IFRC, Limitless Youth Innovation Academy – Climate and Environment in Humanitarian Action

• Youth volunteers from the Red Cross Red Crescent network
• Staff members of National Societies
• Communities experiencing the impacts of the climate and environmental crises
• National Societies interested in implementing a local Limitless innovation support system
• Innovation hubs, communities, and local partners connected to National Societies

• Global innovation support system established for young people around the world to help them design and implement more effective innovation projects to address the impacts of climate and environmental crises in their communities.
• 1’000 projects implemented that are contributing to reducing the impacts of climate and environmental crises in local communities, reaching 1’000’000 people in at least 80 countries.
• A global talent pool of young Red Cross Red Crescent change makers, who are innovation ambassadors and practitioners in their National Societies and agents of change in their communities.
• A comprehensive training package that can be downloaded or replicated by others that educates young people in innovation, climate and environmental issues and leadership.
• Support for National Societies to implement a local innovation support system for volunteers to help build institutional approaches that enable ongoing and more effective innovation to a range of challenges facing their communities.

Expected results:  

• 100 youth trained as innovation leads acting as mentors in the program
• 10’000 youth volunteers from the Red Cross Red Crescent network worldwide trained on innovation and innovative project design
• 1’000 climate and environment projects with innovation approaches designed, led and implemented by youth
• 10 National Societies implemented local innovation support system as part of the structure of the organisation

Results from previous phases:  

Launched in 2021, IFRC Limitless was designed to address the impacts caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, by surfacing and supporting young people with promising ideas for how to address those impacts. The program was highly successful. Over 1’000 youth volunteers from 72 countries were selected to participate, they designed and implemented 333 initiatives reaching some 300’000 people in urban, rural, and often underserved communities. In total CHF 364’000 (CHF 1’093 per initiative on average) were invested in youth volunteers to help them achieve these results. 

Lessons learnt from this experience can be used for maximizing the impact of the proposed project. In addition, existing innovation frameworks within National Societies can be used to facilitate a richer and effective ecosystem for nurturing youth-driven innovations.

• Global Youth Mobilization Initiative 2.0 (six organizations of youth volunteering: Scouts, YMCA, World YMCA, The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, World Association of Guide Scouts and Girl Scouts, and IFRC; the World Health Organization and the United Nations Foundation; with support of the European Union)
• Different Red Cross Red Crescent organizations
• Monash University Australia