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A note from Youth Challenge International’s Executive Director, Bryan Cox

Hi everyone,

We’ve accomplished great things this year thanks to your support for youth as drivers of positive change!

Let’s celebrate our 2020 highlights, together:

• We launched our new HerStart Innovate the Future program with a bold goal to support 10,000 young women in Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda to become social entrepreneurs over the next 7 years. To grow the program in our current context, young people across Canada are virtually volunteering through HerStart E-Fellowships – check it out and join them!
• We expanded our Youth Climate Action programs to continue the successful Innovate MY Future program and launch the new Climate Solutions program. This year, over 200 youth in our Climate Action Network are tackling climate issues across the GTHA – learn more!
• We wrapped up the 5-year EQWIP HUBs project which saw the power of global collaboration to:
  • • Provide 85,000+ young people with access to employment and entrepreneurship programs in 6 countries.
    • Create opportunities for 600+ Canadians to grow skills and build innovative solutions with communities.
    • Launch or scale 580 new businesses, 60% of which are owned by women, through seed funding and mentorship.
• In February, our #InnovateMYFuture Climate Action Catalyst Summit brought together over 150 youth and stakeholders from across the GTHA. The event also featured a panel with local climate champions Diana Yoon, Dave Meslin, Cindy Gangaram, and Miranda Baksh, and keynote speaker, Larissa Crawford.
• In early March, 37 people from YCI and Mastercard teams around the globe took on the challenge to summit Kilimanjaro and raise funds for our youth innovation programs. We’re still so inspired by the #YCIKili2020 team and look forward to the next challenge!