Welcome!

Our YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation (YP2LE) Learning Network was in overdrive this quarter! From resource launches to highly anticipated events, our calendar was full — and we would not have it any other way. In this issue, we are recapping our successful two-day YouthPower2 Symposium, demonstrating the power of collaboration in our Communities of Practice, and giving you updates on the latest product releases and happenings.

Bet on Young Leaders: Symposium Highlights
“Young people are one of our best bets.” Such a simple yet significant statement from young leader and keynote speaker Victor Mugo set the tone for two impactful days at the YouthPower2 Symposium. From Nov. 9-10, young changemakers were front and center leading talks, exchanging ideas, and providing their unique perspectives on topics such as youth engagement, relationship building, and equitable representation in development.

The online Symposium engaged youth as equal partners in development by convening young leaders, youth-focused practitioners, USAID, and other donors to identify and discuss successes and challenges in youth development—from analyzing lessons learned to sharing Positive Youth Development (PYD) tools and strategies.

Engaging youth at this level is crucial because, as attendees learned in the “Decolonizing Development” session on Day One, youth are often not taken seriously as decision makers or as sources of valuable information unless they have specific credentials. YouthPower2 Symposium validated the importance of young voices by giving youth an international platform to share their perspectives through a PYD lens.

“Recognizing youth agency means recognizing that young people take action in the transformation of society. As such they are actors, knowledge holders, and, also, innovators. Youth are the leaders of today,” said Daryna “Daria” Onyshko, program officer at Community of Democracies, during the Global LEAD session. READ ON.

Updates

Third Class of YouthLead Ambassadors Graduates
In 2021, YP2LE graduated its third class of 21 YouthLead Ambassadors and seven Peer Advisors. The YouthLead Ambassador program is a six-month professional development and leadership opportunity for young changemakers with proven track records in mobilizing other young people to have a positive impact in their community. Ambassadors play a key role in raising visibility and awareness about the YouthLead platform as a resource and networking hub for youth leaders by bringing the benefits of YouthLead to national, regional, and local groups of changemakers.

As part of the program, the YouthLead Ambassadors design and implement awareness campaigns on critical issues impacting young people; host learning events that contribute to knowledge, skill-building, local engagement, and peer-to-peer networking; and contribute their ideas on how to make the platform more relevant to changemakers in our network to the YouthLead team. In 2021, YouthLead Ambassadors led 10 learning events on topics such as human rights and education, young women’s roles in peacebuilding, mental health and wellbeing for youth entrepreneurs, and more. (For a full list of events, visit YouthLead here. )

YouthLead Ambassadors are supported by Peer Advisors (PAs) who are graduates of the program that demonstrated exceptional commitment to their role as Ambassadors and who are interested in serving as mentors to their peers. PAs provide guidance and encouragement to YouthLead Ambassadors throughout their fellowship as they plan and implement their activities. 

The Ambassadors are competitively selected from thousands of candidates through an open application process that takes place twice a year. Our first (2019) and second cohort (2020) of YouthLead Ambassadors were selected from among over 2,000 applicants from over 200 countries and territories. Our third cohort of 21 YouthLead Ambassadors were selected from more than 3,000 applicants. The next call for YouthLead Ambassador applications will open January 2022. 

New Learning Series Examines Mentorship Best Practices
Join the YouthLead Mentorship Initiative's new, six-part learning series! The Mentorship Event Series provides a pathway to understanding, implementing, and further developing good mentorship practices. Events will take place approximately once per quarter through Fall 2022.

The sessions support the overall objectives of the Mentorship Initiative and aim to help you: 
•    Develop your skills as a mentor.   
•    Learn how to develop and grow mentorship relationships. 
•    Connect with other YouthLead members on topics and questions related to mentorship. 
•    Find mentorship programs, networks, and other resources that can support your personal and professional goals as a young changemaker. 

For more details on the Mentorship Event Series, including upcoming event dates, visit YouthLead.org.

