Uniting for #FairEqualJust Communities!
The world must come together to create a society that eliminates inequities in policies and programs, removing barriers and creating open and inclusive processes that give dignity and respect to all human beings. We must design programs that are intersectional and supportive of those facing any form of discrimination, including gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, race or ethnicity, religion, and national origin. Building an inclusive, fair, just, and equal world will require hard work. We believe that not only can it be achieved, but youth can help lead the way. Join us in uniting for #FairEqualJust communities.
Social Justice
The objective of creating a fair and equal society in which each individual matters, their rights are recognized and protected, and decisions are made in ways that are fair and honest.
— Oxford Reference Dictionary
Every voice is valid. How are you using yours?
We invite you to unite with young changemakers to make your voices heard. Over the coming weeks, YouthLead will be promoting the #FairEqualJust campaign.
Each week of the campaign will be dedicated to #FairEqualJust issues:
Health Rights
Week 1: May 1-8
Gender
Week 2: May 9-15
Diversity and Inclusion
Week 3: May 16-22
Climate Change
Week 4: May 23-29
LGBTIQ+ Rights
Week 5: May 30-Jun 4
Participate in the campaign.
- Use the #FairEqualJust to post a selfie on social media sharing social justice issues you are working on or why you are working on them. Tag us at @youthleadglobal. From those posts, we will select young changemakers to share their insight at our upcoming Communities of Practice webinars.
- Post links to YouthLead resources that other changemakers can use. Return here each week for resources you can access by topic.
- Download our social media toolkit for ready-made social media posts and graphics to keep the conversation going.
Other Ways to Have an Impact.
Learn about what other young leaders are doing.
Our YouthLead Ambassadors will host a series of webinars under the social justice campaign umbrella that will strengthen the capacity of young changemakers. Stay tuned to our Events page for details.
Connect with other changemakers.
Our network members are focused on finding solutions by connecting people, ideas, and resources to tackle critical issues affecting young people, including social justice issues, at home and around the world. With over 12,000 members, the connections made on the YouthLead platform have led to partnerships, projects, and lasting friendships.
Register to join YouthLead or login.
Get involved with politics through civic engagement.
Join YouthLead sponsor Democracy Moves, and help young people, like you, build a more democratic tomorrow. Learn about best practices in civic engagement movements. Build new skills to promote democratic values in your community.
Research local, state, and national policymakers whose ideas will further social justice issues important to you. See if you can join their campaigns, and vote!
Start a discussion.
Create a safe space for your friends, family, and/or peers to have an open, candid, and non-judgmental conversation about what they have experienced and what can be done to improve the situation.
Not ready to create a safe space? Use one that has already been created. Start or join a discussion group on YouthLead.org.
Find an organization or campaign to join.
Once you have decided on the issue you would like to advocate for, look for organizations or campaigns where you can get involved. Many of our YouthLead members are working on social justice issues and have provided us with resources below.
Take positive action in your own community.
If there are no organizations near you, consider starting your own project or campaign. Check out our Social Justice Starter Kit.
Make your money count.
The money you spend in the businesses that surround you determines which business surround you. Look for ways to support business that support your issues.
Reward those who speak out in public.
Many artist, musicians, and writers are activist and use their platform to speak out for their causes. Be sure to share their work and help them gain the recognition they deserve.
Understand that change takes time.
Sometimes our passion makes us impatient. Do not be discouraged and have patience with others who still cannot see what seems clear to you. When you feel frustrated, remember that people rarely change overnight.
Benefits of Participation.
As a participant in the #FairEqualJust campaign, you will receive:
- Free membership to YouthLead.org! Our members are more than 12,000 strong!
- A chance to share your insights at a YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation Community of Practice Webinar.
- 5 Weeks of #FairEqualJust resources, project ideas, and more!
- Access to pre-written social media posts and graphics via our free Social Media Toolkit!
- Attend free webinars and skill-building workshops (registration required) hosted by experts in our network!
- Showcase your own social justice project on YouthLead.org!
Resources
Click on heading to expand the resource list.
