Youth Solidarity Fund 2020 Application Form
Please reply to the following questions in a clear and succinct fashion. Only responses in English are accepted. All questions marked with an asterisk (*) require a response.
Application guidelines for the Youth Solidarity Fund can be found below (click the link below to expand the text, or click here to download the Guidelines as a PDF). Please read the guidelines carefully before applying.
These guidelines aim to serve as a tool for the applicants to submit their project proposals for funding in line with the eligibility criteria. They contain information about:
Who can apply for Youth Solidarity Fund?
Youth-led organizations registered and/or operational in one of the eligible countries;Registered youth-led organizations with projects entirely developed and managed by youth and for the benefit of youth.
Type of projects:
Youth Solidarity Fund provides seed funding to outstanding projects promoting intercultural and interfaith dialogue. It awards grants of up to USD 25,000 for the implementation of selected projects that demonstrate innovative and effective approaches to intercultural and/or interfaith dialogue and advance the mission of UNAOC. Proposals linked to the implementation of the following frameworks/policies are particularly encouraged:
Projects that support the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 (2015), 2419 (2018) and 2535 (2020) on Youth, Peace and Security in connection to intercultural and interfaith dialogue;Projects that support the implementation of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism by promoting intercultural and interfaith dialogue as a prevention tool;Projects that support the implementation of the United Nations Comprehensive Response to COVID-19 by addressing the increased stigma and discrimination of young people and their communities exacerbated by the pandemic;Projects that support the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites by promoting respect for other religions and cultures, the right of human beings to practice their faith in safety and peace, and dialogue and respect to combat extremist ideologies and narratives;Projects that support the implementation of the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech by addressing the issues and their impact on young people.
Geographical coverage of the current call for applications:
Donor countries’ priorities or constraints are a key consideration in determining the geographical coverage of YSF interventions for any given campaign. The 9th YSF Call for Applications welcomes proposals from youth-led organizations officially registered and operating in the following countries.
List of eligible countries, in alphabetical order
Proposals submitted by a coalition of youth organizations from different countries are acceptable only when the leading implementing youth organization is registered in one of the below countries. Activities must be carried out in the below-mentioned countries for the benefit of the local community.
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan; People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria; Republic of Angola; Republic of Armenia; Republic of Azerbaijan; People’s Republic of Bangladesh; Republic of Benin; Kingdom of Bhutan; Republic of Botswana; Burkina Faso; Republic of Burundi; Republic of Cabo Verde; Kingdom of Cambodia; Republic of Cameroon; Central African Republic; Republic of Chad; People’s Republic of China; Union of the Comoros; Republic of the Congo; Republic of Cote d’Ivoire; Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Republic of Djibouti; Arab Republic of Egypt; Republic of Equatorial Guinea; State of Eritrea; Kingdom of Eswatini; Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; Gabonese Republic; Islamic Republic of the Gambia; Georgia; Republic of Ghana; Republic of Guinea; Republic of Guinea-Bissau; Republic of India; Republic of Indonesia; Islamic Republic of Iran; Republic of Iraq; State of Israel; Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Republic of Kazakhstan; Republic of Kenya; Kyrgyz Republic; Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Republic of Lebanon; Kingdom of Lesotho; Republic of Liberia; Libya; Republic of Madagascar; Republic of Malawi; Malaysia; Republic of Maldives; Republic of Mali; Islamic Republic of Mauritania; Republic of Mauritius; Mongolia; Kingdom of Morocco; Republic of Mozambique; Republic of the Union of Myanmar; Republic of Namibia; Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal; Republic of the Niger; Federal Republic of Nigeria; Islamic Republic of Pakistan; State of Palestine; Republic of the Philippines; Republic of Rwanda; Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe; Republic of Senegal; Republic of Seychelles; Republic of Sierra Leone; Federal Republic of Somalia; Republic of South Africa; Republic of South Sudan; Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka; Republic of Sudan; Syrian Arab Republic; Republic of Tajikistan; Kingdom of Thailand; Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste; Republic of Togo; Republic of Tunisia; Republic of Turkey; Turkmenistan; Republic of Uganda; United Republic of Tanzania; Republic of Uzbekistan; Socialist Republic of Viet Nam; Republic of Yemen; Republic of Zambia; Republic of Zimbabwe.
