Lead and coordinating agency
Youth Arise Organisation
Mentoring young leaders, supporting community action, and advancing peace and security. YAO also coordinates the seven agencies so their specialist work serves a shared purpose.
Youth Arise Organisation
Building the systems that help African youth lead, create and act.
Through seven specialised agencies, Youth Arise brings leadership training, STEM, agriculture and climate, health, arts and entertainment, professional networks and media into young people’s hands, helping them shape their future by choice, not by chance.
Our impact.
Our training programmes and seven agencies help young people put their learning to work in their communities.
15,000+
Young people trained
14
Years of leadership programmes
250+
Communities reached
15+
Countries in our network
7
Specialised agencies
The Architect
Moses Baffour Awuah
Global CEO, Youth Arise Organisation
From the Global CEO
The Architect’s Vision
Fourteen years ago, I embarked on a journey that began with a simple observation: the incredible potential of the African youth was being stifled by a lack of sustainable systems.
What started as a grassroots effort to empower "game-changers" has since evolved into a lifetime mission to architect Social Sovereignty...
Seven agencies. A shared purpose.
Each agency brings specialist skills. YAO connects their work so young people can learn, contribute and lead across different fields.
SEN
STEM Explorers Network
Raising Africa's next generation of innovators through Little Innovators workshops, robotics bootcamps, the SEN Innovation Challenge and the SEN Mini Accelerator.
YAFAT
Youth Alliance for Agricultural Transformation
Agriculture and climate awareness activities, youth agri-innovation challenges and practical agribusiness learning for more sustainable food systems.
ARCH
Arise Center for Holistic Health, Wellness & Nutrition
Mental health work, health education and nutrition, including Free Flow, bringing everyday health concerns into the conversation.
ACACE
Arise Center for Arts, Culture & Entertainment
A space for young people to create, perform and tell African stories through arts, culture and entertainment.
OPN
Orange Professionals Network
Connecting professionals to exchange experience, develop their skills and build relationships across fields of work.
AMA
Arise Multimedia Agency
Documenting the work, producing media and sharing African stories through photography, video and other creative formats.
Places to develop, exchange and convene.
Leadership experiences, a continental youth festival and a global conference give young people and youth workers space to learn, connect and put ideas into practice.
LDTP and SALC
Our leadership programmes
Two programmes, LDTP and the Stepping Ahead Leadership Conference, give young people mentoring, training and community action. From Community Impact Projects to service and after-learning projects, participants practise the belief that leadership is the power to cause change, however small their starting point.
Explore leadership training
OYF
Orange Youth Festival
A continental festival where young Africans showcase talents, explore national and continental challenges and build connections. Through innovation expos, talent showcases, policy dialogues and masterclasses, they exchange ideas for the Africa we want, guided by Agenda 2063, and consider the part they can play.
Explore the festival
GYWC
Global Youth Workers Conference
A global conference where youth workers strengthen the recognition of their profession and learn from one another. Across health, agriculture, arts, STEM, peace and education, participants examine shared challenges, develop practical responses and form partnerships to carry those solutions into their work and communities.
Explore the conferenceLearning beyond the room.
Young people put their learning into practice through community projects, service and shared ideas for Africa.
Community Impact Project
From a community problem to a practical response.
LDTP participants identify a community problem, develop a solution and work with stakeholders to make it possible. They draw up budgets, pitch for seed funding and raise additional funds where needed, then put their project into practice. Along the way, they build skills in research, communication, planning, teamwork and accountability, learning what it takes to carry an idea through to implementation.
Explore community projects
Community Service
Leadership starts with showing up.
For us, leadership is service. Participants give back to their own communities through sanitation, health, education, innovation, charitable outreach and skills training. Serving alongside others helps them understand local needs and appreciate different professions. For some, it also reveals a new passion or a field they want to pursue.
Explore community service
My Ideal Africa Challenge
What would your ideal Africa look like?
Young Africans can help build the future they can imagine. In My Ideal Africa, participants explore the African Union’s Agenda 2063, then each team chooses one aspiration and paints a picture of Africa with that aspiration achieved. They pitch their vision and explain the role they can play in bringing it to life. Beyond the competition, the exercise makes Africa’s future personal: something they can picture, take responsibility for and help create.
Explore the challengeThe work, made visible.
More storiesRecent stories from our programmes, community work and youth-led discussions.
Team Heshima wins the 2026 Community Impact Project
A Breath of Hope brings medical equipment to Pokuase.
CHCC 2026: Household items and roofing help for Graceland
Household essentials and roofing assistance for Graceland Needy Child Shelter Home in Bawjiase.
Africa We Want Symposium adopts the Accra Youth Communique
Young Africans set out their priorities for Agenda 2063.
A permanent home for YAO’s work.
The YAO Building Complex is taking shape with contributions from volunteers and generous donors. It will bring space for learning, practical work and gathering into one home for the organisation.
Basement and substructure work underway
The plans include leadership training rooms, STEM and digital labs, media facilities, meeting spaces and accommodation. These facilities are part of the project vision and are not yet complete.
Explore and support the projectFind your place in Youth Arise.
Join a programme, share your skills or work with an agency on something your community needs.
