Think Creative - Issue 3

Empowering youth around the world See how Creative is fostering a new generation of leaders dedicated to positive change.

Shaping tomorrow’s leaders at Creative

resources, operations and more — but have each shown a dedication to serving their communities and empowering fellow youth. Ryan Hoppie, for example, found- ed the Come Alive Network in his native Guyana to showcase and enhance the leadership of more than 80 community youth leaders. Now, he’s the Workforce Develop- ment Specialist for the USAID- funded Community, Family and Youth Resilience program in East- ern and Southern Caribbean. Hoppie, 30, says mentorship and networking allow youth leaders like him to learn from the expe- riences and viewpoints of others, making them better suited to propose and manage solutions in complex situations. “I’mexcited about the opportunity to buildmy capacity to contribute to positive youth development globally and assist in improving the lives of youth who are often socially and economically unattached from the communities they reside in,” he says of the initiative. n

A new initiative is supporting Creative’s talented young team members fromaround the world, empowering them to enhance their significant contributions to devel- opment now and in the future. “Together, we can fit the pieces of the puzzle together and improve the lives of our fellow youth” -Ryan Hoppie, Young Development Leader, Guyana Called the Creative Young Devel- opment Leaders, a group of nearly 20 Creative employees age 34 and younger from eight countries are working to enhance their leadership with support from across Creative in skill-building, networking and mentorship. The Young Development Leaders, nominated by their chiefs of party, represent countries including Afghanistan, Tanzania, Mozam- bique, Cameroon, Honduras and Guyana. They come from a variety of professional backgrounds — communications, finance, human

Back Row, from Left: Madison Cevallos, Ryan McFerran, Jessie Graham, Aila Trasi, Elizabeth Baldwin, Adrian Lore, Ayatalla ElKhatib and Ifeoluwa Olawole Front Row, from Left: Camila Sibaja, Yousra Benchekroun, Emily Marks, Sagra Alvarado, Paula Belham, Madeline Zug, Monica Geary and Michelle Wong

Intern Time!

Washington, DC

This summer, a talented group of undergraduate and graduate students will tackle some of development’s most complex challenges—from ensuring children have access to quality trauma-informed education during conflict to honing targeted approaches to reduce youth risk for violence. On June 4, this year’s cohort of 17 interns took to the halls of Creative’s DC headquarters where they’ll spend eight weeks developing unique research projects that advance their studies and careers while helping to shape development programming and respond to pressing questions facing the field.

Nearly 1 out of every 6 people worldwide is age 15 to 24

Between now and 2030, the

global youth labor force will expand by 25.6 million

An estimated 71 million youth are currently unemployed

Why invest in youth?

This summer marks two key days for youth around the world: Youth Skills Day on July 15 and International Youth Day on Aug. 12. Here are just a few reasons supporting youth to obtain skills, employment and entrepreneurship are smart investments in global develop- ment and prosperity.

Photo by Amanda Smallwood (top right), JimHuylebroek (bottom left), Erick Gibson (bottm center, right)

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