COVID-19
Fighting The Unseen Impacts of COVID-19: Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing
Courtesy of: YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation
For those who are most vulnerable, the stress related to staying safe and practicing good hygiene can present a real and particularly acute challenge. This webinar explores the seen and unseen impacts of the pandemic on our mental health, especially on vulnerable groups; specific tools and resources we can adopt to promote wellbeing for ourselves and others in our community; opportunities for young changemakers to play a vital role in disseminating fact-based information on COVID-19 and promoting mental health.
Health Systems
Health Services: Toolkit on Adolescents Living with HIV
Courtesy of: YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation
For service providers, policy makers, advocates, and organizations planning on providing or currently providing testing, treatment, and care for adolescents living with HIV, this section provides job aids, quality of care standards, and training tools.
Mental Health
Courtesy of: YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation
Learn about what affects our mental health day to day, how to implement good practices into organizations and how to navigate the particularly trying and uncertain times we are currently experiencing.
Policy
Changing Policies to Increase Funding for Community Health and Development Initiatives
Courtesy of: The Community ToolBox
Learn about advocating to change policies to standardize and increase funding and other resources for your organization and health and development initiatives.
Reproductive Rights
Courtesy of: YouthPower Learning and Evaluation
This webinar, focused on HIV/AIDS and sexual reproductive health, builds upon sector-specific analysis from the recently released Systematic Review of Positive Youth Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.
Wellness
Five Ways to Improve Health and Well-being for All
Courtesy of: World Economic Forum, Matthieu Ricard
Improving well-being is a key goal for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Here are five steps to improve personal well-being, societal cohesion and greater cooperation with our future.
Economic Empowerment
How Do We Challenge Limitations So Young Women Can Prosper?
Courtesy of: YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation, Chelsea Pallatino
Globally, girls and young women experience more disadvantages compared to their male counterparts due to damaging social and gender norms that limit their ability to access education, assets, information, and opportunities for personal and professional development. This blog explores overcoming change.
Equality/Equity
Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy
Courtesy of: USAID
Building on the Agency’s decades of experience, the new policy provides guidance on pursuing more effective, evidence-based investments in gender equality and female empowerment and incorporating these efforts into our core development programming.
Gender Based Violence
Activism Against Gender-based Violence: Starter Kit
Courtesy of: YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation
As movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp have gained traction around the globe, the spotlight on sexual violence and rape culture has reached an all-time high. This kit features the 23 best resources on the YouthLead website relating to gender-based violence.
Reproductive Rights
Capacity and Consent: Empowering Adolescents to Exercise their Reproductive Rights
Courtesy of: Center for Reproductive Rights
This publication sets forth the barriers adolescents face in realizing their sexual and reproductive health and rights, discusses recent critical developments in the human rights framework underpinning these rights, and proposes a way forward for guaranteeing all adolescents the full exercise of their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Inclusion
Youth Inclusion in Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance
Courtesy of: YP2LE
It is a reference of considerations for designing, managing, and evaluating youth and democracy, human rights, and governance (DRG)-related programs. Given the cross-sectoral nature of programming, these DRG examples may be relevant for other sectors and, indeed, much of the guidance here was developed with other sectors in mind.
Culture
Collaborating, Learning and Adapting Toolkit
Courtesy of: USAID
Here you will find a growing set of curated tools and resources on collaborating, learning and adapting to help you plan and implement Program Cycle activities more effectively.
Disability
Advancing Disability-Inclusive Development
Courtesy of: USAID
Over 1 billion people, or approximately 15 percent of the world’s population, live with some form of disability. Eighty percent of them live in developing countries. This resource offers a global look at disability.
Race
Fact Sheet: U.S. Efforts to Combat Systemic Racism
Courtesy of: The White House
Combating systemic racism requires aggressive action to address structures, policies, and practices that contribute to the wealth gap, to health disparities, and to inequalities in educational access, outcomes, and beyond. Here is what the administration is doing to address systemic racism.
Religion
Advancing International Religious Freedom
Courtesy of: USAID
Advancing international religious freedom is a major foreign policy priority of the United States with bipartisan support. This impact brief highlights USAID’s support for religious and ethnic pluralism is an essential part of these efforts to advance human rights and foster self-reliant and inclusive societies.
