3.6 Million People Supported through 2 Years of Global Youth Mobilization

5 minutes

We are unstoppable together. That’s the sentiment we shared with partners when we launched the Global Youth Mobilization (GYM) two years ago, and it’s what we stand by today as we review the impact and progress of this initiative in the final impact report.

The report, “Unstoppable Together: Celebrating 2 Years of Youth-led Global Action”, highlights the reach and impact of the investment the GYM made in young people globally to date. 

COVID-19 response measures have impacted an estimated 1.2 billion young people. Disruptions to education, employment, health services and social support have changed the future of an entire generation. To address these challenges, the Big Six youth organizations initiated the GYM to harness the surge of youth-led activism and action, creative solutions, passion, and commitment, by investing much-needed funds at a grassroots level and advocating for the role of young people in COVID-19 recovery and response efforts.

To date the GYM has achieved the following:

  • Financed projects directly engaging nearly 600,000 young people in developing and implementing activities supporting over 3.63 million community beneficiaries.
     
  • Invested $5 million to support 471 youth-led projects in 72 countries and funded 169 national projects, across 125 countries, through the Big Six youth organizations.
     
  • Scaled-up interventions in four key thematic areas of focus:
     
    • Young people tackled the mental and physical health challenges worsened by the impacts of the pandemic, through training sessions, workshops, toolkits, recreational spaces, and access to professional support, to address stigma and discrimination, reaching over 440,000 people in their communities.
       
    • Over 320,000 people were engaged to overcome gender inequality and combat domestic and gender-based violence exacerbated by lockdowns.
       
    • Youth-led solutions have helped over 2.3 million people overcome education disruption and employability challenges caused by lockdowns through training, coaching, and providing access to key resources like books and digital devices to improve their digital literacy.
       
    • To curb the spread of the pandemic, young people became a critical part of the response and recovery efforts, reaching over 470,000 people, to promote COVID-19 protection and prevention measures, debunk myths, provide vital health information and mobilize their communities to adopt best practices to increase vaccine uptake.

The final report represents the success of the Big Six’s collaboration and partnership on a global scale and the demonstrated power of youth-led decision-making on the allocation of funding and the importance of implementing new and accessible funding opportunities for young people.

World Scouting is proud to see how the GYM has empowered Scouts to apply the skills and values they have gained in Scouting to identify innovative solutions to problems in their communities.

Scouts in Albania cheer ahead of their community marathon
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World Scout Bureau
From providing entrepreneurship and IT training to employ more young people in Sierra Leone, to mental health interventions for young people in Poland to combatting misinformation in Romania and so much more, Scouts are bettering their communities with their ideas and dedication.

By working together as the Big Six youth organisations, we are able to multiply our impact through shared commitment and funding opportunities that allow young people to scale up their projects.
Ahmad Alhendawi
Secretary General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
Scouts in Croatia take a break from planting trees
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World Scout Bureau

More than 60,000 Scouts have led and participated in GYM-funded projects that have made their communities more resilient to the impacts of the pandemic. For example, the National Scout Organization (NSO) of Mozambique conducted nationwide efforts to mobilize young people to encourage COVID-19 vaccine uptake and disseminate information on health measures to local communities.

It has been encouraging to see the involvement of young Scout Leaders, some even below 22 years old, in the recovery process. The current work at our NSO has the potential to transform it into a strong organization, especially due to the strong involvement of our young leaders.
Samson Fazenda
Regional Commissioner, Cabo Delgado of the Liga Dos Escuteiros de Moçambique

Commenting on the GYM, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said: 

“This unique initiative demonstrates the catalytic potential of a youth-led model for leadership, decision-making and localized solutions. WHO remains committed to continuing to work with the Global Youth Mobilization and we encourage other partners to join the next phase of the initiative and invest in the health and well-being of future generations.” - Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO

The report, which includes case studies of global youth-led projects, highlights a series of recommendations for multinational agencies and institutions, governments, policymakers and corporations to address and prioritise the needs of young people and future generations. 

You can read the full report here and find an executive summary here.

About the Global Youth Mobilization

The Global Youth Mobilization (GYM), launched in December 2020, is a movement of young people taking action to address global issues. 

Powered by the Big Six – the world’s largest global youth organisations – and supported by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Foundation, the GYM aims to address the negative impact of the pandemic on young people and support them to build back better. 

To support young people to respond to the various challenges presented by the pandemic, the GYM has been delivering programmes at national and local levels, whilst ensuring the experiences, creativity and passion of young people inform policies and decisions affecting their lives.