Youth Partnership for Peace and Development

Author name: YPPD Admin

Adolescents Calls for Government Integration of the Agenda for Action for Adolescents

Youth Partnership for Peace and Development (YPPD) in Sierra Leone stands resolute in its commitment to advancing the rights and well-being of young people. As an organization fervently dedicated to championing the voices of young people, we find ourselves at a critical juncture, urging the government to integrate the recently developed Agenda for Action for Adolescents into national policy frameworks. The genesis of this imperative agenda emerged as a result of the Global Forum for Adolescents convened in October 2023, where diverse stakeholders, including young leaders, policymakers, and advocates, collaboratively deliberated and formulated strategies aimed at enhancing the lives of adolescents worldwide. This outcome, the Agenda for Action for Adolescents, encapsulates a holistic approach to address the multifaceted challenges faced by adolescents today. Our ongoing project on Advocating for Change for Adolescents in Sierra Leone resonates deeply with the principles and goals outlined in this comprehensive agenda. We firmly believe that the incorporation of these commitments into national policies and programs is not only pivotal but also indispensable for fostering positive and sustainable change in the lives of adolescents. Sierra Leone’s adolescent population constitutes a significant segment of our society, representing the future of our nation. However, they encounter a myriad of challenges, ranging from limited access to quality education and healthcare services to facing social stigmatization and economic marginalization. The Agenda for Action for Adolescents provides a roadmap—a blueprint that addresses these challenges comprehensively, focusing on key areas such as education, health, protection, and empowerment. Education stands as a fundamental pillar in the development of adolescents. Yet, numerous barriers hinder access to quality education for many young individuals in Sierra Leone. By integrating the agenda’s recommendations into educational policies, we can pave the way for inclusive and equitable education, ensuring that no adolescent is left behind. Health remains a crucial aspect of adolescent well-being. Access to essential healthcare services, including sexual and reproductive health services, is often limited, exposing adolescents to various health risks. The Agenda for Action for Adolescents advocates for comprehensive healthcare, encompassing physical, mental, and reproductive health services, thereby safeguarding the health and dignity of adolescents. Protection of adolescents from exploitation, violence, and discrimination is an urgent priority. The agenda underscores the need for robust legal frameworks and support systems to ensure the safety and rights of adolescents, fostering an environment where they can thrive and contribute meaningfully to society. Empowerment lies at the core of this agenda. Creating opportunities for adolescents to participate actively in decision-making processes, fostering their leadership skills, and providing avenues for skill development and employment are integral components for their empowerment and contribution to national development. Moreover, we proudly note that 9 young people, supported by YPPD, actively engaged in the national budget discussions organized by the Ministry of Finance. This demonstrates their profound interest in understanding the national budget setting and planning processes, which directly relate to their well-being and development. The integration of the Agenda for Action for Adolescents aligns seamlessly with our goals and the aspirations of countless adolescents in Sierra Leone. YPPD firmly advocates for its adoption and implementation by the government, recognizing its potential to catalyze positive change and drive progress towards a future where every adolescent can realize their full potential. We call upon the government, policymakers, civil society organizations, and stakeholders at large to heed this call for integration. Let us unite our efforts, amplify the voices of adolescents, and work collaboratively to create an enabling environment that nurtures, protects, and empowers our young generation—the architects of our future. In conclusion, YPPD Sierra Leone remains steadfast in its resolve to champion the cause of adolescents and stands ready to collaborate with all stakeholders in the realization of the Agenda for Action for Adolescents. Together, let us build a future where every adolescent thrives and contributes meaningfully to the progress and prosperity of Sierra Leone.

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WE ARE HIRING: Gender Advisor, Inclusive Conflict Prevention and Peace Project

