STELLA is a social enterprise that provides soft skill and job-readied skill development platforms for youths between 16 – 25 years old, to co-create positive changes for themselves and societies through three major ways: 1. highly interactive capacity building workshops, 2. youth space for co-creation, and 3. small grants and consultation sessions to support youth releasing their ideas into real-world projects.

In 2021, STELLA and the Rural Development Agency (RDA) collaborated with VOICE Laos to support 20 rightsholders groups to sharpen their ideas and amplifying their voices through Now-US Laos. Six of the rightsholders groups are now on their ways to implementing their Now-US awards throughout 2022-2023.

In short, since 2015 STELLA has collaborated with more than 50 entities both local and international. Together, we directly supported more than 2,500 youth via 100 workshops, 100 initiatives, and volunteering opportunities in small to major social events in Laos. Learn more at: www.thestella.org

Rural Development Agency or RDA is a Lao-based non-profit social enterprise founded in 2009 as an offshoot of PADETC (Participatory Development Training Centre). RDA began as a semi-autonomous organization SuanMaiLao Eco-Forest Learning Centre (SML) which focused on educating young people and the general public on the importance of ecology in relation to holistic education and development. SML would go on to become the Rural Development Agency (RDA) in 2015. RDA has gone on to expand its efforts toward developing and participating in projects that take community centred approaches in WASH, Nutrition, Environmental Conservation and Youth Engagement. RDA Vision is to become a model Agency that inspires and empowers rural communities. RDA has extensive experience and networks within the Lao PDR working with young people, communities, local authorities and village functionalities in promoting sustainable and inclusive community development in Lao PDR. RDA believes communities have the ability to be self-sustaining when their capacity, confidence, networking, and dialogue skills are developed.

STELLA and the Rural Development Agency (RDA) have collaborated to support VOICE Laos’ existing Grantees to link and learn with one another in the role of Linking and Learning Facilitators (LLF). The ultimate aim of the project is to create supportive and enabling environment where such network can be formed and thrived. This is gearing towards sustainable mutual support that can later extend beyond VOICE project scope in the future.

To get there, STELLA and Rural Development Agency collaborate closely with VOICE Laos to shape Linking & Learning 2023 – 2024 in such a way that Grantees can co-create their own learning opportunities through six key approaches and methods below:
I. Community of Practice (CoP): CoP is designed to be the space where Grantees, who have the same expertise and issues, can band together to organise sharing and learning events, in hope that knowledge are shared and issues are solved together.

II. Community of Stakeholders (CoS): When grantees determine that they would like to engage with actors outside of their immediate grantee groups, LLF will work with Grantees to identify topics that they would like to exchange with relevant stakeholders. LLF will co-manage with relevant grantees to make it happen.

III. Capacity Strengthening: When co-sharing and co-learning are not possible within the CoP, Grantees will also have the opportunity to ask for capacity strengthening support through LLF. LLF will then work with the CoP to find suitable trainer(s) or resource persons to provide capacity strengthening workshop for Grantees.

IV. Innovative Project: Grantees coming together to share and learn might come up with new and innovative ideas they would like to pilot. Such collaboration will be supported by LLF so that grantee team can focus on implementing their pilot and harvesting learning results.

V. Online Portal: Some tools, when applicable, will be transformed into digital version to be stored on an existing online portal, www.panya.online. Other learning resources and Most Significant Change stories will also be stored there and share to all grantees and wider networks as learning opportunities.

VI. Learning Festivals: All the dedication for the betterment of rightsholders’ state of living should be celebrated! Learning Festivals will be great opportunities for all grantees from different CoPs and relevant stakeholders to come together to celebrate their achievement, learnings, and value of staying connected. These events will celebrate such qualities and also the spirit of VOICE and its values.