This latest addition to IYF’s What Works series offers an in depth look at a multi-sector partnership that has impacted the lives of over 125,000 young people in the war-torn region of Mindanao. In the Preface, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II, a leading corporate philanthropist in the Philippines, wrote that “by working together, we can mobilize greater resources and also unleash the power of citizens, including our young people, to shape a better future.”

The publication draws on interviews with more than 50 corporate, NGO, and community leaders to detail the achievements and learnings of the Education & Livelihood Skills Alliance (ELSA) initiative over the past three years. It includes lessons learned around partnership building; examples of how these alliances leveraged additional resources at the local level; and “success stories” of young people who have benefited from enhanced learning and job training opportunities. IYF, which was the lead organization in convening and organizing the alliance, joined five national Filipino foundations as founding members of ELSA.