The International AIDS Society (IAS) is calling for young visionaries to apply for the Youth Hub Seed Grant Programme, an initiative designed to empower young leaders addressing the challenges of HIV. The program offers a six-month grant (April–October 2025) to support youth-led innovation projects that respond to local needs impacting young people living with or affected by HIV. Five Young Leaders will be awarded seed grants of up to $10,000 to scale innovative projects in HIV prevention, treatment, and advocacy.
Grant Funding
Selected Young Leaders will each receive a grant of up to USD 10,000, enabling them to implement or scale up a tailored HIV-related project. The initiative requires each Young Leader to be affiliated with an organization capable of providing mentorship and logistical support for the duration of the project.
Capacity-Building Benefits
Youth Hub Seed Grant recipients will receive comprehensive development support through a structured capacity-building curriculum. Delivered by the Youth Hub, workshops cover essential areas including monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and communications to foster project success.
Exclusive Programme Benefits
Scholarship to Attend IAS 2025
The selected Young Leaders will have the opportunity to attend the IAS 2025 Conference on HIV Science in Kigali, Rwanda (13–17 July 2025), with IAS covering costs for registration, travel, accommodation, and daily expenses. This international gathering offers a unique platform for Young Leaders to connect, learn, and advocate.
Inclusion in IAS Young Leaders Programme
Participants in the Seed Grant Programme will join the IAS 2025 Young Leaders Programme, ensuring that the perspectives of young activists, researchers, and individuals living with HIV are represented on a global stage. This program emphasizes advocacy skills development and networking to bolster youth leadership in HIV response.
One-on-One Mentorship in Monitoring and Evaluation (MEL)
Young Leaders will receive personalized support from a MEL consultant, who will provide individualized mentorship sessions to address project-specific monitoring and evaluation needs. Host organization mentors will also support each leader’s MEL growth, helping them develop a robust project framework.
Public Speaking and Networking
Understanding that effective communication is key to advocacy, IAS offers public speaking training and exclusive networking opportunities. Selected Young Leaders will engage with a global network of over 700 IAS changemakers, enhancing their ability to promote their projects and expand their professional network within the HIV advocacy and research community.
Eligibility Requirements
Young Leader Eligibility
Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 30, ideally under 25, and associated with an organization involved in HIV or related fields. Young Leaders must also be open to mentorship, media engagement, and attendance at IAS 2025.
Host Organization Requirements
The host organization must be a registered charity, able to provide logistical and mentorship support, and willing to receive and manage the grant funds. Additionally, the organization must be comfortable communicating and reporting to IAS in English.
How to Apply
Application Process
Prospective Young Leaders can apply through the IAS online portal. The application requires details about the applicant, their host organization, a project feasibility assessment, and a support letter. Only applications submitted through this portal will be reviewed.
Selection Criteria
Applications will be evaluated on the clarity of the project plan, sustainability, youth engagement, leadership potential, and organizational capacity. The Youth Hub Grant Committee will review all submissions, with each application scored by at least one IAS representative and one peer Young Leader.
Selection Timeline
Top applicants will proceed to the final review stage, where the Youth Hub Grant Committee will select the five most promising projects. Final selections will be announced in February 2025.
Application Deadline
Application Deadline: 29 November 2024.
Application link: https://www.iasociety.org/youth-hub-seed-grant-programme
For more information, visit the International AIDS Society website at https://www.iasociety.org/
