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The strategic objectives of YCDF is on developing innovative strategies for youth involvement and participation through:

    a) Promoting and supporting for increased youth initiatives involvement at grassroots level,

    b) Creating opportunity and capacity building of young people in Ethiopia to develop their skills and knowledge that enables them actively participate in the social, cultural development and

    c) Mobilizing communities through the youth to take an active role in seeking sustainable solutions to developmental challenges affecting them and contribute to the overall effort of the government in attaining the global and national development goals.

 

Priority Thematic Interventions Areas for 2017-2019

1. Sustainable Livelihoods

YCDF will work with like-minded organizations in creation of employment for the youth. It will focus on three areas:

1.1. On-farm vocation skills

1.2. Off-farm vocation skills

1.3. None – farm vocation skills

In the first two, it would give priority to rural youth who are living with their families and has a means to run on-farm and off-farm activities in their land. The latter would mainly target the landless youth and peri-urban youth.  The key interventions, therefore, will include: organizing youth in groups/ cooperatives/enterprises; provide vocational skill trainings in on-farm, off-farm & non-farm activities; provide training in soft skills such as entrepreneurship /business development, life skills; linking youth groups with micro finance institutions (MFIs); and support youth in market linkage.

 

2. Sustainable Environment

Though the issue of natural resource management is a concern of all citizens, it is much apprehensive for the younger generation. It is therefore important to make the youth environmental sensitive and take the necessary care and utilize them responsibly. This to happen, YCDF will engage in following strategic interventions:

2.1. Participatory Forest Management

2.2. Soil and Water Conservation

2.3. Watershed Development

2.4. Alternative Household Energy

 

3. Provision of Basic Social Services

YCDF will engage in the following strategic interventions:

3.1. Education

3.2. Health/ASRH

3.3. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

3.4. Developing Social/Youth Enterprise

Under education program, it will support poor and marginalized students not to discontinue their education due to lack of educational support including necessary materials and teaching aids. Promoting Inquiry based science education are also particularly important to YCDF in supporting access to equitable quality education for sustainable development. Certainly, as part of its continues efforts to promote opportunities for student centered learning environments for students, YCDF advocates for Inquiry based pedagogy and classroom psychosocial support for teachers integrating ICT in science education and also addressing the STEM based gender gap by designing and implementing gender-based science education. With regard to Health, YCDF will provide preventive health education to youth, creating healthy environment including maternal health promote Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services; promote anti-HIV/AIDS campaigns; and engage in activities that reduce Harmful Traditional Practices. In WASH programs, it will engage in organizing water sanitation and hygiene/WASH committees in each water scheme; facilitate survey and design, construction for accesses to clean, potable water schemes, and small irrigation.

 

4. Youth Empowerment and Participation

YCDF will work with youth and partners to help youth gain access to opportunities by reducing technical barriers to knowledge, skill, finances and market by lobbying and linking to enterprises and to business opportunities, both locally and regionally. The following strategic interventions will be underway.

        4.1. Capacity Building, life skill training & active citizenship

        4.2 Organizing social enterprises, cooperatives/Union

With the aim of diversifying livelihood of young women, YCDF will work in Gender education; formation and/or strengthening of existing youth groups/cooperatives; capacity building/training to women groups; support young women in income generating enterprises; and facilitate and link young women with micro-finance institutions and others, and create access to market. Furthermore, promoting intercultural dialogue, appreciating once own identity and culture and understanding local and global citizenship where young people feel empowered to engage peaceably with others in sustainable development of their communities will be also given priority in the years to come.