YDO is a youth-led NGO which aims to empower young people to become leaders.
To achieve these objectives, YDO is a member of national and international youth networks, has strong cooperation with youth organizations active in development, identifies funding opportunities suitable for these organizations, disseminates information about upcoming calls for proposals, and provides administrative, procedural, and quality support throughout the design and submission of the project proposals, as well as during the implementation and evaluation phase. YDO is also always ready to react to an evolving agenda by gathering and disseminating information on successful youth-led projects to influence the decisions of policy-makers.
Objectives
The overall objective of YDO is to empower young people to become leaders in development cooperation and to establish a platform for youth activists to share their experiences and success stories. YDO’s overall objective is achieved by:
- Building a network of youth organizations active in development cooperation.
- Bridging the gap between youth-led development initiatives and existing funding opportunities from public and private donors.
- Improving the quality and professionalism of youth-led development initiatives.
- Enhancing the research skills for basic and fundamental needs and information.
- Raising development stakeholders’ awareness of the role of young people in development.
Activities
YDO provides a mix of social, recreational, educational and life skills training and support to youth and creates a network of youth NGOs and groups within Shouf area. In addition to useful resources, including local, regional and international platforms, exchange platform for success stories and experiences, youth exchanges, database of youth NGOs, and disseminating funding opportunities and trainings,. The center should reach an average of 10,000 youth beneficiaries and around 50 youth groups in the region.
Mainly, the activities aim to:
- Build confidence, self-esteem, and positivity
- Increase empathy & spirit of volunteerism
- Agency and empowerment
- Sense of community and belonging
- Decrease isolation and feelings of exclusion
- Break misconceptions and stereotypes among groups
- Promote social cohesion
- Build resilience to shocks and stresses and positive coping mechanisms among youth
- Improve communication and mediation techniques
- Increase sense of hope
- Increase sense of control over life through goal-setting
- Build a community of youth leaders via coaches who increase their employability skills and act as role models to adolescents
- Raise awareness about child protection issues and response mechanisms in community
- Change the way community views young people, sees them as positive agents of change and plays a crucial role
- Reconnect youth to families, communities and governmental bodies