The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network – Youth Initiative (SDSN Youth) announced the launch of the call for applications for the 2020 cohort of its Local Pathways Fellowship program. The Fellowship is one of the world’s leading training and research programs on SDG11 for young urban leaders. It offers the knowledge, resources, and platform needed to empower young urban innovators to take local actions for the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda in their localities by: 

Guiding and informing their advocacy and outreach work;
Providing them with a framework for engagement with local stakeholders;  
Facilitating mutual learning and exchange of urban solutions; and
Supporting their efforts to promote local understanding, dialogue and problem-solving for sustainable development. Each year, the Local Pathways Fellowship brings together a network of more than sixty young thought leaders, urban planners, sustainability practitioners, researchers, and innovators from more than fifty cities across the world to advance local dialogue, collaboration, and problem solving around Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11) to make cities and urban settlements “smart, fair and sustainable”. Announced at the Vatican Youth Symposium on October 16th, 2019, the Local Pathways 2020 cohort is expanding to a hundred cities and has redesigned its curriculum to help fellows develop skills that will be in high demand in 2020. 

The fellowship is supported by the SDG Cities Guide, MIT Solve, World Urban Campaign, Milan Urban Food Policy Act, UN Habitat, Alliance for Peacebuilding and the World Federation of United Nations Associations. Our partners collaborate with their thought leadership, advisory, guidance, access to opportunities and mentorship.   

The core component of the Fellowship is a practically-oriented training program, which is designed to enable young fellows to understand the process of “localizing” SDG 11 in the cities they represent and to guide them through the development of a project. This is done through:

The Sustainable Cities online course led by Aromar Revi, Director of Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), and participation from other thought leaders from the sector including Jeffrey D. Sachs Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network; Sheela Patel, Founder Director of the Society for Promotion of Area Resource Centres;  Edgar Pieterse, South African Research Chair in Urban Policy at the University of Cape Town; Raf Tuts, Director of the Programme Division at United Nations Human Settlements Programme; and more. Monthly webinars with experts who share their insight into various aspects of the industry. A series of monthly assignments, which guides fellows through the development of a project that proposes a solution to the challenges in their cities. The first half of the fellowship is focused on localized research and the second half on idea generation and the design process of solutions. A peer-to-peer network of young urban leaders and innovators from over 75 cities across the globe. Visibility opportunities as top candidates can be selected to participate in international conferences and events such as the International Conference on Sustainable Development, Vatican Youth Symposium, or the World Urban Forum etc. or recommended for awards such as the Local Project Challenge by Center for Sustainable Urban Development at Columbia University to or Habitat’s Youth Advisory Body.
Application Process

Visibility opportunities as top candidates can be selected to participate in international conferences and events such as the International Conference on Sustainable Development, Vatican Youth Symposium, or the World Urban Forum etc. or recommended for awards such as the Local Project Challenge by Center for Sustainable Urban Development at Columbia University to or Habitat’s Youth Advisory Body.
Application Process

Local Pathways Fellowship welcomes young applicants across the globe, passionate about sustainable urban development. Requirements for the applicants:

Be between 18 and 30 years old (exceptions may apply);
Be based in the same city throughout the Fellowship (January to November 2020); Demonstrated commitment to working toward urban sustainable development; A minimum of one year of professional or academic experience in development practice, urban planning, community engagement, and advocacy, or similar. The 2020 Local Pathways Fellowship application period opens on November 1, 2019, and runs until December 15th, 2019. The selected fellows will be notified on January 25th, 2020. Applications and additional information are available at www.localpathways.org.APPLY NOW

About Local Pathways Fellowship

The Local Pathways Fellowship was launched in 2016 in Quito at the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) intended to build on the momentum around the adoption of the New Urban Agenda.  

The inaugural cohort consisted of 70 young people from 50+ different cities around the world. 

As part of their graduation 11 outstanding fellows gathered at the World Urban Forum (WUF) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They hosted an event to demonstrate how young urban leaders can implement and localize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their cities through the Local Pathways Fellowship (LPF). Participation at WUF enabled the fellows to have a voice and be part of the Cities 2030 global conversation. They had 2 dedicated sessions where they engaged with other WUF participants, to receive valuable feedback on their projects, and fostered partnerships that helped them advance on their projects. 

The 2019 cohort consisted of 56 young urban innovators from 50+ different cities around the globe. Again top fellows will be supported to attend the World Urban Forum 10 in Abu Dhabi next February 2020 where they will present their innovative projects that are solving their cities challenges. 

For media inquiries and interview requests, please contact: 

Yulia Lesnichaya, Project Officer, Communications (yulia.lesnichaya@sdsnyouth.org)