Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF

Application Deadline: unspecified

Are you a youth leader from the Commonwealth aged between 18 and 29 years? Do you have experience in youth advocacy or development? Are you part of a youth serving organisation working for the engagement and empowerment of young people?

Register your interest in attending the Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF) by 20 March 2020 and make your voice heard.

The Commonwealth Youth Forum, hosted by the Government of Rwanda, and co-organised with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Youth Council, is one of the four fora preceding the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in June 2020 to help set the agenda for the meeting between Heads of Government.

The event brings together 500 exceptional youth leaders from across the Commonwealth to exchange ideas and share experiences, build skills and networks, identify the most vital challenges and opportunities facing young people today, and make recommendations to decision makers at the highest level.

The theme for the 2020 Commonwealth Youth Forum is “Taking Charge of Our Future”.

Following closely to the main CHOGM theme of “Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, transforming”. The CYF will offer a platform for young people to deliberate on these priorities from a youth perspective. ‘Taking Charge of Our Future” is the young people’s response to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting theme, reaffirming the powerful potential of young people across the Commonwealth in leading the pathway to the future they envision and being the change they want to see in their countries and Commonwealth at large.

The youth leaders will explore the role of young people of the Commonwealth through four main sub themes, which are:

Trade, Entrepreneurship, and Employment
Promoting youth employment and growth of trade opportunities.
Technology and Innovation
Advancing common cyber future, sustainable urbanization and building
commonwealth innovative ecosystem.
Youth Development: Inclusive, Equitable, and Accessible Opportunities
Exploring strategies to develop youth through a holistic approach, building
competencies and providing access to resources and opportunities.
Governance and the Rule of Law: Youth Leadership in Decision-making
Understanding the concept of justice and the rule of law, ensuring young people’s participation in governance and decision making.
Environment: Climate Change and Sustainable Blue Economies
Young people being at the forefront of response strategies, innovation and policy making concerning climate action and sustainable blue economies.

Requirements:

Successful applicants should:
 Be a recognised member of a national youth-led body, or represent a youth
organisation or special interest group (such as indigenous young people, young
people with disabilities, rural youth, young people from diaspora communities, etc.)
 Demonstrate an interest in global and Commonwealth issues and working with other young people towards the success of local, regional youth organisations, as well as the Commonwealth Youth Council and its continuation.
 Be committed to working in their respective countries with youth leaders, young
people, youth organisations and special interest group as part of the preparatory
work prior to attending and after the forum. This includes disseminating learnings
and engaging with the Commonwealth Youth Council and other stakeholders to assist
implement outcomes from the forum.
 Be dedicated to strengthening dialogue between young people of the Commonwealth.

Cost

Successful applicants will be responsible for organising and paying for their own flights to Rwanda and organising and paying for their accommodation, meals and on-ground travel for the duration of the Commonwealth Youth Forum.

Successful candidates must also hold a valid passport and obtain a visa for entry to the country. Visas can be obtained on arrival.

Complete the online form at:
https://forums.chogm2020.rw/web/?r=site/event-registration&event_id=1559

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Commonwealth Youth Forum 2020

Application Deadline: 14 December 2017.

Nominations are now open for the 2018 Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work. This special edition of the awards will coincide with the Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF) preceding the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London in April 2018 under the theme “Towards a Common Future”. It will highlight the contribution that young people are making throughout the Commonwealth, in areas such as poverty alleviation, conflict resolution and prevention, democracy and environmental preservation.

Young people aged 15 to 29 from Commonwealth member countries are eligible to apply for the awards, which focus this year on raising the profile and celebrating young people’s contribution towards developing a fairer, more sustainable, more secure, and more prosperous future for the Commonwealth; the four sub-themes of CHOGM 2018.

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

Highlight the contribution young people are making to promote the common goal of a future built on fairness, peace, prosperity and sustainability and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).
Acknowledge the outstanding contributions made by young people to overall 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 (aged 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 2017;
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

Benefits:

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 2018.

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 the Commonwealth Youth Forum, 16-18 April 2018.

Awards and shortlisting will be decided on the basis of the impact of the individual’s work, the level of innovation and problem-solving, and the quality of achievements, the sustainability of the work, and supporting evidence provided.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to link their development work and its impact to the outlined four sub-themes on the application link and the 17 SDGs, which were agreed to by the international community just under two years ago.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the 2018 Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work.

Apply to attend the Commonwealth Youth Forum 2020 in Kigali,Rwanda.

2018 Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work (£25,000+ Prize & Fully Funded to London)