YES ACADEMY /

The YES Academy is the umbrella under which all the YES Campaign pilot projects and other services are implemented. There is a physical YES Academy based in Hyderabad India - for all Indian projects. Currently, 10 projects have been funded and are in various stages of development. YES Academy projects are designed with the belief that provided with the right policy environment, appropriate programs, credit and market linkages, and mentoring - young people can be empowered to be entrepreneurs and employment creators. The YES Academy provides and facilitates technical expertise, incubation support for new enterprises, identifies new sectors for employment, engages diverse stakeholders, develops demand-driven curriculum and trains and builds the capacity of the youth and development practitioners.

» Participatory Project Design
» Youth Led Innovative Program Implementation
» Seed Grant Projects for Entrepreneurship Development
» Developing multi-stakeholder partnerships for program design
» Building local capacity for program implementation
» Using new technologies for livelihood generation
» Community Driven Development
» Initiating Pilot projects
» Livelihoods based approaches to enterprise development in following sectors:

1. Renewable Energy
2. HIV/AIDS
3. ICT
4. Rural Development
5. Water and Sanitation

LAUNCH OF YES ACADEMY IN INDIA /

On the last day of the Hyderabad Regional Forum in 2003 the Chief Minster Hon. N. Chandrababu Naidu launched the International YES Academy designed to be the hub for youth employment generation. Hyderabad is leading the way in ensuring that no young person gets left behind. The formation of the YES Academy displays a powerful coalition of political will, technology and youth engagement expressed though its lead partners - the government of Andhra Pradesh, MS Swaminathan Foundation and the YES Campaign. In addition the UN and multilateral agencies showed their commitment to the YES Campaign by joining hands in launching pilot projects with the Academy. We thank UNIDO, UNDP, UNHABITAT, UNESCO-UNEVOC, FAO, and the Commonwealth Youth Program for joining hands with the YES Campaign to work towards empowering youth to build sustainable livelihoods.

The YES Academy will take a few months to finalize its structure and format of the projects and in April 2004 there will be a project launch.

PROJECTS BEING LAUNCHED UNDER YES ACADEMY /

PROJECT 1 /
CMEY Micro enterprise: Preparing young leaders of Andhra Pradesh to promote healthy business, workers, and communities by tackling HIV/AIDS.

Sponsor: Health and Human Development, Education Development Center, Inc

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PROJECT 2 /
Lifelong learning and skills development for sustainable livelihoods and environments

Sponsor: UNESCO-UNEVOC

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PROJECT 3 /
Service Learning: Promoting employability and social entrepreneurship among rural youth.

Sponsor: Center for Family, School and Communities, EDC Inc.

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PROJECT 4 /
Building an Entrepreneurial Culture: A Curriculum for Secondary Schools

Sponsor: UNIDO

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PROJECT 5 /
Enhancing Employment Opportunities for Rural Youth based on Renewable Energy Technologies.

Sponsor: UNIDO

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PROJECT 6 /
Leadership and Employability Skills for Youth in Urban Slums in Hyderabad

Sponsor: UN HABITAT

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PROJECT 7 /
Internship Programs

Sponsor: Common Wealth of Secretariat Youth Programme

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PROJECT 8 /
Eco- Entrepreneurship Skills Training Programs

Sponsor: Common Wealth of Secretariat Youth Programme

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PROJECT 9 /
Partnership in mentoring Young Entrepreneurs

Sponsor: Common Wealth of Secretariat Youth Programme

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PROJECT 10 /
HIV/AIDS and Youth Employment (Regional Program)

Sponsor: UNDP