Recognizing Enablers of Youth Participation Award

This category is open to entities that are legally recognized and registered in a UN member state, in one of the following four sectors: 1) the governmental and public sector; 2) the private sector; 3) NGOs, Professional and Labour Organizations and Foundations; and 4) the media.

It includes up to three recognition awards. Winning submission from NGOs/Foundations only may be eligible for an accompanying financial prize of USD25,000.

Award supported initiatives

Each of the possible 3 awards will recognize an initiative enabling genuine youth engagement & action for sustainable development in one of the following areas of enabling:

• Institutional: Dismantling institutional barriers and/or creating opportunities for youth participation and action (for example, initiating a strategy, policy, regulations, laws, initiative, etc.).
• Financial: Providing young people access to start-up financing and/or tools for enterprise viability and development, including incubating initiatives, or similar assistance.
• Technical: Providing young people with knowledge assets. technical know-how, skill-building support, including incubating initiatives, or similar assistance.
• Digital: Providing opportunities for tele-contribution and online engagement for youth during COVID-restrictive conditions and beyond through the recovery and preparedness phase.

Award submission evaluation

In evaluating submissions, jurors will consider the extent to which the enabling initiative has supported genuine youth engagement and action for sustainable development. In presenting the enabling initiative, submission narratives describing the initiative are expected to provide evidence of and/or elaborate on the following:

• Impact: Impact of the initiative on enabling youth engagement and action for SDGs achievement and specific contribution to enabling youth engagement and meaningful action for mitigating the immediate, medium- and long-term impacts of COVID-19, and taking action to better prepare for similar challenges in the future. Substantiated with:
  • Quantifiable results, providing numbers of young people benefiting and, where applicable amount of investment, for example:
    • Number of youth enabled to engage in SDG action (by dismantling institutional barriers and/or creating opportunities to youth action);
    • Amount of investment in youth SDG initiatives in the past year, by dollar amount and number of awardees, as relevant.
    • Amount of investment in learning and upskilling activities for youth to pursue their SDG initiatives in the past year, by number of certifications awarded, as relevant.
  • Validation of impact, through reference letters from youth enabled by the initiative to take action for the SDGs.
  • Previous recognition of the initiative, if any, national or international.
• Scalability: If designed as a pilot or for small-scale of implementation, elaborate on potential for and feasibility of scaling-up the initiative to a larger, or national level, if applicable.
• Sustainability : Elaborate on measures to sustain and ensure future viability of initiative. If specific plans for sustainability had been elaborated, please include.
• Innovation : Elaborate on how the initiative incorporates creativity and innovation applying, the following principles for innovation as appropriate; and
• Involvement: Elaborate on the extent of youth involvement in the design and implementation of the initiative
• COVID relevance: Enabling youth to meaningfully address the consequences of the 2020 outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic on the pursuit of the sustainable goals; helping people, communities or countries cope and recover from the adverse, health, social and economic impacts of the pandemic, and contributing to preparedness of related challenges in the future.