GenU Brazil: One million opportunities to unlock the potential of youth

Brazil — Launched on October 28, 2020, by Generation Unlimited, One Million Opportunities (1MiO) is an innovative multi-sector partnership that aims to create a million opportunities for vulnerable teenagers and young people aged 14 to 24 to access quality education or training in transferable, digital and entrepreneurial skills as well as job-specific skills. One of the largest youth-focused initiatives in Brazil, 1 MiO brings together UNICEF, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Global Compact, the private sector, government institutions, and civil society and also actively promotes digital inclusion through connectivity and provides young people with opportunities to access the world of work through apprenticeships, internships, and formal jobs.

A programmatic committee, which includes UNICEF, ILO, and private foundations such as Itaú Social and Fundação Roberto Marinho and four young people, is leading the day-to-day running of the 1MiO initiative. More than 35 companies, including multinationals such as P&G, Bayer, Google, Microsoft, Saint Gobain, PwC, MasterCard, Unilever and Colgate, have already engaged with the initiative. Meanwhile, more than 80 companies, governments, and civil society organizations have formally expressed interest in being part of 1MiO.

So far, 1MiO has exceeded expectations. Through the initiative’s digital platform, which acts as an information hub, more than 5,000 announcements of job and training opportunities have reached youth. A total of 1,000 digital connectivity kits have been distributed to adolescents in vulnerable territories and some 1,000 adolescents and young people have accessed courses to develop technical and behavioural skills for the world of work. The first Youth Challenge in the Amazon region involving 100 migrants and indigenous youth was also launched.

Moving forward, the initiative is looking to expand the engagement with the private sector, civil society, and governments, as well as the network of adolescents and young people in the most vulnerable regions. Meanwhile, 1MiO is set to continue mobilizing resources, improve the digital platform and launch a series of special projects such as an experience exchange community for companies about diversity and youth inclusion.