Why should you join the Compact?
The “Compact for young people in humanitarian action” was launched at the World Humanitarian Summit and represents an unprecedented commitment of humanitarian partners - government, civil society, United Nations and the private sector - to guarantee that the priorities of young people are addressed by the humanitarian system and their participation in humanitarian action is supported and facilitated.
The Compact provides a unifying framework to guide programming for young people in humanitarian action which can be applied by all Member regardless of the size, nature or location of the organization. Through the collective strength and diversity of its Membership the Compact will help you step up your organization's work with and for young people in humanitarian action and provide you with programme and advocacy tools and opportunities for engagement and visibility.
What does commitment to the Compact look like?
More than 40 humanitarian partners have endorsed the Compact and its five key actions for accountability to young people in humanitarian action:
● Make humanitarian programmes contribute to protection, health, development of young women, young men, girls, boys,
● Support systematic engagement and partnership with youth in all phases of humanitarian action, especially decision-making and budget allocations,
● Strengthen young people’s capacities to be effective humanitarian actors, and support local youth-led initiatives and organizations in humanitarian response. This includes young refugees and internally displaced persons living in informal urban settlements and slums,
● Increase resources to address the needs and priorities of adolescents and youth affected by humanitarian crises and use the new gender and age marker for better tracking and reporting,
● Generate and systematically use age- and sex- disaggregated data
What would be required of you?
Effecting change begins with your organization’s leadership. Participation requires a commitment from your head of entity.
Organizations voluntarily pledge to:
● Align operations with the principles outlined in the Compact
● Take actions that support young people in humanitarian action
● Commit to the effort from your organization’s highest level
● Report annually on your ongoing efforts
● Engage locally with young people where you have a presence
● Engage with youth representatives within your organisation if applicable
To bring your commitment to life, we ask you to:
● Make the Compact and its principles an integral part of your strategy, programming, operations and organizational culture
● Incorporate the Compact and its principles in decision-making processes at the highest levels
● Actively engage with members of the Compact to advance its principles and five action points
● Advance the principles of the Compact through advocacy and outreach to peers, partners and stakeholders
● Follow the application process
Application Process
Please follow the steps outlined below to ensure the successful submission of your application.
Step 1
Provide us with a paragraph that explains the nature of your organization, mandate and mission statement and relevance for focus areas of the Compact.
Step 2
Prepare a Letter of Commitment signed by the chief executive expressing commitment to (i) the Compact for Young People in humanitarian action and its five actions; (ii) participation in the activities of the Compact where feasible; and (iii) the submission of a yearly progress update on your entity’s contribution to the Compact to contribute to annual report.
Step 3
Send us the official logo of your organisation to be included in the Compact document.
Sample Commitment Letter for Potential Compact Members
[Official Organization Letterhead]
Dear ,
I am pleased to confirm that [name of the organization] will join the Compact for young people in Humanitarian action.
With this commitment, we express our intent to support the Compact in advancing the five action points and will make a clear statement of this commitment to our stakeholders and the general public. We also pledge to participate in and engage in Compact in the following way(s):
[please insert description of the ways in which your organization wishes to engage and participate]
We commit to report on progress within one year of joining.
Sincerely yours,
[Signature]
[Name]
[Title **President/Executive Director]