Youth in the House!

Habitat for Humanity believes that young people are uniquely placed to become agents of change within their communities based on their valuable insights, influence and credibility.
The “Youth in the House!” exhibition and microgrant initiative supports youth-led organizations that advances housing and shelter solutions:

• showcasing their projects and solutions to actors in the housing sector from across the region and
• providing seed funding to initiatives promoting a more vibrant, inclusive and collaborative housing ecosystem in the respective geographies.

It seeks to recognize outstanding youth-led projects that help continue or expand a project that demonstrates innovative and effective approaches to improving the awareness, knowledge, capacities of communities and homeowners to have a better housing.

The 2021 Asia-Pacific Housing Forum Youth Congress will bring together young people who have led community projects that contribute to Habitat for Humanity’s mission. It will provide young leaders with a platform to showcase their projects to a regional audience, discuss what resources young people need to scale up their projects and impact, and prepare a youth statement on “building forward better for inclusive housing”. As in previous iterations, the third Youth Congress will raise the issue of decent, affordable housing through the eyes of the youth, their stake in the issue and the ways they contribute to the solutions.

Engage youth to recognize and act on the importance of housing as a driver of inclusive economic growth, resilience and sustainability in human settlements.

Cultivate young leaders and their contributions to innovative housing initiatives through the sharing of best practices.

Facilitate the continued partnership between the youth sector and Habitat for Humanity.

Established in 2014 by the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY), the Children and Youth Constituency for Sustainable Communities (CYCSC) is an collective engagement platform focusing on the urban and territorial dimensions of sustainable development. CYCSC facilitates young peoples' meaningful participation in the follow-up and review of the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal 11. Participation in these processes results respectively from Paragraphs 128 and 162 of the New Urban Agenda, and from CYCSC's affiliation with the Major Group for Children and Youth.