The Spotlight on the Power of Technology returns for a second year, as stakeholders continue to seek concrete examples of how technology is being used effectively in youth economic opportunity programming and how organizations are effectively supporting young people in their efforts to start a business or get a job in growth-oriented ICT sectors. The synchronous emergence of mobile technology, ubiquitous access to high-powered tools, and powerful data analytics carries the potential to widen or converge inequalities across regions and between generations. The Spotlight will challenge our understanding of how technology creates and enhances youth economic opportunities.

Submissions for consideration under this Spotlight must also pertain to one or more of the learning tracks mentioned below (e.g., a workforce development approach that has proven to be effective in a rural area).

The gender learning track will address the role that sex and gender play in shaping economic opportunities for adolescent girls and boys and young women and men. Understanding how to apply a gender lens when programming for youth economic opportunities enables stakeholders to identify constraints and opportunities that can increase effective participation levels of both genders, or determine when gender-specific programs are most appropriate. Some organizations are taking comprehensive approaches and using a range of interventions to be gender aware in their programming, and also support adolescent girls and boys and young women and men specifically in their efforts to lead productive and fulfilling lives. Organizations may differ in their strategies to building human, social and financial assets.  It is important to learn about what is different about these strategies and how they are achieving impact.

Submissions should focus on presenting challenges, solutions, innovations, trends, and research related to the role of gender in program design for youth economic opportunities.

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Impact Assessments  (M&E) learning track will address the need to better understand which M&E approaches and tools are working well within the youth economic opportunities field, and which should be improved or discarded. Participants are especially interested in learning which approaches and tools they can use in their own programming. These M&E sessions will be “how to” workshops to improve and advance M&E work in the YEO field, and thus contribute to building the evidence base of “what works”. This track also emphasizes that M&E is about learning (i.e. integrating M&E into program design and using M&E findings to inform the development of programs).

Submissions should advance understanding in M&E approaches and tools, and be geared to an audience that already has a basic understanding of M&E.