Nestlé and UNESCO Partner on Youth Program for Positive Social Impact

The two companies are providing resources and skills needed for youth to get involved with their communities.

2 Min Read
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Nestlé and UNESCO are working together to provide the resources and skills needed for youth to develop solutions to achieve positive social impact in their communities.Image courtesy of UNESCO

Nestlé and UNESCO have announced a new partnership to provide young people with the resources and the skills they need to develop innovative solutions to achieve positive social impact in their communities. The project will begin in Latin America with a call for applications. The end-goal is to scale-up the partnership to global level in the future.

The partnership, Because Youth Matter, will be carried out by UNESCO in cooperation with Nestlé. This year, 20 grants of $10,000 USD each will be awarded to young leaders, entrepreneurs, and youth organizations to help them create and implement changemaking solutions for social impact.

Grantees will benefit from training sessions and mentoring throughout the development of their projects from Nestlé's and UNESCO's experts. With UNESCO's support, the grantees will also showcase their ideas and solutions to policy makers and civil society actors, to increase impact.

A global jury composed of young leaders and experts from Nestlé and UNESCO will assess the applications. The grantees, aged 18-30, will be selected on the basis of their potential to achieve social change in their communities.

This partnership aims to help young people to reach their full potential at a moment when the multiple crises are affecting the world. 

"Through this exciting new partnership with UNESCO, we hope to make a difference and help future leaders find their voice and put their ideas into practice," said Laurent Freixe, Nestlé's CEO for Zone Latin America and founder of the Nestlé Needs YOUth initiative, launched in 2013.

This partnership builds on Nestlé's 10 years of youth empowerment through its Nestlé needs YOUth initiative. With the goal of enabling 10 million young people around the world access economic opportunities by 2030, the initiative helps youth gain access to apprenticeships, traineeships, and job opportunities. Globally, it has benefited more than 5 million young people across the three pillars: employment & employability, agripreneurship, and entrepreneurship. The new partnership with UNESCO is an important step in Nestlé's commitment to youth.

"UNESCO is partnering with Nestlé, to help bring young peoples' ideas to fruition so they can help transform our society. Our joint program will create a space for young people to have impact, inspiring many others, old and young, to follow suit. The solution to the multiple crises we experience is to have all young hands-on deck," said Gabriela Ramos, assistant director-general for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO.

'Because Youth Matter' is part of UNESCO's Global Youth Grant Scheme, a program that mobilizes financial and in-kind support for young people around the world. The organization has 20 years of experience working with young people worldwide by establishing and supporting youth-led initiatives and networks, strengthening youth capacities, fostering their knowledge production through the 'Young as Researchers Initiative', and creating dialogue spaces between youth, policymakers, and other partners.

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Established in 1983, Powder & Bulk Solids (PBS) serves industries that process, handle, and package dry particulate matter, including the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical markets.

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