Youth Micro Award Challenge 2013 launched by AKRSP

This activity aims to encourage youth and youth organizations/enterprises to come up with innovative youth civic engagement, innovative business ideas. Ultimately enabling youth to take leadership roles in local institutions as well as creating viable small-scale micro-enterprises.

1. Overall Goal

The overall goal of YMCA is to promote more equitable and sustainable participation and integration of young men and women in social and market systems through providing wider range of services to youth organizations and developing appropriate enterprise opportunities for youth.

2. Specific Objectives

1. To support youth-led and youth-serving organizations to come up with innovative social ideas to deal with youth and community related issues.
2. To support innovation and value addition in youth owned enterprises and businesses.
3. To strengthen the capacity of young men and women to effectively manage self-initiated social and business ventures.

3. Components of YMCA-2013

3.1. Social & Leadership Development:

This component will purely focus on youth social & civic engagement and leadership development. Under this component awards will be given to innovative ideas from youth serving and youth led not-for-profit organizations working at village, Union Council and district levels focusing on education, health, sports, gender and youth mainstreaming, environment, ICT, peace and conflict transformation, media and participatory governance.

3.1.2. Award Categories

Category 1: Village Level:- It aims to assist the activities of new and existing youth groups and informal youth organizations that want to implement their project at village level; it could be a single village or group of villages. Organizations falling under this category will receive an award up to PKR 40,000 for projects time frame less then a month.

Applicants can apply for any one of the following three thematic areas under this category, for your convenience list of possible activities are also given hereunder:

Thematic Areas & Possible Activities: 

i. Education

• Career counseling
• Developing & adding up to the services of village libraries
• Provision of educational resources and to community based schools
• Organizing educational events with village based schools & educational institutions to improve access to education, quality improvement etc.
• Strengthen community based social safety net for access to education for under privileged youth

ii. Sports & Games

• Sports and indoor games facilities for women~ Coaching & training camps integrating lifeskills, such as teamwork, cooperation, tolerance, communication & problem solving etc.
• Organize sports event for specific causes, i.e. anti-drug, peace, solidarity & friendship etc.
• Revival of traditional sports and games involving youth and senior citizens

iii. Youth & Gender Mainstreaming

• Social Mobilization for inclusion of youth and women in village & women organizations and other local institutions.
• Gender & youth sensitization sessions/events/trainings
• Activism for education for girls and under privileged and differently abled youth.

Category 2: UC Level:- It aims to assist formal youth organizations with some track record to initiate innovative youth civic engagement and leadership development projects. An award up to PKR 100, 000 for projects time frame of 1 to 2 months are available for this category.

Thematic Areas & Possible Activities:

i. Culture

• Research, documentation and production of oral stories & folklore, poetry, music using multimedia tools.
• Organize cultural events and festivals
• Training events & workshops on revival of traditional music, folk theatre and other performing arts.

ii. Environment

• Environmental awareness and sensitization events with schools and local support organizations (LSOs) and other civil society organizations.
• Research, documentation & dissemination of  environmental issues
• Training events and workshops on disaster risk reduction

iii. ICT

• ICT and digital social governance: identify social issues and disseminate through media
• ICT for youth inclusion in public policy debate: engaging with policy makers, legislators, public leaders etc.
• ICT as a tool for health awareness and sensitization
• Publish youth magazine (online or print)

Category 3: District Level:- It aims to assist formal and registered youth organizations with proven track record. Organizations applying for this category will receive an award up to PKR 300,000 for projects time frame of 3 to 4 months.

Thematic Areas & Possible Activities:

i. Peace & Conflict Transformation

• Cross cultural dialogue & exchange visits
• Research and knowledge creation on peace & conflict transformation using both multimedia and other tools
• Training & workshops for youth & community leaders
• Awareness and sensitization events, i.e. seminars, conferences, walks, campaigns etc.

ii. Media 

• Trainings and workshops for young reporters on development journalism
• Develop common platform for young citizen/social media journalists and promote interaction with mainstream media
• Media and social change- short studies and knowledge creation
• Media and advocacy for youth, women and under privileged people

iii. Governance

• Promotion of civic education and youth engagement
• Participation of women and youth in civic and social institutions at leadership level
• Training and capacity building workshops and events for emerging young leaders
• Research and knowledge creation on participatory governance, transparency and accountability and local governance issues

If your organization fulfills the below criteria you are eligible to apply for this award.