CoP Members Co-Author Articles on Youth Engagement
Christabel Netondo and Sarah Jonson are fine examples of the unlimited possibilities offered in our Communities of Practice (CoP). The duo, who are active members of our Youth Engagement CoP, recently teamed up to write two companion pieces on deepening youth engagement in the development sector. Christabel, a Youth Advisor for the CoP, and CoP member Sarah, a Technical Advisor for Youth Agency and Engagement at International Youth Foundation, collaborated over a three-month period on the articles below for IYF:

Five Tips for Deepening Youth Engagement in the Development Space
Here's What Meaningful Youth Engagement Looks Like

Are You Contributing to the PYD Learning Agenda?
YP2LE wants to hear more about how your organization is carrying out research activities and generating evidence that contributes to the PYD Learning Agenda. Our team is in the process of conducting a literature scan to identify emerging research learnings in the youth development field in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We are focusing on identifying learnings related to the five themes of YP2LE's PYD Learning Agenda:

• Understanding how PYD programs achieve positive impact in LMICs;
• Cross-sectoral impact of PYD programs;
• Measurement of PYD constructs;
• PYD for vulnerable or marginalized populations; and
• Youth engagement in PYD programs.

Relevant documents to include are peer-reviewed articles, technical reports and briefs, white papers, toolkits, and case studies. The deadline to share relevant resources from your organization's projects and research studies is Monday, December 13. Please submit your resources to Chelsea Pallatino, Senior Specialist of Research, Evaluation, and Learning.

Now Available

Cost Analysis for Positive Youth Development
This YP2LE-led literature review looks at how PYD programs have carried out cost-effectiveness and cost-efficiency analyses, focusing specifically on what components of youth programs have been tracked and measured. The findings from this review will support the development of guidance and tools that will help USAID better understand the value for money of investments in youth programming and contributes to the PYD Learning Agenda Theme of Understanding How PYD Programs Achieve Positive Impact in Low-to-Middle-Income Countries. ACCESS NOW.

Civic Engagement Country Snapshots Dashboard Launch

Did you miss the Learning Network event for the launch of the Youth Civic Engagement Country Snapshots Dashboard? You can now access the replay! The dashboard, now available at YouthPower.org, aims to help youth practitioners better understand youth perceptions, behaviors, and motivations related to youth civic engagement and potential opportunities to address related gaps in youth-specific interventions. Tune in to learn more about how the dashboard was developed, including how survey data collection activities on youth civic engagement are captured in this interactive resource. WATCH NOW.

Spotlight on Mental Health and Youth and Gender
YouthPower.org released two new toolkits in time for 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence which runs from November 25 to December 10, 2021.

Integrating Mental Health and Psychosocial Support into Youth Programming
This toolkit (available online and as a download) provides strategies and tools for designing, implementing, and evaluating mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) programs and activities for youth in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and conflict-affected contexts. It helps you select the right tool(s) given your implementing context and project time frame, as well as the needs of the target population, which should always drive the selection of MHPSS interventions, services, and activities. Get helpful guidance, tips, and resources on where to start and how to program effectively. ACCESS NOW.

Youth and Gender Analysis Toolkit
YP2LE conducted an assessment of the most important barriers and knowledge gaps related to young women’s economic empowerment. One of the key findings was that current guidance and templates for gender- and/or youth-focused analyses for economic growth activities are insufficient to deliver the information needed to design and monitor appropriate interventions. The new Youth and Gender Analysis Toolkit provides effective tips and links to tools that can be applied when carrying out gender- and/or youth-focused analysis during the start-up phases of economic growth programming targeting youth.  DOWNLOAD NOW.

Can Intentional Online Mentoring Still Have a Profound Impact?  
On Season 2’s opening episode, we are asking the question: With many of us still meeting virtually, is it possible for mentoring to have a profound impact online? We explore the possibilities with Youth Development Specialist Sarah Sladen and Youth Empowerment Advocate and Mentor Philbert Aganyo. Listen in for insights on how mentorship can occur in a variety of spaces, why even adult mentors need training, and how the new YouthLead Mentorship Initiative will help young people find and connect with mentors to ultimately increase personal and professional growth. LISTEN NOW.

Would you like to suggest an event or resource to add to YouthPower.org? Do you have any feedback? Send an email to comms@youthpower.org.