An online design challenge on COVID-19 was launched today to provide Ethiopian youth an opportunity to come up with innovative solutions to tackle current and future challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The design challenge was originally launched by UNICEF and partners in Nigeria in May 2020 but is expanding now to other countries in Africa.

In Ethiopia, UNICEF and UNDP are working together to addresses the most urgent challenges young people face across education, employment, and entrepreneurship.

The COVID-19 design challenge for youth involves engaging young people in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic through an online design thinking platform Cartedo in order to:

1. Catalyze youth networks to drive awareness of COVID-19 and improve access to reliable information
2. Accord the Ethiopian youth a platform to contribute to ways to prevent and mitigate the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on Ethiopian society.
3. Provide the youth the chance to develop skills that will enhance future employability

As innovative ideas are being sourced from Ethiopian youth, the challenge also seeks to build their design thinking skills.

Interested youth can access the COVID-19 Design Challenge website here as of now until the deadline of 30 June 2020.

https://app.cartedo.com/project/8/covid-19-challenge

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About UNDP

UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results.

Follow UNDP on:

www.undp.org

https://twitter.com/UNDPEthiopia

https://www.facebook.com/UNDPinEthiopia/

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.

Follow UNICEF on:

www.unicef.org

https://twitter.com/UNICEFEthiopia

https://www.facebook.com/UNICEFETH/

For further information on the Challenge and or the Generation Unlimited in Ethiopia please contact

Tillmann Guenther, UNICEF Ethiopia Adolescent Development Specialist, tguenther@unicef.org, +251-953-226666, OR

Wudasse Berhanu, UNDP Ethiopia, Accelerator Lab, Technical Specialist, wudasse.berhanu@undp.org, +251 93 999 1073