Youth for Peace: Follow On Programming

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The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Consulate General in Kolkata (PAS Kolkata) seeks proposals for a project titled “Youth for Peace: Follow-on Programming.” The project will bring together young leaders from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, to understand the complex variables that affect peace and violence in their communities, identify best practices of conflict resolution and see themselves as key catalysts in the peace building process. Proposals should be based on the framework of an inaugural two-day workshop with a follow on two-day workshop after a span of two-three months, and a final Youth for Peace Summit. The focus of the first workshop will be on understanding cultural contexts, the empowerment of young people to think creatively about community resilience and causes of extremism, and the promotion of grassroots campaigns to challenge violent narratives. The second workshop will help participants identify and focus on topics of individual interest which may include, but not be limited to, best practices in building “online and offline” community resilience, creating successful social media campaigns, smartphone photography, film-making and interview techniques, boosting media literacy, develop critical thinking skills, and challenging narratives with empathy and humor. The grantee is encouraged to recruit private sector collaborations, i.e. with Microsoft and Facebook, to support breakout discussions on improving youth employment prospects and using technology to counter radicalization. The project year will culminate in a South Asia Youth for Peace Summit in Kolkata to showcase how young leaders are utilizing their diverse skill sets, knowledge and networks to effectively address persistent problems of today. The grantee will also create 5 short videos using content from the workshops to amplify messaging.

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