A Snapshot of the Global Youth Movement
1. Introduction
2. Non-Religious, Well Established, Mainstream Youth Movements and Institutions
2.1 The Big 7
2.2 Other Mainstream Movements
2.3 Mainstream Collaborative Initiatives
2.4 Mainstream Development and Education Institutions
3. Annual Camps and/or Events
4. Employment, Economy, and Youth
5. Corporations and International Sports Federations with Global Youth Support
Programs
6. Inter-Governmental Bodies
6.1 UN and UN Agencies
6.2 English, French, Spanish and Arabic Speaking Networks
6.3 Other Intergovernmental Agencies
7. Internet Portals
7.1 Youth-Led Sites
7.2 UN Sites
7.3 Other Sites
8. Global Political Youth Networks
8.1 Socialist and Communist Youth Networks
8.2 Other Spectrums of the Politics
9. Research and Policy Focused
10. Service Programs
11. Student Focused Groups and Exchange Programs
11.1 Groups with an Online Focus
11.2 Teenager Focused Groups
11.3 University Groups
12. Travel
13. Theme, Kinship, Advocacy and Issue Focused Groups
13.1 HIV/AIDS
13.2 Sexual Rights and Reproductive Health
13.3 Defending Children and Youth Rights
13.4 Youth with Disabilities
13.5 Peace Education, Disarmament, Violence Prevention and Anti-Racism Work
13.6 Environment, Sustainable Development and Resource Conservation
13.7 Indigenous Youth
13.8 Cultural Youth Movements
13.9 Youth, Communication and Media Networks and Training Groups
13.10 Other Theme and Issue Focused Youth Groups
14. General Networking and Facilitation
15. Youth Groups and Networks focused on Youth Participation in Decision-Making
and Activism
15.1 Supporting Youth Activism
15.2 Youth-Led Groups with Focus on Youth Participation in the United Nations
and its World Conferences
15.3 Youth Participation in Global Decision-Making and/or Events Outside the
UN System
16. Religious and Spiritual Groups
16.1 Christianity
16.1.1 Catholics
16.1.2 Other Christian Groups
16.2 Islam
16.3 Judaism
16.4 Others
17. Other Movements That Do Not Have Youth Projects, But That Are Often Youth-Led
18. Other Links
19. Major Global Youth Email Communication Networks
20. Regional Youth Platforms Before the United Nations
21. Regional Student Unions
Copyright (C) 2002 Jonah Wittkamper
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1. Introduction
This report links is perhaps the most comprehensive listing of International
Youth Movements and International Youth Organizations (with websites) in the
world. It was pieced together in collaboration with many people and many
networks. It is restricted to movements and organizations that have activities
(or relationships) on three or more continents, with very few exceptions. Much
of the content was written from our first hand experience within the
organizations and movements. Much of it was also provided by the organizations
and movements themselves.
Motivation to create this guide came from the challenges experienced by the
Global Youth ACTION Network and TakingITGlobal in organizing local youth
networks in diverse cities around the world.
This document should be used in collaboration with other resources to educate
young people and facilitate collaboration among movements.
The Global Youth ACTION Network is taking steps to organize World Youth
Forums in partnership with all the organizations and movements listed here. The
forums will take place virtually, locally, regionally, and internationally.
For more information contact Jonah Wittkamper at jonah@youthlink.org or subscribe to the
follow Yahoo Group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthmovements
2. Non-Religious, Well Established, Mainstream Youth Movements and
Institutions
2.1 The Big 7
* There is a need to recognize the universal validity of the non-formal
education of young people, particularly through the work of world youth
education organizations. Thus the Chief Executive Officers of seven of the
largest worldwide, non-formal education organizations who today actively involve
more than 100 million young people, have shared their vision of the non-formal
education of young people into the next century. The Alliance of Youth CEOs
comprises the Chief Executive Officers of the: World Alliance of Young Men's
Christian Associations (YMCA), World Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA),
World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), World Association of Girl
Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies (IFRC), International Youth Foundation (IYF), International
Award Association (IAA)
http://www.intaward.org/partnership/big7.asp
* The Guide Movement was formally established in 1910, starting in the United
Kingdom and then spreading world-wide. The first official international
co-operation started in 1919, and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl
Scouts in its present form was established in 1928. Due to the size of the
organization (136 member countries, and around 10 million members) it is divided
into five regions where national associations can work together on common
problems and opportunities. The World Association is a British-based charity,
and the Europe Region a Belgium-based international non-profit organization. The
movement is non-formal and educational, and focuses on encouraging the
development of the intellectual, spiritual, physical, emotional, social and
moral aspects of its members, based on the movements' values. Its mission is to
enable girls and young women to develop their fullest potential as responsible
citizens of the world.
http://www.wagggsworld.org
* The World Organization of the Scout Movement is an international
organization composed of its national Scout organizations. The purpose is to
contribute to the development of young people and help them develop their full
physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potentials as individuals, as
responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international
communities. Scouting began with 20 boys and an experimental camp in 1907
organized by Robert Baden-Powell. The first world Jamboree took place in 1920
with 8,000 participants. Today the organization reaches 25 million young people
in 216 countries (and territories).
http://world.scout.org
* The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is the
world's largest humanitarian organization, with 178 member National Societies.
It aims to assist the world's most vulnerable people and focuses on health,
disaster response and disaster preparedness. Young people represent a
substantial part of the membership worldwide. A youth program was developed to
involve young people as much as possible in the movement. It aims to promote
healthy living, international friendship, and community service. A youth unit
within the Federation's Secretariat in Geneva assists National Societies to
increase the involvement of young volunteers in their work. Technical support in
the development of youth programs, fund-raising, identification of material and
human resources, the youth unit aims to have young people recognized by National
Societies leadership as equal partners who address the needs of the most
vulnerable.
http://www.ifrc.org/youth
* The International Award is a self-development program open to all young
people worldwide. It aims to equip them with life skills to make a difference to
themselves, their communities and their world. To date over 5 million young
people from over 100 countries have participated. It challenges and rewards
young people for setting and reaching goals in for areas: Volunteer Public
Service, Personal Development, Physical Fitness, and Expedition/Exploration.
http://www.intaward.org
* The World Young Women's Christian Association unites 25 million women and
girls in over 100 countries through 94 autonomous national YWCAs which links
thousands of local YWCAs whose programs meet community needs identified by
women. WYCMA bases its work on Christian ecumenical principles and welcomes
women of all faiths. It promotes women's equal participation, works for social
and economic justice, and mobilizes women for action.
http://www.worldywca.org
* The YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) is a world-wide Christian,
ecumenical, voluntary movement for women and men with special emphasis on the
involvement of young people. It seeks to build a human community of justice with
love, peace and reconciliation. Founded in 1844, it now works through 14'000
local associations and 45 million members in 122 countries. The National
Movements form the World Alliance of YMCAs, an international organization based
in Geneva, Switzerland, which has consultative status with the Economic and
Social Council of the United Nations.
http://www.ymca.int
* The International Youth Foundation is an association of 22 different grant
making agencies in 22 different countries. It facilitates knowledge sharing
between these foundations and makes various publications on the international
situations of youth. In 1999 Nokia Corporation provided the IYF with a grant to
design an internet youth portal. After hiring a team and consulting with Nokia
and a number of young leaders the YouthActionNet project was started. It
presents various tools and resources that are valuable for youth organizing.
http://www.youthactionnet.org and
http://www.ifynet.org
2.2 Other Mainstream Movements
* Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united
worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in
all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. In more than 160
countries worldwide, approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than
30,000 Rotary clubs. There are two global youth programs. Rotary Youth
Leadership Awards (RYLA) is a training program for young leaders that emphasizes
leadership, citizenship, and personal growth. Rotary Youth Exchange (ROTEX) is a
program that facilitates the exchange of 8000 young people every year to stay
for extended periods of time, involving youth from 82 countries.
