Youth RESOLVE 2 Project Updates: The Capacity Building Sessions have just started!

The project

Funded by the European Union’s (EU) MADAD Trust Fund, the Youth RESOLVE 2 (YR2) project Consortium aims to empower youth to contribute to social stability in Lebanon. This outcome is achieved by establishing youth committees (YC) to foster active participation in decision-making processes and means of advocacy at both local and national levels. The project is carried out by World Vision, UTOPIA, DPNA and GAME. The goal of the consortium is to empower youth by providing them with the tools to become leading actors in their communities, across Beirut & Mount Lebanon, North & Central Bekaa, the South, and North Lebanon.

The Youth Committees

During the inception phase of the project, UTOPIA established four youth committees in Tripoli, Baddawi, Syr El-Danniyeh, and Qalamoun. Each committee comprises up to 20 members aged 15 to 30 years. To ensure inclusion and representation of all members of the community, women, Syrian and Palestinian refugees and people with disabilities were encouraged to be part of these committees.

As the project progresses towards strengthening soft skills of Youth Committee, agreements have been signed with experts and trainers to support coaching and training activities. This process will mark the start of their role as active young citizens to contribute to positive change in their communities.

Earlier in September, an introductory virtual session was organized with each of the YCs to present RPS MENA as the new consultant who will be supporting the youth throughout the next stages of project to learn and practice the required knowledge and skills

The capacity assessment validation workshop

The capacity assessment validation workshop aimed at engaging youth in brainstorming together to develop eight training topics they feel are a priority for them to do their work successfully as Youth Committees. We insured that the perspective of the youth is appropriately documented and taken into account for the phases to come.

The camp

On the 25^th and the 26^th of September, UTOPIA implemented a camp in Syr Al Danniyeh, joining the 4 Youth committees in the North and aiming to support them to set their specific capacity building plans within the project overall work plan, and to inform them on the Citizen Voice and Action ⁽¹⁾ key concepts.

Through the camp, we created a mutual space for the youth committees to meet and get introduced to each other’s though several recreational and icebreaker activities besides the structured working sessions.

Capacity Building Sessions

During the workshop and the camp, RPS MENA and UTOPIA were able to collect thematic preferences and prepare a detailed capacity building plan accordingly.

The 8 chosen topics are Strategic Planning, Project Management, Risk Management, Problem Solving & In-team Conflict Resolution, Communication, Report Writing, Fundraising and Leadership.

Such knowledge and skills will equip youth to effectively play their role as change agents in their community through impactful mapping and assessment of community needs. Accordingly, youth will be planning and implementing quick impact projects and advocacy campaigns in their respective communities.