GRANTS AND AWARDS
GTY Youth Support Grant
GTY offers the GTY Youth Support Grant, a funding program aimed at supporting grassroots initiatives that address issues related to Youth Associated with Non-State Armed Groups(YANSAG).
Information about the 2025 grants and awards will be announced soon. Please check this page for updates.
Overview of the 2024 Grant
For details about the grant application guidelines, as well as information on the selected grantees and their project summaries, please see below.
Our Grantees and Their Projects for 2024
Personal Introduction and Motivation
My name is Adamu Usman Garko, a youth development advocate, writer, and the founder of the Open Knowledge Development Initiative—a nonprofit organization working at the intersection of civic engagement, environmental justice, and inclusive development in Nigeria. Having grown up in the Northeastern region of Nigeria, I have witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of violent conflict, particularly on young people who were forced as combatants due to poverty, lack of education, and systemic marginalization. My motivation for this project stems from a deep commitment to contribute to peacebuilding in the region. My work has always centered on elevating marginalized voices, and this project represents the next step in my lifelong mission to foster inclusive peace and build resilient communities from within.
Project Overview
The Voices of Peace Fellowship is a youth-led reintegration and peacebuilding initiative aimed at empowering former youth combatants in conflict-affected communities of Northeast Nigeria. The project targets youths between the ages of 18 and 35 who were formerly associated with insurgent groups and are now seeking to rebuild their lives and contribute positively to society. The fellowship provides comprehensive training in leadership, digital storytelling, peace advocacy, trauma healing, and community engagement. Through a series of workshops, mentorship sessions, public storytelling events, and advocacy campaigns, participants will transform into peace advocates and civic leaders. A key component of the project is the launch of the Youth Peace & Skills Network (YPSN), a platform that will support ongoing mentorship, peer learning, and advocacy beyond the fellowship.
Background of the Project
Northeast Nigeria has faced over a decade of violent conflict due to the Boko Haram insurgency and activities of other extremist groups. Thousands of young people have been forcibly conscripted or recruited due to poverty, lack of education, and systemic neglect. As these young people return to their communities—whether through surrender, escape, or disarmament—they face intense stigma, rejection, and isolation. Communities are often ill-equipped to support their reintegration, resulting in cycles of re-radicalization, unemployment, and continued insecurity. There is a pressing need for community-based solutions that not only address trauma and skill gaps, and rebuild trust. In addition, young people—both former combatants and their peers—lack platforms to voice their experiences and take part in rebuilding efforts. This project emerges as a response to that gap, rooted in the understanding that sustainable peace requires inclusive healing, mutual recognition, and youth leadership at the center of reintegration processes.
Project Goals
The Voices of Peace Fellowship seeks to achieve five interlinked goals:
1. Empower former youth combatants by providing them with leadership training, storytelling tools, psychosocial support, and digital skills to aid reintegration and personal growth.
2. Foster community reconciliation by encouraging fellows to lead peace advocacy campaigns that reduce stigma and rebuild trust with their communities.
3. Build a sustainable reintegration model that is community-owned, youth-driven, and adaptable for replication in other conflict-affected regions.
4. Promote youth civic engagement through the formation of the Youth Peace & Skills Network (YPSN), enabling ongoing mentorship, dialogue, and advocacy.
5. Amplify youth voices and public understanding of reintegration through creative storytelling, public events, and media engagement, including radio programs.
Personal Introduction and Motivation
My name is Sylvain Akonkwa Nyamwira, General Coordinator of the NGO TUSA (Unissons-nous tous pour notre paix – Let Us Unite for Our Peace), Deputy Coordinator of the Civil Society Dynamics for Sustainable Development (DSCDD), based in Uvira, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. I hold a degree in Information Technology, and I became involved in humanitarian work to actively contribute to peacebuilding, community resilience, and youth empowerment.
My motivation stems from the realities experienced by my community—marked by armed conflicts, population displacement, and lack of opportunities for youth. I firmly believe that young people can become peacebuilders if they are heard, valued, and supported in their initiatives. Through TUSA, I strive to channel this energy into tangible actions for change.
Project Overview
The project “Raising Awareness on Youth Mobilization for Conflict Management, Intercommunity Peaceful Coexistence, and the Creation of an Income-Generating Activity (IGA) for Youth Reconciliation and Cohabitation” aims to raise awareness, reintegrate, and empower YANSAG, while promoting peaceful coexistence between communities.
Through community dialogues, awareness sessions, and the establishment of Income-Generating Activities (IGAs), the project supports these youths in their socio-economic reintegration process. We emphasize intercommunity mediation, the valorization of local skills, and the creation of a secure environment to enable youth to act as peace ambassadors. The project is participatory and rooted in field realities, with strong community engagement.
Background of the Project
The Uvira region in South Kivu faces recurring intercommunity tensions fueled by poverty, social exclusion, and the presence of armed groups. Youth, often marginalized, are both victims and contributors to this instability.
Many are recruited into armed groups due to the lack of economic and social alternatives. The absence of reintegration mechanisms, mutual distrust between communities, and a lack of dialogue make it difficult to achieve lasting peace. This climate threatens the future of young people and hinders community development.
Our initiative therefore responds to the urgent need to break this cycle of violence by offering youth concrete perspectives for reintegration, reconciliation, and development.
Project Goals
Through this project, we aim to:
1. Reduce the recruitment of youth into armed groups by offering sustainable alternatives.
2. Promote peaceful coexistence among youth from different communities through dialogue and collaboration spaces.
3. Strengthen economic empowerment through IGAs co-developed with the beneficiaries.
4. Value the role of youth as agents of change by involving them directly in the design and implementation of activities.
In this way, we hope to lay the foundation for lasting peace led by the youth themselves, while strengthening social ties and solidarity between previously opposing groups.