RLYA: http://www.rotary.org/programs/ryla/index.html
and ROTEX: http://www.rotary.org/programs/youth_ex/index.html
* Founded in 1915 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Kiwanis
International is an organization of service-and-community-minded individuals who
support children and young adults around the world. More than 500,000
Kiwanis-family members in more than 80 countries respond to the needs of their
communities and pool their resources to address worldwide issues. There are
several community service and leadership programs for youth. Key Clubs work in
high schools age youth and Circle K clubs work with college age youth. Hugh
O'Brian Youth (HOBY) programs work with youth leadership. Globally, Kiwanis is
also dedicated to halting iodine deficiency disorders, the world's leading
preventable cause of mental retardation. Key Club International website: http://www.keyclub.org Circle K International
website: http://www.circlek.org HOBY
(mostly North America): http://www.hoby.org
Kiwanis International Website: http://www.kiwanis.org
* Lions Clubs International runs a number of other international youth
programs including peace poster contests, youth camps, exchange programs, and
clubs. The mission is to provide the young people of the world with
opportunities for achievement, learning, contribution and service, individually
and collectively, through sponsorship of activities identified as best practices
in the field of youth development. Lions-Quest is also a youth program of Lions
Clubs International and the Lions Clubs International Foundation. It is a
life-skills training program for young people that is active in 33 countries and
has helped more than 6 million students, ages 5 to 18, reach their full
potential. The goal is to help youth build responsibility and resiliency — the
ability to face and overcome life's difficulties — and avoid self-destructive
behaviors. The program was started in 1975 by an 18-year-old who was trying to
solve his own life problems.
http://www.lionsclubs.org and http://www.lions-quest.org
2.3 Mainstream Collaborative Initiatives
* The Global Youth ACTION Network (GYAN) is an incubator of global
partnerships among youth organizations. It encourages collaboration and seeks to
facilitate intergenerational partnership in global decision-making. It is
partnered with TakingITGlobal which runs the highest traffic website on the net
for young leaders.
http://www.takingitglobal.org
* As part of its objective to enhance youth participation in civil society,
CIVICUS convened in 1999 a meeting of global youth stakeholders such as the
Commonwealth Youth Program, Development Education for Youth, AIESEC
International, World Association for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), and
International Youth Foundation. From that meeting has arisen an informal
alliance of these global stakeholders, known as Partners for Youth
Participation. The Partners are currently discussing areas in which an alliance
may add value to what is already underway through their own and other
organizations' activities. Complementing and informing this joint activity are
the ongoing youth participation programs of each of the Partners.
http://www.civicus.org
* Convened by the International Youth Foundation, the Global Partnership for
Youth Development (GPYD) is a unique initiative through which global companies,
development banks, bilateral aid agencies, private foundations, and NGOs are
working in an unprecedented global partnership to improve the conditions and
prospects of children and youth worldwide.
http://www.iyfnet.org/document.cfm/82
2.4 Mainstream Develop and Education Institutions
* The Development Education Association (DEA) was formed in 1993 to support
and promote the work of all those engaged in raising awareness and understanding
of global and development issues in the UK. It is a national umbrella body
working with over 240 member and partner organizations in the UK and overseas.
Development education aims to raise awareness and understanding of how global
issues affect the lives of individuals, communities and societies and how all of
us can and do influence the global society we live in. It aims to bring global
perspectives into all aspects of learning - from the school classroom to
universities to local community activities to the media. The youth portion of
their website contains some interesting documents that are helpful to organizers
who want to help youth think globally.
http://www.dea.org.uk/youth/index.html
* The Global Information Networks in Education (GINIE) serve as a 'virtual
learning community' for education innovation in nations in crisis and
transition. They use Internet-based technology to build a capacity for rapid
access to information and expertise for education professionals working
internationally in nations in crisis and at risk to disruption. The GINIE
networks help education policymakers, donor/investors, researchers and
practitioners to work collaboratively, to learn from each other, and to inform
the public. They place particular emphasis on the development of long term
professional networks within and across regions. These networks are intended to
share locally created materials and expertise with counterparts for policy
dialogue, professional development and classroom exchange.
http://www.ginie.org
* Founded in 1932 World Learning (WL) is the only international organization
with both academic and project capabilities dedicated to promoting international
education, social justice, and world peace. Through distinctive educational
methods based on experiential learning and the integration of theory and
practice, the programs build knowledge, develop leaders in education and
management, contribute to global development, and effect change. The three chief
programs of (WL) are 1) Projects in International Development and Training which
manages projects in international education, institutional capacity building,
democracy and more, 2) the School for International Training (SIT) is accredited
college that offers master's degrees, study abroad, extension courses, and
educational system reform initiatives, as well as training in conflict
transformation and international management, 3) World Learning for Business
offers global enterprises a single source for customized, competency-based
language and intercultural training, and 4) the Experiment in International
Living is a summer exchange program that immerses high school students in
another culture in one of over 20 countries.
http://www.worldlearning.org
* Save the Children (STC) was started in 1932. It works in 45 countries all
over the world. Their model is simple, they work with families to define and
solve the problems that their children and their communities face. They use a
broad array of strategies to ensure self-sufficiency and today have become a
leading international relief and development organization. STC has some programs
that work directly with youth including their "Strong Beginnings" program and
their new online youth community: YouthNoise
http://www.savethechildren.org/edu/sb_youth_dev.shtml
and http://www.youthnoise.org
3. Annual Camps and/or Events
* Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) is an annual global event organized by
Youth Service America and the Global Youth Action Network, together with a
consortium of 32 International Organizations and well over 100 National
Coordinating Committees that Celebrates, Recognizes, and Mobilizes the
year-round contributions of young people to build their communities and their
world through voluntary service, and the contributions made by the community
(public, private, and nonprofit sectors) for empowering young people.
http://www.gysd.net
* Legacy International (LI) works with diverse groups of young people on
programs that provide experiences, skills, and strategies to help them improve
their own lives and the lives of others around them. Program themes have
included cross-cultural and global competency, professional retraining,
environmental consideration, entrepreneurial skills, conflict transformation,
and youth development. The flagship program of LI is the Global Youth Village, a
three week camp that evokes creativity, dialogue, cross-cultural competency
through a dynamic blend of workshops and recreational activities change vary
daily. Since 1979 the program has benefited young people from over 100
countries.
http://www.legacyintl.org
* Youth Jams are week long, annual gatherings (national and global) of 30
young dynamic activists and leaders who are currently at the forefront of
working for a sane, just and peaceful world. The Jams provide participant with
the opportunity to build community, network, share cultures, renew themselves
and envision the world they want.
http://www.youthjams.org
* The Mongolian Youth Development Centre (MYDC) was established in 1997 and
is a non-governmental organization that works to provide opportunities for
youths to develop themselves through social, educational, cultural and physical
activities. One of the cornerstones of the organization is its youth exchange
programme, drawing both local and international youths. The youth exchange
program is an enrichment program that allows youths from different countries to
interact with each other and be more socially aware of the richness and
diversity of each of their respective cultures. Each year, the MYDC hold an
International youth camp for youths aged 14-20. This has been going on since
1999 and the camps have become progressively bigger and more exciting. Each
year, more and more countries are represented and each year, more and more
activities are added. The camps are a wonderful opportunity for international
participants to interact with not only each other but also with the volunteers
who help organize camps and the Mongolian youths who participate.
http://www.mydc.org.mn
* Camp Rising Sun is an international scholarship camp for young leaders.
Each summer it gathers dozens of young men and woman from 35 countries of the
world for a 8 week leadership training program. The program is 70 years old and
supports a global network of alumni.
http://www.risingsun.org
* Seeds of Peace is a non-profit, non-political organization that helps
teenagers from regions of conflict learn the skills of making peace. The program
helps young people air their views and learn listening, communication and other
conflict resolution techniques. The goal is to help them develop empathy for one
another. Since the program began in 1993 it has served young people from 22
countries including young people from the conflicts of the balkans, the middle
east, cyprus, and Kashmir (India and Pakistan). It is considered to be an
international model for working with you.
http://www.seedsofpeace.org
* The Ship for World Youth (SWY) is a unique international cultural exchange
program organised by the Government of Japan. The most prestigious program of
its kind, SWY brings together over 250 youth from around the world to learn
about international cooperation and understanding. Over a two-month period,
participants are involved in a wide range of activities aimed at fostering
cultural sensitivity, understanding and friendship. Most of the program is
conducted onboard the cruise liner Nippon Maru, with some activities scheduled
in Japan, and others in a number of seaports that are visited in the course of
the voyage. Commencing in 1989, the program is run on an annual basis. Each year
a different mix of nations is invited to participate and a different ports of
call are incorporated into the itinerary.
http://www.swyaa.org
* The Students Forum 2000 is a project of the Czech government. It provides
training to young leaders and brings them together face to face with world
leaders to address globalization and other global issues. It is one of the few
forums that provides young people with direct access to world's most powerful
decision-makers.
http://www.sforum.net
* Run annually from the Czech republic, the Global Leadership Program is a
for-youth-by youth training program for students that teaches how to be a global
citizen
http://www.visionresource.org
* The Asian UNESCO headquarters in Asia organizes an International Youth Camp
every year.
http://youth.unesco.or.kr/iyc/
4. Employment, Economy, and Youth
* The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions is the global nexus of
unions and union organizers. The objectives of the ICFTU's Global Youth Program
are to organize young people in unions, to create more and better jobs for young
people, and to achieve quality education for all.
