Application Deadline: July 15th 2021
Rise Up’s Youth Champions Initiative invests in powerful young leaders ages 18-29 who are leading the sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice movement in Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, Rwanda, and the United States. The externally validated model enables young leaders to create large-scale change through leadership development, technology, innovation, and advocacy.
Youth Champions Initiative improves the lives of young people by advancing innovation and quality in the field of sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice globally. Recent successes include:
- Leveraging WhatsApp in India to deliver youth-friendly mobile instant messaging on SRH;
- Developing an animated television series in Ethiopia about girl super heroines fighting for girls’ health and rights;
- Creating comic books in Pakistan to deliver healthy menstrual hygiene information to girls and their families;
- Teaching youth in the United States to use art, dance, and spoken word poetry to advocate for comprehensive sexuality education.
Selection Criteria
Eligible candidates must meet the following selection criteria:
- Young persons between the ages of 18-29
- Residents of:
• India
• Pakistan
• Ethiopia
• Rwanda
• Louisiana and Mississippi, USA - Personal dedication to improving sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice
- Commitment to social change and experience in one or more of the following areas: youth development, education, sexual and reproductive health and rights, family planning, innovation and/or related fields
- Ability to participate in an online virtual workshop meeting weekly for two hours between October and December 2021. Rise Up will cover all costs related to program participation, including materials and internet costs.
- Proficient in oral and written English
- Support of a registered civil society or nonprofit organization, network, or group
- To be eligible for a grant in association with this project, Rise Up requires organizations to be legally registered in country, be able to receive international funds, and in India to be registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). Entities that are not registered can be sponsored by a legally registered entity.
Following a competitive selection process, Rise Up will select visionary young leaders to join a cohort of 22 Youth Champions from India, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Pakistan, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Rise Up has developed an innovative virtual incubator model that integrates intensive capacity building, leadership development, advocacy, project funding, and technical support to enable the Youth Champions to launch creative new initiatives to improve SRHR in their countries.
Benefits
Rise Up will competitively award $12,000 USD grants to participating Youth Champions and their organizations to launch innovative sexual and reproductive health and rights projects they develop during the Incubator.
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the Rise Up Youth Champions Initiative 2021