United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Youth Solidarity Fund 2019/2020 for Innovative Youth Projects (USD 25,000 Grants)

Application Deadline:Friday, 30 August 2019 at 5:00 p.m. EST

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) is pleased to invite youth-led organizations to apply for the Youth Solidarity Fund (YSF). The call is open to organizations from select countries whose work seeks to foster peaceful and inclusive societies through improved understanding and collaboration across cultures, faiths and beliefs.

Through a competitive evaluation process, YSF will award seed funding (up to USD 25,000) for the implementation of selected projects that demonstrate innovative approaches to intercultural or interfaith dialogue and advance the mission of UNAOC. YSF only supports projects that are entirely developed and managed by youth for the benefit of youth.

Established in 2008, the Fund responded to calls for action made by young civil society leaders around the world on the importance of establishing funding mechanisms for youth-led organizations. Since its creation, YSF has funded 63 youth-led organizations in 39 countries.

The projects funded by the YSF target young people from various backgrounds: students, marginalized youth, minorities, youth in rural or urban areas, youth in conflict or post-conflict situations, artists and activists. The youth-led organizations employ creative methodologies to break stereotypes, improve intercultural relations and promote a culture of peace:

• Educational activities, ranging from one-day awareness raising sessions to week-long trainings, peer-education activities, summer camps, as well as development of educational materials and tools and creation of networks of student leaders and youth clubs;
• Arts and sports as tools to address conflict in a non-violent way, to promote inter-community understanding and to raise-awareness about the dangers of sectarianism, extremism and radicalization;
• Media and social-media campaigns, video production for advocacy purposes and radio series to promote messages of tolerance and peace;
• Creative settings that facilitate intercultural dialogue, interfaith understanding, sharing of experiences and learning from each other in order to bring meaningful change to their society.

The 8th edition of the Youth Solidarity Fund is supported by the Government of Finland.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the UNAOC Youth Solidarity Fund 2019/2020