Activity Description:

The International Youth Foundation (IYF) works in nearly 70 countries and territories to improve the conditions and prospects for young people where they live, learn, work, and play. Established in 1990 to bring worldwide resources to young people in need, IYF works with hundreds of companies, foundations, and civil society organizations to strengthen and "scale up" existing programs that are making a positive and lasting difference in young lives. Over the last 15 years, IYF and its global network of in-country partners have helped millions of young people gain access to the life skills, education, job training and opportunities critical to their success.

Activity Description: Small-scale economic initiatives may be the most promising option for job-seeking youth in the West Bank, where estimates of the unemployment rate range from 25 to 30 percent. And olive trees, an icon of the region, could provide the perfect products. The Palestinian territories are home to the equivalent of 200,000 football fields worth of olive trees, which provide fruits, cooking oil, moisturizing soap and wood for traditional carvings.