On January 19, 2023, a youth-led association called "Local Youth Corner" (LOYOC), asked the UNFPA Representative to help it build its capacities in areas such as: (i) conducting inter-generational dialogue, (ii) designing a national action plan to help operationalizing the National Youth, Peace and Security Commission set up by the government of Cameroon; (iii) designing and implementing youth awareness and mobilization campaigns to strengthen young people leadership and participation in development, security and peace.
Two weeks later, UNFPA provided a "Grant" to LOYOC with the following objectives:
• Enhancing the capacity of the young staff members in conducting social and behavior change activities on the ground. The theme chosen was aligned with the global campaign "Zero tolerance against female genital mutilation (FGM)". After the training, a campaign was carried out in regions with a high prevalence of FGM, namely the South-West, North-West, Far-North, and the Centre.
• Mobilizing young people for more commitment to sustainable development issues like gender equality, the fight against gender-based violence, security and peacebuilding.
• Training both LOYOC technical staff and members of the National Commission on Youth, Peace and Security in conducting inter-generational dialogue sessions and defining the Commission’s annual work plan.
• Training LOYOC technical staff on the use of digital and multimedia communication approaches to drive increased outreach impact.
UNFPA also mobilized its experts, helping LOYOC to acquire both the technical and administrative skills required to become a full implementing partner of UNFPA in Cameroon.