UN Alliance of Civilizations; Youth Solidarity Fund 2017-2018

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Youth Solidarity Fund (YSF) was established in 2008 to support the work of youth organizations in developing countries and to advance the mission of the UNAOC within their communities. The YSF programme aims to strengthen human development and promote peace in developing countries. The programme is implemented mainly in developing countries of Sub-Saharan Africa and MENA regions. The objectives of the YSF meet the requirements of Finland's Development Policy Programme by emphasizing equality and diminishing of inequality and marginalization. The programme is in line also with the priorities of Finland's UN strategy underlining conflict prevention, contributing to gender equility by confirming the political and financial opportunities for women. The results of the YSF projects have indicated that the youth can significally influence the national policy and the awareness of local decision-makers and link the generation gap of cultural and religious stereotypes. Based on the results and recommendations of the previous YSF projects the UNAOC will launch a 5th edition of the Youth Solidarity Fund in June 2016, aiming to select and support up to 10 youth projects. The objectives of these projects are: - foster understanding and cooperative relations among youth at the local, national and international levels - foster involvement of marginalized youth in decision making processes - enhance the skills among youth willing to contribute to their contry's social, economic and civic development. The activities of the project meet the ODA requirements; they will be carried out in Africa and Middle East. The DAC objectives are participatory development, good governance and gender equility. The main beneficiaries of the project are the youth living in those developing countries where the projects will be carried out as well as the youth of the alumni network and the marginalized youth. The objective of the project is also women's involvement in the education, thus the beneficiaries of the project are also the women in the region. The funding of Finland will be directed to the youth projects implemented in the developing countries.