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Project Title
USAID’s Youth are Resilient, Interconnected, Socially Cohesive, and Engaged (YouthRISE)
Background of USAID’s YouthRISE Activity
This program has been working to increase tolerance within the host communities by supporting young people, women, and men as well as community leaders to identify key areas of concern within their communities assisting them to share their views and enabling dialogue between groups from the communities. This program also supports livelihood initiatives. The total value of the project has been $3,999,843 with an implementation period from 20th September 2021 to 19th September 2025.
BBC Media Action will partner with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Ain O Salish Kendra, (ASK), Shushilan, and Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) to implement the activity over four years. The activity implementation areas include Teknaf and Ukhiya upazila from the start, the program has been working towards sustainability by capacitating youth groups, volunteers, and/or leaders to take forward activities (For example – activities may include but are not limited to – implementing skill and learning acquired from YouthRISE to mitigate conflict in a non-violent way and better equipped with alternative livelihood skills) after project transition.
Local partners have been playing a critical role in developing, shaping, delivering, and evolving the program. The activity has strengthened local partners’ capacity to replicate and scale to additional villages/wards in the future. Implementation for IR1 will be led by Shushilan and IR3 will be led by ASK with technical capacity sharing and oversight by IRC. As well as IR2 will be led by YPSA with technical capacity sharing and oversight by BBC Media Action respectively.
Goal: Host communities affected by the Rohingya crisis in Cox’s Bazar district benefit from reduced conflict and violence (including GBV).
Objective: Young people in the host communities are more resilient to the impacts of conflict, more frequently resolve local conflicts in their community in peaceful and non-violent ways, and are less likely to be involved in violence.
Intermediate Results:
Intermediate result 1: Strengthened life/leadership skills, shifts in gender norms and improved livelihood skills and opportunities increase young people’s resilience to violence.
Intermediate result 2: Increased confidence of host community youth to engage positively and non-violently in their community to mitigate conflict.
Intermediate result 3: Local justice systems are strengthened to reduce use of violence and solve disputes, and foster youth engagement and trust in local justice mechanisms.
Name of Donor: Financial Support by USAID and Technical Support by BBC Media Action
Duration of the Project: February 2022 to January 2025 (YPSA started from January 2023 to March 2025)
USAID’s YouthRISE Activity of YPSA
YPSA (Young Power in Social Action) is one of the implementing partners of USAID’s ‘Youth are Resilient, Interconnected, Socially Cohesive and Engaged (YouthRISE)’ Activity from January 2023. Under the YouthRISE activity, YPSA has contributed to Intermediate Result 2 (Increased confidence of host community youth to engage positively and non-violently in their community to mitigate conflict).
YouthRISE Activity of YPSA has two main components, Such as
- Listening Group (LG) formation, and facilitation of audio content with specific youth groups regarding certain criteria.
- Community Screening (CS) facilitation of video content with the local community concerning particular criteria.
USAID’s YouthRISE Activity’s Development Hypothesis (YPSA Part)
IF young people from the host community (including young men and women) are able to identify drivers of conflict and have skills and opportunities to constructively discuss those concerns and potential solutions with each other and community leaders AND IF they feel they have reciprocal and mutually reinforcing relationship through they could receive and provide support during times of conflict AND they have improved digital/media literacy and positive role models for more inclusive gender norms, THEN they will engage more constructively within their community, have more positive gender norms and attitudes, be more resilient to mis/disinformation and believe in the importance of non-violent responses to problems, disputes, and conflict (Sub outcome 2).
The YouthRISE Activity of YPSA has accomplished a number of activities such as
- Activity 2.2.1. Listening groups for young people to discuss and share experiences raised by the audio dramas.
- Activity 2.2.2. Community screenings and discussions to share issues raised in the short videos and animations.
Project Location
The program has been implemented in Cox’s Bazar District, including
- Ukhiya Upazila
- Rajapalong Union
- Ratnapalong Union
- Haldiapalong Union
- Teknaf Upazila
- Teknaf Sadar
- Whykong Union
- Baharchhara Union
- Sabrang Union
- Nhilla Union
Final Targeted Beneficiary/Target Groups:
Youth (18 to 35 age structure) and considering the following criteria, such as gender, different religions, ethnic people, PwDs (Persons with Disabilities), students, different professional youths who are engaged in local-level Income Generating Activities (IGA), youths associated with various social organizations and youth clubs, youths involved in various developmental activities of society and community, and volunteers for society who works in an unpaid manner. Besides, community influence, society leader, and local community, Chairman, Member, NGO worker, Teacher, Member of co-operative society.
Activity: YPSA will work to implement the following activities.
S/N |
Activity |
Total Target |
| 1. | Beneficiary Survey (Baseline and Endline) for Listening Group Formation | 427 |
| 2. | Listening Group Formation for Audio Drama | 12 |
| 3. | Listening Group Session (Audio Drama) | 540 |
| 4. | Community Screening for Video Show | 300 |
| 5. | Total number of participants in Community Screening Session | 9000 |
| 6. | START-UP Meeting with Union level Stakeholder | 08 |
| 7. | Monthly YPSA Team Coordination Meeting | 27 |