Funds for Human Settlement Programme

United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-HABITAT) has launched the 3rd round of funding for the UN-HABITAT. The Urban Youth Fund goaled at advancement in the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the Habitat Agenda by supporting youth-led projects implemented in cities and towns of developing countries.

Who Can Apply
This Fund is mainly for urban youth in developing world. The goal of the fund is to advance the achievements of the Millennium Development goals and the Habitat Agenda. The fund supports in terms of grants up to USD 25,000 to youth-led projects. The projects can be like piloting innovative approaches to employment, good urban governance, shelter and secure tenure.

Objectives
This fund promotes the poverty reduction goal of the Millennium Development Goals and the Habitat Agenda for better, more sustainable and equitable towns and cities throughout the developing world.
By undertaking research on best practices in youth-led development the fund will also create a greater awareness of the urgency to ensure that youth concerns are integrated into national and local development policies and strategies.

How to Apply
The Applicant of organizations must be lead by young people aged 15-32 years and be based in cities or towns in developing countries to qualify for a grant. Support is to be provided primarily for those working to improve slum conditions and to raise opportunities for young people growing up in poverty. Projects encouraging gender equality or involving partnerships with the government or the private sector are particularly encouraged.
Applications should be submitted online using http://www.unhabitatyouthfund.org/Default.aspx
The Selection Process
Applications submitted to the Youth Fund will pass through a detailed evaluation process to guarantee impartiality and equal treatment to all applicants.
The process consists of 5 steps:
• Applications are registered and given a unique reference number in online database.
• Applications are checked for an eligibility to verify that they fulfil the basic criteria required to receive grants from the fund.
• Eligible applications go through a quality assessment and are scored on different criteria related to the quality of the project proposal and the priorities and objectives of the Urban Youth Fund.
• The highest rated applications from each geographical region are short listed.
• The Steering Committee of the Fund will review the short listed applications and will decide on which applications to approve.

Last Date
Last date for application is 15th April 2011.
There is no need of FCRA account for this funding
Address for any communication
Asia and the Pacific eSocialSciences
T-131, Tower 1, 3rd Floor,
International Infotech Park,
Vashi, Navi Mumbai 400703,
Maharashtra, India.
Tel: +91 22 27814436
Attn: UN-HABITAT Youth Fund
youthfund@esocialsciences.com
For direct link to UN HABITAT website, please http://www.unhabitat.org/categories.asp?catid=637