Organisational Membership

Youth RISE’s network is comprised of youth-led organizations from around the world. Member organisations have mandates which are aligned with Youth RISE’s mission, vision and principles of Full Spectrum Harm Reduction. Organisations must be registered entities in their respective countries and should be in support of evidence-based drug policies on the local-scale as well as internationally. Once registered as members of the Youth RISE network, organisations receive communications on involvement opportunities, news and resources. Member organisations are encouraged to join advocacy campaigns and activities. This will help to develop collaboration and promote youth experience and knowledge exchange.

Membership criteria

Applicants are required to meet the following criteria:

1. Applicants must fully support and endorse Youth RISE’s vision and mission. Furthermore, applicants will need to follow Youth RISE’s principles of Full Spectrum Harm Reduction.
2. Applicants must be a youth organisation.
3. Applicants must be registered entities and must have experience in advocating for evidence-based drug policies locally, regionally or internationally. Non-registered movements are viewed for membership individually.
4. Applications are reviewed by Youth RISE’s management and confirmed by existing network community and the Youth RISE board.
5. Applicants whose work and mission focuses on a signgle substance or issue within the drug policy reform agenda must demonstrate their commitment to broader drug policy reform.
6. There are no membership fees.

Benefits of Membership

Youth RISE membership allows organisations to enhance their expertise, knowledge and resources through exchange among youth movements in the drug policy field.

Through development of a global network we aim to mobilize youth from across the world by involving youth champions in our efforts. Additionally, we create initiative groups with the aim of reaching a wide number of young people who would previously have not been engaged in drug policy advocacy or harm reduction.

We also engage in capacity building with law enforcement, media and other stakeholder in order to educate them on the issues facing young people and people who use drugs. We develop resources for stakeholders to use in their operations.

Youth RISE produces tools and resources relating to drug policy and harm reduction for use by i) young people who use drugs; ii) youth advocates and leaders; and iii) stakeholders, such as media, law enforcement and educators.

To meet the needs of the youth movements around the world and to strengthen youth voice for drug policy reform, the Youth RISE network offers various subgrant opportunities, scholarships to attend conferences, connections to other Youth RISE network members and access to exclusive Youth RISE resources.

Youth RISE will continue to broaden its membership benefits.

Duties and Responsibilities

All members activities must be in line with Youth RISE mission, vision and principles of Full Spectrum Harm Reduction.

Removal of an Organisation from Membership

When necessary, removing an organization from membership will be done by the following procedure:

• If Youth RISE Managerial Committee is informed in changes of the status of the organization (e.g. a member has been wound up or dissolved, stopped functioning, cannot be reached despite multiple attempts to communicate, no longer fulfills network membership criteria, or has breached any of the duties and responsibilities of membership, etc.) the Managerial Committee may consider removing it from membership.
• The Managerial Committee contacts the member informing them about the issue and requesting an explanation in writing to be submitted within 10 days.
• The situation is communicated to the Board and the decision is made on a conference call by voting among members of the Board and Managerial Committee

New Member Applications

New members can apply by Google Form here.

The application process involves the following steps:

• Review of applicants by Youth RISE Managerial Committee
• Review by existing network members
• Confirmation by Youth RISE Managerial Committee and Youth RISE board
• Informing the applicant of the outcome by Youth RISE International Coordinator