, stay tuned for a report that will highlight key lessons learned from the various YouthPower Task Orders and their implementation!

- The YouthPower Learning Team

YouthPower Annual Learning Network Meeting: Resources and Recordings

Annual Meeting Recordings

Watch the Opening Remarks video here.

Watch the Applications of PYD—Experiences from the Task Orders video here.

Watch the Youth Panel video here.

Watch the Sustainability and Scaling for PYD Projects video here.

Watch the Looking Ahead and Filling the Knowledge Gaps video here.

Available PYD Good Practices and Tools

Over the course of five years, many effective tools were developed to ensure the PYD approach is incorporated widely throughout youth development programming. The annual meeting offered an opportunity to introduce attendees to these tools as well as understand which ones they found most beneficial. During an interactive session, participants engaged in thoughtful and productive conversations, which gave them an opportunity to learn about new tools they might not have used before, and how those tools could support program implementation or research. Based on those discussions, we compiled a comprehensive list of top tools from across task orders, communities of practice, YouthPower Learning, and YouthPower Action that is now available on youthpower.org. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

February 20 - 21, 2020: Youth Transitions- A Global Interdisciplinary Policy Research Conference
February 25, 2020: Webinar: Leading Change Through Volunteering
March 10, 2020: SG2020: The Future of Savings Groups
March 22 - 26, 2020: CIES Conference 2020
March 30 - April 3, 2020: International Social and Behavior Change Communication Summit 2020
April 1, 2020: ECOSOC Youth Forum 2020
April 6 - 10, 2020: USAID 2020 Global Education Conference

New YouthPower Resources

Youth-Driven Programming in Contexts of Volatility and Protracted Crises

YouthPower Learning recently hosted a webinar with presenters from USAID, the Education Development Center, and FHI 360, which discussed alternative education, resilience, and community-based approaches for implementing and sustaining positive youth engagement programming in fragile environments. Presenters used  the case study of the USAID Integrated Youth Development Activity (IYDA) in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to engage participants with a real-world example.

Access the webinar recording and related resources. 

The Importance of Social and Emotional Skills in Achieving Youth Outcomes

YouthPower Learning also hosted a webinar with USAID and Mercy Corps, focusing on the new USAID Education Policy Brief on Social and Emotional Learning and Soft Skills. This webinar provided an introductory understanding of what USAID means by the terms “social and emotional skills” and “soft skills,” as well as desired outcomes and quality standards. Mercy Corps shared examples from its social and emotional learning programming with adolescent Syrians and Jordanians in host communities in Jordan.

Access the webinar recording and related resources.

New on the PYD Learning Agenda

The PYD Learning Agenda prioritizes five themes to serve as anchors, guiding future research on PYD programs in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). These themes are: 1) understanding how PYD programs achieve positive impact; 2) cross-sectoral impact of PYD programs; 3) measurement of PYD constructs; 4) PYD for marginalized or vulnerable populations, and 5) youth engagement in PYD programs. Learn more about the latest resources under the fourth theme, PYD for marginalized or vulnerable populations.

• Insecurity, Distress and Mental Health: Experimental and Randomized Controlled Trials of a Psychosocial Intervention for Youth Affected by the Syrian Crisis
• Girl Shine: Advancing the Field— Designing Girl-Driven Gender-Based Violence Programming in Humanitarian Settings
• Benchmark Assessment of Orphaned and Vulnerable Children in Areas of the Zambia Family (ZAMFAM) Project

NEW RESOURCES ON YOUTHPOWER.ORG

YouthPower Learning Resources

• 2020 YouthPower Annual Learning Network Meeting - Session Recordings
• USAID - Somalia Youth Assessment
• Summary Brief: Zambia Youth Assessment
• Social Inclusion in Positive Youth Development Programs
• Youth Advisory Councils: Eight Steps to Consider Before You Engage

Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL)

• External Evaluation of YDP and NUYEP Programs: Final Evaluation Report
• The Economic Returns to Investing in Youth in Developing Countries: A Review of the Literature

Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance

• What Works to Prevent Lethal Youth Violence in the LAC Region: A Global Review of the Research
• Webinar Resources and Recording: Youth-Driven Programming in Contexts of Volatility and Protracted Crises
• The Dynamics of Youth Radicalization in Africa: Reviewing the Current Evidence

Economic Growth, Education, and Environment

• Webinar Resources and Recording: The Importance of Social and Emotional Skills in Achieving Youth Outcomes
• Ethical Approaches to Gathering Information from Children and Adolescents in International Settings
• Infographic: Empleando Futuros Impacts
• Bridges to Employment Psychosocial Assistance Toolkit 

Gender

• Beyond Access: Toolkit for Integrating Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response into Education Projects
• Gender, Rights and Diversity: Connecting the Pieces
• What Women Want: A Toolkit for Putting Accountability into Action
• Transforming Vulnerable Girls to Entrepreneurial Women Through Leadership, Livelihood and Entrepreneurship Skills
• Training Curriculum: A Tool for AYRH-Responsive Planning (TARP)

Health

• Pioneering Tools for Adapting Family Planning and Reproductive Health Interventions in Complex, Dynamic Environments
• Utilizing a Three-Step Process to Remove Barriers to Youth Behavior Change
• Best Practices for Adolescent- and Youth-Friendly HIV Services
• Social Determinants of Health and Well-Being among Young People
• Global Burden of Disease in Young People Aged 10–24 Years: A Systematic Analysis

Agriculture

• Webinar Resources and Recording: Connecting Youth to Agriculture
• Investing in Youth: Agriculture’s Future Depends on It
• A Toolkit for Gender Mainstreaming in Agribusiness Incubation

Find more resources and events at YouthPower.org.