9.6 Intercontinental youth work and development cooperation
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Intercontinental youth work cooperation
Based on the information received from the Ministry of Education and Culture, the ministry has not recently financed projects related to intercontinental youth work.
Development cooperation activities
The Children and Youth Foundation has a project entitled: 'Write the lyrics for a better world: In Correspondence' (see in Finnish). The idea is that young people express and speak up about their feelings about a sustainable future and Agenda 2030 themes by writing rap-lyrics. There are writing groups in Finland, Senegal and South-Africa that correspond with one other. Altogether, a hundred 13-29 year olds have participated so far in years 2021-2022 and the project is still ongoing. The funding for the project comes from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Since 2018, Plan International Finland has been implementing the My Body My Future programme (see the project pages of the co-partner Light for the World Netherlands). The main part of the programme comprises five Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) -themed projects implemented in Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique, Laos and Myanmar. The overarching objective of the programme is to empower adolescent girls to be free from harmful practices and to enjoy their sexual and reproductive health and rights, in societies in which gender equality is being realised. In the future, the aim is to integrate climate change adaptation and resilience as a crosscutting theme in the gender transformative SRHR programme in line with Plan International’s values. Building relationships and strengthening youth-led climate action in the country helps youth in the My Body My Future communities access peer-to-peer support and contribute to climate advocacy and policy processes at the local, national and international level.
In 2021, work for the climate has already started. Eight young researchers from Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Ethiopia, Myanmar and Laos selected by the Plan International Finland conducted 'Mapping Youth Civil Society for Climate Resilience' in My Body My Future programme countries. The mapping aims to answer the following research questions:
- How are children, adolescents and youth portrayed in national climate change adaptation strategies?
- Which organisations, groups and movements are led by or involve children, adolescents and youth in climate change adaptation policy and action?
- How could the My Body My Future programme support and benefit from working with these organisations, groups, movements?
The analysis and review methodology for the mapping was developed in collaboration with young researchers. After the desk review and interviews with selected organisations, Plan International facilitated a one day sense-making workshop at which the researchers had the opportunity to present their results and then compare their findings before agreeing on the format of the report. The results of the mapping processes will be published later in the year 2021, see also a blog text from Katja Pellini (10.9.2021) entitled as 'We give voice to young researchers - The Climate Mapping succeeds better than expected' (available in Finnish. Funding for the project comes from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.