3.1.3. Criteria for Social & Leadership Development Award:

In order to be eligible for award under this component, applicants must:

• Be a youth-led or youth-serving organization
• Be registered in or established by the domiciled residents of Gilgit, Baltistan and Chitral.
• Be working in AKRSP program area: Gilgit-Baltistan & Chitral
• Belong to i.e. one of the following categories:
  • Civil society organizations, including non-governmental organizations
  • Youth groups;
  • Free and independent media groups;
  • Boys & Girls Scout associations
  • Sports clubs
  • Women’s rights groups;
  • Youth activists groups;
  • Independent volunteer youth groups
  • Media groups or creative writers/content developers

The support will be directed to actors for change with restriction to AKRSP program areas: Gilgit, Baltistan and Chitral. Organizations having their offices/setup outside GBC by natives of GBC may also be supported providing that the activities of these organizations aim at strengthening actors for change in GBC.

3.2. Enterprise & Business Development:

This component will purely focus on youth enterprise and business development. Under this category creative and innovative business proposals will be accepted from youth owned enterprises/start-up businesses & youth entrepreneurs for creating employment opportunities for youth as well as growth in major economic sectors like high value horticulture, construction, gems, tourism, trade and commerce.

Only those start-up and existing enterprises shall be granted, who undertake or plan to initiate a production, processing and marketing activity or service in the below mentioned sectors.

1. High value horticulture
2. Construction
3. Gemstone
4. Tourism
5. Trade and Commerce

All initiatives should contribute towards employment generation and skill development for youth in GBC. A onetime award of PKR 150,000/ will be given to successful applicants in this category.

3.2.1. Criteria for Enterprise & Business Awards

• Must be a youth owned enterprise or business idea.
• Applicant must belong to GBC.
• The applicant must be for-profit.
• The applicant must be able to demonstrate income and employment generation from the business activity.

4. Features of the Project Idea

Your project idea should demonstrate the following features:

• Realistic and Time bound: the idea doesn’t require extensive inputs, skills, or is not culturally inappropriate. It should produce desired immediate results within a year.
• Impact: should have clear, 1) social: potential to demonstrably involvement of youth in civic activities by their capacity building for leadership in local institutions, and 2) business impact: employment and income.
• Innovation: offering a new approach or original thinking. This does not mean that you have to be doing something entirely new, but what makes your project stand out as different from other projects?
• Sustainability: likely to be able to last beyond the one year funding award

5. Ineligibilities

The following will not be considered for funding under any category of award:

• Large organizations/businesses having access to other funding sources.
• Non-local youth groups or organizations and businesses.
• If the proposed project involves controversial political, ideological or sectarian activities.
• If the applicant has been convicted of an offence concerning professional conduct, fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organization or any other illegal activity by a judgment that has the force of res judicata (against which there is no right of appeal);
• If the applicant is found guilty of misrepresentation in supplying information in any AKRSP project award application;
• If the applicant has tried to influence AKRSP staff in the process of evaluation of their application;
• If the applicant is a public-sector entity or an organization which is subject to majority ownership by the government;
• Creation of endowments out of grant funds is not allowed;
• Payment of previous obligations and/ or bad debts out of grant funds is not allowed;

6. General guidance

• Don’t forget to use the prescribe Application Form available for download on this site, other forms of application or proposal will not be accepted.
• Don’t go beyond the given text limits.
• Avoid unnecessary details or pictures of your organizational activities or write cover letter etc.
• Apply for the appropriate category and thematic area.
• Your proposed budget should be within the range of the category applied for, e.g. if you are applying for village level award your proposed budget could not go beyond PRK 40,000/=.
• It is not necessary that you will get 100% of your proposed budget.
• Incomplete or poorly filled form will reduce your chances for being awarded; therefore answer all the questions carefully.
• We are interested in awarding ideas that are innovative and promising enough to make a positive difference.
• The potential to grow and expand. In your application, try and show how the award will help you scale up your organization/enterprise, and even more importantly, scale up the impact of your work/business.
• In presenting your plans, remember to focus on the impact of your work/business, and not just on what activities will take place.
• Present realistic plans. What will change as a result of you winning the competition? You may not be able to solve the issue or problem in your community in a short period, but what change can you make?
• Use clear language to describe your work and avoid using jargon or technical terms unless absolutely necessary.

Important:

• Please note that we will not process any form received after Friday, August 30, 2013.
• It is a writeable pdf form, please save your application as <ymca_org name.pdf=””>.
• Email the duly filled form to ymca@akrsp.org.pk.
• Don’t send us the hard copy if you are able to send it via email.

APPLICATION FORMS

Please click below links to download the required form.

1. APPLICATION FORM FOR SOCIAL & LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AWARD

2. APPLICATION FORM FOR ENTERPRISE & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AWARD

DOWNLOAD APPLICANT’S REFERENCE