Flagship / regular Program

Prottay

Youth-Led Community Actions (YLCA)

Empowering Youth as Drivers of Inclusive and Sustainable Community Development

Youth Leadership

Gender Equality

Disability Inclusion

Environmental Action

Safeguarding

Nilphamari Municipality

01

Background & Development Context

Bangladesh’s youth population represents a powerful and largely untapped force for social transformation. Yet this potential remains constrained — particularly among the most marginalized: young women face persistent gender discrimination and safety barriers; persons with disabilities encounter structural exclusion from civic and economic participation; and socially excluded youth in rural areas such as Nilphamari lack accessible platforms for leadership, civic engagement, and meaningful contribution.

Community-level challenges compound this exclusion. Environmental degradation, the continued prevalence of child marriage, gender-based violence (GBV), inadequate access to quality education, and insufficient disaster preparedness all disproportionately affect the most vulnerable — and all demand the active engagement of organized, skilled, and empowered young people.

When young people lead — especially those most often excluded from leadership — communities transform. Prottay-YLCA is built on the conviction that inclusive, representative, and empowered youth leadership is the most sustainable driver of local change.

Prottay-YLCA responds to these realities by establishing a structured, inclusive, and resourced platform through which young people exercise leadership, drive community action, and advance equity — with an unambiguous commitment that no young person is left behind.

02

Goal & Strategic Objectives

Agrojatra-IYSDP adopts a market-oriented, adaptive, and partnership-driven approach that distinguishes it from conventional training programmes.

1

Market Intelligence & Curriculum Adaptation

The programme maintains continuous labor market monitoring — tracking employer demand, emerging sectors (including foreign investment projects, development programmes, and digital economy growth), and technological advancements — to ensure training remains relevant and forward-looking.

2

Competency-Based Learning

All training is competency-based, outcome-focused, and benchmarked against national qualifications frameworks and international standards, with regular assessment and certification.

3

Employer & Institutional Partnerships

IRDA actively cultivates partnerships with employers, recruitment agencies, technical and vocational institutions, and development actors to create direct pathways from training to employment, internship, and entrepreneurship support.

4

Adaptive Delivery

Training modalities are adapted to participant needs and contexts, including flexible scheduling, peer support mechanisms, and blended learning approaches where appropriate.

5

LNOB Principle

Every programme decision — from recruitment to curriculum design to assessment — is guided by the commitment to reach and meaningfully include those furthest behind.

03

Program At a Glance

3

Scale-Up Phases

Pilot → Upazila → District-Wide

4

Core Program Components

Environmental · Social · Education · Humanitarian

8

SDGs Aligned

Strategic global alignment

04

Key Program Components

Prottay-YLCA delivers action through four mutually reinforcing programme components, each designed to be fully inclusive, accessible, and gender-responsive.

A

Inclusive Environmental Action

  • Clean Nilphamari & Green Earth Campaign
  • Poly Bag Free Nilphamari Campaign
  • Recycling initiatives (e.g., Jeans to Tote Bag)
  • Inclusive Youth Environment Clubs (special focus: girls & PwDs)

B

Gender & Social Awareness

  • Child Marriage Prevention awareness & advocacy
  • Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention
  • Community dialogues on gender equality & inclusion
  • Engaging men, women, and marginalized groups

C

Inclusive Education Support

  • Free learning support for disadvantaged children
  • Inclusive education for children with disabilities
  • Volunteer-led mentoring with gender-sensitive approaches

D

Humanitarian & Community Response

  • Inclusive emergency response (women, children, elderly, PwDs)
  • Youth-led rapid response teams
  • Community resilience building & disaster preparedness

All programme components are designed with inclusion as a core principle — not an afterthought. Participation of youth, girls, and persons with disabilities is actively facilitated in every component.

05

Cross-Cutting Principles

Four non-negotiable principles are embedded across all programme activities, structures, and partnerships — governing design, delivery, monitoring, and learning.

Gender Equality

Ensuring equal participation, leadership opportunities, and decision-making power for women and girls across all programme activities and governance structures.

Disability Inclusion

Accessible programme design, meaningful participation of persons with disabilities, and active removal of physical, attitudinal, and social barriers.

Safeguarding & Protection

Zero tolerance for abuse, exploitation, and discrimination. All activities are governed by a comprehensive safeguarding policy with clear accountability mechanisms.

