USAID Youth Actively Create Opportunities Activity Quarter 3 Performance Report FY2023

The Activity aims to combat youth unemployment and promote economic growth across the country. During the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2023 (April 1, 2023 – June 30, 2023), the YACO team made significant progress in building relationships with stakeholders, including private and public sectors, youth, and youth organizations. The team started planning for the strategy to establish a Youth and Private Sector Advisory Group, which will create a platform for youth, private sector companies, startups, and startups to discuss issues affecting youth employment and find creative solutions. The YACO team also explored innovative approaches to expand outreach and raise awareness campaigns for actors, especially organizations with online job platforms. New approaches developed this quarter include upgrading platforms to be more user-friendly and developing social media campaigns to promote internships, which will be launched in November. The Activity has also expanded its offerings to youth to improve their skills and learning opportunities. Several training programs were launched for youth, including a culinary skills course and cybersecurity training. The team met with 10 training providers and familiarized them with the Activity's plans to support innovative training programs in the coming months. Topics included ICT, STEM, cybersecurity, online sales services, food production, hospitality, and hospitality services. To promote entrepreneurship and innovative skill development, the Activity is preparing for events such as the Green Solutions Hackathon, a two-day collaborative venture with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in September. The hackathon will bring together 60 participants to develop real-world solutions to environmental challenges and potentially connect them with sponsors or organizations interested in investing in their ideas. The Activity is also working on developing Local Youth Councils and has identified six municipalities where the team can coordinate with the Agency for Youth and Sports and local nonprofit organizations to engage youth in activism and community service. Additionally, the Activity is mapping youth organizations throughout the country to understand where capacity building can be built to support existing organizations. Through a public questionnaire disseminated in June, the Activity hopes to collect important information from organizations to help build trainings and resources for organizations and entities that need it most. The Activity also plans to support organizations in improving youth training and engagement throughout the country through its grants program, and is drafting its initial request for applications, which will be published in the next quarter.