http://www.icftu.org/focus.asp?Issue=youth&Language=En
* The World Bank, ILO, and UN partnership on youth employment is called the
Youth Employment Network. The network draws on the most creative leaders in
private industry, economic policy and civil society (including youth leaders) to
explore imaginative approaches to the youth employment challenge. The network
will develop recommendations on possible sources of solutions, including the
contribution that information technology and the informal sector can make to
employment generation. For unknown reasons the YEN isn't closely involved in the
Youth Employment Summit.
http://www.ilo.org/yen/
* Junior Chamber International (JCI), Inc., is a worldwide federation of
young professionals and entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 40. National
level member organizations are active in more than 5,700 chapters in 110 nations
around the world. The mission of JCO is to contribute to the advancement of the
global community by providing the opportunity for young people to develop the
leadership skills, social responsibility, fellowship, and entrepreneurship
necessary to create positive change. Junior Chamber International was founded in
Mexico City in 1944, when representatives from eight nations met to create an
organization that would address global concerns.
http://www.jci.cc
* The World Youth Bank project was started by the National Youth Council of
Croatia. It was highlighted by the World Assembly of Youth European Youth
Dialogue as well as the Youth Employment Summit and is now poised for
institutional development. The idea is simple. One limiting factor of youth
employment is access to low-cost funds and investment capital. Investments from
global funds such as the ILO and the World Bank seldom reach youth; instead they
get absorbed by national budgets. For these reasons the need for establishing
the World Youth Bank Network is being recognized by youth all over the world.
The launch date is targeted for Spring of 2002, at the World Assembly of Youth's
Global Youth Summit on Brijuni Islands, 23-28. March, 2002. The mission is to
rebuild the world in the new climate of intergenerational tolerance and
understanding. It will be based on a new method of transparent accounting that
uses a "life production capability" evaluation method as a quality standard.
http://www.w-yb.org
* Founded in 1987, the Young Entrepreneurs' Organization (YEO) is a global,
non-profit educational organization for business owners under age 40. It strives
to help its members build upon their successes through an array of learning and
networking opportunities. With 4,700 members in 102 chapters and 34 countries
around the world, YEO provides its members access to a dynamic network of peers
on an international level. YEO is the junior partner of WEO, the World
Entrepreneur's Organization.
http://www.yeo.org
* The Youth Employment Summit is a series of events and a decade long
campaign to create 500 million new jobs for young people who will be entering
the work force during the next ten years. The summit's inaugural event took
place in Alexandria, Egypt in September 2002 and was attended by 2000 people,
young leaders and Ministries of Youth from dozens of countries. For unknown
reasons the YES isn't closely involved in the Youth Employment Network (of the
ILO, World Bank, and UN).
http://www.youthemploymentsummit.org
* The Young Presidents' Organization is a membership group of individual
leading officers of the large corporations and institutions under the age of 50.
The is to create "Better Leaders Through Education and Idea Exchange." Founded
in 1950 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, USA, the organization has near 8,500
members from 75 countries worldwide. The program develops "Better Leaders
Through Education and Idea Exchange" by providing a challenging environment that
promotes the exchange of ideas and shared experiences. By inspiring the
continual improvement of each individual leader, YPO facilitates the acquisition
of knowledge -- and, more importantly -- the development of wisdom. It is a
partner of the Young Entrepreneur's Organization.
http://www.ypo.org
5. Corporations and International Sports Federations with Global Youth
Support Programs
* The General Association of International Sports Federations links near 80
international networks. Some of these networks have "World Youth Championships"
such as the International Sailing Federation and the World Chess Federation.
Others do not. Many of these groups are supported by corporations that sell
sports equipment or that sell products to consumers who watch the games in
action. Many still have yet to develop and link their international youth
development programs. One federation has made a start: the International
Federation of Soccer Associations (FIFA).
http://www.agfisonline.org
* In the early 1980s, a group of young street performers, dreamers and
self-taught entrepreneurs had the vision and drive to create Cirque du Soleil.
Long before they became successful Cirque du Soleil Artists performed their
shows in the street. They succeeded partly because older people believed in
them, regardless of their age or status as street performers. CdS now supports
youth in difficulty, especially street kids. It has a number of programs that
have supported youth in 24 communities on 6 continents. The programs include
training of instructors, circus workshops with youth at risk, community
involvement, and arts education.
http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/company/socialaction/
* Goal is a project of the International Federation of Soccer Associations
(FIFA). It was started in 1999 in order to support national soccer associations
with infrastructure development, education programs, administration, and youth
soccer initiatives such as training of youth coaches, talent promotion, and
soccer camps.
http://www.fifa.com/goal/index_E.html
6. Inter-Governmental Bodies
6.1 UN and UN Agencies
We researched youth participation all UN agencies and have listed here the
youth focused pages among them. Many do not have a framework for youth
participation. A comprehensive listing of UN agencies and other international
institutions can be founded at http://www.unsystem.org
* The United Nations Youth Unit has been responsible for organizing the World
Youth Forum of the United Nations System. In November of 2002 the Unit was
merged with a new UN body that also works with aging and family and is called
the Intergenerational Issues Section. The UN has organized four World Youth
Forums and produced various documents detailing agreements of international
youth organizers.
http://www.un.org/youth/
* The UNEP Youth Advisory Council (YAC) is a group of 12 youth leaders (2 per
region) elected biennially at UNEP's Global Youth Retreat. The Council works
closely with UNEP on environmental issues, UNEP decision making processes, and
UNEP program development. The Council members support UNEP in enhancing
environmental awareness and act as ambassadors for the environmental conscience
of young people world wide.
http://www.unep.org/children_youth/homepage_files/youth/yac.htm
* The UNESCO Youth Coordination Unit is a small unit within UNESCO's
Headquarters (Paris, France) which is part of the Bureau for Strategic Planning
(BSP). BSP's principal task is to prepare the Organization's Medium-Term
Strategy. Furthermore, BSP has responsibility for the development, mainstreaming
and coordination of UNESCO's strategies and programs pertaining to women, youth
and least developed countries and to build appropriate partnerships. The unit
organizes UNESCO's Action WITH and FOR Youth and we communicate directly with
young people through a wide network of youth associations and NGO's. The unit
also organizes a UNESCO youth forum every few years.
http://www.unesco.org/youth/index.htm
* UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund has two projects for youth, both
of which are mentioned elsewhere in this document. One is the UN Special Session
and Children and the other is the UN Voices of Youth Website.
http://www.unicef.org/specialsession
and http://www.unicef.org/voy
* UNAIDS is the UN initiative to combat aids. Linked here are guidelines for
youth participation in this inter-governmental program.
http://www.unaids.org/UNGASS/youth.html
* UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNDCP) views the
involvement of young people in the development of drug-abuse prevention
activities as crucial. The goal of the Global Youth Network is to allow young
people to influence decision-making processes, to use their unique ability to
formulate novel approaches to common problems and to build bridges connecting
youth around the world. The project aims to create a self-sustaining network of
youth groups. Participants will be trained and equipped to identify and
disseminate innovative approaches to drug-abuse prevention among young people
within their own region or constituency. The Network will also collect
information on new patterns and trends in drug abuse among young people. This
early warning system will help UNDCP identify emerging drug-abuse problems among
youth. The Global Youth Network grew out of the Banff Youth Vision Jeunesse Drug
Abuse Prevention Forum in 1998 in Canada and now has member groups in almost 30
countries. Several youth groups participating in the Forum shared ideas about
how to prevent drug abuse. Their ideas and proposals were brought to the
attention of government leaders during the Special Session of the General
Assembly devoted to countering the world drug problem in June 1998. The Global
Youth Network allows the original groups from Banff and many others to stay in
contact, to continue to learn from each other and to have access to educational
materials and information.
http://www.undcp.org/youthnet
* The UNFPA is committed to helping young people protect their rights to
reproductive and sexual health and provides some resources for this purpose.
http://www.unfpa.org/adolescents/
* UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) World Disaster
Reduction Campaign Disaster Reduction, Education and Youth
http://www.unisdr.org/unisdr/campintro.htm
* The mission of FAO's rural youth development work is to strengthen and
expand existing government and non-government rural youth programmes and help
establish new ones that enable girls and boys and young women and men to become
productive and contributing citizens of their local communities. While working
with each member country's and/or individual organization's definition of youth
(which varies considerably from 10 to 35 years of age), the priority target age
range for FAO are young people of both sexes between the ages of 12 and 25.
