Donor agencies can play a lead role in demonstrating young people’s capabilities in allocating resources, enhancing the capacity and interest of local and national governments to address youth issues.

Young people and adults share joint responsibility on the advisory board to The UN-HABITAT Opportunities Fund for Urban Youth-led Development. Established in 2009, the fund will award between USD $5,000 and $25,000 to organisations led by young people, aged 15 to 32 years, over two years (from the end of 2009), targeting youth-led initiatives in slums and squatter settlements that are in urgent need of financial support. The initial funding has been provided by the Norwegian Government.

UNICEF Sierra Leone commissioned a partner civil society organisation (SPW Sierra Leone) to undertake a needs assessment with young researchers. The assessment focused on out-of-school children, i.e., those who have dropped out of school, those who never attended school, or those who have participated in non-formal school programmes. The information collected was used to produce a set of guidelines for life skills programmes delivering non-formal HIV education.

Voter and civic education is especially important in post-conflict countries, where political situations may be volatile, substantial legal and procedural changes have taken place, and elections may have an unprecedented impact on the country’s future.

The Embassy of Finland in Kathmandu funded a Nepali NGO (Alliance for Peace) to create awareness about the country’s 2008 constituent assembly elections. Young people were less involved in party politics and were not recognised as belonging to any particular party. Thus, young people’s involvement in voter awareness helped the campaign to maintain a neutral position. Educating young people had a ripple effect as they communicated within their families, peer and friend groups. The initiative ran for one year from April 2007 to March 2008.