Looking Back at 24 Million YuWaah Stories on National Youth Day

In 4 years of YuWaah India at UNICEF ( UNICEF India ) 2023 was the most transformative year for us (yet) in every way. We were able to play a role in impacting 24 million young people across India, taking us closer to our goal of impacting 300 million young people by 2030.??

There is something truly invigorating about young people that has enabled us to grow from strength to strength. Perhaps their passion, resilience, energy, and ambition? Or the immense conviction they hold in their hearts, minds, and actions that they can and are changing the world.?

That might explain why even though we are growing older in the ecosystem, we are becoming younger or more ‘YuWaah’ each day. For me personally and for us at #YuWaah, each new day is day 1 where we are determined to create even better impact for and with young people.??

This impact is possible through young leaders such as Muskan from Chakla in rural Bihar, who at just 15 years old, has become a symbol of hope and change in her community. Her family's primary livelihood was agriculture, supplemented by her father's small shop in the village. Despite their modest means, Muskaan's parents emphasized the importance of education and hard work. As Muskaan developed financial literacy skills through the #PassportToEarning platform, she realized that her newfound knowledge was not just for her benefit; it had the potential to uplift her entire community. She began sharing her financial literacy insights with her friends at the coaching centre and other village community members, sparking confidence and curiosity in them as well. Just like hers, there are stories of 1.5 million more young people who accessed certifications through #P2E.??

There are many Muskans who have inspired us to continue co-creating youth-centric solutions with Public-Private-Youth Partners (PPYP). And we can do this only because of the immense support of all our wonderful partners.?

Our strength and potential are defined by our tremendous ability to convene various partners and sectors for collective action. And with them, we have not only achieved some incredible milestones, but we also set some new goals for us.?

We have set the foundation through a One-UN approach to take YuWaah’s programmes to the last mile, thereby supporting the holistic development of young people across underserved communities.?

2023 was a year of many firsts..?

• We launched #YouthHub – a one-stop solution to connect young Indians to Jobs, Skilling, and Volunteering Opportunities?

The YouthHub app was launched on 3rd October with the Executive Director of 联合国儿童基金会 Catherine Russell, UNICEF India National Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana, UNICEF India Representative, Cynthia McCaffrey , and our key public-private-youth partners. Thanks to PwC India and 凯捷咨询 India for their expertise and investment in developing YouthHub and to Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) , Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and all our partners for joining us as well. We have ambitious plans to connect one million users to opportunities in 2024, with a greater focus on young women in rural India.?

• ?We forayed into Youth to Climate Action through #MeriLiFE and #COP28??

Our digital green volunteering platform – Meri LiFE was launched during the run-up to World Environment Day i.e. 5th June, with the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Government of India (MoEFCC), with the active participation of 79 ministries, 36 State Governments and Union Territories, UN agencies and CSO partners, joining hands to protect and preserve our environment. The app has now been successfully adopted by the Ministry to continue mobilising institutions as well as citizens, to endorse sustainable LiFEstyles for #MissionLiFE. The portal helped us report an impressive 25 million pro-planet actions, out of which 10 million were youth-led!?

YuWaah and UNICEF India provided technical and financial support in partnership with Bring Back Green Foundation and Indian Youth Climate Network to 130+ young climate leaders who convened for the #UNFCCC federated Local Conference of Youth. From this cohort, four young climate leaders - Mahiya Kulsoom , Arkesh Kedar Shenoy , Manjusha Manchala Aswini Kumar Paital were nominated to receive accreditation from GoI, and participate at #COP28. Here, for the very first time, the LCOY National Youth Statement was presented before the Hon’ble Minister, MOEFCC, Shri Bhupender Yadav at the India Pavilion.?

Inspired by the concept of #MissionLiFE, the Green Rising India Consortium for India was launched at COP28 together with members consisting of partners including Capgemini India, Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), ReNew , Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, SAP , The Rockefeller Foundation to equip 50 million children and young people to become climate-conscious, adaptable, and resilient by 2030.?

2023 was also a year of exponential growth in our youth-centric programs and advocacy?

• Over 1.5 Million Young People in India Skilled with #PassportToEarning in Just One Year!?

#P2E, our phygital e-learning solution, registered over 1.5 million learners, with 65% of them being adolescent girls and young women. Our partners, Accenture in India , 微软 , Capgemini India, 任仕达 , 美光科技 , 联合利华 and Dubai Cares , played an instrumental role in reaching this incredible milestone together. In 2024, we aim to scale up the platform to reach 3 million learners, especially from vulnerable communities.?

• 325,000 Young People Developed Design Thinking Skills Across 4 States in India through #UPSHIFT?

With the generous support of Capgemini and National and State Governments, our youth innovation programme, ‘UPSHIFT’ powered by Unisolve UNICEF Innovation led to the generation of 50,000 youth-led ideas. Now embedded in the Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) Marathon by the MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA and Atal Innovation Mission Official we aim to scale it up to 1 million people across India in 2024 to identify and support hyperlocal youth-led solutions.?

• Ministry of Education, Government of India Invested $25 Million in Career Guidance and Counselling??

