In partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, UNDP Bahrain is announcing the eleventh edition of the Youth Leadership Programme (YLP11) for the year 2026!

Learn more about the programme and how you can participate in this article.

The Youth Leadership Programme (YLP) is a regional UNDP programme, under the Bureau of Arab States (RBAS), that was launched in 2015 as an initiative to build the region’s most dynamic network working at the intersection of youth, innovation, and sustainable development. YLP is part of a broader framework of UNDP SHABABEEK – Youth Empowerment, Engagement and Knowledge Project, which provides holistic support to youth by building partnerships and creating an enabling environment for youth to thrive and take an active role in their societies.

Since its initiation, YLP has been implemented in 18 countries across the Arab region, engaged more than 30,000 young women and men, and created a network of more than 80 youth-serving organizations working with youth on the ground. YLP participants have launched and established successful small businesses, won municipality elections, received recognition and awards for their innovative solutions, and presented their ideas at renowned universities and global platforms like the ECOSOC Youth Forum within the UN Headquarters in New York, along with regional conferences such as the Regional High-Level Events on Young People's Learning, Skilling and Transition to Decent Work.

UNDP Bahrain country office joined the Youth Leadership Programme in its third edition (YLP3) in 2017. Over the last 8 years, UNDP in partnership with Youth-Serving Organizations (YSOs) has been working to train and build the capacity of youth to enable them to be the drivers of development and progress in their communities. Since then, and through working with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, local youth-serving organizations, and the YLP Bahrain Community (consisting of YLP alumni, facilitators, and partners’ members), and thanks to the continuous support from the programme’s funding partner, Kooheji Foundation, the YLP Experience has been continuously shaped to deliver the best sustainable development leadership training in Bahrain.

The YLP11 is planned and implemented through a close collaboration of the YLP11 National Committee which consists of a team of young representatives from UNDP Bahrain office, the Ministry of Youth and Affairs, Kooheji Foundation, AlMabarrah AlKhalifia Foundation, INJAZ Bahrain, Global Shapers Manama Hub, Youth Pioneer Society, AIESEC Bahrain, and YLP alumni.

 YLP11 Theme

Better Together: Building Social Enterprises that Bring Communities Together

The 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2025 – under the theme Better Together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights – comes at a pivotal moment to renew global commitment to multilateralism, solidarity and shared action for people and planet. This year’s high-level week highlights the urgency of delivering on the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals and reinvigorating global cooperation.

Building on this, the YLP11 in Bahrain overarching theme focuses on how young people in Bahrain can use innovation and technology (SDG 9) for building sustainable social enterprises and meaningful work (SDG 8) with a goal to create stronger, resilient, and inclusive communities (SDG 11) for everyone. While the participants will focus on the context of Bahrain, they will also look at the interconnected nature of our digital age and the communities that use them. 

The YLP11 Experience also explores the potential power of social entrepreneurs working together in creating change in a unified and collaborative way, looking at each entrepreneur’s role in the wider ecosystem of social entrepreneurship. We invite participants to discover their unique gift in bringing about sustainable change to their communities, while recognizing and collaborating with others who are working on their dreams. 

In conversation with the current digital age and its predicament in creating more isolation, especially with youth, the YLP11 Experience will also explore how social enterprises can promote community building and networks, leveraging their position to connect youth, women, informal workers, and other underrepresented groups.

The YLP11 in Bahrain this year aims to achieve the following objectives:

●    Develop their leadership and social innovations skills
●    Gain a deeper understanding of the SDGs and how to contribute to their achievement
●    Understand gender equality’s role in creating effective and inclusive change
●    Explore the importance of social enterprises in developing a sustainable future of work
●    Enhance their ability in tackling and presenting complex challenges systemically
●    Attain a range of networking opportunities among other youth, changemakers, and experts
●    Be part of local networks of like-minded peers that support their social impact journey, including local youth-serving and international development organizations
●    Co-create a safe space and support system for youth in Bahrain
●    Have a space where you can explore and collaborate their brimming changemaker ideas
●    And get to play a role in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals!
 

The YLP11 Experience is a 6-week in-person learning journey that aims to build the inner, interpersonal, and professional capacity of young women and men to create social and environmental impact in their communities and the world. After selecting successful applicants to join YLP11 Experience, the programme will start in January 2026 and continue until mid-February. While participants join as individuals, halfway through the programme, participants will form teams that work together in identifying their challenge area and creating an innovative solution that contributes to the achievement of the SDGs in Bahrain and beyond.

At the end of the YLP11 Experience, the teams will then present their ideas to a judging panel at the SDGs Challenge final event. Teams will be individually assessed based on their understanding of the SDGs and its integration into their social innovation, how they worked with the YLP11 theme and the knowledge and tools they gained through the programme, and the readiness of the project for further development.

Are you ready to join YLP11 Experience?

Do you want to create change in your community and the world? Do you want to address challenges that affect you and the people around you through Social Entrepreneurship? Joining the YLP11 programme is only a start to many possibilities ahead! Youth are at the forefront of creating positive development, and this is your opportunity to join the young changemakers community in Bahrain!

The YLP11 experience invites young women and men in Bahrain to join the programme based on the following selection criteria:

●    Age 18 – 35
●    Fluency in Arabic and English languages
●    Entrepreneurs wishing to learn how to initiate social businesses
●    High motivation and interest in collaboration for social innovation
●    Passion to create positive change to global challenges in the local context
●    Capability and willingness to participate actively throughout the programme
●    Both experienced and inexperienced participants are encouraged to apply
 

In addition, the programme is actively open to people with special abilities to join. The programme also aims for a gender balance of young women and men participants.

Interested participants are highly recommended to read this article thoroughly, visit the links attached, and explore the YLP Bahrain Instagram account to know more about the programme.

Apply here to join the Youth Leadership Programme 11 in Bahrain!

Application deadline by Sunday, the 28th of December 2025.

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Become the change you seek, together!