In partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, UNDP Bahrain is pleased to announce the launch of the ninth edition of the Youth Leadership Programme (YLP9) for the year 2023!

This article contains an overview of all you need to know about YLP9 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.

Over the past eight years, UNDP in partnership with local governments and youth-serving organizations (YSOs) in the region, has been working to build the capacity of youth to empower them to be the drivers of development and progress in their communities. UNDP Bahrain Country Office joined the Youth Leadership Programme in its third edition (YLP3). Since then, and through working 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.

The YLP9 is planned and implemented through a close collaboration of the YLP9 National Committee which consists of a team of representatives from UNDP Bahrain office, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, AIESEC Bahrain, Global Shapers Manama Hub, Injaz Bahrain, Youth Pioneer Society and YLP alumni. YLP sponsors; Abdulrahim Alkooheji Foundation continue their support in building youth’ capacity as agents of change in promoting sustainable development.

YLP9 Theme

Climate change has emerged as one of the most important factors exacerbating poverty and human insecurity in the Arab region. Young people are among the most vulnerable to these impacts but also hold the key to accelerating action towards greener economies that can tackle the challenges of climate change as well as existing economic and social challenges. Therefore, the YLP9 Theme will delve into Green Economy to empower the youth to achieve the sustainable green economy that consolidates the three sustainable development pillars (Social, Environment, and Economy).

YLP9 will therefore drive national and regional discussions with youth on how to address challenges through social innovation and create sustainable and inclusive solutions.

The YLP9 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 Green Economy, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Innovation, and Climate Action and other related topic.

• 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 YLP9 Experience

The programme will focus on exploring innovative solutions to create a sustainable and thriving future of work for all people, while ensuring those solutions 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 Green Economy’s role in addressing current challenges and pathways to creating effective change.

• Understand impact of achieving a Green Economy on the achievement of the SDGs and enhance their awareness and knowledge of related topics and SDGs.

• Explore the importance of innovation in developing a sustainable future of work.

• 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 YLP9 Experience, the programme will commence on the 10th of May and continue until 24th of June. While participants join as individuals, halfway through the programme, participants will form teams that work together on 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 in-person workshops and hybrid working sessions for 7 weeks. At the end of the YLP9 Experience, the teams will then present their ideas to a judging panel at the SDGs Challenge final event. The winning teams will proceed to the Mentorship stage and will gain the opportunity to join the Youth Regional Forum! 
 

Teams Mentorship

Once the winning teams are selected, they are further supported to develop their capacity and mature their ideas in the Teams Mentorship stage. This will include:

• Mentoring with experts relevant to each team’s idea.

• Develop leadership and teamwork capacity.

• Enhance technical and storytelling skills.

• A chance of getting selected to join the Youth Regional Forum! 
   

Youth Regional Forum

Every year, a Youth Regional Forum is held where successful youth participants from 18 participating countries travel to a hosting Arab country. YLP participants get to meet youth from all around the Arab region, share knowledge, learn from each other’s ideas, and network with other young people, regional social innovation experts and policy leaders, and international development organizations. The format and date of the Regional Forum will be defined at a later time.

Are You Ready to Join YLP9?

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 YLP9 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 YLP9 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 ability 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 9 in Bahrain!

Application deadline by the 15th of April 2023.

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Become the change you seek.