From Malala Yousafzai to Nelson Mandela’s time in the ANC Youth League, history has shown the important role that young people can play in fighting for human rights.

Now, Women Deliver is looking to groom a new generation of activists to take on the fight to achieve gender equality.

The organisation is looking for 300 youth advocates to be part of The Women Deliver Young Leaders Program.

The two-year programme will help activists amplify their work through a comprehensive training course.

The training includes Digital University, which is two 10-week online courses that focus on a range of topics including gender equality, advocacy and proposal development.

The advocates will also be taken through intensive media messaging and engagement training to provide young leaders with a strong foundation to work with the media as a successful advocacy tool.

Since the launch in 2010, Women Deliver have made inroads in supporting activists. Through the programme, they have provided 46 seed grants to select young leaders to implement short term advocacy projects.

One beneficiary of the grant was Maureen Anyango Oduor. The young leader’s focus was removing barriers that hinder teen girls from accessing reproductive health services in rural Northern Tanzania.

SMS messaging was used to educate and inform adolescent girls on family planning. The adolescent girls were able to anonymously ask relevant personal questions via text and receive answers from qualified, educators, counselors or medical professionals.

The project allowed adolescent girls to access correct family planning information in a private and confidential way while avoiding the embarrassment and potential stigma.

If you believe in gender equality and have an activism track record, you can apply to be part of the programme by filling in the form on the Women Deliver website.