Milestones of FAO's work over recent years includes two expert consultations;
one in 1985 as part of the UN System's International Youth Year and the other in
1995. This last expert consultation laid the foundation for the current rural
youth programme. FAO's YouthWorks, a newsletter first published in 1986, reaches
thousands of professional youth workers around the world in French, Spanish and
English. In 1997, the FAO Rural Youth Network for Food Security and Sustainable
Development in Anglophone Sub-Sahara Africa was established. FAO's focal point
for rural youth work is the Rural Youth Officer (rural-youth@fao.org) located in the
Extension, Education and Communication Service of the Sustainable Development
Department. Rural youth development draws on resources and technical support
from many division within FAO including nutrition, agriculture, forestry and
fisheries.
http://www.fao.org/ruralyouth/
6.2 English, French, Spanish and Arabic Speaking Networks
* The Commonwealth Youth Program is an intergovernmental project aimed at
strengthening national youth ministries and helping young people reach their
full potential. It was founded in 1974 and works with young people all
throughout the commonwealth on leadership, gender equality, youth employment,
youth policies and training for youth workers. The program has regional offices
in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. It organizes
regional youth forums and is structures around a Youth Caucus that involves
young people in decision-making at the pan-Commonwealth level. 54 countries
participate in the program.
http://www.cypyouth.org
* The Mobilization Program of Francophone Youth (PMJ) was founded in
September of 1999 by the leaders of francophone countries. It was set up to
facilitate the creation of youth networks and exchanges. The program organizes
training seminars for youth and facilitates the sharing of knowledge and
resources. The website as well contains much content for the program
constituency. 51 countries participate in the program.
http://www.jeunesse.francophonie.org/
* The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has relationships with
international bodies for Muslim youth. The Sports Federation of Islamic
solidarity Games seeks to strengthen Islamic solidarity among youth in member
states and promote Islamic identity in the fields of sports and to inculcate the
principles of non-discrimination as to religion, race or class, in conformity
with the precepts of Islam. The World Federation of International Arab-Islamic
Schools works for the dissemination of Islamic culture and the teaching of
Arabic, the language of the Holy Qur'an, by extending support to the schools and
cultural centres, and by training personnel and developing cooperation among the
institutions endeavoring to spread Arabic language and Islamic culture all over
the world as well as by creating sponsoring supervisory Arab-Islamic Schools.
http://www.oic-oci.org/
* OIJ is an intergovernmental youth organization that links youth ministries
and national youth organizations in Spain and Latin American countries. It
organizes seminars, makes various publications, and promotes dialogue and
cooperation among youth in these countries. It is composed of groups from 21
countries.
http://www.oij.org
6.3 Other Intergovernmental Agencies
We researched youth participation in many non-UN intergovernmental agencies
such as the World Trade Organization, the OECD, the G77, and the Non-Aligned
Movement. Most had not framework for youth participation. Those with such
frameworks are listed below.
* The International Telecommunication Union manages the development of
international communications technologies. For the first time in 2003 it will
involve young people in its annual conference. It will provide education and
seek youth input on several including the basics of telecom technologies and
their possible uses, the relationships between policy/regulation and market
structure in the world, the fundamentals of building a dynamic communications
environment, the relationships between policy, regulation and the business world
and finally how business is related to the world of communications. This is the
first step to strengthen youth participation in decision-making related to
international communications development.
http://www.itu.int/WORLD2003/forum/youth/index.html
and site on youth education: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/hrd/yes/
* This page of the World Health Organization (WHO) provides links to
descriptions of activities, reports, news and events, as well as contacts and
cooperating partners in the various WHO programs and offices working on this
topic. Also shown are links to related web sites and topics.
http://www.who.int/health_topics/youth/en/
* The World Bank, recognizing the importance of youth to development, has a
Development Education Program (DEP) which produces tools and resources to help
teachers and young people to explore social, economic, and environmental issues
of sustainable development in their classrooms, communities, and around the
world. Their web sites offer a wide range of materials--from classroom ready
learning modules to "edu-tainment" to primary source World Bank documents and
data--all designed to help young people find information for making informed,
well-considered decisions for a sustainable future.
http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/developmenteducation
7. Internet Portals
7.1 Youth-Led Sites
* TakingITGlobal is an international youth organization that inspires,
informs, involves and connects young people through a global online community,
supporting youth action globally and locally. It is partnered with the Global
Youth ACTION Network which is an incubator of global partnerships among youth
organizations and seeks to facilitate intergenerational partnership in global
decision-making.
http://www.takingitglobal.org
* Cooperation.net is an internet portal for young social entrepreneurs. The
purpose of the network is to offer young people better opportunities to identify
themselves and play a role in their communities. The second purpose is share
information about participatory and decentralized movements, organizations, and
lifestyles. The site is available in French, German, and English and is
organized in partnership with Ynternet.org
http://www.cooperation.net
* EarthYouth.net is created by young people for young people. The idea was
conceived at the UNEP Global Youth Forum on Sustainable Development in Denmark
in March 2002. Since then, development of the project has been led by a small
but enthusiastic team at the Toronto, Canada, office of TakingITGlobal, and
international organization led and run entirely by young people. It was the key
youth portal for the 2002 UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in South
Africa. It provides an online forum for young people who care for the planet to
connect, network, and gain access to resources and advance the youth movement
for sustainability. Key partners in the project include the European Youth
Forum, the Global Youth Action Network, Peace Child International, Mandate The
Future, Global Youth Reporters Program, the International Young Professionals
Foundation, and hundreds of grassroots youth partners from around the world. The
project is endorsed by UNEP and the Earth Charter and partially funded by the
UNICEF the UNDP.
http://www.earthyouth.net
* IYOCO is a platform on the Internet that offers information and resources
to promote international youth cooperation.
http://www.iyoco.org
* Madate the Future is an Internet youth forum that focuses on Sustainable
Development and discuss issues based on current events. The goal is to submit
results from this youth forum to decision-makers in order to strengthen youth
impact on the global agenda.
http://www.mandatethefuture.org
7.2 UN Sites
* The INFOYOUTH Network was initiated in 1991 by UNESCO in order to meet two
main challenges: on the one hand, the necessity to counteract the splintering of
various and scattered information sources and networks on youth, and on the
other, the urgent need to implement appropriate and coherent youth policies from
local to global levels.
http://www.infoyouth.org
* The UN Cyber School Bus provides students with a forum for learning about
the world in which they live. It was created in 1996 as the online education
component of the Global Teaching and Learning Project, whose mission is to
promote education about international issues and the United Nations. The
specific aims of the Cyberschoolbus are 1) To create an on-line global education
community; 2) To create educational action projects to show students that they
have a role in finding solutions to global problems; 3) To give students a voice
in global issues; 4) To provide high-quality teaching resources to a wide range
of educators in a cost-effective manner.
http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus
* Voices of Youth is the UNICEF online forum for youth participation in
global issues.
http://www.unicef.org/voy
7.3 Other Sites
* The Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) is a global network that
disseminates information about the Convention on the Rights of the Child and
child rights amongst non-governmental organizations (NGOs), United Nations
agencies, inter-governmental organization (IGOs), educational institutions, and
other child rights experts. The Coordinating Unit is based in London, UK. The
network is supported, and receives funding from, UNICEF, Rädda Barnen, Save the
Children UK and the International Save the Children Alliance. It has a
membership of more than 1,100 organizations in over 100 countries. About 84
percent of the members are NGOs while 55 percent are in the South (including 22
percent in Africa and 18 percent in Asia). In addition to working with member
organizations, CRIN serves the information needs of 1,600 organizations and 60
individuals who have joined their mailing list.
http://www.crin.org
* A World Bank project, the Development Gateway is an interactive portal for
information and knowledge sharing on sustainable development and poverty
reduction. It offers a comprehensive database of development projects, an
international procurement marketplace, knowledge sharing on key development
topics and more. It also has a section devoted to youth.
http://www.developmentgateway.org/youth
* Action Without Borders is better known by its website idealist.org It is
one of the chief sites on the internet for listing non-profit jobs and
resources. They have organized a series of links to many different resources of
interest to youth, targeting children and adolescents.
http://www.idealist.org/kt/
* United Youth International is a USA based initiative making a fresh attempt
to get youth around the world to work together using the Internet as a starting
point.
http://www.unitedyouth.org
* YouthNOISE that is an initiative of Save the Children Federation, Inc. It
is a group of young people and adults working together to provide info and
resources--via the Internet--that will spark youth action and voice.
http://www.youthnoise.org
8. Global Political Youth Networks
8.1 Socialist and Communist Youth Networks
* The World Federation of Democratic Youth is global assembly of national
level youth organizations that are opposed to imperialism. Communist and
socialist youth bodies make up most of its members.
