Atlantic believes that every child has a right to education, health, safety and a comprehensive set of services that will help them reach their full potential. However, significant disparities exist in the opportunities and support systems available to children. The overarching goal of Atlantic’s Children & Youth (C&Y) Programme is to address these disparities by creating an enduring capacity to support and advocate for children and youth, particularly those who are disadvantaged on the basis of race, gender, income or sexual orientation. To this end, the C&Y Programme seeks to create and support a network of organisations with an enhanced ability to advocate for children, while also delivering specific programme and policy reform that will improve the lives of those children and youth who are most in need. The C&Y Programme is active in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the United States.

To support this strategic vision and advance the interests of children, the C&Y Programme will invest in broad and focused efforts in each country in which it is active to:

• Build capacity of organisations at the local, regional and national levels

• Strengthen leadership, build networks and unite organisations across issues and regions

• Engage the youth advocacy field, including youth, parents and communities, to advance concrete policy changes.

The Programme’s strategy, currently in development, is designed to respond as effectively as possible to the international economic downturn in the short term, as well as to build a sustained infrastructure that will work for children and youth long after Atlantic has closed its doors. Specific strategies and objectives of the Children & Youth Programme will be articulated and implemented in 2010.

Grantees in Action

View grantee profiles to find out more about some of the organisations we’re funding through our Children & Youth Programme, and review brief summaries of all of our Children & Youth Programme grants.

News & Resources

The latest news and information on our work in the area of disadvantaged children and youth can be found here, along with reports, publications and other resources generated by our grantees and our staff.

Continue to read about our Children & Youth Programme in action in Bermuda, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland or the United States »