Project Name: BIJOYEE

Duration: 5 years

Funded by: USAID

Summary: The USAID BIJOYEE Activity is a five-year initiative grounded in Positive Youth Development (PYD) principles and aimed at enhancing inclusive and locally-led development in Bangladesh. The USAID BIJOYEE Activity will provide soft skills training to 250,000 youth (within 18–35 years of age), of which 82% will be among those not in education, employment, or training (NEET), and 18% will be from among youth in education, employment, or training (EET). Within the total numbers, 60% will be women; 6% from host communities in/around Cox’s Bazaar; 1-3% youth with disabilities; 1-7% youth from indigenous communities, with diverse sexual orientation and gender identities (SOGI), dalits, or gig economy workers. Sixty percent of the participants are expected to be engaged in new employment through the project, including 10,000 entrepreneurs. The project is being implemented in urban and peri-urban areas of Dhaka, Chattogram, Khulna, and Rangpur. The USAID BIJOYEE Activity will also develop the capacity of 300 grassroots Youth Lead Organizations (YLO)/ Youth Serving Organizations (YSOs), and develop the capacity of 4000 human resource management officials in the private sector.

The USAID BIJOYEE Activity is being implemented by a consortium led by CARE Bangladesh. The consortium partners include Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC), JAAGO Foundation, and UCEP Bangladesh. The Dhrubotara Youth Development Foundation/DYDF and The Earth Society are UCEP Bangladesh’s downstream partners in this project. Technical support is being provided on issues of disability and accessibility (by Access Bangladesh Foundation), SOGI inclusion (Bandhu Social Welfare Society), indigenous youth issues Tahzingdong, dignified work (Safety and Rights Society). The USAID BIJOYEE Activity will also work closely with the Directorate of Youth Development (DYD) and the National Youth Council on building an enabling environment for youth by reinforcing effective local youth systems.

The USAID BIJOYEE Activity recognizes that the training provided through its interventions must, on one hand, be able to equip youth (NEET and in EET) to access employment opportunities in the market and, on the other hand, must also provide employers with skilled employees required for their workplace. The junction between training and employability therefore demands a cohesive strategy in an ever-evolving professional landscape.