http://www.wfdy.org
* The International Union of Socialist Youth is the global platform of
national level socialist youth organizations. It is oriented to "social
democrat" youth bodies.
http://www.iusy.org
* International Young Nature Friends seeks to develop socialist culture and
offer education opportunities to working class people.
http://www.iynf.org
* The International Falcon Movement - Socialist Educational International
strives to educate children and young people according to the basic principles
of tolerance, equality and friendship.
http://www.ifm-sei.org
8.2 Other Spectrums of Politics
* Global Young Greens Network gathers young members of Green Parties from
many different countries around the world. It is dedicated to sharing
information, examining different ways of protesting, and exploring different
models used around the world to make change.
http://web.greens.org/gyg/
* Anarchist International has a separate federation of anarchist youth
networks – the International Federation of Anarchist Youth. The website has
little content of direct interest to youth, not even local networks.
http://www.anarchy.no/ifay.html
* The International Federation of Liberal Youth is the international umbrella
organization of liberal and radical youth organizations. It is the platform for
co-operation among liberal and radical youth and student organizations in the
world.
http://www.iflry.org
* International Young Democrat Union (IYDU) is an organization for young
conservatives worldwide. It has member-organizations in more than 60 countries
all over the world. It lobbies for conservative values of democracy, political
freedom, freedom of speech, individual liberty, and the right to private
property.
http://www.iydu.org
* The World Federalist Association has a youth program dedicated to
democratizing international decision-making. It provides training to lobby
national governments and international decision-making institutions offering
teaching one of the most comprehensive approaches to addressing human rights,
environmental degradation and lack of democratic representation at the global
level. Youth are best organized in Europe and work together under the regional
body called the Young Federalists of Europe.
http://www.wfa.org/youth and http://www.jef-europe.net
9. Research and Policy Focused
* The Global Program on Youth, based at the University of Michigan School of
Social Work in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, creates broad-based groups of scholars,
policy makers, and service providers who work together to address critical and
timely issues related to children and youth. GPY addresses the translation from
research to practice in an effort to make research more accessible and
applicable to policy makers and practitioners. The project involves local and
international, and inter-institutional and inter-professional collaborations.
http://gpy.ssw.umich.edu
* The International Child and Youth Care Network gathers experts and young
leaders who support at-risk youth. It organizes international conferences and
fosters debate and discussion on national and international models which aim to
safeguard the rights and advance the well-being of children and youth. Some of
the conferences it organizes include the International Conference on Adolescent
Health, Victimization of Children & Youth: An International Conference,
Healthy Justice for Children and Young People, etc.
http://www.cyc-net.org
* The European Youth Information and Counselling Agency (ERYICA) was
established on 17 April 1986 in Madrid, in accordance with a recommendation
adopted by the first European Colloquium of Youth Information Centers. It is
composed of national bodies, non-governmental or governmental, which seek to
guarantee the right of young people to full and reliable information which
promotes their autonomy and their active participation in a democratic
society.
http://www.eryica.org
* International Council on National Youth Policy - The first objective of the
ICNYP is to encourage and enable all stakeholders, and most particularly youth,
to participate in all aspects of formulating, implementing and evaluating
national youth policy.
http://www.icnyp.net
* The Journal of Youth Studies is an international scholarly journal devoted to a theoretical and empirical understanding of young people's experiences and life contexts. Over the last decade, changing socio-economic circumstances have had important implications for young people: new opportunities have been created, but the risks of marginalisation and exclusion have also become significant. This is the background against which Journal of Youth Studies has been launched, with the aim of becoming the key multidisciplinary journal for academics with interests relating to youth and adolescence.
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/carfax/13676261.html
* The International Sociological Association (ISA) was founded 1948 in close cooperation with UNESCO's Research Department. As peace education and youth issues were in the forefront of the postwar, many of the first officers of ISA were also youth sociologists. In 1975 the Research Committee on Sociology of Youth, RC 34, was established as a specialized branch of the ISA. The RC 34 was from the beginning not only a network for pure academic youth research, but also committed to the original heritage of social and political responsibility. This implies standing partnership with multilateral organisations aiming at conflict resolution, peace and the development of civic society. It is also the policy of RC 34 to invite, for membership and participation, colleagues from other disciplines as well as practitioners in the youth fields. In turn, they serve as a global, interdisciplinary network and meeting place for youth issues in general.
http://www.ucm.es/info/isa/rc34.htm
10. Service Programs
* Good Neighbors is an international NGO with Christian roots that organizes
overseas trips for volunteers to help provide service for those in need. It
mostly works with young people and has projects in 10 countries in Asia and
Africa. It is headquartered in Korea.
http://www.goodneighbors.org
* Habitat for Humanity International is building around the world, dedicated
to the ideal that all people deserve a simple, decent place to live on terms
they can afford to pay. Working in partnership with volunteers, churches and
synagogues, organizations and the new homeowner families, Habitat for Humanity
is building houses and building lives. It works in 80 countries around the world
and has many programs that support young people.
http://www.habitat.org
* Service Civil International (SCI) is a voluntary service organization with
37 branches and groups worldwide. It promotes peace, international understanding
and solidarity, social justice, sustainable development, and respect for the
environment. It also believes that all the people are capable of living together
with mutual respect and without recourse to any form of violence to solve
conflicts. Towards these ends SCI organizes work camps, long term voluntary
service exchange programs with other countries, and peace building projects in
specific conflict regions of the world (eg the Balkans and the Middle East).
http://www.sciint.org
* The Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVS) was
created as an international non-governmental organization responsible for the
coordination of voluntary service. It is today one of the main international
structures which acts as a coordinating link between voluntary organizations
which run workcamps and medium and long term activities. CCIVS has currently
over 140 member organizations all across the world, among which some of them are
international organizations having their own national branches in over 100
countries. The activities and programs of these organizations are carried out by
groups of national and international volunteers over a period ranging from a few
weeks (e.g. international workcamps) to more than a year.
http://www.unesco.org/ccivs
* Volunteers for Peace is a
voluntary membership organization that has been coordinating International
Workcamps since 1982. In 2001, they exchanged over 1200 volunteers. Their
services include providing consultation and a placement service for workcamp
hosts and volunteers, linking people with programs.
http://www.vfp.org
* World Corps is an
international non-governmental organization (NGO) with headquarters in Seattle,
Washington, USA, and training sites in India, Kenya, Mexico, and the
Philippines. World Corps: Collaborating with public, private and NGO partners in
developing countries, World Corps identifies promising young leaders from rural
areas. It gives these men and women, known as World Corps Professionals (WCPs),
a long-term, intensive training program designed to teach skills in business
development, community development, and global citizenship. The goal is to give
them skills that they will need to establish their own small businesses that
will have both commercial and community missions. The first 15 Indian WCPs in
the pilot program, after three months of classroom and field training, have
started Community Information Center's (CICs) in the five major towns of Kuppam
Constituency, in southern Andhra Pradesh State. Other young leaders are
developing projects in Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, and the Philippines.
http://www.worldcorps.org
* Youth Action for Peace is
a youth led, international voluntary youth movement working for a society of
justice, peace and human solidarity. It organizes international work camps to
build community among youth from diverse backgrounds and to do voluntary
service. In particular, the movement focuses upon the issue of social exclusion
and supports people in their struggle for freedom and self-determination. YAP is
a member of the UNESCO's Coordinating Committee on International Voluntary
service and in that capacity has consultative status with the UN. It works with
groups from a 15 countries and four continents.
http://www.yap.org
* The Youth Millennium
Project aims to give children of all ages a voice in shaping their societies and
motivate them to act. It challenges young people to organize local community
projects to make a difference. It connects each youth action project with four
others in different countries and provides translation to help youth share their
ideas, their cultures, and their communities. The project fosters confidence by
helping participants created a local solution to a global problem in
collaboration with thousands of other children who are taking on their own piece
of the world. The project was launched in partnership between a UNICEF and a
Canadian University.
http://www.ympworld.org
* World University Service (WUS) is an association of
members from the academic community, who are committed to the human right to
education on the basis of academic freedom and university autonomy, with the aim
to support higher education institutions under political oppression and in
material need. WUS is organised as a loose federation of more than forty
independent country committees with an International Management Board, presently
chaired by WUS Canada. It has consultative status within the United Nations and
UNESCO. The directory of national committees is listed here: http://www.wusgermany.de/wusinf/wus-adr/adrliste.htm
The address of the federation website, http://antenna.nl/wus-i
, seems to have expired.
