YOUTH IMPACT: BECAUSE YOU MATTER - For Environmental Sustainability and Climate Action
Launch of the Grant Scheme
In a collaborative effort to fuel youth-led action, UNESCO and ٱé&Բ;launched a Global Youth Grant Scheme on 18 March 2025. This initiative provides grants, capacity-building, and mentoring to support youth-driven projects across all regions.
Call for applications
The global call for applications is inviting young people aged 18-30 to submit proposals for youth-led projects with a focus on:
Climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies that support local communities
Sustainable food systems
Regenerative agricultural practices
Packaging sustainability innovations
The initiative is fueled by the , which aims to facilitate young innovators around the world to shape the future of food.
Terms and Conditions
Published on 24 March 2025. Subject to changes.
100 grants of 8,500 USD each will be awarded to young leaders, youth-led organizations, enterprises, associations, or networks to help them create and implement changemaking solutions for social impact.
Grantees will also benefit from training sessions and mentoring throughout the development of their projects.
UNESCO’s Global Youth Grant Scheme
This initiative is part of UNESCO’s Global Youth Grant Scheme, a flagship programme led by its Social and Human Sciences Sector to mobilize partners and resources to support young people around the world with grants and capacity-strengthening opportunities.
The Grant Scheme supports two categories of youth-led initiatives: research and grassroots actions. It covers a wide range of topics related to UNESCO’s areas of expertise.
Impulso Joven
UNESCO and ٱé implemented the “Impulso Joven – Because Youth Matter” pilot programme in Latin America to provide young people with the resources and skills needed to develop and carry forward innovative solutions for positive social and environmental impact in their communities.
More than 130,000 young people and community members benefitted from the pilot, which supported 20 young leaders from 11 countries across Latin America.
ٱé
The UNESCO-ٱé partnership builds on ٱé’s 10 years of youth empowerment through its initiative. Aiming to enable 10 million young people worldwide to access economic opportunities by 2030, the initiative has helped over 5 million young people globally through apprenticeships, traineeships, and job opportunities.
Read more about the launch of the UNESCO-ٱé partnership here.
Find out more
Contact
For any questions, technical issues or suggestions, please contact: becauseyoumatter@unesco.org