The overall objective of USAID/Nicaragua’s sustainable tourism activity is to assist Nicaragua in expanding the economic benefits of tourism to the less advantaged through the growth of small businesses, the protection of the country’s environment and natural resources, and improvement in the quality of public education and outreach.

Cisco has created a new Global Impact Grant application as part of their Impact Cash Grants program. These grants fund projects which incorporate the internet in their development methodology, demonstrate sustainability, scalability, etc, and which address one of the key investment areas Cisco prioritizes. Organizations dealing with CYES issues will be particularly interested in the investment area "individual economic opportunity."

From their website:

Individual Economic Opportunity

The report is based on findings from a November 2006 assessment to Southern Sudan where the Women’s Commission looked at formal and non-formal education, including vocational training, income generating activities and literacy classes, and livelihood projects and opportunities for Southern Sudanese who are returning after decades of displacement. The vast majority of Southern Sudanese have been denied their right to education and have missed opportunities to learn practical skills that could prepare them for employment.

YouthInvest will build on the experience MEDA has gained in youth and microfinance since 2002.

This section of the USAID microLINKS website provides an overview of the USAID Value Chain framework and related resources. The framework is useful in assessing markets to identify a) potential market opportunities for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), b) constraints to market growth and the inclusion of MSMEs and c) priority points of intervention in order to overcome those constraints.

The publication includes six articles on youth and livelihoods covering youth entrepreneurship, workforce development, youth in conflict and post-conflict settings, a case study from Nigeria’s oil producing communities, and the economic reintegration of ex-combatants. The introduction notes the importance of focusing on this age cohort (50% of the world’s population under 25 with 85% of them living in developing countries) and emphasizes the importance of serving this population.

The report covers economic program interventions being implemented by the international community in post-conflict Liberia and includes vocational training programs, cash-for-work programs, agricultural interventions, micro-finance and job creation programs. The report highlights some of the short-comings of the majority of the economic interventions and some of the missed opportunities. Promising practices are also referenced.

FIELD Report No 2: Economic Strengthening for Vulnerable Children: Principles of Program Design and Technical Recommendations for Effective Field Interventions aims to begin to fill a knowledge gap between specialists in an array of disciplines including child protection, economic strengthening, health and education on how to most effectively work together and implement integrated programming. The resource illustrates best practices in economic strengthening for vulnerable children in a format that can be readily adopted and adapted by donors and practitioners for incorporation in their work.