In December 2021, the Global Youth Mobilization (GYM) partnered with CMRubinWorld and Planet Classroom to create an episode of the popular SHINE Podcast showcasing projects and young people combating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic with innovative local solutions.

The podcast featured six different projects from a diverse range of countries including Bangladesh, Uganda, Nigeria, Costa Rica and Indonesia.

The podcast was produced and developed by the show’s creators CMRubinWorld and gave the young people involved in Local Solutions an opportunity to discuss their projects, the challenges they have faced and the impact that they have had in their local communities.

Launched on 28 December 2021, the podcast featured the following projects from around the world:

• WoW – Wheels of Wisdom in Bengali, Bangladesh is a newly GYM Local Solutions funded project. The aim of WoW is to service under-resourced communities by utilizing a 3-wheeler street van to bring books for children to read, as part of amplifying their creative learning environment.
• Mental Health Slumber Party – As part of Transgender Equality Uganda, this project was created to address the mental health needs of young people in the face of increased barriers caused by isolations and the restrictions set throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. By creating slumber parties, the project provided safe and informal spaces for young people to socialize and form a support group that seeks alternative coping mechanisms.
• Project Digital Rural – this project is aimed at equipping out-of-school unemployed youths in rural communities in Nigeria with much needed and in-depth digital skills and mentorship, to enable them to launch careers in the new digital space.
• We-Stand Youth Network – based in Nigeria this initiative has created awareness and sensitization, as well as mentorship programmes, to enable young people to understand the importance of mental and physical health during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Karsa Project – working primarily in rural areas in Indonesia, the Karsa Project works with young people who have problems with drug addiction, homeless people and young people who have lost access to education and employment opportunities as a result of the effects of the pandemic.
• Program of Organic Agriculture (POA) – operating in the Limón Province in Costa Rica, this project works directly with the community, whose main source of income is agriculture and stockbreeding, by addressing their challenges such as water shortage and access to food markets and food products. POA has further supported the community through the development of community gardens and providing workshops for education on self-supply agriculture techniques.

To listen to the podcast here and to learn more about Planet Classroom visit: https://www.planetclassroom.world/browse/

About Planet Classroom

The Planet Classroom Network, organized by CMRubinWorld, brings together musicians, dancers, video game creators, filmmakers, learning innovators, entrepreneurs and emerging technologists from around the world to entertain, educate and engage youth, and to provide a rich cultural experience for all. Content showcased for youth and by youth on the Planet Classroom Network is provided by 29 cultural organizations from around the world. Young people globally played a significant role in conceptualizing, creating, and producing the network’s vision and programming.