Partnerships (Local, National, Regional and International Partnerships)

The partnerships programme is premised on sharing skills and knowledge with youth organizations at local, region and international level as a strategy for strengthening the
organizational capacity of YETT and its partners. The capacity building that is derived from partnerships with like-minded organizations can be classified as direct training and experience exchange. As such, concrete partnerships have been established and are
summarized in the following cooperation.

1. Local Cooperation

YETT is a loose network comprised of 42 community-based organizations dotted across the ten provinces of Zimbabwe with a focus on the following thematic areas including, but not limited to; governance, education, arts, young women development, entrepreneurship, information communication and technology and peace building. The community-based organizations assist YETT in mobilizing and implementing activities. The network has a networking relationship with stakeholders such as the Zimbabwe Youth Council (ZYC), the Ministry of Youth, Sports Arts and Recreation, the Gender Commission, Zimbabwe Council of Higher Education (ZIMCHE), Peace Ambassadors, Women Rise and Excel alumni and winter school alumni.

2. Regional Cooperation

YETT is currently in cooperation with the Swaziland Youth Empowerment Organization (LUVATSI) and the Zambian National Education Coalition (ZANEC) working on the Student Academic Freedom Regional Advocacy Programme (SAFRAP). For more information on the programme please visit www.safrap.wordpress.com . In addition, YETT utilizes on its long-term cooperation with youth networking organizations in Zambia, South Africa, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania, Mozambique and Botswana to coordinate youth cluster activities at the SADC People’s Summit thus providing an opportunity for regional advocacy. YETT participated in the 2019 SADC People’s Summit which was held in Tanzania and managed to come up with “Regional Youth Key Asks”. Furthermore, in 2019 YETT consolidated its alliances with youth organizations from various Southern African countries by hosting the Southern Africa Youth Regional Conference. Moreover, YETT has strong partnership with Youth Alive Kenya and Centre for Youth Empowerment and Civic Education (CYECE) Malawi collaborating on a Youth Participation Exchange Programme designed to foster South to South learning and sharing of experiences.

3. International Cooperation

Global Action Local Empowerment (GALE): YETT is part of the eight countries in the Global Action Local Empowerment (GALE) platform facilitated through the cooperation with the National Council of Swedish Youth Organizations (LSU) which began in 2011. The GALE cooperation seeks to strengthen YETT as a networking organization, providing opportunities for capacity building and international advocacy. Since inception the cooperation has connected YETT to other international partners. Notable contributions include the implementation of the Youth Cooperation Initiative (YCI) facilitating cooperation between Zimbabwean partner organizations and other organizations on advocacy and youth participation projects. In addition, increased cooperation between YETT in Zimbabwe and Youth Alive Kenya has facilitated mutual learning which is crucial for the capacity development of both organizations in areas such as monitoring and evaluation and financial management.

Danish Youth Council (DUF): The cooperation between DUF and YETT has existed since 2010 and the two like-minded organizations with similar interests have been working effectively to develop each other’s capacity in the areas of advocacy and capacity building of partner organizations for effective participation. The results of the cooperation can be traced in the following manner; YETT and DUF jointly participated in an advocacy training which increased YETT’s competence in planning and implementation of advocacy activities. In addition, YETT staff has received mentorship on process facilitation, which has resulted in YETT staff having increased competence in engaging with partners and other relevant stakeholders.
The cooperation also leverages on the skills that DUF has developed over the years to promote the practice of democracy. The cooperation between YETT and DUF has also benefited from the tripartite agreement with the National Council of Swedish Youth Organization (LSU) resulting in the successful coordination and hosting of the inaugural international global advocacy conference- “Participate 2015” held in Zimbabwe
YETT is currently collaborating with DUF on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cooperation together with National Youth Council of Ukraine (NYCUkraine). The SDGs explicitly call on respective organisations to apply their creativity and innovation to solve sustainable development challenges in Zimbabwe, Denmark and Ukraine. This cooperation hinges on the partnerships between the three countries to build global awareness, engage people in participation and compliment government efforts in the realization of this globally set standard. The initiatives focus on SDG 16 – Peace, justice and strong institutions and SDG 17 – Partnerships for action with the crosscutting focus on effective youth umbrella organisations and youth councils as a unifying and legitimate voice for young people.

Norwegian Agency for Change cooperation (NOREC): Fosters the mutual exchange of employees or members between organizations across the globe. The exchange facilitates the creating of fruitful exchange programmes and successful partnerships rooted in SDG 17- Partnership for the goals. In recent years, YETT has been in the cooperation with Youth Alive Kenya (YAK), Centre for Youth Empowerment and Civic Education (CYECE) Malawi and the Students’ and Academics’ Internatioanal Assistance Fund (SAIH) Norway collaborating on Professional and Youth Participation Exchange Programmes.