Russia: Youth Banks works in the country

Youth Banks is an innovative model of participation of youth in regional development. Youth Banks are run by young people for young people. They provide small grants to fund young people?s good ideas to benefit their local community. The first Youth Banks have been established in 1999 on the initiative of the British Youth Council in UK. Today Youth Banks exist in India, Canada, in the Balkan region, in Germany and Poland. In Russia the model has been established in 2004. In Russia, Youth Banks exist on the basis of local community foundations in the Russian cities of Togliatti, Pervouralsk, Chaikovski and in the Baikal region. Youth Bank is a unique model in so far as it is young people themselves who make decisions about how local Youth Banks are managed and run. But Youth Bank is also about supporting and training young people to enable them, through grantmaking and related activity, to benefit other young people and the community, as well as themselves. www.youthbank.org