Call for Proposals: Youth Employment through Heritage and Culture in Yemen

Deadline: 1-Dec-23

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is inviting not-for-profit international experienced cultural development partners operating in the Arab region to submit proposals to support youth employment in Yemen through urban rehabilitation and cultural programming over two years.

The partner shall design and implement a comprehensive capacity-building programme for Yemeni CS0s, a training of trainers for local authorities, and to disburse and monitor the small-grants programme to fifteen CSOs.

As part of its EU-funded project, “Youth Employment through Heritage and Culture in Yemen” UNESCO aims at addressing youth employment in Yemen through urban rehabilitation and cultural programming. UNESCO is looking for a partner(s) to implement a long-term capacity-building and mentorship program for advanced CSOs in the cultural and creative industries from Yemen and training of trainers for local partners (SMEPS). The programme is envisioned to contribute significantly to the sustainable development of the cultural and creative industries in Yemen, empowering local CSOs mechanisms conducive to sustaining their activities after the project ends, building the capacity of SMEPS in the Culture and Creative Industries sector, and fostering artistic freedom and cultural expressions for the betterment of the country’s social fabric and economic prosperity.

Objectives and Expected Outputs/Deliverables

• The objective of this Call for Partnerships is:
  • Design and implementation of the capacity-building programme for CSOs in Yemen:
    • The Contractor will develop a comprehensive training toolkit for CSOs in the domain of culture and creative industries and implement the capacity-building programme for 15 well-established CSOs from Yemen. The 1-year long programme will consist of training workshops, mentoring sessions, and networking events. Training modules should cover all relevant topics and courses related to cultural management including proposals writing, strategic fundraising, sustainable (financial) management, digital skills development in CCI sector, marketing and design, technical workshops for artistic and cultural development, women inclusion and empowerment, etc. Mentorship sessions should complement the workshops and include experts in the field to provide support to Yemeni CSOs in strategic development The sessions may also include supporting CSOs in how to advance skills in their own domain of CCI such as music, digital games, architecture, interior design, visual communication design, product design, fashion, film, animation and video, photography, craft, culinary, publishing, advertising, performing arts, fine arts, radio-television and similar.
  • Design and implementation of a training of trainers in cultural management for representatives of local authorities
    • The contractor will develop and execute a training of trainers’ program aimed at enhancing the capacities of selected local partners in strategically managing culture and creative industries (CCI). The programme will be implemented in parallel with the capacity-building programme for CSOs (during the first year of the partnership agreement)
  • Disburse small grants to CSOs, and supervise and monitor implementation projects in Yemen. The Contractor is expected to work closely with all CSOs on preparation of project proposal with detailed budgets and support implementation for 12 months, through providing technical advice, maintaining regular online meetings, monitor implementation and review deliverables. The Contractor will be responsible for disbursement of grants to CSOs (on an average up to 25,000 USD per CSO, totaling 375,000 USD, according to proposals and budgets approved by UNESCO); and supervise the implementation process. Projects will be implemented in Yemen. The Contractor will develop a detailed monitoring tools to tract implementation of activities by all CSOs.

Duration

• The amount requested in the proposal should be commensurate with the organization’s administrative and financial management capabilities. In principle, project duration will not exceed 24 months.

Beneficiaries

• Yemeni artists, cultural operators, and practitioners (with a particular focus on women) actively engaged in medium to advanced cultural associations.
• SMEPS and other selected authorities involved in the cultural and creative sector in Yemen.

Eligibility Criteria

• A UNESCO Implementation Partner is an entity with a not-for-profit status to which UNESCO has entrusted partially or fully the implementation of programmes or projects specified in a signed document, along with the assumption of full responsibility and accountability for the effective use of resources and the delivery of outputs as set forth in such a document.
• The following mandatory criteria shall be met for eligibility:
  • To be an International NGO (INGO) with active license.
  • Proven record of experience in supporting organizations in Arab region in arts and/or culture. At least 5 years of experience working in the fields of cultural programming and/or entrepreneurship.
  • Experience in organizing capacity-building and mentorship program for culture operators.
  • Experience in grant management for culture organizations
  • Qualified personnel in cultural management, training, research, networking, monitoring and evaluation, and communication, able to communicate and operate effectively in both Arabic and English.
  • To have a sound financial system and appropriate internal control procedures. Partners shall have a sound financial/programmatic structure to ensure a successful undertaking of the work assignment, proven by experience and good reputation (including their key personnel), well established financial and administration system, and human resources policy.
  • Moreover, the following desirable criteria will be applied:
    • Previous experience in working with the UN or the EU
    • A former cooperation experience with Yemeni artists and cultural organizations.
  • Important: INGOs submitting their proposal in partnership with other INGOs or NGOs (sub-contractor or co-implementer) shall detail each organization’s role, identify the leading partner that will sign the Implementation Agreement and provide separate UNESCO Partner Identification Forms, one for each organization.

For more information, visit United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM).