• CYP:
• What we do:
• Youth Enterprise and Sustainable Livelihoods (YESL)

Youth Enterprise and Sustainable Livelihoods (YESL)

We believe that providing skills and opportunities for earning is the most basic aspect of economic empowerment.

Facts & Figures:

• The majority of the world's poor are women, children and young people. 
• 238 million of 1.059 billion 15-24 year olds survive on less than $1 a day. 
• The majority of young people in developing countries work  in the informal sector and have little chance of  earning a decent living and breaking out of the poverty cycle. 
• In nearly all developing countries, the youth unemployment rate is double that of adults. Within that, the figure for young women is twice as high. 
• Young people constitute the majority of those living on the streets.
• Half of all new HIV infections occur among young people – 6,000 every day, and young women are disproportionally affected. Among people living with HIV/AIDS under 24, two thirds are young women. 

Through the Youth Enterprise and Sustainable Livelihoods (YESL) programme, CYP aims to empower young people to play a more active and participatory role in national, social, political and economic development in member countries. We do this by focusing on the following four programme areas:

1. Enterprise and entrepreneurship development
2. Information and communications technology (ICT) initiatives
3. Addressing social exclusion
4. HIV/AIDS providing: 

1. Enterprise and entrepreneurship development

"I really want to start my own business. I have a good idea and the motivation to see it through. What I don't have is any support, training or funding. Should I give up on my dream?"

Young people are disproportionately represented among the ranks of the poor. In 2003 there were an estimated 88 million unemployed young people globally and they accounted for 47% of the world's total unemployed.

CYP aims to provide workable and long term solutions to youth unemployment. We believe that providing skills and opportunities for earning is the most basic aspect of economic empowerment. In practice, we develop enterprise schemes and training courses for young women and men in the Commonwealth. We also support networks that offer young people opportunities to develop a skill or vocation.

Young Commonwealth citizens who want to set up their own businesses often face a range of challenges. In particular, they may not know how to (or be able to) find the support, skills and funding they need. This lack of knowledge and access is part of the vicious cycle of poverty that keeps so many young people from realising their ambitions. CYP and young people are working together to break that cycle.  

Our goal is to equip young people so they can take control of their own lives and create sustainable and healthy moneymaking options. This will help to reduce poverty and raise living standards in their communities. It will also promote a culture of hope and self-sufficiency in communities that are not used to having choices or control over their destiny.

2. ICT Initiatives

CYP is using information and communications technologies (ICT) as a mechanism to bridge the digital divide so that young people have access to ICT, irrespective of where they live or their socio-economic status. Improving young people’s ICT skills is also another way to reduce poverty and enhance their marketability and employability.

3. Addressing social exclusion

CYP's approach to addressing social exclusion supports and relies on young people's full inclusion in society - in social, political and economic life. It aims to ensure that all young people (especially marginalised groups) have access to the skills and opportunities they require to be articulate, productive and informed citizens and contribute to progress in their own lives and communities. We do this through:  

• Life skills training and leadership development opportunities
• Internships and Youth Exchange
  CYP offers internships to young people at regional and pan-Commonwealth Office in London. Interns gain valuable skills, boosting their employability and self-confidence. 
  • Commonwealth Youth Award
  The Commonwealth Gold and Silver Awards recognize the contribution of young people in enhancing the quality of life at community and grass-roots levels of Commonwealth member countries.

4. HIV/AIDS

CYP has developed the Young Ambassador for Positive Living (YAPL) programme. Under this initiative, young people who are infected or affected by HIV and AIDS undertake to educate their peers on the dangers of HIV/AIDS. This programme promotes the value of lifestyle and behaviour change for healthy living.

CYP In Action – Commonwealth Youth Credit Initiative (CYCI)

In 1992, Commonwealth Youth Ministers asked the CYP to assist national efforts to tackle the problem of youth unemployment. The CYP had already assisted member governments in the promotion of micro-enterprise development through entrepreneurial training programmes, and began to explore ways of empowering young people through the provision of low-cost credit to micro-enterprises.

In 1994, the CYP held a meeting in Malta with an advisory group of experts in the field of small business and micro-credit. The purpose of the meeting was to design a suitable model for a micro-credit and saving scheme under the auspices of the CYP. The outcome of this was that, in 1995, at their meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Commonwealth Youth Ministers launched the Commonwealth Youth Credit Initiative.

The Commonwealth Youth Credit Initiative (CYCI) is a holistic development model that provides enterprise training, micro-credit (small, affordable loans for small businesses, life skills development and mentoring and support to young entrepreneurs. The CYCI model was piloted across all Commonwealth regions and has been successfully replicated across the Commonwealth using the lessons of the pilot phase. The CYCI Toolkit is a guide for Governments and NGOs who want to start up similar programmes for young people.

Through the CYCI, more young people in the Commonwealth now have the funding and training to start their own businesses - they can earn a decent living and break free from the cycle of unemployment and poverty. The success of young entrepreneurs will have positive effects and contribute to overall poverty reduction in their communities.

Recognising the success of CYCI, member governments now place greater importance on youth enterprise initiatives, including enterprise training, youth employment schemes and creating a culture of entrepreneurship as a means of promoting entrepreneurship and fighting poverty. At the Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting (CYMM) in The Bahamas in 2006, Ministers recommended that CYP continue to focus on enterprise development throughout the Commonwealth.