We are pleased to announce that the YouthSave project has just released its latest quarterly newsletter highlighting recent blog posts, reports, speaking engagements, upcoming events, and other relevant information from YouthSave consortium members and our partners over the last three months. To access this quarter’s newsletter click here.

Highlights from the Newsletter:

YouthSave has been making the rounds and sharing insights, updates and lessons learned with others in the field. Here are a list of recent events and speaking engagements that we have participated in:

Marking the release of Half the Sky: The Game, New America's Jamie Zimmerman and Greta Byrum discuss the potential for social cause gaming and mobile games to raise awareness and spur behavior change toward girls' and women's social and economic empowerment.

Image: Courtesy CSD

By Katie Stalter, The Center for Social Development

Researchers and practitioners from around the globe met at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis this week to make strides toward increased financial awareness of children and youth.

The Child & Youth Finance International (CYFI) meeting, hosted by the Center for Social Development, drew 45 attendees who represented organizations and institutions in 10 countries.

It was significant to hear the different voices represented at the table during this meeting, said Jared Penner, head of CFYI’s Education Division. “We are a global network, so we want people from different regions bringing their perspectives.” He said the meeting yielded some clear priorities for the group and helped set mandates for moving forward.

Image credit: World Bank

By Lex Nowak, New America Foundation

The Center for Social Development (CSD) has recently releaseda research brief titled, “Youth and Their Health in Ghana”. The brief offers baseline data on youth’s health in an effort to expand our knowledge on the impact of savings programs on youth health because, “[a] key aspect of youth savings is the potential impact it could have on youth development”.

CSD examines a number of health factors “critical for young people’s ability to safely transition from adolescence to young adulthood, including health perception, protective factors (including parental connection and parental monitoring), risky health behaviors (including attitude toward sex and HIV prevention), and access to health facilities.”