Our work provides opportunities to local communities for training and education, building individual skills for employability and community skills needed for sustainable development. We work with and through local organisations to build their capacity to tackle inequality. We also work directly with women and girls, disabled people, youth and other excluded or vulnerable groups so that they have the skills and tools to effect changes in their own lives.
Examples of British Council programmes which contribute to Goals 8 and 10:
Case study: Ignite Culture, East Africa
SDG 8 – Decent Work, contributing also to SDG 4 – Education, SDG 5 – Gender, SDG 10 – equalities and SDG17 – Partnership
The 7m EUR Ignite Culture project in East Africa is funded by the EU and supported by the ACP. The project promotes cultural and creative industries (CCIs) providing financial and technical support to cultural entrepreneurs, artists, and creative businesses, to develop innovative and sustainable business models, products, and services. It is implemented in partnership with the HEVA Fund – a local finance organisation focussing on the creative sector - and works with government to improve the policy and legal environment.
The project has: encouraged entrepreneurship and cultural innovation, as well as the participation of the youth; created new jobs and increased artists’ and cultural professionals’ revenues; raised the quality of cultural productions; valorised cultural productions and artists from East Africa on international markets; and increased knowledge of policy and legal frameworks that impact the sector, enabling advocacy for more support structures.
Case study: Aawaz II, Pakistan
SDG 10 – Equality, contributing also to SDG 4 – Education, SDG 5 – Gender, SDG 16 – Peace, and SDG 17 – Partnership.
The £20m Inclusion, Accountability, and Reducing Exploitation Programme (Aawaz II, 2019-2024) in Pakistan is funded by the FCDO and supported by the Pakistan Government and civil society. The project aims to create awareness and behaviour change on gender-based violence, child, early and forced marriages, inequalities, and prejudice (including violence) against religious minorities, transgender people, and people with disabilities. The project furthermore enhances citizen-state engagement to improve the use of public services.
The British Council focuses on the establishment and mobilisation of inclusive policy and decision-making structures. Over 900 forums/structures and pathways to access services for the most vulnerable have been established and were assessed to be working well in the mid-term review.
These mechanisms have included representatives of excluded groups – ensuring that their voice is central to the identification of needs and access and shaping of government services - including 2,875 women, 3,143 men, 147 transgender persons, 1,349 religious minorities and 858 Persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Partnering with local organisations, the project highlights include: 26,521 individuals from marginalised groups to access information and a range of services such as national identity cards for transgender people, disability certificates, social protection benefits; discussions around the accessibility of government/service provider buildings and offices; subsidised or free travel facilities to enable members from the most disadvantaged groups - such as transgender and PWDs to access essential services.
During Covid, 280,812 individuals (52% women) who faced or were at risk of facing violence benefitted from mental health and psychosocial support and services (MHPSS). This focus on improved referrals and access to services has legitimised the community forums and volunteers in the eyes of the community, building trust in government and making it easier for them to speak about harmful practices and behaviour change – further enhancing community cohesion and building resilience to vulnerabilities.
