The YouthPower Learning Project: Advancing Youth Development

YouthPower Learning, led by Making Cents International and funded by USAID, was launched in 2015 with the aim of helping to shape a new paradigm in youth development in low- and middle-income countries. As a primary research partner, ICRW helped identify existing knowledge gaps in positive youth development (PYD) and build the evidence base for what works in the field.

In order to promote and apply the evidence to improve practices, The YouthPower team—working with an array of partners—produced a wealth of tools and resources over its five-year lifespan. This learning took the form of online platforms and a plethora of publications, toolkits, webinars, training, and other resources—helping ensure that the right tools are in the right hands at the right time. Beyond that, the project helped build a sense of community among youth practitioners around the globe through learning grants and a PYD learning agenda. It also established four communities of practice: youth engagement, gender and PYD, youth in peace and security, and cross-sectoral skills for youth.

The cumulative impact of this work is that the development community is no longer asking why it should engage youth as partners in development, but rather how to bring forward new evidence and promising practices with the aim of better engaging youth as meaningful contributors to development outcomes. With nearly 1.8 billion of the world’s population between the ages of 10 and 29—the largest generation in history—there is an unprecedented opportunity to support young people in reaching their full potential and catalyzing positive change in their communities.

To read the full report and access a detailed list of resources, click below: