In October 2023 the European Commission and the world’s “Big Six” largest youth organisations announced the launch of the EU Youth Empowerment Fund.
The Youth Empowerment Fund will be implemented through the Global Youth Mobilization. It is a flagship initiative of the Youth Action Plan designed by, with and for young people.
Activities
The €10 million pilot initiative will provide and facilitate access to vital resources for young people to contribute to the sustainable development of their local communities and societies in EU partner countries to reach the objectives of Agenda 2030, in line with the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.
The partnership will
- break down barriers to funding
- provide opportunities for mentoring, coaching and capacity strengthening
- unlock opportunities for marginalised and under-represented communities
- engage, empower and mobilise young people to create local solutions to the world’s biggest challenges from climate change and gender equality to access to education and employment
Young people will lead on all aspects of the Youth Empowerment Fund, from selecting grant beneficiaries, to sitting on the board of the initiative, supporting mentoring and capacity strengthening programmes, and participating in the design, leadership and implementation of projects in their communities.
Activities of the Youth Empowerment Fund will start in late 2023 and the first grants will be distributed in 2024.
Stay tuned for updates on this page.
Background
The initiative was launched on the first anniversary of the Youth Action Plan for EU External Action, the EU’s policy framework for a strategic partnership with young people to build a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable future.
Despite facing unparalleled challenges and being disproportionately affected by worsening inequalities in society, young people are a powerful force for change. Youth-led and youth co-created initiatives have enormous potential to contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Yet young people often face barriers in accessing funds and opportunities to scale up successful initiatives.
The Global Youth Mobilization is an initiative of the Big Six, established in 2020. From 2020-2022 it invested more than US$5 million to support 640 youth-led projects, which engaged more than 600,000 young people and reached over 3.6 million people across more than 125 countries.
Formed in 1996, the Big Six Youth Organisations are an alliance of leading international youth-serving organisations. The Big Six is comprised of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), the World Alliance of Young Men’s Christian Associations (World YMCA), the World Alliance of Young Women’s Christian Associations (World YWCA), the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (The Award).
