Youther

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Youther: The Tunisian booster ,linker, opportunity-maker !

TunisiaTunisia
Year Founded:
2015
Organization type: 
nonprofit/ngo/citizen sector
Project Stage:
Idea
Budget: 
$1,000 - $10,000
Twitter: 
https://twitter.com/YoutherTn
Facebook: 
https://www.facebook.com/ResultOrientedYouther/?ref=hl
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Project Summary
Elevator Pitch

Concise Summary: Help us pitch this solution! Provide an explanation within 3-4 short sentences.

Youther is an NGO that will link viewers to funded opportunities in and outside of Tunisia ( i.e.trainings , conferences,internships ..) through its well-designed, using new technologies website. and will provide NGO members with the preparation needed for them to get accepted in these opportunities

WHAT IF - Inspiration: Write one sentence that describes a way that your project dares to ask, "WHAT IF?"

WHAT IF you could be linked to interesting and funded opportunities with a simple mouse click but also be offered valuable services on how to get ACCEPTED in these opportunities
About Project

Problem: What problem is this project trying to address?

Let's face it : a college degree is no longer enough to meet the needs of the market. A study that has been made on late august 2015 indicates that 15.2% of graduates and people with college degree are jobless in Tunisia. That's why, Students and graduates need to engage themselves in self-devolepement opportunities that will advance their critical thinking , skills ,and leadership along with their academic skills.

Solution: What is the proposed solution? Please be specific!

The solution is an NGO that will offer different services. The main services are : to create a dynamic website that will link Tunisian youth and students with workshops , conference , internships .. etc. that are somehow funded and will upgrade the skills and CV of the ones benefiting from them. thus boost their potential in the market. i.e : as an engineering student you might find a fully funded workshop in Lebanon that will upgrade your skills and boost your resume, you will find all the information about the opportunity in my website you just have to apply ! The NGO works on inculcating needed soft skills ( leaderships,communication ..) and offers payed trainings that will help them succeed in their applications to the opportunities.
Impact: How does it Work

Example: Walk us through a specific example(s) of how this solution makes a difference; include its primary activities.

I'm creating value for students and youth ,for companies ,and NGOs because my project will enable young people to evolve and improve their resumés and i'm giving companies the chance of attracting talented applicants. Say Raya is a final year student in english and she wants to be accepted in the Erasmus scholarship she saw in our website to pursue fully funded and stipend masters degree in a European country. so she comes to the NGO pays the training fees and will be introduced to the procedure of application and valuable advice on what to say/do in order to get accepted. Our Team will help Raya Keep up with the deadlines and juggle between all of what she is asked to do. If Raya is satisfied she will do free advertisement for us

Impact: What is the impact of the work to date? Also describe the projected future impact for the coming years.

Since the impact of the project would only be palpable after the launching of the website , i'd just speak about the work done. The IT work related to the web development of the youther.com has been solved when i established a partnership with the applied informatics department of the Sousse engineering school. they already started working on the website. ( all the work is for free ), the second part is related to the NGO establishment, and that part is almost covered given the fact that i already formed a founder-team and worked with them on the goals of the NGO and we're now waiting to receive our final license. I also managed to get free services for the logo creation and the headquarters of the NGO. The Raya example i've given is real not just hypothetical. we're currently helping her along with an other finance student Apply for scholarships their deadline are by mid december.

Spread Strategies: Moving forward, what are the main strategies for scaling impact?

I want to be able to advertise enough especially through social networks , i will use some of the money in paid ads on Facebook ,I will also advertise for my NGO through local radios and student events. i need the website to go viral on the net and be visited daily by hundreds of students (this will at the same time help me in getting money from the ads on my website too). I want to be able to help at least 100 person through the NGO in the upcoming 3-5 years and have them have positive answers to their applications.
Sustainability

Financial Sustainability Plan: What is this solution’s plan to ensure financial sustainability?

The website will host advertisements, and the NGO will charge a membership fee. And for those who want to join the special trainings we will be doing , they have to pay a fee as well. ensuring financial sustainablity includes having free services that will spare me from paying money and thus needing extra money and more resources. ie: I will count on unpaid internships at running the website , at doing marketing for the website and the NGO

Marketplace: Who else is addressing the problem outlined here? How does the proposed project differ from these approaches?