Job title: Gender Advisor, Inclusive Conflict Prevention and Peace (national post) Organization: Youth Partnership for Peace and Development Duty station: Freetown, Sierra Leone Job type: Full-time Reports to: Project Manager YPPD   YPPD in Brief The Youth Partnership for Peace and Development (YPPD) is a youth empowerment think tank established to enhance the capacity of young people and their communities to promote Peace, Human Rights, Health, and inclusion of marginalized groups, as well as the creation of open societies that promote sustainable development. Since its establishment in Sierra Leone, the organization has and continues to increase young people’s understanding to finding practical approaches to building wholesomely functioning societies that promotes peace and mutual co-existence while deepening voices and actions which demands equity and accountability for all. It maintains the view that young people can be agents of positive change and works for ways of enabling youth to step forward for social transformation. The overarching goal of YPPD is to contribute to the endeavors of supporting youth development, peaceful conflict resolution, stability, sustainable development, peace and democracy in Sierra Leone. It works to increase the capacity of vulnerable groups through training, partnership, advocacy, enhancing the youth knowledge base and equipping them with livelihood skills. It is a platform for diverse kinds of actions committed to engaging key stakeholders at different levels of development across the country. YPPD’s work is inspired by the daily struggles of our communities and the enormous opportunity that exists in collaboratively working with others in the search for sustainable solutions. YPPD envisions a society where young people regardless of their social status are empowered and capable enough to lead, participate and influence in order to gain access to equal opportunities as stakeholders across all sectors of mainstream development.   Description of the project The Inclusive Conflict Prevention and Peace Project funded by the UN Peacebuilding Fund (UNPBF) that aims to enable young women and men, organized through youth-led CSOs and CBOs and working in solidarity with older women and men, to foster more inclusive, gender-sensitive, and conflict-sensitive community-based dispute resolution (CBDR) mechanisms in rural and peri-urban Sierra Leone. This headline goal will be achieved through: (1) equipping and mobilizing young people to identify and take action on key drivers of conflict, insecurity and injustice in their communities; (2) supporting and influencing CBDR mechanisms to adopt more inclusive, gender-sensitive, and conflict-sensitive practices, with specific focus on addressing needs of young women; and (3) enabling young people, working intergenerationally, to advocate for evidence-based conflict prevention policy and practice, and build trust with key conflict prevention stakeholders. The project will be implemented as a collaboration between Youth Partnership for Peace and Development (YPPD), one of Sierra Leone’s leading youth organizations, and Cordaid, a Dutch international humanitarian and development NGO.   Job overview Reporting to the Project Manager, the Gender Advisor will have responsibility for providing technical expertise and leadership that ensures the project is both gender-sensitive and gender-transformative.   Key responsibilities Conduct and consolidate rapid gender analyses of situations at project sites and use this information to develop, with partners, gender-based action plans for various aspects of the project Incorporate gender dimension into needs assessments, research frameworks and youth self-assessment tool Advise and assist in the development of gender-sensitive training materials, adapt existing training resources and support their integration into internal and external training initiatives Assist all implementing actors (Cordaid, YPPD, and other partners) to incorporate gender analysis, use gender-disaggregated data, and build-in gender-transformative elements to their project activities Assist community-based dispute resolution (CBDR) providers to systematically integrate gender-sensitivity in their work, especially through responsiveness and accountability toward young women Facilitate a community of practice of young female activists within the ambit of the project Form strategic alliances with key actors internally and externally to advocate for gender-sensitive and gender-transformative programming and policies Support implementation of overall monitoring, evaluation and reporting framework Contribute to tracking of project indicators against targets Perform other tasks as assigned Qualifications 5+ years of professional experience in a gender-focused role in the fields of conflict prevention and peacebuilding, security and justice, public affairs, or youth mobilization and advocacy; previous experience in a gender advisory role strongly preferred Strong track record working with and for youth Superior communication skills in English, fluency or facility in other Sierra Leonean languages preferred Academic qualification in a relevant discipline (anthropology, development studies, education, women’s studies) preferred Proven sharp analytical skills Proactive, entrepreneurial, and effective in a fast-paced cross-cultural work environment Strong written and verbal skills for communicating with a diverse audience, including internally and external high-level stakeholders Salary To be negotiated based on experience TO APPLY Send your Cover Letter and CV by email to the Human Resources Manager at: recruitments@yppdatwork.org   Please address the Subject of your email as: Gender Advisor – Inclusive Conflict Prevention and Peace.  DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS JANUARY 13th, 2021 @ 5PM  WOMEN CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY. Only successful applicants will receive a response

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We Are Hiring: Project Manager, Inclusive Conflict Prevention and Peace.

