Backgrounder – Minister Hussen announces $24.5 million in funding for International Youth Internship Program

The International Youth Internship Program (IYIP) gives young people in Canada the opportunity to gain international experience, skills and knowledge, which help to prepare them for the future. Six IYIP internship projects, part of the program’s 2023 to 2029 iteration, were announced by the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development, on February 6, 2024.

Partner: Alternatives, réseau d'action et de communication pour le développement international 
Internship project: Femmes éducation transformation
Location: Argentina, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
Funding amount: $4,274,229 over 5 years

These internships will provide young people in Canada—primarily women and minorities from cultural, ethnic and 2SLGBTQI+ communities who are completing or continuing their secondary and university studies in the Montréal, Ottawa and Québec metropolitan areas—the opportunity to undertake an internship abroad in their respective field. A total of 190 internships will be offered, each lasting 4 months. Interns will receive international experience that will better prepare them to enter the Canadian job market, acquire new knowledge and gain self-confidence to overcome the obstacles they face in integrating into the workforce.

Partner: Victoria International Development Education Association (VIDEA)
Internship project: Healing Journeys
Location: Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia
Funding amount: $3,983,356 over 5 years

This project will provide Indigenous youth, specifically those with additional barriers to employment, internships varying from 3 to 6 months. These internships will offer 162 Indigenous youth the opportunity to improve their capacity to implement programs in climate adaptation, youth development, gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and disability support; to build more-inclusive, discrimination-free programs and workplaces; and to access Indigenous knowledge sources. Further to specific technical skills, these youths will be empowered to meet self-defined life goals, engage in employment, education or the voluntary sector, overcome barriers, build supportive relationships and friendships, and engage in the development of healthy communities.

Partner: YMCA of Greater Toronto
Internship project: YMCA International Youth Internship Program
Location: Colombia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Togo
Funding amount: $4,839,902 over 5 years

This internship project will mobilize 100 young people in Canada, specifically those who belong to or identify themselves as members of a group that face discrimination (people living with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, racialized youth and members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community), to YMCA projects abroad. These internships have been designed in collaboration with local YMCA partners in African and South American countries to be based on their needs and priorities, including environmental and food sovereignty, mental health support, education, agroecology, restoration of peace and security, social protection and youth advocacy, gender inequality and climate change. Interns will receive meaningful professional experience abroad to develop the skills needed for future employment or to further their education.

Partners: Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Atlantic Council for International Cooperation (ACIC)
Internship project: Resilient Youth / Supported Inclusion / Network Growth (RYSING)
Location: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Saint Lucia, Tanzania, Vietnam
Funding amount: $4,231,232 over 5 years

This project will provide young people in Canada, particularly youth who face discrimination and barriers to employment, 4-month internships that aim to improve employment skills through placements focused on environmental sustainability, adaptation to climate change and improving gender equality. The 200 internships will respond to partner and community needs and will align with specific action areas in accordance with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Further to specific technical skills, youth will develop strategic transferable skills in leadership, public engagement, community consultation, applied community-based participatory research, proposal writing, organizational communications, project design, data collection, policy development, project management and reporting.

Partners: Empowerment Squared and McMaster University
Internship project: African Youth International Internship Project
Location: Ghana, Liberia
Funding amount: $4,900,000 over 4 years

This internship project will provide international experience to Black Canadian women, men, female-identifying, non-binary and other-gendered youth. It will offer 100 placements of 8 months each, focusing on gender-empowering educational research and inclusive growth, as well as climate change mitigation, adaptation and environmental research. Through the transformative professional skills development and experience gained while participating in international development internships, the project will enhance employment opportunities for targeted youth.

Partner: Canadian National Institute of the Blind (CNIB)
Project: CNIB Internships 2023 to 2028
Location: Antigua and Barbuda, Cameroon, Ghana, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Zimbabwe
Funding amount: $2,235,453 over 5 years

The CNIB will offer 3-month-long internships to young people in Canada with sight loss or blindness, sensory disability or print and perceptual disability. A total of 80 placements will offer targeted youth the opportunity to work with local, established, charitable advocacy or service provision organizations that focus on inclusivity, diversity and equity initiatives within their respective region, with specific emphasis on serving the blindness populations in their host countries. Activities will be related to service delivery in rehabilitation, global health, public policy, health initiative programs and social inclusion programs. Through the project, the CNIB will provide resources, training and support to empower youth with disabilities to enter and thrive in the workforce, guide interns on mitigation approaches to various barriers they may encounter and inspire participating youth for positions of leadership and representation.