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Youth Leadership Academy projects

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Leadership projects

Your leadership project is a youthā€‘driven, locally focused initiative designed to address an issue youā€™re passionate about. Through the Youth Leadership Academy, youā€™ll gain the skills to create a solutionā€‘oriented project that advances gender equity and drives meaningful change in your community. The tools you develop will support you not only in this project, but throughout your future work as a changemaker, advocate and young professional.

Many Youth Leadership Academy fellows begin with small, local projects ā€” and continue expanding their impact as active alumni.

Global Girls Initiative

Aanya, a 2021 YLA participant and former Youth Advisory Board member, discovered the widespread impact of period poverty both abroad and in her own U.S. community, which inspired her to take action. Through largeā€‘scale product drives and awareness efforts, she collected more than 50,000 period products and distributed them to 37 lowā€‘income schools.

After the Youth Leadership Academy, she expanded this work by founding the Global Girls Initiative, a nonprofit that continues to provide menstrual health support to underserved communities.

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Join the Youth Leadership Academy

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YLA program details

Dates of next program

The Youth Leadership Academy is a year-long leadership and advocacy program that begins each summer. Applications open annually. Please check back in early 2027 for updates on applying to join the next cohort of fellows.

Eligibility

To participate in the YLA, you must be between the ages of 13 and 17 and based in the U.S. We value diversity and inclusion and believe it makes our organization stronger. We encourage individuals from all backgrounds and abilities to apply and contribute their voice and experience.

What will I learn?

The YLA is designed to equip you with tools to become an effective changemaker in your community. You will build and strengthen skills in advocacy, such as project development, relationship-building, public speaking and more.

We will guide you through the process of creating your own solution-based leadership project oriented around gender equity to advance change in your local community over the next year. These are fundamental tools that you can carry with you throughout your future change-making, advocacy and professional careers!

Frequently asked questions

Learn more about the Youth Leadership Academy.

No! As long as you have an interest in making change in your community and are passionate about social justice, you are welcome to apply. Through participating in the YLA, you will develop leadership and advocacy skills.

We will evaluate your application on the overall fit and commitment to program activities, including the residential intensive in Washington, D.C., monthly workshops and virtual check-ins regarding your leadership project.

Youth-led design is essential to the YLA. Planā€™s Youth Advisory Board members lead mentorship and monthly webinars for YLA fellows. They share their lived experiences advocating for gender equity. Additionally, prominent youth advocates and Youth Advisory Board members present at the residential intensive in Washington, D.C.

During the five-day residential academy, you will attend workshops and interactive sessions to learn about global gender equity issues from experts and activists. You will also attend sessions to develop your Leadership Project. By the end of the week, you will have developed your Leadership Project ideas, delivering project pitches on the last day.

You will also get to spend a day sightseeing and participating in team-building activities with other YLA fellows while in the city!

The leadership project is a youth-led locally focused project that tackles an issue that you care about. Past YLA fellows have implemented projects related to period poverty, refugee rights and minority students in politics.

Following the week-long intensive in Washington, D.C., you will meet throughout the year with an assigned mentor, attend skill-building webinars, access seed funding to launch your project and have opportunities to connect and engage with Planā€™s global youth network and partners.

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There is a program fee of $1,000, which funds in-person and virtual program costs for the duration of the year. This includes housing, food, supplies and transportation during the residential intensive but excludes transportation to and from Washington, D.C.

Need-based financial aid is available. Anyone can apply for partial or full financial aid in the YLA application. Applying for financial aid will not impact acceptance decisions upon application review.

Interested in joining?

Please check back for next recruitment seasons or email [email protected] for more information.

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A group of high school-aged young adults, wearing matching white t-shirts and lanyards, poses for a photo in front of the White House in Washington, DC.
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Youth Leadership Academy

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What is the YLA?

The Plan International Youth Leadership Academy is a year-long social impact fellowship by youth, for youth, hosted by Plan USAā€™s Youth Advisory Board. Throughout the course of the year, you will ideate, design and implement your own local advocacy project related to gender equity. The YLA gives you the tools you need to create the change you want. We are investing in the next generation of young changemakers and advocates driving the change you want to see.

Why it matters

The Youth Leadership Academy brings together diverse young leaders from across the U.S. to learn, connect and create change. Young people are some of the worldā€™s best innovators, topic experts, coalition-builders, mobilizers and communicators. We believe that we can harness this power within young people across the country to make tangible change. Alongside like-minded peers, fellows will continue to learn and grow as leaders.