Eligibility criteria for youth organizations:
Youth organizations are subject to the same criteria as other partners of the United Nations System in that they must be accountable, transparent, and refrain from all discriminatory practices.
To be eligible, applying youth organizations need to fulfill every one of the following criteria:
Be youth-led: a majority of the positions and decision-making roles within the organization are held by women and men between the ages of 18 and 35;Be a non-profit, non-governmental organization (except for national youth councils) registered in the country of operation as a charity, trust, foundation, or association;Be officially registered and operational for a minimum of two years prior to the deadline for applications with funding base and project implementation (operating in December 2018 or earlier);Be registered and operate in one of the aforementioned countries;Have a democratic governance structure and decision-making mechanism, including consultative processes in formulating priorities and policies;Have an ability to demonstrate proper and consistent monitoring, evaluation, and record-keeping of their activities, including project evaluation reports and financial accounts;Have a gender perspective/balance reflected in their staff, beneficiaries, and activities;Have no adherence to or affiliations with violent ideologies or antagonism against any particular country, culture, religion or belief system, ethnic group, gender, etc.; and Did not receive funding under past editions of YSF or did not receive the Intercultural Innovation Award.
Note: If you applied for YSF in the past but were not selected, you can apply for YSF again.
Upon request, organizations will need to provide documented evidence demonstrating how they fulfill all of these criteria.
Please note that project proposals will not be considered eligible for funding if they are submitted by governments, international governmental organizations, non-youth led organizations, unregistered groups of youth, business entities, as well as individuals.
Eligibility criteria for projects:
All submitted projects must fulfill every one of the following criteria to be eligible and reviewed by the Selection Committee:
Origin: The project was developed and written by youth;Target Audience: The project targets youth primarily. Gender balance among project participants is ensured;Objective: The project contributes to advancing UNAOC’s mandate of promoting a more socially inclusive world by building mutual respect among peoples of different cultural and religious identities;Management: The project is managed by a youth-led organization, responding to all eligibility criteria mentioned above;Project Coordinator: The Project Coordinator is demonstrably affiliated to the applying organization and is between the ages of 18 and 35 at the time of the application;Duration and Timing: The project must be implemented between May 2021 and May 2022. Final reports will need to be submitted by 1 May 2022 at the latest;Location: Project activities are implemented in the country(ies) mentioned in the above list (see geographical coverage section);Budget: The organization needs to guarantee its capacity to implement all proposed project elements with the funds requested. The amount requested must be no more than 50 percent of the organization’s annual budget in 2019. Grants provided by UNAOC will not exceed USD 25,000. The scope of the project and the amount requested is not a determining factor in the selection process. Projects with smaller budgets are encouraged to apply. Please note that the average grant in the 8th YSF edition was USD 15,241.40. The proposed budget will have 90 percent of costs associated with direct project activities, and only up to 10 percent of it will cover the Project Coordinator’s salary/fees. Office rent cost, utilities, and purchase of technical equipment (e.g., computers, copiers, printers, cameras, telephones, etc.) cannot be part of the budget;English: Application and CV/resume of the Project Coordinator must be submitted in English only;Registration certificate and statute: Copies of a registration certificate and a statute need to be attached to the application form. They can be submitted in the original language of the country where the organization is registered. Translations may be requested at a later stage of the selection process.
