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Application Deadline: Monday 4th May 2015
In partnership with Plan UK, African Monitor and YES Ghana, Restless Development is launching the Accountability Advocates project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. The project will be implemented from April 2015 to June 2016 and has three broad aims:1. To build the capacity of youth-led community-based organisations (CBOs) to hold governments to account effectively;
2. To demonstrate how, young people can lead, and partner with others in, the monitoring of the SDGs;
3. To promote the exchange of good practice and foster increased sectoral coordination and North-South cooperation.
The Project is looking for 20 dedicated, connected and knowledgeable young experts from youth-led CBOs in Africa and Europe. Between May 2015 and June 2016, the 20 Accountability Advocates will be trained and mentored to design and implement a national monitoring framework that, together with a national alliance of young people, peer organisations and other youth partners, they can use to hold their government accountable to implementing the new SDGs.
The Accountability Advocates initiative contributes to the Big Idea- a new programme on youth- led accountability for the Sustainable Development Goals from Restless Development. The Big Idea is simple: if young people have the right knowledge, skills and networks, meaningful opportunities to participate, and the ability to create and share data, they will be leaders in holding governments to account for the SDGs.
In practice, young people participating in the Big Idea will be brought together and trained as networks, where they will:
- Gather and generate data for accountability, distributing it in citizen friendly formats to activists, the media, citizen accountability initiatives and decision makers.
- Monitor and review service delivery and commitments to sustainable development, producing reports and citizen friendly resources to raise awareness of pressing issues.
- Convene national stakeholders on areas of concern and off track commitments and develop joint mutual accountability action plans to address challenges.
- Lobby for greater citizen participation in accountability mechanisms through evidence based advocacy
Contributing to this, and in partnership with Plan UK, African Monitor and YES Ghana, Restless Development is launching the Accountability Advocates project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
The project will be implemented from April 2015 to June 2016
The Accountability Advocates
- The Accountability Advocates are a group of 20 dedicated, connected and knowledgeable young experts from youth-led CBOs in Africa and Europe. Between May 2015 and June 2016, the 20 Accountability Advocates will be trained and mentored to design and implement a national monitoring framework that, together with a national alliance of young people, peer organisations and other youth partners, they can use to hold their government accountable to implementing the new SDGs.
Eligibility:
Accountability Advocates are recruited by the supporting organisations, and are from one of the following countries (2 or 3 advocates will be selected from seven of the countries below):
● Africa : Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, South-Africa, Malawi, Nigeria
● Europe: United Kingdom, Finland, Romania or Bulgaria
Accountability Advocates:
● are between 18 – 28 years old
● are passionate about youth development, and the role of young people as partners and leaders in
decision-making!
● are joining in their individual capacity
● are part of a youth-led or youth-focused organisation at the local or national level
● have some expertise or experience with regards to accountability or monitoring mechanisms
or have been involvement in advocacy around the Post-2015 development agenda.
● Have enough time and capacity to commit to this project
Benefits:
- Support to the Accountability Advocates will be provided by the project partners (Restless Development, Plan UK, African Monitor and YES Ghana) through:
● In-person training
● Dedicated, national mentor support
● Ongoing (online) support and expertise by supporting organisations in the implementation of action plans
● Local offices / country programmes of supporting organisations (where feasible)
● Materials, such as toolkits and training manuals
● Funding for national activities, such as meetings with policy-and decision-makers and peer training
● Guidance and tools on how to manage funding and how to report on these
● Forwarding and highlighting opportunities at the global and regional level
● Sponsoring applications for international events and support in applications (as opportunities arise)
Other advantages of being an Accountability Advocate include:
● Working with a group of multinational young advocates;
● Attendance at an in-person training in Ghana;
● Learning from each other’s work and building connections within and outside your country borders;
● Build your capacity and skills around accountability and development;
● Build new relationships and connections with decision-makers and other young people;
● Have lots of fun 
TIMEFRAMES
Accountability Advocates commit to be involved in the project for one year, from May 2015 until June 2016
For More Information:
email Rachel Litster: rach@restlessdevelopment.org
