In partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, UNDP Bahrain is excited to announce the launch of the tenth edition of the Youth Leadership Programme (YLP10) for the year 2024!

This article contains an overview of all you need to know about YLP10 and how you can participate in it.

The Youth Leadership Programme (YLP) is a UNDP regional programme for the Arab countries that was launched in 2015. The programme’s purpose is to build the region’s most dynamic network working at the intersection of youth, innovation, and sustainable development. The programme aims to empower a generation of young leaders, changemakers, and social innovators, to grow their capacity in tackling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their countries and the Arab region.

In the past nine years, UNDP in partnership with local governments and youth-serving organizations (YSOs), has been working to build the capacity of youth to empower them to be the drivers of development and progress in their communities.  In partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, local youth-serving organizations, and the YLP Bahrain Community (consisting of YLP alumni, facilitators, and speakers), the YLP Experience has been continuously shaped to deliver the best sustainable development leadership training in Bahrain.

YLP10 is planned and implemented through a close collaboration of the YLP10 National Committee which consists of a team of young representatives from UNDP Bahrain, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, a number of Youth Serving Organizations (YSOs) and YLP alumni. YLP sponsors; Abdulrahim Alkooheji Foundation continue their support in building youth’s capacity as agents of change in promoting sustainable development.

YLP10 Theme
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in 2015, is the international community’s ambitious response to today’s most pressing global development challenges and will guide our development priorities for an entire generation. Young people played a key role in shaping this agenda and experience first-hand many of the issues it seeks to address.

In recent years, we have witnessed significant advances in terms of human development, but challenges remain. Historically and to this day, we witness youth playing an important role as stakeholders and partners in development where they are key actors in leading and achieving strides towards sustainability and positive change. Such change is significantly advanced when youth engage in collaborative actions that go beyond individual and personal practice. With only six years left to achieve the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda, young people should be further equipped with the tools and empowered to join action, reach, and innovative solutions that are essential for sustainable development is to be realized. 

Digitalization has become a fundamental force for change in this century. It is reshaping economies, government, and the very fabric of our communities – touching nearly every facet of our lives. And since 2015, countries have harnessed digitalization to accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. In the last seven years, digitalization has emerged as a veritable keystone, showing enormous potential to unlock the many complex, interwoven challenges addressed in the SDGs.

Effective Communication is another tool that has been enhanced by digitalization. Now more than ever, effective communication is a powerful way for actors to connect with stakeholders, inspire action across their communities and demonstrate the positive contributions they are making or that are possible to achieve. Effective communication is vital for achieving the SDGs where initiatives and projects can inform the public about their goals, mobilize support, and foster action. Additionally, well-managed communication can attract funding, form partnerships and scale impact, and enhance knowledge sharing.

As the world’s most interconnected generation, young people are at the forefront of digital advancement and transformation. Today, 75% of people aged between 15 and 24 are users of the internet, making them a generation of digital natives. With this, young people across the world are increasingly connected, using the internet and digital tools to build their communities, claiming space and agency in their societies, and adopting new pathways to drive change. Therefore, young people are capable of leading the way to sustainable development through utilizing digital and communication tools.

In aims of accelerating and empowering youth to achieve a better future for all, YLP10 this year will be focusing on the theme of Youth as Community Builders: Collaborative Action towards the SDGs through Effective Communication and Digital Innovation. This theme will spotlight youth’s role as community builders in driving development and using digital and communication tools as enablers to achieve the SDGs.

YLP10 will therefore drive discussions with youth on how to address challenges through social innovation and create sustainable and inclusive solutions.

The YLP10 in Bahrain this year aims to achieve the following objectives:

• Strengthen capacity of youth as leaders for social impact.

• Develop youth’s creativity and prepare them for the future of work.

• Expand youth understanding of collaborative action, community building, digitalization, information, and communication as tools to drive the achievement of the SDGs.    

• Advance youth’s ability to create systemic solutions for the SDGs.

• Co-create a safe space and support system for youth in Bahrain.

• Enhance collaboration between YSOs, Government, and Youth.

• Foster a Global Changemaker mindset.
   

The YLP10 Experience
The programme will focus on exploring innovation in our ways to create a sustainable and thriving future of work for all people, while ensuring it to be environmentally and socially sound across our communities.

By joining the programme, participants will:

• Develop their leadership and social innovations skills.

• Gain a deeper understanding of the SDGs and how to contribute to their achievement.

• Understand important concepts related to collaborative action and civic engagement, digitalization, digital transformation, information, and communication and how to utilize their tools to bring about positive change.

• Enhance their ability in tackling and presenting complex challenges systemically.

• Learn more about the different pathways they can take to achieve positive social change.

• Attain a range of networking opportunities among other youth, changemakers, and experts.

• Become a part of local and regional networks of like-minded peers that support their social impact journey, including local youth-serving and international development organizations.

• Gain a space where they can explore and collaborate on their brimming changemaker ideas.

• And play a role in the achievement of the global Sustainable Development Goals!

After selecting successful applicants to join the YLP10 Experience, the programme will commence around the first week of July and continue until mid-August 2024. While participants join as individuals, halfway through the programme, participants will form teams that work together in identifying their challenge area and creating an innovative solution that contributes to the achievement of the SDGs in Bahrain and beyond.

The programme will consist of a series of intensive in-person weekend workshops and hybrid working sessions for 6 – 8 weeks. At the end of the YLP10 Experience, the teams will then present their ideas to a judging panel at the SDGs Challenge final event. The winning team will benefit from future mentorship and engagement opportunities.

Are you ready to join YLP10?
Do you want to create change in your community and the world? Do you want to address challenges that affect you and the people around you? Joining the YLP10 programme is only a start to many possibilities ahead! Youth are at the forefront of creating positive development, and this is your opportunity to join the youth movement!

The following are the YLP10 participation criteria:

• Age between 18 – 35 years old.
• Be proficient in both English and Arabic.
• Be a resident of Bahrain.
• Be highly motivated and interested in collaboration for social innovation.
• Have a passion to create positive change to address global challenges within the local context.
• Have the capability and willingness to participate actively throughout the programme.
• All experience levels are welcome to apply.
   

Interested participants are highly recommended to read this article thoroughly, visit the links attached, and explore the YLP Bahrain Instagram account to know more about the programme.

Apply here to join the Youth Leadership Programme 10 in Bahrain!

Application deadline by the June 30th, 2024.
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Become the change you seek.