Commonwealth Week

The Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work aims to raise the profile and highlight the contribution young people make to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). This award is presented to young people who are taking action to address development challenges in the world today from poverty, unemployment, climate change, violent extremism, lack of access to education etc. and are making a remarkable difference in the lives of the people in their local community, village, province, country, region and world at large.

The young people who will receive this award should demonstrate measurable/tangible impact through their development work.

The main Objectives of the Commonwealth Youth Awards are to:-

Highlight the contribution of young people in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
Acknowledge the outstanding contributions made by young people to development and democracy goals in the Commonwealth;
Create an environment which will encourage and sustain investments in youth led development;
Illustrate the depth and breadth of talent, commitment and creativity that exists among young people across the Commonwealth by highlighting nominees’ success stories;
Motivate, encourage and challenge young people (age 15-29) to set high standards for their work/service at community, national, regional or international levels;

Nomination Requirements

The nominee must have been engaged in development work for more than 12 months, either in a professional or voluntary capacity;
The nominee must be a Commonwealth citizen and the development work must be taking place in a Commonwealth member country;
The nominee should not be older than 29 on 31 December 2016;
Individuals can nominate themselves or be nominated by someone who can accurately describe their development work ++
The winners must agree to take part in publicity generated by the Commonwealth.

Awards will be decided on the basis of:

Level of Impact;
Level of innovation/fresh approaches to problem solving;
Quality of achievement;
Quality of the evidence provided.
Sustainability

Awards Process

There will be four finalists per Commonwealth region with the top entry receiving the Regional Winner Award and the top regional winner receiving the Pan Commonwealth Award and to be named the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year 2017.
The 16 Regional finalists will each receive a £1,000 grant, a trophy and a certificate.
The 4 Regional Winners will receive an additional £2,000 (a total of £3,000) a trophy and a certificate
The Pan Commonwealth Winner will receive an additional £2000 (a total of £5,000) a trophy and a certificate.
The 4 Regional Winners will be invited to receive their awards at an official ceremony in London, United Kingdom during Commonwealth Week, March 2017.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence

Deadline: 29 January 2015 (17:00 GMT)

The Commonwealth Foundation awards funding for sustainable development projects that contribute to effective, responsive and accountable governance with civil society participation.

Open to civil society organisations (CSOs)
Up to £30,000 per year
Multi-year funding available (up to three years)
Delivered in Commonwealth Foundation eligible member countries

Areas of focus

Grant projects must focus on one or more of the following:

Strengthening the ability of CSOs to use creative expression for participatory governance
Enhancing the capacity of CSOs, networks and alliances to engage in participatory governance
Facilitating interaction and constructive engagement in governance
Building a culture of learning and knowledge sharing

Cross-cutting themes

Grant projects are encouraged to integrate one or more of the following cross-cutting themes in their design:

Gender equality
Environmental sustainability
Cultural respect and understanding

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfcOB3TYIS0

Eligibility
To be eligible for a grant, the following criteria must be met:

The applicant is a registered national or regional civil society organisation (CSO)
The applicant is seeking £30,000 per year or less.
The applicant is applying for funding for 1 to 3 years
The average of the applicant’s total income over the last 2 years is less than £3m
The project must contribute to achieving at least one of the Commonwealth Foundation’s areas of focus
The project will take place in an eligible Commonwealth Foundation member country
The project has not yet started
The application includes counterpart resourcing2 of a minimum of 10% of the total project budget. Applicants will be required to provide a detailed budget at full application stage where counterpart resourcing must be clearly reflected.
The applicant does not have an existing grant from the Commonwealth Foundation at the time the call for proposals is announced. Please note that in order for a recent grantee to be eligible they must have submitted all reports on existing grants and received notification that the existing grant is closed.

The Commonwealth Theme

The Commonwealth Theme unifies celebrations taking place on Commonwealth Day, and provides a focus for further Commonwealth activities during Commonwealth Week and the coming year. The Commonwealth Foundation’s Grants Programme is supportive of the 2015 Commonwealth Theme – “A Young Commonwealth.” The theme recognises the capacity, contribution and potential of young people, particularly in 2015 when the world will define a new global development framework.

How to apply
To apply applicants will need to complete an online application form.
Before submitting your application form, please read the following annexes available on our website:

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Commonwealth Foundation Grant

2017 Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work (£25,000+ Prize & Fully Funded to London)

2015 Commonwealth Foundation Grants Programme for Civil Society Organizations ( £30,000 per year)

Areas of focus

Cross-cutting themes