* The International Association for National Youth Service was established in 1996 to stimulate and facilitate the exchange of information about National Youth Service, and to help realise the promise of National Youth Service (NYS). The Secretariat of IANYS is based in the country which is hosting the next global conference on national youth service.
http://www.acys.utas.edu.au/ianys/index.html
* The HOPE Youth Corps (HYC) was established in 1994 to develop spiritual leadership skills in high-school and college-aged HOPE worldwide volunteers. The program is presented in collaboration with the International Churches of Christ and is primarily funded through scholarships provided by the churches. Selected students from around the world spend two weeks working with HOPE worldwide programs in developing countries. Leadership qualities are developed as participants serve the poor, face challenges that take them to new levels of commitment and build life-long relationships with strong peers. Volunteers travel to such international cities as Bucharest (Romania), Cape Town (South Africa), Kingston (Jamaica), Mexico City (Mexico), New Delhi (India), Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Zhangjiajie (China).
http://hyc.hopeworldwide.org
11. Student Focused Groups and Exchange Programs
11.1 Groups with an Online
Focus
* IEARN is a global network of more than 5000
schools in more than 90 countries. It helps students collaborate through the
internet on projects to show them that they can make a difference.
http://www.iearn.org
* Life-Link Friendship-Schools is an independent Non Governmental Organisation which aims to promote contact and cooperation between young people around the world and their schools, through active participation in shared projects, vital for our time (e.g. Environment, Human Rights, Conflict Resolution and Constructive Collaboration). Life-Link projects centre around three main areas of attention: Care for ourselves - Care for each other - Care for the environment. Realisation of these three interdependent areas will lead to increased common security. The philosophy is based on natural and social sciences and is neither politically nor religiously aligned. It has international contacts in more than 60 countries worldwide.
http://www.life-link.org
* ThinkQuest Programs is a national and international
competition. It provide a motivating opportunity for students and educators to
work collaboratively in teams and to learn as they create web based learning
materials and teach others. It has motivated independent national level
competitions in 22 countries around the world.
http://www.thinkquest.org
* Since 1996, ePALS Classroom Exchange has been helping teachers, parents and students around the world take advantage of new technologies that enhance and enrich learning experiences. Today it links over 4.5 million students and teachers that seek to build their skills and enhance their learning. It has near 75,000 classroom profiles that bring people together from 191 countries for cross-cultural learning as partners and friends.
http://www.epals.net
* A project of the World
Bank, WorldLinks connects and trains teachers and kids in developing countries
to improve education and employment opportunities. eLearning and the Internet
are the tools to make this happen. World Links combines three key components to
realize its goals, designed to have the greatest demonstration8 and multiplier
effect: connectivity solutions; training and professional development; and
monitoring and evaluation tools. For each of these solutions World Links has
developed leading-edge solutions adapted to the needs of developing countries-no
other organization has focused exclusively on the specific needs of developing
countries.
http://www.world-links.org/english
11.2 Teenager Focused Groups
* Youth for Understanding
(YFU), American Field Service (AFS), International Cultural Youth Exchange
(ICYE), and Youth for Exchange and Understanding (YEU) are international
exchange programs. Each year they help match thousands of young people with
families in foreign countries for one month to one year "exchanges" and
"volunteerships." They are unique compared to other exchange programs because
they promote youth involvement in decision-making politically and culturally.
AFS and YFU helped create the Council for Standards on International Education
Travel (http://www.csiet.org ). ICYE organizes an three week
International Youth Convention each year in Europe that is well attended.
http://www.yfu.org , http://www.afs.org , http://www.icye.org , and http://www.yeu.de
* The International Federation for Educational Exchanges of
Children and Adolescents (FIEEA) was created in Paris in 1983. Its founding
members have been organizing international educational exchanges for children
and adolescents with a large number of movements and associations.
http://www.francas.asso.fr/rubriques/actions/europe/fieea.htm
* Children's
International Summer Villages (CISV) is a unique youth exchange organization
CISV evolved from a firm conviction that lasting peace is possible if
individuals and groups can learn to live together as friends. For CISV, the key
to making this vision a reality, was to start working with children and youth.
Programs were developed which offered young people opportunities to meet their
peers from other countries and to form intercultural friendships. Locally,
programs give people the chance to learn about the cultures in their own
communities and explore important themes related to peace and understanding.
http://www.cisv.org
* The United World Colleges are a group of ten related
International Schools, with locations throughout the world, and dedicated to
promoting international understanding through education. Students from 16-19
years of age come from all corners of the globe to live and study together, and
to learn about each other in an environment that fosters peace, cooperation, and
personal challenge. UWC students are chosen on merit, regardless of race, creed,
color, background or financial ability and the majority are awarded
scholarships.
http://www.uwc.net
11.3 University
Groups
* AIESEC is the
world's largest student organization. It is a network of 50,000 members across
more than 83 countries and including more than 800 universities world-wide.
AIESEC facilitates international exchange of thousands of students and recent
graduates each year to do both paid and volunteer traineeships in corporations
and more recently in non-profit organizations as well.
http://www.aiesec.org
* SIFE Teams establish a variety of community outreach programs that teach free enterprise. For example, they teach concepts such as budgeting, accounting and supply and demand. They help budding entrepreneurs get their plans off the ground and mentor at-risk students, inspiring them to reach for their dreams.
http://www.sife.org
* The International Association of Agricultural
Students (IAAS) was founded in 1957 in Tunisia and is an international network
of agricultural student associations. It gathers students interested in
agriculture and other sciences such as forestry, conservation, food sciences,
landscape architecture etc. It reaches to universities in over 40 countries
worldwide. The aim is to promote the exchange of knowledge and to improve the
mutual understanding between countries and cultures. It is done by organizing
seminars, work camps, international conferences, small-scale development
projects, and international exchanges.
http://www.iaasworld.org
* The International
Federation of Medical Student Associations links national student groups in 77
countries. It organizes a bilateral exchange program, where one student
completes a clerkship at a medical school in foreign country from his own – and
in return, a medical student from that country completes term at the original
student's medical school. The association defends the rights of medical students
and raises awareness about international health issues.
http://www.ifmsa.org
* The Postgraduates International Network (PI-Net) was
founded on October 25th, 1997 by a group of postgraduate student representatives
meeting in Budapest, Hungary. The organization aims to encourage international
co-operation between postgraduate student associations, and to facilitate
communication between the members of the international postgraduate community.
http://www.postgrad.org/
* The International Union
of Students links 152 national unions of students in 114 countries. The IUS is
therefore the largest representation of students in the world. It defends the
right to education.
http://www.ius-uie.org
* The International
Association of Universities, founded in 1950, is the UNESCO-based world-wide
association of universities. It brings together institutions and organizations
from some 150 countries for reflection and action on common concerns and
collaborates with various international, regional and national bodies active in
higher education. Its services are available to organizations, institutions and
authorities concerned with higher education, as well as to individual policy and
decision-makers, specialists, administrators, teachers, researchers and
students.
http://www.unesco.org/iau/
* The International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical
Experience (IAESTE) was established in the UK in 1948 with 10 member countries.
Today it exchanges youth in 80 countries. The mission of the organization has
three priorities: 1) To provide students at institutions of higher education
with technical experience abroad relative to their studies in the broadest
sense, 2) To promote international understanding and goodwill amongst the
students of all nations irrespective of race, color, sex or creed, and 3) To
operate an exchange programme for the benefits of students, academic
institutions and other organizations offering traineeships.
http://www.iaeste.org
Other University Links and Networks, Mostly Without
Global Reach
International
Veterinary Student Association - http://www.ivsa.org
International Law Student Association - http://www.ilsa.org
International Student Tourism Association - http://futurista.org
International Forestry Students Association - http://www.ifsa.net
International African Students Association - http://www.iasaonline.org
International Association of Political Science Students -
http://www.iapss.org
International Students of History Association - http://www.isha-international.org
International Association of Civil Engineering Students -
http://www.iaces.org
International Association of Physics Students - http://druid.if.uj.edu.pl/~iaps/
International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation - http://www.ipsf.org
International Federation of Mining, Metallurgy, petroleum
and geology Students - http://www.ifmms.org
International Association of Dental Students - http://www.iadsweb.org
International Association of Student and TV Radio - http://www.iastar.org
Links from the World Conference on Higher Education - http://www.unesco.org/education/wche/links.shtml
12. Travel
* The Federation of
International Youth Travel Organizations (FIYTO) is a membership association and
trade forum for youth travel organizations and professionals. It has become the largest and most influential
organization in the youth and student travel industry. It is the meeting point
and advocate for a rapidly growing segment of a travel industry: youth tourism.
