Continuing its partnership with the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland (CFNI) and the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the United Kingdom, EF Azerbaijan has launched the second phase of its Youth Fund (YF) program. The program began operation at the end of 2006 and established small grant pools ($2,500) for youth committees in five regions to disburse.
Each of the 5 regional youth funds is now fully operational. During the second phase of the program, EF Azerbaijan and its partners will develop mechanisms to ensure the long-term organizational and financial sustainability of each fund. To this end, experienced committee members will use their knowledge to establish five additional new youth committees, creating an autonomous, self-sustaining network of youth committees. In time, this network will develop enough experience to independently implement projects on behalf of a growing number of donors, including local, public and private sources.
Over the course of the first phase of the YF program, 79 young people implemented 28 youth-led community projects in rural Azerbaijan. Projects included organizing computer and English language classes, producing public service announcements for local television, purchasing English language books for a local library, creating a newspaper for local youth, building a volleyball field and holding handicraft fairs to support local refugees. The work of the youth funds was also widely featured in the media with youth fund members making 10 appearances on regional television stations.
By enabling young people to address the social needs of their communities by implementing their own development projects, the Fund offers young Azerbaijanis valuable experience in governance and financial management, as well as first-hand experience in positively affecting the future of their communities.
