IRC is recruiting for a consultant to conduct an assessment in Southern Sudan looking at education and skills building needs and opportunities for youth. The term of the contract will be approximately 3-4 weeks between May-June 2010 to conduct research in Sudan and write 10-15 page report. Interested applicants should submit their CV/resume, a 3 page writing sample and fee requirement to Abigail Gacusana: abigailg@wrcommission.org.

This case study documents learning from Fondation Zakoura Microcredit's (FZMC, or Zakoura) “Expanding Financial Services to Vulnerable Youth in Morocco,” or LYKOM (which means “for you” in Arabic), project.

From 2006–2009, Save the Children and Fondation Zakoura Micro-Crédit (Zakoura) partnered to implement a youth financial services and livelihoods promotion project called “Linking Youth with Knowledge and Opportunities in Microfinance,” or LYKOM. The program included financial and business literacy training, savings promotion, and access to credit for youth businesses. This case study examines the challenges Save the Children and Zakoura faced and the ways the institutions sought to address these challenges.

In the near future, USAID/Yemen intends to announce a full and open competition to implement the Mission’s Community Livelihoods Project (CLP) subject to the availability of funds. This integrated, flexible, multi-sectoral initiative will serve as the flagship project for the Mission’s implementation of the 2010-2012 USAID/Yemen Strategy. CLP is not a traditional development initiative, but it will rely heavily on tried and proven as well as innovative tools transition and development environments.

This page provides presentations and supplementary materials related to a 2008 conference marking the conclusion of a project on ‘Youth Exclusion and Political Violence’ co-funded by the World Bank ‘Trust Fund for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development’ (TFESSD) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project sought to identify ways to break the adverse relationship between youth bulges (large youth cohorts), marginalization, and political violence, and to engage large youth cohorts positively in development.

Thailand National-Level Workshop Announcement

Learn, share and network at this workshop for economic and gender-based violence staff from governments, donor agencies, and NGOs in Thailand to acquire knowledge and hands-on skills necessary to implement and evaluate economic and household energy programs that will reduce displaced women’s vulnerability to gender-based violence. The workshop is limited to 25 participants.

The Ford Foundation seeks a dynamic individual to implement, monitor and coordinate a grant making program which seeks to improve the livelihoods of poor rural and urban households in West Africa—focusing on Nigeria and sub-region initiatives.

Making Cents International invites you to a half-day, hands-on session where you can learn how to adapt field-tested enterprise development curriculum resources to your specific youth programming needs. This workshop takes place one day before the Global Youth Enterprise Conference.

Featured curricula include:



The occupation of Palestine and the conflict and violence that have attended it has had devastating implications for protection and livelihoods in the West Bank and Gaza. This Overseas Development Institute (ODI) Working Paper analyzes the relationship between protection and livelihoods in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Jason Wolfe (USAID) and Radha Rajkotia (IRC) are researching and writing an “open paper” aimed at outlining how the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework and the Value Chain Approach can be used to improve the lives of youth affected by conflict. The open paper approach welcomes community input and feedback throughout the writing process – click here for more information. This post outlines the goals and structure of the paper.

Having decided to write about how sustainable livelihoods approaches and value chain approaches can be integrated for youth in conflict, we are left with a tough and intimidating question - how can sustainable livelihoods approaches and value chains be integrated for youth in conflict?