Baltimore, Maryland, USA -- The International Youth Foundation (IYF) announced today that it has signed an agreement with USAID that will greatly expand its ability to roll out youth employment programs worldwide. Called Youth:Work, this “Leader with Associates” Global Development Alliance (GDA) mechanism is structured to allow USAID missions and bureaus to directly support IYF’s youth employability programs and services.

"At the U.S. Agency for International Development, investing in youth is one of our major priorities. Youth:Work is a model that we can use to engage with and leverage the unique assets of local and international partners for increased development impact. As members of the global community, we all must commit ourselves to inspiring and creating opportunities for our youth to succeed," says K. David Boyer, Global Development Alliances and Senior Advisor to the Administrator on Public-Private Alliances at USAID. Under the agreement, USAID is committing US$2 million to share best practices, evaluate programs, and conduct impact assessments over the next five years.

“Youth:Work is the result of a long and productive history of USAID/IYF collaboration on youth development programs worldwide,” says Bill Reese, President and CEO of IYF. “We are thrilled to be able to move up to this next level of cooperation with USAID, so that together, we can move more quickly and efficiently to provide the employment training and other job-related services that young people so desperately need.” The new program is part of USAID’s Global Development Alliance, which promotes multi-sector partnerships as the most effective way to support economic and social development.

IYF has a successful track record in creating solutions for disadvantaged and vulnerable youth by building alliances among government agencies, corporations, foundations, and local partners. The first activity to be funded through Youth:Work will be a two-year, US $1.5 million expansion of IYF’s flagship employability program, entra21, in three Caribbean countries; Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada, and Jamaica where 700 underserved youth will be supported.

For more information on Youth:Work, please contact Kate Carpenter, Director Public Sector Business Development:
email: K.Carpenter@IYFNet.org
phone: +1-410-951-1590

About the International Youth Foundation
The International Youth Foundation (IYF) invests in the extraordinary potential of young people. Founded in 1990, IYF builds and maintains a worldwide community of businesses, governments, and civil society organizations committed to empowering youth to be healthy, productive, and engaged citizens. IYF programs are catalysts of change that help young people obtain a quality education, gain employability skills, make healthy choices, and improve their communities. To learn more visit www.iyfnet.org.