Two days of deep immersion in Generation Unlimited!
“Nothing about us without us” — Generation Unlimited
Generation Unlimited Youth Challenges bring together enterprising young people around the globe to formulate solutions to their generation’s biggest challenges.
In collaboration with the Generation Unlimited multi-sector partnership, UNICEF, UNDP, and the Algerian Muslim Scouts, the Generation Unlimited Youth Challenge program was recently held in Algeria as a call for projects from Algerian youth to address community issues important to them. For two days, attendees gathered to examine concepts and innovations, assess their potential to scale, and attract technical and financial support.
This second worldwide edition of the Generation Unlimited Youth Challenge and first local edition, received 123 proposed projects to tackle youth concerns. Education and capacity building were leading issues with an employability component present in most of the submissions. A few of the projects looked at addressing accessibility and social cohesion for differently abled people and other social challenges, as well as youth mental health.
A diverse selection committee was composed of representatives from the ministries of Youth and Sports; National Solidarity and Family; National Education; Vocational Training; the high school of computer science; Injaz Al Jazair Organization; and a representative from Sonatrach, a national oil and gas company, along with youth and civil society representatives. The Director of the Family, Development and Crime Prevention laboratory was also on board, showing strong interest in the UNDP Accelerator Lab’s work and spoke about possible areas of collaboration. UNDP, represented by Head of Solutions Mapping Hamdi Sellami, and UNICEF were observers of the evaluation alongside a youth representative.
Out of more than 100 proposals, 15 projects were preselected to advance onwards to two bootcamps, to be held in March 2020. The first camp will serve as a mentoring and capacity-building bootcamp to help develop and refine the projects ahead of the final competition stage during the second bootcamp.
In parallel, the Algeria Accelerator Lab was able to use the evaluation of projects to gain insight from sensemaking. This led to a clearer picture of the concerns youth have in Algeria and areas where user-led development work is happening within communities.
Of the proposed projects, at least 30 solutions were potentially viable. The Accelerator Lab is now considering several proposed solutions for experimentation and growth, including:
· Using behavioral insights to boost waste management: One proposal centered on designating teachers or senior students to be points of contact for collecting waste within their respective schools at the end of the school year. This was a cost-effective project that requires only training and coordination with waste management companies.
· A mobile app to augment scientific lab equipment with virtual capacities: An app which would tackle the issue of limited equipment in scientific labs while simultaneously addressing safety concerns for students conducting lab work.
· Multimedia to enhance and promote local craftsmanship: Training local craftswomen and artisans in isolated and urban areas to sell their goods online by recording and publishing videos in order to promote and display their works while also preserving cultural heritage.
The goal of the Accelerator Lab’s efforts is to design a portfolio of experiments emanating from successful competition solutions, as well as integrate viable options into partners’ work at UNICEF, or within ministries and other institutions.
Stay tuned… more to come!
