1 Million Youth Actions Challenge: Second Call to Action
Description
Youth between 15 and 24 years old represent 16% of the world’s population, and yet youth are too often excluded from decision-making processes that will have a significant impact on their futures. However, the inclusion of youth is essential for the implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Indeed, more and more young people are committing to a sustainable future through advocacy, lobbying, volunteering, or involvement in community or civil society organizations. Their actions are a means to achieve progress on the SDGs. Although young people are actors of change, they often lack the technical and financial means to make their project ideas happen. According to a recent study by the Climate Works Foundation, funds giving to youth-led climate justice initiatives are extremely limited — accounting for just 0.76% of climate mitigation funding from the world’s largest climate foundations across the three financial years 2019, 2020, and 2021. Young people are seen as “high risk” by potential funders because of their lack of experience, despite their unique innovative capacities and strong will to act. It is crucial to enhance access to funding for young people and support their efforts by increasing access to technical support and guidance. (United Nations, 2020)
1 Million Youth Actions Challenge (1MYAC) : An initiative to mobilize young people around the world!
Launched in September 2021 by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and currently implemented by the International Secretariat for Water (ISW), 1MYAC is a great opportunity to promote youth engagement for the implementation of SDGs. The challenge aims at mobilizing youth from all over the world to implement concrete actions for a more sustainable future.
1MYAC focuses on the following four SDGs to address both climate change and the depletion of natural resources worldwide: SDG 6 on ‘clean water and sanitation’, SDG 12 on ‘responsible consumption and production’, SDG 13 on ‘climate action’ and SDG 15 on ‘life on land’.
1MYAC currently proposes 67 Standard Actions to be implemented by youth in relation to the four targeted SDGs. These standard actions were developed by youth, for youth and with youth to serve as inspiration and to allow for peer-to-peer accountability regarding implementation and follow-up. The ultimate objective is to reach 1.000.000 youth actions.
Following the successful implementation of the six projects supported and funded through the first 1MYAC call to action in 2023, the International Secretariat for Water is launching the second 1MYAC call to action with one main objective in mind: encouraging and supporting youth-led actions of the 1MYAC community on the four 1MYAC’s focused SDGs to impact their communities at grassroots & local levels.
This call for projects on the Youth for Water and Climate Platform is made possible thanks to the primary support of the SDC, and with additional support of the Agence de l’Eau Artois-Picardie.
Objective
The main objective of this call for projects is to support the implementation of youth-led initiatives related to clean water and sanitation, responsible consumption and production, climate action & biodiversity and to enhance the young leaders’ capacities as actors of change in the water and climate sector.
Themes
The call for projects will be structured around four main themes that are in line with the four SDGs targeted by the 1MYAC initiative: clean water and sanitation, responsible consumption and production, climate action & life on land.
The 1MYAC Ambassadors have chosen to focus this call for projects on eight 1MYAC Standard Actions. The second call to action will thus prioritize projects that align with or incorporate the following 1MYAC Standard Actions:
- SDG 6 – Clean water and sanitation : 1) Test and provide clean water for your community; 2) Organise a river / coastal / lake or canal clean-up; 3) Build sanitation facilities and/or related solutions
- SDG 12 – Responsible consumption and production : 1) Recycle plastics into building bricks or others products; 2) Produce a local fertilizer
- SDG 13 – Climate action : 1) Reforestation incl. mangroves; 2) Create an art piece / event / workshop
- SDG 15 – Life on land : 1) Cultivate a fruit / vegetable community garden 2) Set-up a composter and a home / refuge for birds, insects, bees …
However, projects that demonstrate significant innovation / creativity beyond these standard actions are also welcomed and encouraged, provided they address one or more of the SDGs listed above.
Eligibility
To be eligible, participants and their projects must fulfill the following requirements:
- As this call aims to recognize efforts and further support active members of the 1MYAC community who have demonstrated their engagement and involvement, the applicant must have completed at least one 1MYAC Standard Action prior to the submission of the project. We encourage you to do it now! *
If you have never completed a 1MYAC action, we encourage you to do so now! You can choose amongst the 57 actions presented on the 1MYAC platform such as setting-up a composter, planting mangroves, recovering plastic waste from rivers and much more.
To be applicable for this call, the applicant must have created a profile, commit to an action, prove and verify it on the 1MYAC Platform (here’s how to register your action). Make sure your action has been validated by the 1MYAC team.
*To be admissible you must complete and verify an action before the 28th of October 2024.
- The project must be entirely youth-led (10 to 30 years old) and must include youth across all project cycle;
- The project must address at least one of the four SDGs addressed by 1MYAC;
- The project must be submitted either in German, Spanish, French, or English;
- The project can be a new or ongoing project.
