Increasingly, the next generation’s leaders are making their mark on the world by proposing and implementing solutions to global environmental and social problems.
One great example includes the global YouthBank initiative, a network of 20 youth grantmaking committees. With its origins in Ireland (specifically the Community Foundation of Northern Ireland), YouthBank has since spread throughout Europe and into the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Operating as a model for youth to solve social problems, specifically in areas that have a history of intercultural conflict, YouthBank gives young people a chance to distribute funds to projects of their choice. In Palestine, YouthBank has been working with the Dalia Association on projects aimed to empower and invest in Palestinian youth.
In addition to community-based models of youth grantmaking, large-scale youth philanthropy summits are growing in number. We Day, an initiative of the nonprofit organization Free the Children, celebrates and encourages youth philanthropy every year through several conferences throughout Canada. This week, the Nexus Global Youth Summit on Innovative Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship will be held jointly in Beijing and London. Youth philanthropists from around the world will convene to discuss issues of development and social justice.
Led by youth for youth, enterprises such as YouthBank, Nexus, and We Day are challenging young people around the world to take center stage in solving the world’s problems through philanthropy. If you’d like to learn more about CAAP’s work with youth philanthropy, check out our Teen Grantmaking Initiative.
Photo and video courtesy St. Michael’s University School and Nexus Youth Summit