An overview of the YLA

The YLA starts in June with virtual orientation sessions. In July, youā€™ll travel to Washington, D.C. for the residential intensive, where youā€™ll meet other fellows, Plan staff and Youth Advisory Board members. You will be coached on developing your Leadership Project. This includes: identifying a local need or social issue, crafting your mission, analyzing stakeholders, pitching your project, securing funding and much more.

Following the residential intensive, you will implement your Leadership Project with the help of a Youth Advisory Board mentor. At the end of the program, youā€™ll present your project at our YLA symposium.

A group of young people, some wearing lanyards, sit on a gray carpet in a circle, attentively listening to a woman in a blue shirt who is speaking and gesturing with her hands.

Interested in going?

The YLA is open to students in grades 8-11, living in the U.S. If you are interested in gender equality, global issues or youth-led advocacy, apply here!

Apply now

Leadership projects

A leadership project is a youth-led locally focused project that tackles an issue that you care about.

Following the week-long intensive in Washington, D.C., you will meet throughout the year with an assigned mentor, attend skill-building webinars, access seed funding to launch your project and have opportunities to connect and engage with Planā€™s global youth network and partners.

Learn more
A young woman stands giving a presentation to a seated audience in a brightly lit room.

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Contact us

For questions about the Youth Leadership Academy and how to get involved, please reach out to [email protected].

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Youth Advisory Board

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What is the YAB?

The Youth Advisory Board is a body of young people ages 14-22 from across the U.S. They ensure youth voices, perspectives and needs are represented authentically. The Youth Advisory Board are ambassadors of Planā€™s global mission, advancing diverse perspectives and ensuring the agency of youth in building a better world.

Mission

As the Youth Advisory Board, we champion representation, accessibility and advocacy to advance an equitable world for girls and young people. Together, we wonā€™t stop until weā€™re all equal.

Our mandate:

  • Representation: To communicate the youth perspective in the Plan International USA organization, affecting policies, youth programming and engagements.
  • Accessibility: To provide opportunities and access to young people, which allow them to make change in their communities and our nation.
  • Advocacy: To use our expertise to enact change, through effective consultation and organized action.

What the YAB does

The YAB works with Plan International USA teams to make sure young peopleā€™s ideas and lived experiences shape our work. From sharing feedback on campaigns to advising on youth engagement, YAB members help ensure youth voices are part of every conversation. Their largest annual project is the Youth Leadership Academy.

Meet the Board

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Join the YAB

The Youth Advisory Board works with Plan International USA teams to make sure young peopleā€™s ideas and lived experiences shape our work. If you are 14ā€“22 years old, live in the U.S. and are interested in gender equality, global issues and youth-led advocacy, we would love for you to join us!

We typically accept resumes and cover letters via email in the fall, with final decisions in January and a start date in February. Please check back for next recruitment seasons or email [email protected] for more information.

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Our work with girls

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Girls are leading change. Girls know what their lives need. Our role is to listen, support and work alongside them to remove the barriers standing in their way. Across every program and partnership, girls are not just participants in our work. They help shape it.

Why girls?

Girls face some of the most persistent and intersecting barriers to equality. From being pushed out of school to facing violence, early marriage or limited economic opportunity, their rights are too often denied simply because of who they are.

When girls have the support they need to learn, lead and make decisions about their own lives, the impact reaches far beyond the individual. Families are stronger. Communities are healthier. Systems begin to change.

Thatā€™s why girls are at the center of everything we do.

Our GirlEngage approach

GirlEngage is our approach to working with girls as partners and leaders. Girls help design, lead and evaluate programs that affect their lives, ensuring solutions reflect their real experiences and priorities.

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What GirlEngage looks like in practice

Through GirlEngage, girls are involved at every stage of our work. They identify challenges, shape solutions and measure success. We work within the full ecosystem around girls, including families, schools, communities and institutions, to shift power and create lasting change.

This approach recognizes the whole girl. Her identity, experiences and aspirations matter. And the best experts on what girls need are girls themselves.

Beyond program

Our work with girls goes beyond individual projects. We advocate for policy change, support youth-led movements and mobilize global moments like International Day of the Girl to shift attitudes and systems that hold girls back.

We believe progress happens when girls are trusted as leaders and decision-makers, not just for one moment, but for the long-term.

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Our focus

Economic empowerment
Education & early childhood development
Health, nutrition & water, sanitation & hygiene
Humanitarian assistance
Protection
Sexual & reproductive health & rights

Girls leading change

Four years into the war in Ukraine: What do children need now?

