The Youth Advisory Group is an 18-month professional development and leadership opportunity for young changemakers to play a vital role in advising the YP2LE team on how to strengthen youth engagement across the project’s activities and initiatives.
Youth Advisory Group
Dedicated to engaging youth as partners in our work, the YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation (YP2LE) project includes a Youth Advisory Group (YAG) comprising young changemakers from around the world.
The Youth Advisory Group plays a vital role in advising the YP2LE team on how to strengthen youth engagement across the project’s activities and initiatives. YAG members bring their individual and collective expertise and work closely with the YP2LE team on Positive Youth Development (PYD) research, communications, outreach and advocacy, mentoring, capacity strengthening, learning networks, and communities of practice, YouthPower.org and YouthLead.org platforms, and more.
The YP2LE YAG is comprised of five (5) young leaders who play a vital role in supporting the project’s cross-cutting youth engagement priorities and related activities by bringing their perspectives and expertise to the project. The second YP2LE Youth Advisory Group will join the project in May 2022 and serve for an 18-month commitment.
YAG members are engaged by YP2LE as consultants and are paid for their time and contributions during their YAG commitment.
Specific activities where YAG members are engaged include:
Providing advice on cross-cutting youth inclusion and engagement for YP2LE. The YAG advises on key questions, challenges, and approaches to youth inclusion and engagement across YP2LE and its activities. This includes contributing to research, with an emphasis on youth-led research; advising on youth engagement in YP2LE learning and mentorship activities; and contributing to building stronger protocols and processes for youth engagement in YP2LE events, policy-level consultations, youth councils, and with USAID country Missions.
Advising and supporting youth engagement knowledge and capacity building for USAID staff. In Year 3 of the YP2LE project, YAG members advise and support the implementation of a training series designed to help build the skills of adults, specifically USAID staff, to engage more effectively and inclusively with young people. The YAG provides input and recommendations for the design and approach of this training series and serves as training co-facilitators or contributors.
Advising on YouthLead content and outreach to youth members. A goal of YouthLead.org is to include resources and content that support the needs and priorities of youth across its more than 14,000+ global member network. These resources must be accessible and relevant to young people. YAG members advise YP2LE on how our project can better communicate what resources, services, and opportunities are available to youth in different regions and languages.
Representing YP2LE. YAG members may also be invited to represent the YAG in key YP2LE events and other USAID initiatives.
Youth Advisory Group Commitments
Members of the YAG commit to the following activities for 18 months:
- Are or become a member of YouthLead.org and be familiar with the platform, its resources, and member network.
- Participate (virtually) in the YAG Kick-Off Meeting.
- Participate in YAG bi-monthly (every two months) meetings.
- Be responsive to outreach and communication from the YP2LE team and their fellow YAG members.
- Be an active and regularly contributing YAG member, ready to offer strategic advice and inputs where requested, and able to work effectively with fellow YAG members.
- Represent YP2LE as a member of the YAG.
2022 - 2024 YP2LE Youth Advisory Group
The YP2LE Project has selected five new young leaders, ages 21 to 27 years, from Albania, Cameroon, Nicaragua, Nepal, and The Philippines to join its next Youth Advisory Group (YAG). Beginning in June 2022, YAG members will serve for 18 months and provide youth advising and support to YP2LE’s cross-cutting youth engagement strategy.
YAG members are selected through a highly competitive open call for application process. In 2022, YP2LE received nearly 5,000 applications from around the world for five positions. Through five rounds of screening and interviews with the YP2LE Youth Engagement team, finalists were selected based on their demonstrated interest and commitment to advancing youth inclusion in development, and for the unique expertise they each bring to the project to support youth-led research, communities of practice, advocacy and communications, capacity strengthening, and more.
2020 - 2022 YP2LE Youth Advisory Group
In 2020, YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation (YP2LE) recruited its first-ever Youth Advisory Group (YAG) that included young changemakers from Bolivia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Nepal, The West Bank, and Uganda.
We received nearly 1,300 applications that showcased the talents, leadership, and commitment of young people in the YouthLead network. YAG members played a vital role in contributing to learning and practice on meaningful youth engagement and leadership for YP2LE tasks and related activities in the first two years of the project and contributed to youth-led PYD research, communications and advocacy, mentoring for our YouthLead Ambassador Program, capacity strengthening, learning networks, and the YouthPower.org and YouthLead.org platforms.