On 14th and 15th September 2021, EYW hosted a successful 2-day symposium with young people, implementing partners, experts and Oxfam staff. Near 300 people joined the symposium to learn, share and connect. On this page, you can find the recordings of the symposium.
Read here the full closing report.
Here you can watch the recording of the official opening of EYW Symposium 2021-- Plenary Session: Welcome note, Holistic Session, Innovation Booster. Empower Youth for Work (EYW) Symposium 2021 begins! Get to know the project through interactive live experiences, cultural boosters to key components of the programs, and the sharing of country experiences. Innovation Booster: Youth from Bangladesh and Indonesia will present their innovations on Youth-led rural youth employment. Holistic Approach: Learn in an interactive way about the multi-level approach which EYW follows to empower young people to become change agents.
Watch here the recording of Breakout Room #1 Community Based Tourism in Indonesian Youth Hubs. Implemented in Indonesia, Community-Based Tourism mixes traditional tourism and modern strategies to create linkage to the rural market and increase economic opportunities for youth and their communities. You will learn how this pilot was co-created with young people, and how this innovative business offers contemporary solutions to commercialize the tourism industry in an environmentally sustainable way.
Watch here the recording of Breakout Room #2 Mobile Business Development Support in Ethiopia. A vehicle with an amplifier, whiteboard, video equipment and mobile Wi-Fi hotspots is sent to rural remote areas of Ethiopia to foster entrepreneurial initiatives. Learn how Business Development Support has helped youth in setting up small and medium enterprises with products like liquid soap, pharmaceuticals, and face masks by implementing market research, branding, and innovation.
Here you can watch the recording of Breakout Room #4 ''Turning Dreams into Reality” Rural Hubs in Sindh and Punjab. In Pakistan, the Youth Hubs offers a safe space for young people, especially young women, to learn, share ideas, and do business. At the hubs, young entrepreneurs obtain skills and networks that will empower them to enhance their businesses and create better linkages to the rural market. By improving their access to social networks, digitization and digital literacy, the Rural Hubs form a sustainable model of income in the rural areas.
Here you can watch the recording of Breakout Room #5 The Climate Smart Village in Bangladesh. The EYW project in Bangladesh is working on the first-ever youth-led ‘Climate-Smart Village’ in Khulna district, one of the most climate-vulnerable areas in the country. Join the session to learn from the young leaders how this innovative model works and how other climate-vulnerable villages could benefit from this approach as well.
Here you can watch the recording of Breakout Room #6 Visualizing Gender Justice: Gender Action Learning System. GALS is a community-led methodology to improve livelihoods and gender justice through using visual tools. In Pakistan and Indonesia, GALS helped to plan and track changes in their lives, gender relations, as well as identify and negotiate their needs with powerholders. Learn more about this interesting methodology in this session with presentations by gender experts and partners as well as testimonies of young women and men.
Here you can watch the recording of Breakout Room #7 Youth Advisory Boards in Pakistan. A key component of the EYW project is youth-led influencing, where young people organize themselves into groups, named Youth Advisory Boards (YAB’s). In Pakistan, the YAB’s stimulate social activism, by allowing youth to participate in policy dialogues and influence social issues that matter to them. Listen to their stories, challenges and strategies on how to make it meaningful and sustainable.
Here you can watch the recording of Breakout Room #8 A Penny for Your Thoughts Loan Guarantee Fund Program. Investing in creditworthiness - Loan Guarantee Fund (ETH) piloted with guarantees for start-ups. Understanding guarantee funds as a solution for access to finance in rural settings. Including experiences of how businesses responded to the covid crisis.
Here you can watch the recording of Breakout Room #9 Breaking Patriarchal Barriers. As part of EYW’s Building 3rd Block ‘Creating an Enabling Environment’, diagnosing, and shifting social norms is a core part of understanding and addressing blockages to young women’s economic empowerment. Oxfam representatives will share their experiences of diagnostic tools and lessons learned on influencing social norms in Bangladesh and Ethiopia.
Here you can watch the recording of Breakout Room #10 Youth Advisory Boards in Bangladesh. A key component of the EYW project is youth-led influencing, where young people organize themselves into groups, named Youth Advisory Boards (YAB’s). In Bangladesh, the YAB’s allow the voices of young people from varied backgrounds to be heard on a local, regional and national level. Listen to their stories, challenges and strategies on how to make it meaningful and sustainable.
Here you can watch the recording of Breakout Room #11 Encouraging Female Business Owners. During this session, experts and local partners explore the key points to nurture entrepreneurship among young rural women in Indonesia. The importance of soft skills, e-commerce, bootcamps and the diversity of products will be explained.
Here you can watch the recording of Breakout Room #12 From Being an Apprentice to Becoming Employed. Many young people find it hard to bridge the gap between education and employment, especially if they had little education overall. The apprenticeship programs in Ethiopia and Bangladesh aim to harness the skill sets of youngsters in rural areas and provide them with the needed professional experience. This pilot shows how the focus on women-friendly sectors can increase their participation in the labour market.
Here you can watch the recording of Breakout Room #13 One Small Business for Youth, One Giant Leap for Progress.Learn how EYW in Pakistan is identifying and engaging Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in entrepreneurship and business development services to create more job opportunities for young people, especially young women In Jamshore and Layyah. A discussion with experts on how Small Medium-sized Enterprises work, and interesting examples such as start-up competitions and seed money tests for young entrepreneurs.
Here you can watch the Official closure EYW Symposium 2021. The journey continues - this requires an urgency to create futures for young people and the coming together of all stakeholders – youth, nonprofits, corporations and governments.