The Generation Unlimited Youth Challenge is an opportunity to identify solutions that can have a positive impact around education, skills, training, employment opportunities and empowerment of young people. We believe that you are closest to many of these challenges and could have practical ideas for projects and innovations that address them. If you believe you do, we invite you to form a team of three young people between the ages of 14 to 24 and submit your idea to us. Kenya is one of the first countries to pilot Generation Unlimited with President Uhuru Kenyatta as a Global Champion for youth empowerment. This year, the Generation Unlimited Youth Challenge is back in Kenya as one of 41 countries participating globally.

Read below for submissions criteria and click here to access the submission form

To enter the Challenge, you must:

• Be aged 14 to 24 (on 23 September 2019);
• Be part of a team of three participants who meet the age criteria;
• Have a good idea/project/innovation which meets the themes of the Generation Unlimited Youth Challenge (see below) and can express that idea in written form through the online-form below (link) or postal address;
• Commit to attending a three-day pre-bootcamp training session and, if selected, a three-day bootcamp training session (locations to be determined);
• Commit to implementing your idea/project/innovation if selected to receive local seed funding which could last until July 2020; and,
• Commit to longer term implementation of your idea/project/innovation if selected for global seed funding.

You may NOT enter the Challenge if: 

•  You have already received funding from any source or expect to receive funding other than from Generation Unlimited to develop your idea/project/innovation at any point during the contest (Nov 2019 to July 2020);
• You are already a registered company or community organization. 

Design Challenges

Your idea/project/innovation for the youth challenge should address one of the following thematic areas; please find below some guiding questions that will assist you in preparing it. 

Education & Training 

• How can we ensure the most marginalized young people stay in school?
• How can we help build a learner friendly environment?
• How might we reduce the number of adolescent and young girls dropping out of school?
• How can we support building accessible and inclusive learning platforms, so young people with and without disabilities can learn together?

Employment & Entrepreneurship

•  How can we support young people to be prepared for the transition to the labor market?
• How can we help young people acquire the skills for meaningful and decent work?
• How can we support young people to utilize entrepreneurship for solving community problems?

Equity & Engagement

• How might we increase the opportunities for marginalized young people to participate in government at local and national levels?
• How might we address issues or prejudice against young people with disabilities to enable them to reach their full potential?
• How can we change perceptions and attitudes among adults (e.g. parents, teachers, etc.) towards meaningful engagement of young people in their communities?

Selection

A panel of expert judges from the Office of the President, UNICEF and UNDP Kenya, and other key partners will review all entries and select the top 15. They will then be taken through the Generation Unlimited Innovation Bootcamp where they will be guided on how to refine and pitch their ideas and then do so to the team of judges. The five most promising will receive a USD $1,000 grant, expert advice and mentoring on how to improve their idea/project/innovation further. 

Prizes 

The five teams will then be asked to pitch their ideas a second time, at which point two teams will be selected to proceed to the global level. An international panel of judges will then select the top five global solutions. The winners will receive USD $20,000 each and mentorship (locally and globally) to take their ideas to the next level.