Make your city an S2City
Call for secondary cities in Ghana and Tanzania to join the S²Cities Programme.
Are you a city government in a secondary city in Ghana or Tanzania? Join the S²Cities Programme to make your city safer for young people!
The S²Cities programme aims to improve young people’s safety and wellbeing in urban environments. It brings local governments, institutions, community actors and young people together to co-create and implement solutions for safety and inclusivity challenges. The programme also establishes a global learning network of cities, thought leaders, and practitioners to foster better understanding of urban safety for young people.
In its first Phase (2021-2024), the programme was implemented in six growing secondary cities in Indonesia, Colombia, Ecuador, and the Philippines where young people, in collaboration with local government and other prominent stakeholders designed and implemented 28 initiatives to respond to safety challenges. The programme is building on its success and is expanding to new cities in Phase II (2024-2029). The latest additions to the programme have been the cities of Cartagena in Colombia and Basel in Switzerland, with an ambition to expand to two new cities in Ghana and/or Tanzania!
This call is to invite secondary cities in Ghana and Tanzania to join the S²Cities Programme!
How does it work?
The S²Cities is an open and iterative programme that works with cities to:
- Better understand urban systems and their influence on safety and wellbeing.
- Build capacity within these systems.
- Enable youth innovation to solve key challenges for safer urban environments.
We engage local governments, institutions, the private sector, community actors, and young people in cities to support implementation of the programme.
Why should my city join the S2Cities Programme?
By participating in the S²Cities Programme, your city will be supported to improve urban safety by leveraging youth-led innovative solutions that benefit the whole community. The programme will create exciting ways for city officials to engage with young people and other urban stakeholders enabling better understanding of urban safety and what needs to be done to improve it.
Participating governments will receive the following support*:
- Establishment of a youth hub for young people and other stakeholders to meet and engage in programme activities, by equipping a government-owned space with furniture, improvements, materials.
- Technical assistance on analysis of urban safety status quo and/or root cause analysis of safety issues.
- Training and capacity strengthening on youth engagement and safety from the perspective of young people.
- Participation in an annual youth innovation challenge and award programme.
- Access to a global learning network.
*The programme will not provide direct financial contributions to cities.
How to apply?
- Send a letter of interest to GIB (click here to view the template)
- Fill in the Google form linked here.
Deadline for submission: November 1, 2025
To know more, join our online open info session on the following dates:
- October 2, 2025 at 11:00 CET
- October 13, 2025 at 13:00 CET
- October 24, 2025 at 09:00 CET
Register for the online open info sessions here.
Click here to view the full Call for Cities Brochure and learn more about this opportunity and application criteria. For any further questions or additional information, contact - emily.simpson@gib-foundation.org
