"Youth Leads Change" is the narrative that the SOU JOVEM project, which will be launched today (16.03) at 5pm in Maputo at the Hotel Vip, is intended to create, according to a press release that MZNews had access to.

The project will be implemented at national level and is co-financed by the European Union (EU) and Plan International Finland and implemented in consortium by Plan International Mozambique and CDD - Center for Democracy and Development. According to the document consulted by MZNews.

The project will be implemented over a 3-year period (2023-2025), drawing on lessons learned in the areas of youth organizational capacity building, economic empowerment, employability skills and opportunities, gender, transformational leadership, among others.

According to the press release, the project covers six thousand six hundred and twenty-five (6,625) young beneficiaries, aged between 18 and 35, of whom 60% are women.

"As a global goal, the "I am Young" project is expected to have an impact on 26,580 people, through communication actions, content and various initiatives," the document states.

Sou Jovem" aims to "empower young people in organizations/associations to participate in democratic processes in Mozambique", through concrete actions such as the creation of the Youth Sounding Board (YSB), which is a consultative and necessary body to bring the voices, needs, interests and rights of young people to the center of the European Union's decision-making processes in Mozambique.

The document also says that the YSB will be made up of 20 young people (60% women) who will go through a rigorous selection process, where they will then form a strong body to convey the perspectives and ambitions of young Mozambicans to the European Union in Mozambique.

Also within the scope of the SOU JOVEM project, the aim is to: Train Young Champions and members of youth organizations/associations, where they will be trained and inspired to become agents of change, with the support of small funds to develop youth-led initiatives; - Train young people to become agents of change, with the support of small funds to develop youth-led initiatives; - Train young people to become agents of change, with the support of small funds to develop youth-led initiatives.

Develop lessons learned and good practices from implemented actions for further dissemination, giving greater visibility to youth activism in the media and through advocacy campaigns and events; - Carry out youth-led research, which will serve to inform and design advocacy and communication activities, and produce evidence on the current situation of youth activism and engagement in Mozambique.