The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is inviting youth from the Arab States region on a journey into the future. How might the world look in 2030? How will young people be participating and engaging with their communities? How will communities be reacting to and taking action on the climate crisis?

The journey consists of two parts: 

1) Share with us your creative submissions on the future of climate change and/or civic engagement. You can show us your perspective through poetry, an article, a story, a monologue, a piece of art, videos, objects from the future (that exist in 2030), dance, music, or any medium of your choosing. 

2) If you want to continue the conversation, you can apply to participate in our Youth Futures Fellowship, which is a five-week-long opportunity to acquire futures thinking skills and learn  alongside regional and global experts and other young leaders from across the region. Find out more about the fellowship below - up to 30 young people will be selected to take part. 

As an essential mindset and practice that helps us to explore possibilities for what might lie ahead, futures thinking helps us understand and challenge our assumptions; analyze “imaginings of the future” that shape our sense of things to come; and engage creatively with complexity. Perhaps most importantly, futures thinking reminds us that “the future” can be shaped in different directions.

It’s time for a new conversation about the future!

Who is eligible?

You must:

• be 19-29 years old
• have any educational or vocational background as long as you have a general knowledge of the themes (climate change and civic engagement) and you are eager to learn and contribute in teams
• originate from Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, State of Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, & Yemen AND currently reside in one of these countries. 

How to participate

>>> Read the Design Brief for guidance on how to prepare your creative work and have it included in our online gallery.

>>> Fill the submission form by 25th October

>>> If you wish to apply for the fellowship opportunity, you should also complete the second part of the application form, which contains the following additional questions related to your motivation and interests:

• What do you hope to gain from the UNDP Youth Futures Fellowship? (minimum 100-250 words)
• When you think about your community in 2030, what is your greatest hope and biggest fear? (minimum 100-250 words)

You can fill in the form once you are ready to submit, as you will not be able to save your progress on the form.

More on the Youth Futures Fellowship

Designed as a collaborative learning journey to develop and enhance the futures thinking skills of youth across the region, the UNDP Youth Futures Fellowship will not only focus on tools and methods but also how to use and apply these approaches within your own community and toward challenges and opportunities that are important to you. Amplifying youth voices and aspirations, we will explore different futures and look at cases and examples from the region and around the world.In the process, you will engage directly with a global group of experts.  

Through the fellowship, you will:

• Obtain tools for navigating uncertainty in a complex world
• Learn about systems-thinking and futures thinking
• Develop leadership skills and abilities to build participatory processes
• Become part of the UNDP Youth Futures Fellows community
• Engage and connect with the global futures community

In order to participate fully in this learning journey, you should be:

• Open to new ways of thinking
• Willing to take a creative leap
• Able to collaborate with people from different backgrounds
• Interested in enhancing your leadership skills
• Driven to take initiative within your community
• Expert knowledge of thematic areas is not a requirement

You will find a tentative programme for the fellowship here   

FAQ

How can I find out more?

Register here for a live information session on Monday October 19th. The session will be held in English, with Arabic and French interpretation, and will also be livestreamed on Facebook. A recording of the session will be published on YLP Facebook page following the session. You may also contact youth.rbas@undp.org with any questions.

When are submissions (including Fellowship applications) due?

On Sunday 25th October

How many fellows will be selected to participate?

Up to 30

When will the Fellowship begin and end?

The fellowship will start in early November and finish in mid-December

How will the Fellowship be structured?

Online sessions will last 2-2.5 hours with another 30-60 minutes of (individual or group) work per week. An overview of the learning journey is available here . 

What platforms will be used for the Fellowship?

 Zoom and Miro will be used for all online sessions, and all participants will need to set up a free account for both platforms.

How will participants be selected for the fellowship? 

In designing and delivering the fellowship, our team is committed to a range of principles from the selection process to the learning journey. They are:

• Inclusivity - processes and practices that meet the needs of all
• Diversity - not just the “unusual suspects” from familiar places
• Ethical Imagination - ideas that inspire ethical and sustainable change
• Aware - a clear and conscious understanding of privilege and power
• Participatory - attention to engaging different groups in creative ways