CFAs: Future-Ready Young People: Building Skills, Resilience and Leadership Initiative (Maldives)

Deadline: 14-Sep-2026

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Maldives is seeking civil society organizations to strengthen youth development programmes by introducing competency-based learning pathways that equip children and adolescents with practical skills, resilience, leadership abilities, and active citizenship. The initiative is designed to modernize existing youth development structures across schools and communities while creating sustainable learning opportunities that prepare young people for a rapidly changing social, technological, and economic environment. An indicative budget of 95,000 is available to support implementation of the initiative.

About the UNICEF Maldives Youth Development Initiative

Children and adolescents in the Maldives are growing up in an environment shaped by rapid technological, social, and economic change. While schools and communities already provide opportunities for service, leadership, and participation, many young people have limited access to structured programmes that systematically develop practical competencies. UNICEF aims to address this gap by strengthening existing youth development programmes rather than creating entirely separate systems. The initiative will integrate competency-based learning into established learning pathways and ensure that young people can progressively develop and demonstrate practical skills. The programme will focus on creating inclusive, high-quality opportunities that can be delivered across the Maldives through strengthened institutional systems, trained facilitators, updated learning materials, and effective monitoring mechanisms. Key Objectives The initiative aims to strengthen youth development programmes through a comprehensive competency-based approach.

Key objectives include:

- Modernizing and improving existing youth development learning materials. - Developing new competency-based learning content. - Creating structured progression pathways for children and adolescents. - Strengthening communication, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration skills. - Developing problem-solving and decision-making abilities. - Building resilience and leadership competencies. - Improving digital literacy and innovation skills. - Promoting advocacy and active citizenship. - Strengthening child rights awareness. - Encouraging community service, volunteerism, and youth-led action. - Building the capacity of programme leaders and facilitators. - Institutionalizing improved learning approaches for sustainable nationwide implementation. UNICEF TRAILS Framework A central component of the initiative is the integration of the UNICEF Maldives skills framework known as TRAILS — Technical, Resilient, Agency-Driven Innovative Young Leaders. The TRAILS Framework will be embedded into existing learning materials and youth development pathways to create a sustainable competency-based model. Through the framework, children and adolescents will have opportunities to develop and demonstrate competencies related to: - Child rights. - Resilience. - Leadership. - Digital literacy. - Active citizenship. - Communication. - Critical thinking. - Creativity. - Collaboration. - Problem-solving. - Decision-making. - Advocacy. - Innovation. The approach is intended to move beyond theoretical learning by giving young people opportunities to apply their competencies through practical activities and community engagement. Practical Learning and Youth-Led Activities The programme will encourage children and adolescents to put their learning into practice through meaningful activities.

These may include:

- Community service. - Advocacy initiatives. - Environmental action. - Youth-led projects. - Volunteer activities. - Active citizenship initiatives. - Peer-led awareness activities. Such opportunities can help young people strengthen their confidence, leadership abilities, teamwork, problem-solving skills, and sense of responsibility while contributing to their communities. Training of Trainers Model Capacity building will be a major part of the initiative. National and regional trainers and facilitators will be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to deliver competency-based youth development programmes. A Training of Trainers (ToT) model will help create a sustainable system in which trained personnel can support wider implementation across different locations in the Maldives. The approach is expected to contribute to: - Consistent programme delivery. - Increased facilitator capacity. - Wider nationwide reach. - Sustainability beyond the initial implementation period. - Improved quality of youth learning activities. - Stronger institutional ownership of the competency-based approach. Youth Champions and Peer Ambassadors The initiative will also establish a network of youth champions and peer ambassadors. These young leaders can help promote participation, volunteerism, leadership, and engagement among their peers. The network will support the expansion of structured youth development opportunities and encourage children and adolescents to take an active role in their communities. Peer-based engagement can also help create a stronger culture of participation and youth leadership across schools and communities. Institutional Strengthening Beyond direct activities with children and adolescents, the initiative places strong emphasis on strengthening the systems that support youth development. Selected organizations will be expected to contribute to the institutionalization of the UNICEF TRAILS Framework and updated learning approaches.

This includes strengthening:

- Institutional systems. - Learning and training structures. - Facilitator capacity. - Quality assurance mechanisms. - Monitoring systems. - Programme implementation processes. - Sustainable Training of Trainers structures. The goal is to establish an approach that can continue to provide high-quality competency-based learning opportunities acros