Deadline: 29-Sep-2025
The International AIDS Society invites you to implement a six-month innovation project (from April to October 2026) that addresses a need for young people living with and affected by HIV.
Selected Young Leaders will be awarded: USD 10,000 seed grant to implement and/or scale up an HIV-related innovative project over a period of six months (April to October 2026) Capacity building in monitoring and evaluation, reporting, and communications and networking opportunities Travel to AIDS 2026, the 26th International AIDS Conference, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Inclusion in the AIDS 2026 Young Leaders Programme.
Each Young Leader must be affiliated with and logistically supported by an organization working in HIV and/or sexual and reproductive health and rights or related areas. To be eligible, applicants must be between 18 and 30 years old, ideally under 25, and must be willing to attend AIDS 2026 from 26 to 31 July 2026. Young Leaders must also be able and willing to report and communicate with the IAS in English.
The host organization plays a central role in the programme, as it must be a registered charitable organization that is willing to undergo additional eligibility checks. It must provide a point of contact who will actively mentor the selected Young Leader, offer logistical support for day-to-day implementation of the project, and manage all funds related to the seed grant. The host organization must also be able and willing to communicate with the IAS in English.
Applications will be reviewed and selected based on innovation and clarity of project plan, evidence of project sustainability, strength of youth engagement, leadership qualities of the proposed Young Leader, and the capacity of the host organization. The review process will involve scoring by at least one Young Leader and one IAS representative, followed by discussions with the Youth Hub Grant Committee, which will vote on the top five applications. The deadline to apply is Monday, 29 September 2025, at 23:59 CEST.
For more information, visit IAS.