On joint recommendation of YuWaah and UNICEF's Education team with the support of PwC and 波士顿谘询公司 , the Government of India has allocated $25 million/year (under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyaan) for Career Guidance and Counselling for the first time allowing state governments to hire ~7000 career counsellors across the country. This scheme is expected to support around 30 million students aged 14-18 in Government Schools.??

• Insights from 130,000 + young people gathered on Entrepreneurship, Apprenticeship and Female Labor Force Participation to support system strengthening and policy recommendations ?

A working group established by YuWaah,?including UNDP in India , International Labor Organization , Cyient and several key partners, assessed current gaps and challenges in the apprenticeship ecosystem and presented recommendations in a report titled ‘Making Apprenticeship Aspirational: Learnings and Way Forward’, launched by Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari , Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, India along with partners from the private sector, UNICEF and YuWaah.?

Through U-Report surveys, young people shared their understanding of the entrepreneurship ecosystem and willingness to become entrepreneurs, facilitating insights for YuWaah and our partners to inform and strengthen programming. The survey on young people’s perspectives regarding female labor force participation helped us capture supply side challenges to strengthen participation of women in the workforce in partnership with the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India taskforce.?

Lastly, 2023 was a year we created immense #ImpactWithYouth!?

• Celebrated the spirit of Public-Private-Youth Partnerships on International Youth Day?

#ImpactWithYouth Conclave brought together Hon’ble Minister Shri Anurag Singh Thakur , Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports and Information and Broadcasting, The Ministry Of Youth Affairs & Sports , UNICEF, UN agencies and private partners such as 亚马逊 to champion the cause of youth centrality. In an interactive panel discussion, UNICEF Regional Director, Sanjay Wijesekera , United Nations in India Resident Coordinator, Shombi Sharp , and young people across South Asia explored avenues to foster inter-regional engagement.?

• Engaged Diverse Networks of Young People in YuWaah’s Programming and Decision-Making?

The YuWaah secretariat had the privilege of co-creating with diverse and representative cohorts of 100+ youth advisors from across our Young People’s Action Team (YPAT) and Youth Ke Bol. Our UN India YuWaah Advocates, who are grassroots champions within their communities across India, represented youth voices in media, panels, podcasts, and events. We are further supporting them to create and lead their own youth-led social impact initiatives at the grassroots level this year.

• Facilitated Meaningful Conversations between Global Thought Leaders and Young Changemakers?

In 2023, we brought insightful ideas to the fore in collaboration with our partners using a multi-modal media approach. Co-authored articles with UN agency representatives and youth, such as one on A Sustainable Model for Women’s Leadership with Susan Jane Ferguson , UN Women India; Cynthia McCaffrey, UNICEF India; Andrea Wojnar , United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) India, and Mansi Thakar, UN India YuWaah Advocate, demonstrates the multi-pronged approach for strengthening leadership abilities of adolescent girls across sectors.

We also had the privilege of learning about The Need for Tech Upskilling in the Digital Era from the co-chair of our board and CEO of Capgemini India, Ashwin Yardi and tech entrepreneur and former Young People’s Action Team member, Shivansh Shalabh .?

We kickstarted the #ImpactWithYouth videocast series by UNICEF and YuWaah to enable a meaningful exchange of ideas that shape our collective futures. I am thankful to our thought leaders - Shombi Sharp, Elizabeth Yee , Rohini Nilekani, Ashwin Yardi as well as our young changemakers – Bhavi Barad , Mohammad Siraj , Mansi Thakar , Akhilesh Anilkumar , Shikha Dhawan , Vibha Nadig , and Shivansh Shalabh for bringing their expertise and enthusiasm to our initiative. It was a small idea that grew leaps and bounds with each episode, and we are so excited to take it forward in 2024.?

Meanwhile, I urge you to tune in to these fantastic conversations here and share your thoughts with me. And stay tuned for more episodes this year!?

As we stand at the onset of 2024, it is both a privilege and a responsibility to reflect on the incredible journey we have embarked upon. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to our founding partners like Amazon, Capgemini, Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), Michael & Susan Dell Foundation , Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies , United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICEF India and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, whose guidance propels us to emerge as India's pioneering public-private-youth partnership platform.?

I want to thank each and every partner, individual, and well-wisher who believed in our mission and provided us with support, guidance, and resources to actualise it. A special thanks to Generation Unlimited and Kevin Frey for their steadfast support and encouragement. Our fourth year (#Together4YuWaah) has truly been a year of tremendous growth – we learned, we stumbled, we achieved, we failed but our resolve to steer forward with courage has never been stronger.?

I reiterate our mission i.e. 3Cs: collaborate, co-create, catalyse. Let us carry the spirit of collaboration and co-creation into 2024 and continue to catalyse solutions that meet the aspirations of millions of young individuals.

When we say YuWaah is a partnership platform, we reaffirm our belief in the power of collective action, because together, we are unstoppable.?

Dasra Pravah Restless Development The YP Foundation GAME - Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship EMpower—The Emerging Markets Foundation FICCI ?

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