It has 450 members in 70 countries accounting for an estimated turnover of four
billion US dollars. Together, each year they serve more than 20
million travelers, provide 7 million air/ground transport tickets, and employ
100 thousand staff. FIYTO holds the world´s largest annual trade fair for
buyers, sellers and suppliers in the youth and student travel industry: The
Annual FIYTO Conference, an integral part of the World Youth and Student Travel
Conference (WYSTC). FIYTO offers the GO25 Card, our International Youth Travel
Card, a discount card which facilitates access to travel, accommodation, culture
and leisure for young travelers. FIYTO also publishes the magazine Youth Travel
International, which reaches more than two thousand decision-makers in the
travel industry worldwide.
* The International Student Travel Confederation (ISTC)
was established in 1949 by university student unions to make travel affordable
for students. Today more than 70 more than 70 specialist travel companies work
through the member organizations of ISTC to further this goal. They specialize
in securing student benefits in the areas of flights, insurance, ground
transport, work exchange programs, and international identity cards. The ISTC
network includes more than 5000 offices in over 100 countries. Members
collective serve 10 million students each year.
http://www.istc.org
* Hostelling International
is the brand name of the International Youth Hostel Federation, the organization
representing Youth Hostel Associations worldwide. It is a non-governmental,
non-profit making organization recognized by UNESCO. The global headquarters is
based in the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's biggest membership
organizations for youth. Every year more than 4 million people explore the world
these hostels and contribute almost US $1.4 billion to tourist revenues
worldwide.
http://www.iyhf.org
13. Theme, Kinship,
Advocacy and Issue Focused Groups
13.1 HIV/AIDS
* The TakingITGlobal HIV
and AIDS network has three goals: 1.Connect youth-run AIDS advocacy and service
groups around the world. 2. Link young people attending the International AIDS
Conference in Barcelona. And 3. Convene electronically to plan youth
representation for global events and processes relating to AIDS, such as United
Nations conferences, treatment access and international funding issues, and the
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria.
http://aids.takingitglobal.org
* Youth Against Aids is a
network of young leaders, mostly in Africa, dedicated to preventing AIDS. It is
partnered with the Student Global Aids Campaign (http://www.fightglobalaids.org ) and the African Youth
Alliance (http://www.ayaonline.org ).
http://www.yaids.org
13.2 Sexual Rights and Reproductive Health
* Global Action Network is
an Internet portal and network of young reproductive healthcare activists. It
provides mentoring and support to young leaders in dozens of countries all over
the world.
http://www.globalactionnetwork.org
* The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) links national autonomous Family Planning Associations (FPAs) in over 180 countries worldwide. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and is the largest voluntary organization in the world to be concerned with family planning and sexual and reproductive health. IPPF and its member associations are committed to promoting the right of women and men to decide freely the number and spacing of their children and the right to the highest possible level of sexual and reproductive health. They believe that the balance between the world's population and its natural resources and productivity is a necessary condition for improving the quality of life on the planet. The IPPF has a number of international youth programs.
http://www.ippf.org/youth
* ECPAT is a network of
organizations and individuals working together for the elimination of child
prostitution, child pornography and trafficking of children for sexual purposes.
http://www.ecpat.net
* Established in 1980 as the Center for Population
Options, Advocates for Youth (AFY) champions efforts to help young people make
informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health.
Advocates believes it can best serve the field by boldly advocating for a more
positive and realistic approach to adolescent sexual health. Advocates for Youth
envisions a society that views sexuality as normal and healthy and treats young
people as a valuable resource. AFY offers programs like the following: www.youthresource.com — support for gay, lesbian,
bisexual & transgender (GLBT) youth, www.themediaproject.com - information for the
entertainment industry, www.youthshakers.org — support for international youth
activists, www.ambientejoven.org — information and community for
Latino GLBT youth, www.youthHIV.org — HIV prevention and support for
HIV-positive youth, www.mysistahs.org — holistic sexual health resources by
and for young women of color.
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org
* Global March Against
Child Labor is a movement borne out of hope and the need felt by people across
the globe - the desire to set children free from servitude. The Global March
movement began with a worldwide march which started on January 17, 1998, and
touched every corner of the globe. It culminated at an ILO conference in Geneva
with a declaration which was adopted a year later. The partners of the movement
form an effective network around the world who lobby governments in their
regions. The Global March International Secretariat is located in New Delhi,
India and has now begun a crusade to make education available for all.
http://www.globalmarch.org
* The IAAH is a
multidisciplinary, non-government organization with a broad focus on youth
health. It evolved out of the 4th International Symposium on Adolescent Health
held in Sydney, Australia in 1987 with formal Articles approved in July, 1991
during the 5th Congress in Montreux, Switzerland. Official Non-Government
Organization (NGO) status with the World Health Organization was granted in
1991. IAAH supports the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
(1989) and is committed to the principles of youth empowerment in all aspects of
its affairs. Youth are defined as being young persons, including adolescents,
between 10-24 years of age. Events or activities co-sponsored by IAAH must
address the health issues of that age group; be multidisciplinary; include
meaningful youth participation; and be conducted in a youth friendly manner.
http://www.iaah.org
* The International Organization for Adolescents is
committed to advancing the health and well-being of adolescents throughout the
world. By entering into partnerships with individuals, groups and
community-based organizations, IOFA strives to improve the lives of young people
through programming, advocacy and progressive social/organizational change at
the local, regional and international levels.
http://www.iofa.org
* The World Youth Alliance
is a lobby group that promotes the dignity of the person at the international
level and seeks to promote anti-abortion legislation. It has trained more than
500 young people to participate in conferences at the United Nations and the
European Union.
http://www.wya.net
13.3 Defending
Children and Youth Rights
* Covenant House, known as Casa Alianza in Central America
and Europe, is an independent, non profit organization dedicated to the
rehabilitation and defense of runaway and street children in Central America. In
North America it is dedicated to providing shelter and service to homeless and
runaway youth. In Europe it is dedicated to fundraising for Central America and
lobbying for children and youth rights.
http://www.casa-allianza.org and http://www.covenanthouse.org
* Kids Can Free the
Children is a unique international youth organization that empowers young people
through representation, leadership and action. Over the past six years, Kids Can
Free the Children has become the largest network of children helping children in
the world with over 100,000 youth involved in more than 35 countries. It was
started by a 12-year-old boy named Craig Kielburger and has helped create dozens
of schools in developing countries through the volunteer energy of young people
in developed countries.
http://www.freethechildren.org
* The Child Labor Coalition
(CLC) is a coalition of nongovernmental organizations, associations,
federations, state labor departments, clubs and community groups, labor unions,
and individual activists. More than 50 national and international organizations
are members. The mission of the Child Labor Coalition is to create a network for
the exchange of information about child labor, provide a forum and a unified
voice on protecting working minors and ending child labor exploitation. The CLC
also works to develop informational and educational outreach to the public and
private sectors to combat child labor abuses and promote progressive initiatives
and legislation.
http://www.stopchildlabor.org
* Youth Advocate Program
International works with and for young people worldwide, giving voice and
visibility to new ways of improving the lives of children in the 21st century.
Our program priorities include advocacy, education and youth participation. We
serve as an information clearinghouse, targeting urgent and emerging issues such
as the use of child soldiers, child slavery and the execution of youthful
offenders. Located in Washington, DC, YAP International educates decision makers
and coordinates activities with other advocacy groups and youth-serving
organizations.
http://www.yapi.org
13.4 Youth with
Disabilities
* Mobility
International was founded in 1982 to defend the rights of disabled people. Since
that date it has organized over 500 international projects aimed at all people
with a disability, regardless of their nationality, age or type of disability as
well as training courses for those working for or living with them. Mobility
International works with people of all ages but primarily focuses on young
people.
http://www.mobility-international.org
* Blind people of the world
are well organized from local to global levels, culminating in the World Blind
Union. The Union gathers as a global assembly every four years. In 2000 there
was a youth committee. Below is a link to the report of the youth committee and
a link to the WBU web site.
