Pact for Youth opens registrations for 600 places with a scholarship of R$400

The Pact for Youth focuses on training young people aged 15 to 29 in social participation and community leadership - Laryssa Lomenha/JUVrio

Starting this Thursday (August 31), applications are open for 8 spots in the new classes of the Pact for Youth, a project by the Special Secretariat for Youth in Rio de Janeiro (JUVrio) in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), which focuses on qualifying young people aged 600 to 15 in social participation and community leadership. Complexo do Alemão, Cidade de Deus, São Carlos, Rocinha, César Maia (Vargem Pequena), Santa Cruz and Guaratiba are some of the 29 territorial centers where opportunities to participate in the project will be offered. In total, 60 young people have already benefited.

The Pact for Youth is a project developed in three different stages. The first stage involves training workshops and knowledge-sharing activities. Then, the young people go into the field to learn about the reality of the favelas where they live for territorial research. Finally, the final project and work plan are developed by the students, who think of practical strategies to alleviate or solve common problems or social issues related to the proposed training paths.

Applications, vacancies and selection

To register for the Pact for Youth, you must access the link available at social media of the Youth Secretariat, until September 30, and fill out the form. Young people will be selected to receive financial aid in the amount of R$400, divided into the following PPJ knowledge tracks: Culture, Sports and Sustainability. The selection will prioritize applicants from the project's opportunity bank who meet at least one of the following criteria: young people who do not work or study; black people; members of families with a monthly income of up to three minimum wages; members of families benefiting from income transfer programs; registered in the Single Registry (CadÚnico); mothers; former inmates of the socio-educational system; and former inmates of the prison system.

The tracks are workshops in the form of theoretical and practical classes. Within the Sustainability track program, for example, one of the themes of the workshops will be healthy, organic food and community gardens. In the Culture track, it will be possible to investigate and promote the appreciation of artistic and cultural aspects of communities. In Sports, it will be possible to identify how to improve access to equipment and different modalities, promoting the incentive to quality of life and health.

Impact on youth

With a special focus on young people aged 15 to 29, the Pact for Youth seeks to offer training and practical activities for beneficiaries and a governance effort to promote and protect the rights of young people together with government agencies, the third sector and the business sector. The PPJ is part of a social reality of great challenges, according to diagnoses made by research institutes and government agencies. According to the most recent data, organized by the JUVRio Data Bulletin, Rio de Janeiro's youth number more than 1,5 million, with 32% of this group being people who neither work nor study. The lack of access to opportunities for individual development puts the full development of the city at risk.