Job title: Project Manager YPPD, Inclusive Conflict Prevention and Peace. (national post) Organization: Youth Partnership for Peace and Development Duty station: Freetown, Sierra Leone Job type: Full-time Reports to: YPPD Executive Coordinator YPPD in Brief The Youth Partnership for Peace and Development (YPPD) is a youth empowerment think tank established to enhance the capacity of young people and their communities to promote Peace, Human Rights, Health, and inclusion of marginalized groups, as well as the creation of open societies that promote sustainable development. Since its establishment in Sierra Leone, the organization has and continues to increase young people’s understanding to finding practical approaches to building wholesomely functioning societies that promotes peace and mutual co-existence while deepening voices and actions which demands equity and accountability for all. It maintains the view that young people can be agents of positive change and works for ways of enabling youth to step forward for social transformation. The overarching goal of YPPD is to contribute to the endeavors of supporting youth development, peaceful conflict resolution, stability, sustainable development, peace and democracy in Sierra Leone. It works to increase the capacity of vulnerable groups through training, partnership, advocacy, enhancing the youth knowledge base and equipping them with livelihood skills. It is a platform for diverse kinds of actions committed to engaging key stakeholders at different levels of development across the country. YPPD’s work is inspired by the daily struggles of our communities and the enormous opportunity that exists in collaboratively working with others in the search for sustainable solutions. YPPD envisions a society where young people regardless of their social status are empowered and capable enough to lead, participate and influence in order to gain access to equal opportunities as stakeholders across all sectors of mainstream development.   Description of the project Inclusive Conflict Prevention and Peace Project is funded by the UN Peacebuilding Fund (UNPBF) aims to enable young women and men, organized through youth-led CSOs and CBOs and working in solidarity with older women and men, to foster more inclusive, gender-sensitive, and conflict-sensitive community-based dispute resolution (CBDR) mechanisms in rural and peri-urban Sierra Leone. This headline goal will be achieved through: (1) equipping and mobilizing young people to identify and take action on key drivers of conflict, insecurity and injustice in their communities; (2) supporting and influencing CBDR mechanisms to adopt more inclusive, gender-sensitive, and conflict-sensitive practices, with specific focus on addressing needs of young women; and (3) enabling young people, working intergenerationally, to advocate for evidence-based conflict prevention policy and practice, and build trust with key conflict prevention stakeholders. The project will be implemented as a collaboration between Youth Partnership for Peace and Development (YPPD), one of Sierra Leone’s leading youth organizations, and Cordaid, a Dutch international humanitarian and development NGO.   Job overview Under the overall coordination of the Project Coordinator at Cordaid, the Project Manager will have responsibility for implementation of all YPPD project activities. Key responsibilities Develop and implement an effective project implementation strategy in collaboration with the Project Coordinator at Cordaid and other stakeholders Lead the work of delivering an advocacy and communications plan that amplifies youth voices, promoting dissemination of results and maximizing visibility for partners and UNPBF Ensure all project-based needs and requirements are shared with project personnel in a timely way, and resources effectively planned and allocated, for optimal value-for-money implementation Lead project quality control and contractual compliance, and monitor overall financial integrity, for YPPD within the project Contribute to risk mitigation and lead crisis response actions as needed Establish and maintain relevant relations with key Sierra Leone government and international stakeholders Support implementation of overall monitoring, evaluation and reporting framework Contribute to tracking of project indicators against targets Qualifications 5+ years of professional experience successfully managing projects in Sierra Leone or similar contexts, preferably in the fields of conflict prevention and peacebuilding and / or youth mobilization and advocacy Strong track record working with and for youth Superior communication skills in English, fluency or facility in other Sierra Leonean languages preferred Academic qualification in a relevant discipline (anthropology, development studies, economics, political science) preferred Proven sharp analytical skills Proactive, entrepreneurial, and effective in a fast-paced cross-cultural work environment Strong written and verbal skills for communicating with a diverse audience, including internally and external high-level stakeholders   Salary To be negotiated based on experience TO APPLY Send your Cover Letter and CV by email to the Human Resource & Operations Manager at: recruitments@yppdatwork.org   Please address the Subject of your email as: Project Manager – Inclusive Conflict Prevention and Peace.  DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS JANUARY 13th, 2021 @ 5PM  WOMEN CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY. Only successful applicants will receive a response

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