Selection process and selection committee; Evaluation:
All received project proposals will be reviewed to assess their eligibility based on the criteria mentioned above and the proposed project’s potential. All project coordinators of eligible projects will be given an opportunity to rate the most interesting project ideas to enable more inclusive youth programming. The rating will be complementary to a comprehensive evaluation carried out by the Selection Committee and will result in a shortlist. This is an innovative, participatory approach to shortlisting of eligible projects that UNAOC will introduce to increase youth participation in the YSF programme and enable more youth voices in the process.
UNAOC will contact organizations that are shortlisted with a request to submit a more detailed project budget, as well as a more detailed work plan outlining activities, timeline, milestones, expected outcomes, and outputs (UNAOC will provide forms). Shortlisted organizations will be asked to pitch their projects during an interview, in the final stage of the selection process.
A Selection Committee will conduct a final evaluation and scoring of the short-listed proposals based on the following criteria:
Objectives:
The project aims to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions and to help counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism;The project promotes the values of peace and development;The project objectives are clear, and there is a logical connection between identified issues, proposed activities, and requested funding.
Activities:
The project includes activities aiming to build positive and long-term collaborative relationships between youth of different cultural and religious backgrounds, therefore contributing to a long-term peaceful coexistence in society;The project contains elements of intergenerational partnership and dialogue;The project has a solid gender-mainstreaming strategy and is inclusive to minorities and/or marginalized groups to promote a more socially cohesive community;The project uses seed funding to implement innovative and effective approaches to intercultural and/or interfaith dialogue and advance the mission of UNAOC;The project supports implementation of any of the following frameworks/policies:United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 (2015), 2419 (2018) and 2535 (2020) on Youth, Peace and Security in connection to intercultural and interfaith dialogue;United Nations Secretary-General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism by promoting intercultural and interfaith dialogue as a prevention tool;United Nations Comprehensive Response to COVID-19 by addressing the increased stigma and discrimination of young people and their communities exacerbated by the pandemic;United Nations Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites by promoting respect for other religions and cultures, the right of human beings to practice their faith in safety and peace, and dialogue and respect to combat extremist ideologies and narratives;United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech by addressing the issues and their impact on young people.
Relevance:
The project is appropriate to the local context and targets the local audience; it represents good value for the requested funds, with a clear and appropriate budget.
Quality:
The organization undertook an in-depth analysis of problems/risks and sets a consistent intervention strategy. The application is concise and provides responses to all questions or sections; it includes insightful arguments and an engaging narrative.
Impact and Multiplier Effect:
The project will have a significant impact on the ground. The multiplier effect is outlined, and target audiences are clearly identified – priority is given to projects that have the potential to reach youth communities that would not otherwise have a chance to participate.
Sustainability, Monitoring, Evaluation:
The project has a potential to become sustainable beyond its original duration and bring long-term results that are clearly outlined in the project proposal. Monitoring and evaluation elements are clearly demonstrated.
Selected organizations will be contacted by UNAOC via email and provided with information on further steps, draft agreements to be signed, and a schedule of payments.
To apply:
Interested organizations can apply through the form below.
To be considered complete and valid, the application package must include the following and be submitted through the online application form below.
The application form, completed and certified by the applicant’s organization;A copy of the registration certificate of the applicant’s organization;A copy of the statutes/by-laws of the applicant’s organization;An organizational chart depicting the ages of key decision-makers within the organization;A biography of the current Executive/Managing Director, showing the date of birth (one page maximum);The resume/CV of the project coordinator (two pages maximum);A picture or scan of the project coordinator’s passport identification page. If the project coordinator does not have a passport, upload his or her national identification card.
The word/character limit for each question in the application form needs to be respected. The application system automatically counts words and characters.
Deadline: The application deadline is Sunday, 31 January 2021, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time in New York.
Follow link to apply
https://apply.unaoc.org/ysf2020/#0
Disclaimer: UNAOC reserves the right to not select any applicants, or to cancel the call for applications. UNAOC accepts no liability for cancelling the call for applications or for anyone’s failure to receive notification of cancellation.
For any additional questions on YSF and this call for applications, please consult: ysf@unaoc.org
