This five -year transformer project, launched in partnership with World Affairs Canadawill support more than 18,000 young people disadvantaged in preparing a resilient future for climate change.
Ottawa, is, August 12, 2025 / CNW/ – On the occasion of the International Youth Day, the day of recognition of contributions and unique challenges of young people in global development, SOS Children Canada is proud to launch its new initiative Green growth – empower young people for a green future (Green growth), focused on social and environmental difficulties faced by disadvantaged young people, more particularly young women, to ensure a sustainable economic future.
Green growth, a five -year initiative launched in partnership with the government of Canada through global affairs Canadaaim to help more than 18,000 young people in Ethiopia, Rwanda And in Somalia to overcome obstacles to employment and entrepreneurship and prepare for careers in green and emerging sectors. The project aims at the most vulnerable young people in urban and semi-rural regions, in particular those who have no more parental support or who are likely to lose it, who are neither educated, in employment nor in training, or which are part of marginalized groups, such as young people who have special needs, adolescents and monoparental mothers.
The United Nations report on the 2025 sustainable development objectives indicates that young people come up against continuously high unemployment rates and are therefore deprived of opportunities to acquire skills or work experience. It should be noted that it is one in five young people – in the world – who is neither in employment, nor in studies, nor in training, and that young women are twice as likely to be concerned as men. In addition, climate change compromises even more access for young people (especially young women) to economic outlets, since disasters linked to the disruption of the climate force the movement of millions of people and aggravate food insecurity and social instability. Ethiopia, for example, is still trying to recover from the worst drought known in 40 years, which has been followed by important floods, while constantly hovering the threat of another drought.
“The SOS Children’s SOS team is proud to launch the green growth project in partnership with World Affairs Canadasaid Thomas Bauer, president and chief executive officer of SOS Children’s Villages Canada. Unemployment among young people and climate change are two deeply interconnected crises – especially in vulnerable regions of East Africa. The Green growth project offers an effective solution: allow young people to acquire skills, participate in training and take advantage of the opportunities they need to build sustainable livelihoods in sectors that are resilient to climate variations, but which are also carrying solutions to the climate crisis. Whether they work in the fields of clean energy, sustainable agriculture or ecotechnology, young people can be major change players for economic recovery and environmental sustainability. »»
Set up to meet the specific needs of vulnerable young people who live in high -risk regions in Ethiopia, at Rwanda And in Somalia, the green growth project will promote the strengthening of young people’s skills and the expansion of access to employment and entrepreneurship occasions in green and emerging sectors by the following means:
- Creation of partnerships with training and technical and vocational education establishments in order to offer practical, accessible and gender into account;
- Reduction of obstacles to education, practical training, employment and entrepreneurship for marginalized young people;
- Transmission to young people of technical and ecological skills adapted to market needs in order to increase their employability;
- offer of entrepreneurship training and business development services to help young people start and grow small businesses;
- Institution of partnerships with the private sector to improve access to decent jobs and support companies led by young people.
Thanks to green growth, more than 18,000 young people will acquire the skills necessary to occupy a job or create a business. The project will also mobilize employers, business support organizations and financial institutions to facilitate access for young people to employment and entrepreneurship, by creating a concrete link between education and employment. What is more, Green growth should be indirectly useful to some 81,000 other young people, who will have better access to education and employment, which families and communities will benefit in the long term.
SOS Children’s Villages Canada
SOS Children’s Villages Canada, founded in 1969, is part of the world’s largest charitable organization – working in more than 130 countries – dedicated to the support and protection of children and young people deprived of parental support or at risk of losing it, as well as in defense of their rights.
We adopt a holistic approach focused on children and young people to help them, as well as their families and their communities, to prosper in the long term. We reinforce families to prevent the abandonment of children, offer warm homes to children in need, we support the most vulnerable in time of disasters and emergencies, and promote the learning and empowerment of children and young people so that they fully flourish and break the cycle of poverty – for themselves and for future generations.
Go to Soschildrensvillages.ca to find out more and join us so that no child is growing alone.
SOURCE SOS Children’s Villages Canada
Responsibility for the media: Stacey Jewer, communications director, SOS Children’s Villages Canada, [email protected]
