YPL: YouthPower Learning Network Launch Report 2015

YouthPower Learning is a USAID-funded program which generates and disseminates knowledge about the implementation and impact of positive youth development (PYD) and cross-sectoral approaches in international development. The project leads research, evaluations, and events designed to build the evidence base about the impact of PYD programming. Concurrently, YouthPower Learning employs expertise in learning and knowledge sharing to promote engagement and inform the global community about how to successfully help young people transition into productive, healthy adults.

YouthPower Learning hosted a Learning Network Launch to establish a core platform for youth development professionals to share knowledge, improve practices, build partnerships, and engage frontline actors in creating opportunities and fostering enabling environments for youth to thrive. The Launch event took place December 7 - 8, 2015 at George Washington University in Washington, DC. It was attended by 110 YouthPower stakeholders from 64 different organizations including indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) holders, consortia members, USAID leadership, and a few invited key stakeholders from other youth-serving institutions (see Annex I for participating organizations).

The Launch was the first in a series of annual Learning Network events that aim to increase the knowledge base of what works in PYD and cross-sectoral youth programming, and to extend the reach of the YouthPower Learning Network to improve development practices. This year’s event served as a venue for representatives from all members of the YouthPower consortia to contribute their knowledge and expertise to the formation of the project’s Communities of Practice (CoPs). These CoPs will function as the engine of the Learning Network, driving discovery of new evidence and practices which support the goals of YouthPower. As a first step, attendees created roadmaps for action for the first set of CoP topics:

1. Cross-Sector Skills for Youth
2. Youth Engagement
3. Gender and PYD
4. Youth in Peace and Security

The Learning Network Launch reinforced the importance of shared learning to help youth development practitioners address challenges such as changing country contexts; varied, discordant organizational priorities; and poor coordination across technical disciplines. The CoPs and larger Learning Network are explicitly focused on a collective approach to learning, sharing, and adapting for stronger, more responsive PYD programs.