Adolescents and youth are in the center of UNFPA’s mandate and are integrated in all advocacy efforts and program worldwide. In Sudan the youth make up a significant proportion of the population. The 15-35 and 10-35 age groups make up 34% and 46% of the total population respectively. The annual population growth rate is high at 2.5 per cent, due to the high total fertility rate (5.2 children per woman) 1*. Although approximately two thirds of all Sudanese live in rural areas, there has been a rapid increase in the urban population, predominantly in the national and state capitals. The national youth strategy places a commitment towards prioritizing the needs of young people with respect to education, health and well-being, economic participation and social cohesion. Later on, they can contribute to harnessing the demographic dividend if well-equipped and given the opportunity.

Over the years UNFPA has worked in close collaboration with other UN agencies, government, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), including youth serving organizations in mobilizing global commitment to respond to young people’s realities and needs in the area of Sexual and Reproductive Health. UNFPA’s Strategic plan recognizes that young people’s health, education, skills-building and overall development are of utmost global urgency for sustained socio-economic development. Investing in young people’s development is the most strategic (and cost-effective) intervention for achieving all the sustainable development goals.

UNFPA Country Office in Khartoum is therefore seeking to identify 10 Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) members to allow young people the opportunity to lead and advocate for their own development, strengthen young people's leadership and meaningful engagement with government, UN Agencies, NGOs and all other developmental stakeholders especially on issues concerning them.

The Youth Advisory Panel:

In 2009, UNFPA Sudan established a Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) to actualize our commitment to empower young people to participate in decisions that affect their lives and express their views and opinions in accordance with basic human rights principles. The YAP gives young people a voice and helps to guide UNFPA’s priority-setting in this core area of our mandate and involves young people and youth-serving organizations in advising UNFPA in the design of youth-friendly policies and programs from a results-based perspective. The YAP demonstrates a shift away from working for young people, to working in partnership with young people to ensure youth-friendly approaches and action.

Purpose of the Youth Advisory Panel

Scaling up youth participation in shaping and advancing the youth agenda in Sudan through meaningful and active engagement in adolescents and youth programs and events led by UNFPA at country and regional levels. 

While reiterating their dynamic and innovative informal nature, the YAPs will mainly:

• Ensure that different voices of diverse profiles of adolescents/young people are well represented and communicated. This will be in the context of boosting dialogue, information exchange and knowledge sharing.
• Provide advice and engage at all stages of adolescent/youth programming led by UNFPA at country and regional levels to ensure quality response to needs and expectations of young people they represent, and reinforce youth friendliness of UNFPA interventions.
• Actively engage and contribute to planning, preparations, organization as well as evaluation of key youth events convened by UNFPA.
• Contribute to development and dissemination of relevant messages, material and publications.
• Identify and promote research on young people and by young people in countries of the region that UNFPA could potentially, directly or indirectly, support.

Membership’s Criteria\Provisions:

• Aged between 15 – 29 years old.
• Motivated and committed to serve on purely voluntary basis.
• Being able to communicate fluently in both Arabic and English in verbal and writing communication
• UNFPA will ensure gender balance as well as representation of youth with disabilities in all convened YAPs.
• Focused emphasis to ensure representative selection of adolescents/young members with diverse profiles (i.e. education; socio-economic; regions; membership and non-membership in existing networks; linguistic skills, and other most vulnerable as per specific country’s definition).
• It will be desirable to equally include some representation of adolescents/youth who are: (a) considered as youth influencers\leaders; (b) have active experience in Youth Work; as well as, (c) those who are familiar with UNFPA programs.
• Once selected, members must be committed to their voluntary and informal service within the panel(s); including regular communication and participation in the panel’s meetings.
• It will be desirable if selected members will be willing and able to travel from time to time to participate in key events\meetings.
• Above mentioned criteria to be clearly indicated in the CV or Motivational letter

Remuneration:

Membership of the Youth Advisory Panel is purely voluntary and there is no remuneration, UNFPA will cover the costs of travel and accommodation for members to attend approved meetings of the Youth Advisory Panel.

It is expected that Panel members will benefit from participation in forums and processes that seek to improve the situation of young people and from improved understanding and knowledge of Sexual & Reproductive Health and Rights, Gender Equality, HIV prevention and youth development. Panel members will also benefit from updates regarding emerging global development frameworks and increased access to information that they may share with their organizations and networks.

How to apply:

Interested applicants are requested to submit the following to shakir@unfpa.org

• Letter of motivation
• CV
• Letter of support / endorsement from the organization/ schools to which you are affiliated.

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, teamwork, respect for diversity, integrity and a healthy balance of work and life.  We are committed to maintaining our balanced gender distribution and therefore encourage women to apply. Notice: There is no application, processing or other fee at any stage of the application process.  UNFPA does not solicit or screen for information in respect of HIV or AIDS and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status