Impact

Two decades of measurable results have earned IYF its distinction as a leading resource for global youth development. As widespread concerns about youth issues escalated, key influencers, leaders and policy makers were looking for answers. They found them at IYF.

IYF remained a driving force in the youth development field throughout 2010, as our name and messages reached a greater audience than ever before. Beginning in January, IYF heightened the media exposure of youth development issues with a special report in the Financial Times called “Investing in Youth”—produced bi-annually through a collaboration between the Financial Times and IYF. This four-page supplement connected the dots between supporting youth today and solving the global economic crisis.

Picking up on these themes of the growing unemployment crisis and disengaged youth, IYF’s fourth edition of YOUth magazine highlighted the critical urgency of investing in today’s young people—and the ways that young people themselves can help boost economic and social progress around the world.

Growing Online

IYF made it easier to track our progress and stay on top of the latest youth development news with the launch of a dynamic new website. We also unveiled IYFLive.net—a single source for channeling current events and commentary in real time via social media outlets. The site includes Twitter feeds, the new IYF Blog and CEO’s Viewpoint to expand our profile in relevant, immediate ways.

In the Spotlight

Nowhere did our expertise in youth development shine brighter than at the IYF Youth Leadership & Livelihoods Conference in Washington, DC. This unprecedented gathering in October united 220 youth advocates, corporate leaders, government officials and civil society stalwarts. Top representatives from USAID and the World Bank, the U.S. State Department, executives from Microsoft and Starbucks, and our own YouthActionNet® fellows helped lead lively panel discussions throughout the event.

Keynote Address, 2008 Nobel Laureate and Former President of Finland

Building on this energy and momentum, IYF convened its 2010 global partner network meeting that same week, which attracted leaders representing approximately 70 youth-serving organizations from nearly 50 countries worldwide—the most ever in our 20-year history of such international partner conferences. Read more.

Sharing the News

IYF believes in building on—and sharing—what works. We are now developing a new set of studies and reports that will disseminate best practices on youth employability at events throughout 2011. Topics include technology’s role in youth employment initiatives, working with highly vulnerable youth, measuring youth-run enterprises and the lessons learned from taking our entra21 employment program to scale in countries throughout Latin America.