These are two websites from where I got inspired to start my project http://opportunitydesk.org/ and http://www.heysuccess.com/ . These websites only offer the information , they don't offer the preparation needed to get accepted besides most of the opportunities they are posting require an advanced resumé. My project will combine offering information ( website) and doing the preperation ( NGO ) and will include opportunities happening in Tunisia that are not listed elsewhere , these will be easier to join when it comes to less advanced resumés
Team

Founding Story

While attending a seminar, I met this mind-blowing woman named Leila ben Gacem , she originally was a biomedical engineer who had a prestigious job at the multinational hewlett packard in Germany with a high salary and several advantage that any person would seriously kill for! but this woman walked away from all of that simply because she was "not impacting her direct community and country". she turned her life upside down and became a social entrepreneur. I still think she was nuts but to me she is the epitome of determination. She taught me that nothing is impossible when you follow your passion. So here I'am following my passion , IT IS HARD but she MADE IT .. why wouldn't I too !

Team

The construction of the website is currently being done by 5 engineering senior students. ( the approach of construction is using new technologies , i'm sorry because i'm using unclear technical words) : Daad Bel Haj is working on NoSQL/MongoDb // Oussama ben Mabrouk is working on the Workflow // Chaim Ben Hamed is working on ESB // Imen Aouf is working on the Conception and design // Rima Didi is working on Machine learning // The board members of the NGO, who will focus on giving special services on boosting students' chances of getting accepted in different applications : myself : Won different scholarships to attend a world youth meeting in india , to attend an international advocacy event in Turkey , was able to join different peer-to-peer international networks ( GYAT ) , have a 9 years experience working in Youth organization ( fields of work include : human rights , education , peace building , entrepreneurship .. ). SUSI alumnus , and member of the department of state programs alumni , have a solid communication experience working in radios and presenting conferences and events. also was member of the Competitive college club for 3 year which is an initiative by Education USA , a club that helps students apply for Colleges in the US. // Mouna ben Othman :English teacher , has a great experience in debating and communication , has been an active member of several NGOs working in transparency and youth involvement in decision making, won several scholarships like the prestigious Chevening scholarship to pursue a masters degree in London and a member of several Networks of Tunisian students abroad. Amal Hamila : Currently pursuing a masters degree in Finance , has been an active member in AIESEC , has an experience in getting abroad internships for students , has an experience working in Youth organization like Junior chamber international of Sousse (JCI Sousse ) , won different scholarships ( i.e.: an Internship as part of UNESCO in Indonesia .. etc ) // We also have a Legislative Consultant ( a Lawyer who will give free services : Hanen Jazzar )

Comments

Mentor Dida's picture

Thank you for this application my friend. This is great and I love the fact that you are a doer. Changemaking is a journey so don't forget to enjoy every step of it

Here is my feedback, it might sound harsh but sometimes that is helpful.

Elevator Pitch:
Think of if you work on a 20 story building and you are with you an investor in that elevator, how would you pitch your idea? Talk more about the problem! Why is this important? And then in the end hint at the solution. Sell the problem then sell the solution.
Check Grammar: it is not funded but funding opportunities

What If:
I would encourage you to make it more simple and specific. What if funding opportunities are just one click away, and they come with advise on how to get the funding?
Problem:
What study saying that (reference the study)? Think of why the problem is happening, what are the not learning in school? Why is this relevant?
Solution:
I would not say an NGO that offers different services. I would rather you offer one service and have that be a great service that. I like the idea of the website, but also I’m hoping you are thinking of it as in person thing. Like a Café that people can gather and find out about these things. Also, please simplify.

Example:
I like it. Watch the grammar. How are you going to know what universities want? When you are talking about an NGO you don’t want to say I, or I’m, or me; because I’m assuming that you are not the only person working on this. It sounds more powerful if you say we, us, our NGO, youther..

Impact:
How do you define success? How are you going to know if you achieved success? How are you going to measure your success?

Full Impact Potential:
This needs improvement. Do you have a vision and mission statement? Why are you doing this? Where would you want to be in 10 years, and why?

Sustainability:
What partners do you have? What is your value proposition? How can you advertise for universities and get paid for that? How can you give opportunities for universities to come present?
Marketplace:
Good!

Founding Story:
I love it! Don’t forget to tie it with your project? How did you come up with this idea? And why did you pick this idea out of all those out there?

Team,
Great! Don’t forget the team is the most important part of this application. How are you ensuring that every team is contributing in the vision and mission of the organization?