Call for Proposals: British Council’s Youth Connect Programme in Libya

Deadline: 17-Jun-25

The British Council is inviting proposals from Libya Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) with a strong focus on youth to support the implementation of its Youth Connect Programme.

This initiative aims to equip young people, especially young women, with the skills, confidence, and opportunities needed to thrive and take an active role in shaping their communities.

Through enhanced well-being, resilience, and collective engagement with key stakeholders, the programme fosters youth-led change and community development. Youth Connect builds on the success of previous British Council programmes such as Active citizen, and YMV drawing on their foundations to deliver deeper impact.

Objectives

• Youth Connect is a 9-month initiative funded by the British Council, aimed at fostering meaningful youth engagement and advancing gender equality in Libya. The project contributes to two overarching objectives:
  • Strengthening Civil Society and Local Engagement
  • Expanding Youth Networks and Women’s Leadership
• To achieve these goals, the project focuses on the following specific objectives:
  • Enhancing CSO Approaches to Youth’s Empowerment and Inclusivity 
    • The programme will work closely with civil society partners to promote inclusive practices, particularly encouraging the participation of underrepresented groups such as people with disabilities, who are often difficult to reach in the Libyan context.
  • Building the Capacity of Young Women and Men (Ages 18–35) 
    • Youth Connect targets marginalized areas, equipping young people with the skills and knowledge to engage constructively with local stakeholders. This approach aims to install hope, increase awareness of community roles, reduce vulnerability to negative pathways, and strengthen youth partnerships with local actors and duty bearers. Through this, the project will enhance stakeholder confidence in youth participation, enabling young people to lead collective actions, influence local processes, and drive long-term community impact.
  • Strengthening Youth Networks 
    • The programme will continue to support and grow the recently establish and dedicated Young Women’s Network and the broader Youth Connect Network. These platforms aim to:
      • Foster alumni engagement and maintain long-term connections.
      • Promote safe and effective online participation.
      • Enhance technical capacity and confidence of youth through mentoring, training, and development opportunities—delivered in collaboration with CSO partners.
      • Facilitate dialogue and community building by creating spaces for idea sharing, awareness-raising, initiative exchange, and social interaction, fostering a sense of belonging.
      • Strengthen connections between youth, experts, influencers, and stakeholders to amplify success stories, promote leadership, and unlock opportunities for collaboration.

Introduction and Objectives of Youth Connect

• Youth Connect is a youth skills-development programme, focused on addressing issues of priority to young people in their local context. Through enabling young people to gain skills in identifying their own priorities, researching these issues, consulting with one another and wider stakeholders, and collectively and collaboratively deciding on aligned priorities and delivery mechanisms. Through workshops, dialogues, and collaborative initiatives, the programme aims to increase youth hope that change is possible and increase opinion within stakeholders that engagement of young women and men in decision-making is desirable.
• The objectives of the programme are:
  • Providing youth with training to learn new skills, especially young women and young people from marginalized groups, through a comprehensive skills development programme along with opportunities for capacity building, personal growth, and positive attitudes towards building relationships with people who are different from them, while increasing their ability to value difference and diversity. Furthermore, to develop the young people’s sense of social responsibility and promote good governance, engagement, and youth advocacy.
  • Enabling youth to develop a sense of purpose and build their skills in conflict sensitive dialogue with a breadth of stakeholders.
  • Fostering collaborative engagement between young people and key stakeholders in a way that enables collective action and addresses the priority concerns of youth and meet local community needs in conflict sensitive ways (identified through consultation and community research).

Funding Information

• The maximum grant available for the delivery of one cohort is up to £12,000, to cover the implementation of project activities across selected cities in Libya.

Eligibility Criteria

• They welcome applications from CSOs with a proven track record in youth engagement and empowerment, particularly those experienced in working with young women.
• Activity timeline: All proposed activities must begin no later than July and be completed by begging of March.
• Organisational capacity: The organisation must demonstrate the ability to implement the proposed activities, with a proven track record in managing similar projects and initiatives. The organisation must have a physical presence in Libya and be officially registered with the relevant Ministry or Office.
• Legal and financial requirements: The selected partner must be able to enter into a grant agreement with the British Council and have a local bank account in the name of the organisation.
• Experience in youth empowerment: The organisation must have extensive experience in delivering youth-focused training, particularly to young women, and must maintain access to a network of facilitators, trainers, and mentors.
• Delivery standards and quality: The organisation must have the capacity to deliver the programme to the specified standards, ensuring high-quality implementation throughout the project.
• Project team requirements: The selected partner must appoint a dedicated project team of at least three full-time members, including a project manager who will be fully available and committed throughout the programme’s delivery. The team should demonstrate effective time management, dedication, and active participation in all activities

For more information, visit British Council.