Equity & Do No Harm

All interventions are inclusive, conflict-sensitive, and culturally appropriate — designed to avoid unintended harm and ensure equitable benefit for all groups.

06

Target Beneficiaries

Prottay-YLCA adopts a positive action approach to beneficiary inclusion — actively prioritizing those who face the greatest barriers to participation and benefit.

Youth (15–35 years), with explicit priority given to girls, young women and youth with disabilities

Vulnerable and marginalized community members, particularly girls and at-risk populations

Children from low-income and socially excluded families requiring educational support

Communities facing environmental, social, or humanitarian vulnerabilities

07

Implementation Strategy & Phasing

The programme follows a deliberate, phased scale-up strategy — piloting, learning, adapting, and expanding — to ensure that quality, inclusion, and community ownership are maintained as reach grows.

Phase 1

Pilot

Nilphamari Municipality

  • Inclusive model testing and validation
  • IRDA-Youth Volunteer Network (IRDA-YVN) establishment
  • Baseline assessment & community mapping
  • Safeguarding framework operationalized

Phase 2

Expansion

Upazila Level

  • Scale-up to upazila-level operations
  • Strengthened institutional partnerships
  • Adaptive learning from pilot applied
  • Enhanced volunteer capacity & diversity

Phase 3

Scale-Up

District-Wide

  • District-wide institutionalized systems
  • Integration with local government
  • Documentation & replication planning
  • Sustainability & handover framework

IRDA-Youth Volunteer Network (IRDA-YVN): The programme leverages and strengthens the Youth Volunteers Network as its primary operational platform, ensuring sustainability, diversity, and community-rooted ownership throughout all implementation phases.

08

Strategic Alignment with Global Frameworks

Prottay-YLCA directly contributes to eight Sustainable Development Goals, reinforcing Bangladesh’s national commitments to inclusive, sustainable, and equitable development.

SDG 3

Good Health & Well-being

SDG 4

Quality Education

SDG 5

Gender Equality

SDG 6

Clean Water & Sanitation

SDG 10

Reduced Inequalities

SDG 11

Sustainable Cities

SDG 13

Climate Action

SDG 16

Peace & Justice

09

Expected Outcomes & Impact

Prottay-YLCA is designed to produce measurable, sustainable change at individual, community, and systemic levels.

Increased inclusive youth leadership, particularly among girls and persons with disabilities

Enhanced community awareness and behavioral change on gender equality and social justice

Reduced prevalence of harmful practices, including child marriage and GBV

Strengthened inclusive emergency preparedness and community response capacity

Improved access to education and support services for marginalized and vulnerable groups

Development of environmentally responsible and socially conscious communities

Established, functional, and inclusive Youth Volunteer Network across Nilphamari

A documented, replicable model of inclusive youth-led community action for Bangladesh

10

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning (MEAL)

Prottay-YLCA is governed by a rigorous MEAL framework designed to ensure evidence-based programme management, accountability to communities, and continuous learning.

Disaggregated Data Collection

All data is disaggregated by gender, disability status, age, and equity markers — enabling evidence-based programme management and accountability to affected populations.

Community Feedback & Accountability

A robust Complaint Response Mechanism (CRM) ensures community voices are heard, grievances are addressed promptly, and programme accountability is maintained.

Adaptive Learning & Review

Regular monitoring cycles, evaluations, and participatory reviews involving beneficiaries enable adaptive management and continuous programme improvement.

Participatory Evaluation

Beneficiaries and community members are actively engaged in review processes, ensuring local ownership and relevance of all learning and reporting.

11

Sustainability & Local Ownership

Long-term sustainability is built into the programme architecture from the outset. Prottay-YLCA ensures sustainability through:

A strong, diverse, and inclusive Youth Volunteer Network that outlasts project cycles

Systematic capacity building of youth leaders — with explicit investment in girls, young women, and PwDs — creating self-sustaining community change agents

Active community ownership through participatory design and integration with Union Parishad and municipality development priorities

Partnership with IRDA’s institutional infrastructure, ensuring ongoing technical, organizational, and resource support

Documentation of the programme model for replication, district-level scale-up, and national policy advocacy

Prottay-YLCA does not build dependency — it builds capacity. When IRDA steps back, the community steps forward.