The following criteria will be considered as an added value in the analysis of the project :
- Projects from low- and middle-income countries;
- Projects benefitting disadvantaged groups (children, elderly, migrants and refugees, people with disabilities…);
- Projects developed by and/for members of minorities and indigenous groups;
- Projects led by young women and projects targeting women and girls;
- Project Leader demonstrates his ability to lead the project within their community;
- Project carried on (conceived, led and implemented) by a 1MYAC ambassador.
How to apply ?
1) Prepare a short project presentation video (max. 3 min) in which you shall reflect upon the following questions:
- Reflect on your previous 1MYAC’s experience: What have you accomplished so far? (max 30s)
- 1MYAC Ambassador: Specify if you are already an ambassador or not. If so, what have you done so far as an ambassador? (max 30s)
- Relevance: How relevant is the issue in the chosen community? How practical is the implementation of the project? Does the project appear meaningful in terms of issues to be addressed and could achieve real change?
- Youth inclusion and leadership: Is the project conceived, led, and implemented by young people? Is youth participation included across all aspects of the project?
- Impact: How has/will the project support need at the local level? How many people will your project impact?
- Innovation: Does the project have ‘thinking outside the box’ elements? Is the project multidisciplinary in nature?
- Local partnership and multi-stakeholder integration: Does the project consider stakeholders and actors involvement?
- Finance: Is the project financially feasible?
- Sustainability: How sustainable is the project and its ability for future adaptation? Is it possible to upscale or replicate the project?
- Implementation: Does the implementation plan appear credible and adapted to the ambitions set out for the project? Does the implementation plan respect local public health rules and regulations?
2) Upload your video on YouTube
To facilitate the video transmission, we ask that you upload your presentation video on YouTube. This video can be private (unlisted). Only people who have the link to the video will be able to see it. It does not appear in any public area of YouTube such as search results, your channel, or the navigation page.
For more information on how to upload your video on YouTube, click here.
3) Visit the Youth for Water and Climate platform to submit your project online. Follow the “submit a project” and make sure to answer all questions!
In the Team and Project leaders sections of the application form, we want to know a little bit more about you!
Selection criteria
A team of reviewers and an intergenerational jury will review the project proposals. The proposals will be assessed and scored according to a scoring grid based on the following criteria:
- Relevance of the project (35 %)
- Project leaders are from low- and middle-income countries and/or the project targets minorities and indigenous communities;
- The project is led by young women and/or targeting women and girls;
- Goals and objectives are defined clearly;
- Proposals contain explanations of the situation that needs to be changed, and why and shows how the project would contribute to the needed change;
- The project is relevant for the chosen community;
- Feasibility (20 %)
- The project is financially feasible;
- The project has an implementation plan and appears credible and adapted to the ambitions set out for the project;
- The project led partners with other institutions, stakeholders, etc. to implement the project;
- Impact (20 %)
- The project plans for stakeholders and actors involvement;
- The impact of the project (e.g. stronger community cohesion, transfer of technology, knowledge) is ambitious and realistic;
- The number of people that will benefit from the project.
- Youth inclusion and leadership (10 %)
- Youth participation is included across the project life cycle;
- Youth leading the project appear to have capacity to lead it (prior experience, analytical capacity).
- 1MYAC active involvement (5 %)
- The applicant has contributed actively to the 1MYAC community and has contributed to the overall goal of reaching 1,000,000 youth-led actions.
- Creativity (5 %)
- The project is creative, innovative, “outside of the box”.
- Sustainability (5 %)
- The project is sustainable and identifies concrete avenues for upscaling and replicability.
Please refer to the LEARN section of the website to find out more about what makes project proposals strong.
Webinars
If you want to learn more about this call for proposals or to ask your questions, join one of our 2 webinars (Montreal time) ! Subtitles will be available in Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and German.
- September 25th, 9 am (UTC-4) – English : click here to register
- October 3rd, 1 pm (UTC-4) – French : click here to register
Contact information
Should you need additional information please contact: Noémie Plumier (Elle/she), ISW Project Officer 1MYAC at 1myac.info@gmail.com
Timeline
Submission deadline – November 5th, 2024, 23:00 CEST
1) All applicants will receive a confirmation e-mail that their project has been well received. Note that due to the number of applications we cannot provide individual feedbacks to everyone.
2) Pre-selected applicants will be invited to submit a complete project plan (detailed budget, logic model, schedule of activities).
3) Winners will be notified and announced on the 1MYAC and YWC websites the second week of December 2024.
Projects must be completed by August 2025.
Financial and operational reports will need to be submitted at different stages of the project (mid-project May 2025 & end of phase reports September 2025).
Prize & Incentives
The selected projects will receive seed funding from 1.500 CAD$ up to 5.000 CAD$. Project leaders will also receive technical support regarding project management, partnerships and much more.
Selected projects will be featured on the 1MYAC website & the Youth for Water and Climate Platform for additional visibility.
Selected projects will receive comprehensive support throughout their implementation, including ongoing guidance and training from the 1MYAC team. They will also participate in peer-to-peer exchanges and meetings with other selected projects.