Food and Agriculture
What Works in Youth and Agriculture?
Courtesy of: YP2LE
Given the growing youth populations in sub-Saharan Africa and the state of economic livelihoods in the region, the agriculture sector — and particularly on-farm production — offers great potential for alleviating unemployment and underemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Read on to learn more.
Energy
Scaling Up Renewable Energy
Courtesy of: USAID
USAID’s Scaling Up Renewable Energy (SURE) project helps developing countries implement clean energy solutions efficiently and effectively. Through SURE, USAID is promoting private-sector engagement to produce affordable, renewable electricity. SURE collaborates with governments to develop competitive systems and transparent policies for power procurement.
Impact
Climate Change Starter Kit
Courtesy of: YP2LE
This kit contains the best 36 resources on the YouthLead website related to youth combating climate change. They are a great starting point for youth interested in learning more about the climate crisis and include ways to take meaningful action and steps to take for advocacy campaigns. As the climate crisis continues, youth action will be especially important in making a difference.
Landscapes
Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land
Courtesy of: UN
Human activity has altered almost 75 percent of the earth’s surface, squeezing wildlife and nature into an ever-smaller corner of the planet. Deforestation and desertification—caused by human activities and climate change—pose major challenges to sustainable development and have affected the lives and livelihoods of millions of people. The health of our planet also plays an important role in the emergence of zoonotic diseases, i.e., diseases that are transmissible between animals and humans.
Pollution
Clean Air Catalyst
Courtesy of: USAID
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched Clean Air Catalyst, a new flagship program to combat air pollution, alongside a global consortium of organizations led by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Through this program, USAID and partners will work with local communities—starting in Indore, India and Jakarta, Indonesia—to better understand local pollution sources and identify, test, accelerate, and scale solutions for cleaner, healthier air.
Programs/Learning Opportunities
Beyond Alarm Bell Ringing: How Young People Can Lead Climate Change Action
Courtesy of: YouthLead
Focused on the connection between localized learning and collective action, this webinar will build awareness around the issue of climate change, provide applicable skills and recommendations, and better equip young leaders and changemakers to take action in their own communities. The International Youth Foundation invites you to join Mohsen Gul—the co-founder of Green Box—and a panel of guest speakers from across sectors.
Water/Sanitation
Climate Change and Municipal Solid Waste
Courtesy of: Environmental Protection Agency
Rising levels of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are causing changes in our climate, and some of these changes can be traced to solid waste. The manufacture, distribution, and use of products-as well as management of the resulting waste-all result in greenhouse gas emissions. Waste prevention and recycling are real ways to help mitigate climate change.
Weather
Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action
Courtesy of: UN
Climate change is affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives. Weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, and weather events are becoming more extreme.
Data and Trends
Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Persons Around the World
Courtesy of: The White House
This memorandum reaffirms and supplements the principles established in the Presidential Memorandum of December 6, 2011 (International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons). That memorandum, for the first time, directed executive departments and agencies engaged abroad to ensure that United States diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons everywhere. This memorandum builds upon that historic legacy and updates the 2011 memorandum.
Insights
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Youth in the Global South
Courtesy of: Advocates for Youth
This Advocates for Youth brief overviews the issues that LGBT youth face across a broad range of contexts across the globe, along with the systems at the individual, interpersonal, and structural levels that reinforce harms like violence and stigma.
Guides
Toolkit for Integrating LGBT Rights Activities Into Programming in the Europe and Eurasia Region
Courtesy of: USAID
This Toolkit contains resources to assist Europe and Eurasia region Mission staff and implementing partners to increase and improve the LGBT community’s involvement in development programming. LGBT initiatives are a new priority for USAID, and there is still much to learn and understand about how to work most effectively with LGBT people and communities.
Multimedia
#Reform53
Courtesy of: Commonwealth Youth Gender and Equality Network (CYGEN)
#Reform53 is an advocacy campaign to bring youth together around legal equality. Run by the Commonwealth Youth Gender and Equality Network (CYGEN), they are calling for the leaders of all 53 Commonwealth countries to reform laws that discriminate against women and girls and the LGBTQI+ community.