The Commonwealth Youth Gender & Equality Network (CYGEN) is a youth-led network that actively promotes and supports the meaningful inclusion of youth voices on gender equality issues in local, national, regional, Commonwealth and international agendas. We seek to improve the position of young people, and advocate for increased meaningful youth engagement and participation in existing structures, processes and governance. As a Network, we facilitate opportunities for young people to voice their concerns on gender equality issues that not only affect them, but that impact the variety of communities in which they live. CYGEN is supported by the Royal Commonwealth Society, which serves as the Secretariat of the Network.
Objectives
1. To ensure youth voices (from the commonwealth, and beyond) are represented in national, regional, Commonwealth, and international agendas and forums on gender equality issues.
2. To advocate for the development and implementation of policies which promote the well being of all young people.
3. To provide a space for young people living in the Commonwealth to share information and experiences related to gender equality. 4. To conduct research by youth, on youth issues from a gender equality perspective. 5. To provide technical advice on how to integrate youth voices into the development of programmes. 6. To engage with existing networks, advocacy efforts, and campaigns to increase the visibility of youth perspectives.
All applicants are required to fulfill the following criteria:
- Be a citizen of a Commonwealth country
- Be between the ages of 18 and 29 by 31st December 2022
- Have a proven and verifiable track record of working on gender issues (academic and/or professional)
- Have a genuine commitment to combating gender inequality
- Identify strongly with Commonwealth values and the values of CYGEN as expressed in the Gender Agenda
The deadline for membership applications is at 23:59 BST on Monday, 15 August 2022.