Call for Participation

Association of Youth Organisations Nepal (AYON)

Call for Participation

Youth for Climate and Social Action (YCSA) Grants

Association of Youth Organisation Nepal (AYON) announces call for participation from young individuals and youth organisations to submit their formal application to participate in Youth for Climate and Social Action (YCSA) Grant.

Information Summary

About Project Youth for Climate and Social Action Project

Association of Youth Organizations Nepal (AYON) and the British Council is implementing Youth for Climate and Action (YCSA) project in Nepal. Introduction to the project. The ‘Youth for Climate and Social Action’ project aims to harness the potential of Nepalese youth by giving them opportunities to develop knowledge, skills and expand their networks. By engaging them in climate and social action with local communities and local authorities, the project will create more impactful and sustainable outcomes that address the multifaceted challenges the society faces. 

Furthermore, through engagement of youth in policy advocacy, the project will bridge the gap in representation of youth voice and involvement in local decision-making processes under those respective areas. British Council Nepal has been piloting Youth for Climate Action Project from November 2023. The project has trained about 150 young women and men on social leadership skills to take actions against climate change through small steps in their communities in a collaborative manner. Number of youth beneficiaries from the project has implemented social action projects in their communities to develop their own capacity and influence change in their community, with small grant support from the British Council. The project has also offered platforms for youths in Nepal to engage and network with youths from other countries. In the policy engagement front, the project supported various policy dialogues to discuss youth representation in policy making and implementation. The project also strengthened Nepal’s representation at COP by supporting participation of policy makers and youth delegates. Based on the learnings from the piloting, the project has been extended. Apart from youth and climate action, the project has revised its scope to include other prominent social issues affecting youths like inequalities or lack of youth participation in community development.

Climate and Social Action Grant

Climate action grants are monetary and/or non-financial award to an individual or institution and university students to support their exemplary work in climate action. Grantees go through a competitive process which requires application and submission of supporting documents.

AYON provides grants to encourage social leadership skills of young leaders in important social discourses and interventions. Grants usually comprise of financial, mentoring and platform support. A grant contract outlining the specifications of support and the proposed activity/ project is required to process the distribution of the award.

Grant Scope

We are announcing grant contracts under four categories to support young men, women and students to demonstrate their social leadership skills and action to address climate issues. 

This year’s climate and social action projects would focus on these areas:

A) Policy Advocacy and Social Accountability on Climate

Projects in this area could concentrate on engaging young leaders to advocate for policies and measures that address climate change at federal or local levels. It may involve activities or campaigns aimed at influencing governmental plans and policies related to climate change mitigation and adaptation. At the local level, actions using social accountability mechanisms for youth and government engagements to act on climate issues will be eligible for grants under this category. This is a priority area under the call.

B) Gender and Climate

Project in this segment can emphasize on the intersections between gender and climate change. It can focus on exploring the disproportionate impacts of climate change on different genders, empowering women and marginalised groups in climate action, and developing strategies that consider gender-specific vulnerabilities and strengths in combating climate change. Initiatives designed here could be aimed at empowering women and marginalised genders in climate resilience and mitigation efforts.

C) Innovative Climate Actions

This category encourages creative and innovative approaches to addressing climate change. It can encompass a wide range of activities, including technological innovations, community-based initiatives, sustainable business models, educational programs, or artistic endeavours that contribute to climate action. Projects here could involve use of new and modern technologies, community engagement strategies, or any inventive solutions that have the potential to positively impact climate change mitigation or adaptation.

D) Social Action:

Social Action Grants are small financial aids awarded to empower university students/ CSOs and young individuals to initiate positive change in their communities. These Category grants encourage young people to address social issues, develop leadership skills, and create impactful solutions through community-focused projects with demand driven solutions to social and micro economic problems that they care about. Social Action Grants foster a sense of responsibility among youth and encourage innovative solutions to community challenges, providing young leaders with the resources they need to make meaningful change while being considerate of inclusion and impact on the environment.

Applicants for these grants are expected to propose projects or initiatives on any one of the four areas. The goal is to support and empower young leaders who demonstrate a commitment to driving change in the realm of climate action, encouraging them to implement practical solutions, raise awareness, and advocate for impactful policies related to climate change mitigation and adaptation. 

What support does the grant award include?

The British Council through AYON will provide a monetary award for your accepted proposal. 

Support provided include:

• Financial grant to support your creative action.
• Mentorship: This will be designed to help you improve on the planning and implementation of your climate action. Mentors will also help grantees build their capacity in implementing projects and support in producing the required output.
• Presentation/ Showcase platform: We will be able to provide you with platforms to help you promote, communicate, and showcase your work to a larger audience.
  • AYON and the British Council social media platform will help you communicate your activity(s)
  • AYON and the British Council organised events could be a platform to present on and showcase your work as part of this grant project.
• Documentation support: Selected mentors will be helping you to compile documentation of your project activities to tell the story of your work and the impact it has in the community. 
• Marketing and communication: Promotional and marketing material of your project will be promoted through AYON and the British Council social media channel, newsletter and through targeted mass emails. 
• Evaluation support: We will be sharing with you an impact framework that can be adapted to your project and will also help get the required data and information to evaluate your work.

Grant Timeline

Grant value and categories

Applicants can apply for small-scale grants ranging from NPR 50,000 to NPR 100,000 in group setting. 

Applicants who intend to apply for the grants should intend to keep their applications under the budget limit as stated below:

• Applicants are encouraged to carefully assess their project needs and ensure that their budget requests are as pragmatic as possible.
• Proposal Evaluation Committee may select any number of applications while staying within the total budget stated above, depending on the merit of the applications. Applicants are encouraged to give emphasis to value for money while allocating their budget.

Co-financing

Having co-financed contributions from the applicant or another source is not mandatory. However, such commitments can create scale and wider reach which is considered in the selection panel’s final judgement.

Eligibility Criteria

• All four categories of grant will open to all interested youth individuals, groups from age 18 to 35. 
• All youth NGO, Institutions and youth club are eligible to apply (must have at least 70% youth representation in their executive board to be eligible, in addition to being registered at their DAO and renewing their organisation until 080/081)
• All interested applicants are encouraged to have full attendance in virtual or physical orientation in ‘Nepal Youth Leadership for Climate and Social Action”.

The Orientation is being organised by AYON to ensure ideas are aligned with the project goal. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply for limited seats for virtual or physical orientation “Nepal Youth Leadership for Climate and Social Action”. The orientation details for registered candidates will be sent out by 10th of December.

Interested candidate/ organisations who meets above criteria are requested to fill up the registration form through this link https://forms.gle/YsFmisu8196pNrXx7 by 27th November 2024.