Feb 24, 2026

Four years into the war in Ukraine, children continue to face trauma, disrupted education, and displacement across Ukraine and Eastern Europe. As the crisis shifts from emergency response to long-term recovery, sustained investment in mental health, protection, and education is critical to prevent irreversible harm.

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Choices that create change: Saying no to FGM

Jan 14, 2026

In Ethiopiaā€™s Afar region, some families are quietly choosing courage over conformity by saying no to FGM. This powerful photo story reveals the voices of parents and girls taking a stand against generations of harm, one decision at a time.

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Youth advocacy programs

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Youth at Plan

Girls face barriers every day ā€” but theyā€™re not waiting for change, theyā€™re leading it. We support young people, domestically and internationally, as they lead change in their communities. We are investing in the next generation of young changemakers and advocates. Because young people are not just the future ā€“ they are the leaders of today.

Why does Plan engage with young people?

We believe young people are central to achieving lasting social change. Young people are not just beneficiaries. Theyā€™re leaders, experts and partners in shaping the solutions for a better world.

domestic youth programming promo

Youth Advisory Board

The Youth Advisory Board is a body of young people ages 14-22 from across the U.S. They ensure youth voices, perspectives and needs are represented authentically. The Youth Advisory Board are ambassadors of Planā€™s global mission, advancing diverse perspectives and ensuring the agency of youth in building a better world.

Learn more

Youth Leadership Academy

Plan Internationalā€™s Youth Leadership Academy gives young people the tools they need to create the change they want. This is a year-long social impact fellowship by youth, for youth, hosted by the Youth Advisory Board. Throughout the fellowship, each participant will ideate, design and implement their own local leadership project.

Learn more
Group of Youth Leadership Academy members posing in front of a black metal fence with the White House visible in the background.

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Menstrual Health Day

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Periods should never stand in the way

Every year on May 28, we mark Menstrual Health Day, a global reminder that no one should be held back, excluded or shamed because of their period.

At Plan, we know periods arenā€™t just a health issue. They are a barrier to equality. Around the world, girls and young women miss school, face stigma and struggle to access basic supplies simply because of menstruation. Thatā€™s why weā€™re working to change both the story and the systems behind it.

Multigenerational group of women holding feminine products in support of Menstrual Health Day

Beyond a single day

Through our partnership with KotexĀ® and the Kimberly-Clark Foundation, weā€™ve reached more than 11 million people with menstrual health education, resources and support across eight countries. From classroom learning to peer-led community programs that include boys and parents, our work helps ensure girls have the knowledge, tools and confidence to manage their periods with dignity.

While May 28 is an important moment, our commitment goes beyond a single day. We work year-round to support girlsā€™ education, advance gender equality and help create environments where periods never stand in the way of opportunity.

Because when girls can learn, speak up and move through the world without shame, progress follows.

Menstrual Health Day stories

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Across generations ā€“ periods through the ages

May 14, 2025

From El Salvador to Togo, grandmothers, mothers and daughters are speaking openly about periods ā€” many for the first time. These intergenerational conversations are breaking taboos, building understanding and helping girls navigate their menstrual health with dignity.

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International Womenā€™s Day

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Progress worth celebrating

Every year on March 8, we mark International Womenā€™s Day, a moment to celebrate how far weā€™ve come and to be clear about how far we still have to go.

At Plan, International Womenā€™s Day connects us to a legacy more than a century in the making, and to the girls who will shape what comes next. What began as women organizing for labor rights, suffrage and equality has grown into a global movement that challenges the systems that continue to hold women and girls back.

For us, that connection is clear. The barriers adult women face do not begin in adulthood. They take root early, when girls are denied education, pushed into early marriage, excluded from leadership or exposed to violence simply because of their gender.

The Girl in the Red Tie

Equality is not a moment, but a movement

Each year on March 8, we use International Womenā€™s Day to elevate the voices and leadership of girls alongside women. We spotlight the political, cultural, social and economic contributions of women worldwide while naming the inequities that girls continue to experience: from unequal access to education and health care to gender-based violence, exploitation and harmful norms.

We mark the day through an annual awareness campaign that centers girlsā€™ rights, shares stories of leadership and resilience across generations and calls attention to the changes needed to ensure every girl can grow up safe, educated and able to lead.

Progress for women is not possible without justice for girls.

International Womenā€™s Day stories

What the research shows

youth-ambassadors-anti-trafficking-nepal image

10 lessons from Nepalā€™s PROTECT Project

Dec 17, 2024

By fusing the power of senior leadership and budgets with the insights of policy and learning, the new Bureau of Policy, Resources, and Performance has the potential to become USAIDā€™s powerhouse for program effectiveness.

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