Building Youth Resilience to violent Extremism – Youth Employability Program.

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U.S. Embassy Lome, of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a program to build youth resiliency to violent extremism through a youth employability program. Togo, despite its proximity to countries affected by violent extremism, is one West African country that has experienced relative peace and security, until recently. The escalation in violence in Burkina Faso has spread to neighboring countries, with Togo and Benin recording their worst Global Terrorist Index (GTI) scores on record. According to country officials, as of today, violent extremist attacks have led to 40 military casualties and more than 100 civilians were killed and 2000 Togolese have taken refuge outside the country. Several studies and assessments in the Savanes region have concluded that the factors that most fuel violent extremism and encourage the recruitment of sympathizers by extremist organizations are poverty, particularly among youth and women, and the lack of jobs and prospects for young people. Thus, to identify underlying violent extremism vulnerability and resilience factors in Togo and to help inform U.S. Government efforts countering violent extremism in West Africa, USAID commissioned a baseline study in Northern Togo in late 2019 that confirmed that young men and women are most likely to be impacted by violent extremism rhetoric given their difficult living conditions. The main objective of this NOFO is to leverage and highlight U.S. expertise and the growing U.S.-Togo relationship to strengthen and support youth in entering the labor market, particularly disadvantaged young women and men in areas affected by violent extremism. This will be through the provision of demand-led technical skills training, employability training, career guidance, and green, social, and agripreneurship. with the end goal of preventing violent extremism.

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