World Youth Committee
report: http://www.wbuga.org/pages/reports/78979-01.htm and the
WBU web site: http://www.wbuga.org
* The International Federation of Hard of Hearing Young
People (IFHOHYP) (deaf youth) has existed since 1967 and works mainly to arrange
Summer Camps for young hard of hearing, Conferences dealing with different
aspect of being hard of hearing in the modern world, training of youth leaders
and language-courses especial tailored for hard of hearing young people. The
Goal is to help hard of hearing young people to live a better life and enable
hard of hearing to participate fully in society.
http://www.ifhohyp.dk ,
and additional information site: http://www.youth.hear-it.org
13.5 Peace Education, Disarmament, Violence Prevention
and Anti-Racism Work
*
The Institute for International Mediation and Conflict Resolution (IIMCR) is a
Washington, DC based, non-profit, 501(c)(3) institution whose mission is to
promote the use of peaceful conflict resolution techniques among a generation of
future leaders through the design and implementation of unique programs and
services. Since 1996, IIMCR has successfully conducted seven International
Symposia in The Netherlands and one Latin American Symposium in Mexico, training
over 700 dedicated students and young professionals from over 50 countries.
http://www.iimcr.org
* Established as a Treaty Organization with its own
Charter in an International Agreement adopted by the General Assembly in
resolution 35/55 of 5 December 1980, the University for Peace has the mission:
"to provide humanity with an international institution of higher education for
peace and with the aim of promoting among all human beings the spirit of
understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, to stimulate cooperation
among peoples and to help lessen obstacles and threats to world peace and
progress, in keeping with the noble aspirations proclaimed in the Charter of the
United Nations".
http://www.upeace.org
* The Hague Appeal for Peace Youth Network is dedicated
to facilitating collaboration and information sharing among young peace
organizers. It also organizes the Global Campaign for Peace Education which
demands that every country in the world reform its education system to teach the
principles of non-violence, community building, solidarity and other concepts
that prevent violence.
http://youth.haguepeace.org
* The United Network Of
Young Peace Builders (UNOY – formerly United Nations of Youth) is a global
network of young leaders dedicated to conflict prevention and peace education.
http://www.unoy.org
* The Pax Christi International Youth Forum was established
in 1990 to integrate the work of young people in the International Pax Christi
Movement. Pax Christi International is a catholic peace and justice movement
which was founded in the aftermath of the second World War when a number of
French and German citizens decided to take concrete steps to promote
reconciliation. Beginning with prayer walks and exchanges between the two
countries, it soon became clear that any work for peace needed to be rooted in
social and economic justice. In this way, the branches of Pax Christi quickly
grew to encompass all issues its members felt were pertinent to them in their
quest for a better world. There are now members and affiliated groups all over
the world, and the movement works actively in the fields of demilitarization and
security, human rights, North-South relations, peace education, peace
spirituality, non-violence, integrity of creation and faith, dialogue and
reconciliation.
http://www.paxchristi.net/youth
* The Youth Outreach
Initiative of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation initiates and supports
opportunities for youth to contribute toward a world at peace, free from the
threat of nuclear weapons. Guiding principles of the Initiative include a
confidence in youth as community leaders, active citizens; a respect for
cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity; a belief in nonviolence and a
dialogue as a means to resolve conflict.
http://www.wagingpeace.org/new/youtharea/index.htm
* The Youth for Peace
Network connects youth peace groups and activities from across the globe. It
also collects and shares project ideas to motivate youth to take action. It is
supported by the World Peace Prayer Society, a non-sectarian, member-supported
organization dedicated to spreading the message and prayer "May Peace Prevail on
Earth" all over the world.
http://www.worldpeace.org/youth/
* International Youth
Network Against Racism (IYNAR) is an Internet discussion list of young leaders
dedicated to ending racism. It was launched as a result of the United Nations
World Conference Against Racism.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iynar/ & http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wcar-youthsummit
13.6 Environment, Sustainable Development and Resource
Conservation
* Youth
for Intergenerational Justice and Sustainability is an international network of
youth forming projects and study groups on the subjects of economy, ecology,
culture, and politics. It identifies itself as a non-political lobby group and
believes that sustainability will be achieved as soon as no generation lives at
the expenses of the following ones.
http://www.yois.org
* A SEED (Action for
Solidarity, Equality, Environment, and Development) is a global organization
linking youth groups and individuals on all continents. A SEED was established
by young people in 1991 in response to the UNCED Earth Summit proceedings in Rio
and aimed to forge alliances among young people committed to social and
environmental justice. Since 1992, the A SEED decentralized network has been
growing continuously and consists of regional "hubs" located in Europe, Asia,
North America, Africa, Latin America and Japan, with various levels of activity.
http://www.aseed.net
* The Global Ecovillage Network is a global
confederation of people and communities that meet and share their ideas,
exchange technologies, develop cultural and educational exchanges, directories,
and newsletters and are dedicated to restoring the land and living "sustainable
plus" lives by putting more back into the environment than we take out. The
network links 15 thousand villages on 6 continents and has a program to
facilitate youth exchange and participation.
http://www.gaia.org/activities/gen_youth/index.asp
* The Vegetarian Youth
Network is an informal, grassroots, non-professional organization run entirely
by, and for, teenagers who support compassionate, healthy, globally-aware,
vegetarian/vegan living. The Network is committed to providing support and
encouragement to vegetarian youth through programs that emphasize communication.
It has links with youth in 25 countries.
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/4482/
* The World Youth
Parliament for Water is an initiative of the International Secretariat for Water
and its network members. It takes place within the framework of the
International Freshwater Year 2003. This Parliament is part of the preparatory
phase of activities that will take place in The House of the Citizen and of the
Water, where the World Assembly of Water Wisdom will be held during the Third
World Water Forum in Kyoto in March 2003. The forum proposes the participation
of "future generations" in activities related to the conservation, protection
and prudent use of one of our most precious common assets on earth: WATER.
Moreover, it is in keeping with an educational process on solidarity and
sustainable development.
http://www.i-s-w.org/activites_jeunesse_en.htm
* The World Water Forum
hosts discussions with people from various fields and regions, including water
experts, decision makers and NGOs, with the objective of finding new solutions
to the urgent water problems of the world. The Youth World Water Forum (YWWF) is
a daughter and aims to mobilize a new generation of activism and partnership
around this growing global issue.
http://www.ywwf.org and http://www.worldwaterforum.org
* The Earth Restoration Corps was founded in 1988 with the mission to restore the Earth and to offer an answer to the severe environmental challenges impacting the Earth and humanity by empowering the environmental conscience of all people and focusing on the world's youth. It has run several international environmental training programs today has projects in three continents.
http://www.restoreearth.org
* Roots and Shoots is the
Jane Goodall Institute's international environmental and humanitarian program
for young people. Its mission is to foster respect and compassion for all living
things, to promote understanding of all cultures and beliefs and to inspire each
individual to take action to make the world a better place for the environment,
animals and the human community. All Roots & Shoots members, from pre-K to
university, demonstrate their care and concern for living things through service
projects in their communities. Roots & Shoots members participate as
individuals, in local groups and as part of a global network.
http://www.rootsandshoots.org
* Global Response empowers
people of all ages, cultures, and nationalities to protect the environment by
creating partnerships for effective citizen action. At the request of indigenous
peoples and grassroots organizations the organization develops urgent
international letter campaigns to help communities prevent many kinds of
environmental destruction. It involves young people as well as adults in these
campaigns to develop in them the values and skills for global citizen
cooperation and earth stewardship. The project for teenagers is called Eco-Club
Action. In total the network links 5500 activists from 92 countries.
http://www.globalresponse.org
* The World Youth
Organization on Climate Change (WYOCC) aims to raise youth and student awareness
of and participation in the climate change issue through its network of members
around the world. It was created in November 2000 by the 118 Youth Delegates
from 61 countries attending, for the first time ever, the World Conference on
Climate Change and its official Youth Meeting held in The Hague, Netherlands.
http://www.wyocc.org
13.6 Indigenous
Youth
Indigenous youth are not
organized at the global level. Several attempts have been made but their work
has not been weaved together.
* The Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Youth Alliance is a
partnership of young people from the Americas. It organizers projects and
seminars to help defend the rights of indigenous people and bring the wisdom of
both cultures in partnership with each other to serve youth, healing, and
decolonization.
http://www.iniya.org
* The International Indian Treaty Council was founded
in 1974 at a gathering by the American Indian Movement in Standing Rock, South
Dakota attended by more than 5000 representatives of 98 Indigenous Nations. The
IITC supports grassroots Indigenous struggles through information dissemination,
networking, coalition building, technical assistance, organizing and
facilitating the effective participation of traditional Peoples in local,
regional, national and international forums, events and gatherings. In 1977, the
IITC became the first organization of Indigenous Peoples to be reorganized as a
Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with Consultative Status to the United
Nations Economic and Social Council. The youth program of the council aims to
strengthen international indigenous youth networks, to organize conferences and
training programs, and to incorporate youth voice into council campaigns. The
council does directly support a global indigenous youth network but helps create
the relationships that are necessary for such a network to develop.
http://www.treatycouncil.org/section_2118.htm
An educational site on
indigenous youth:
http://www0.un.org/cyberschoolbus/indigenous/index.asp
A partial listing of
international indigenous youth resources:
http://www.nzaahd.org.nz/indigyouth.htm
An international discussion
list of young indigenous leaders
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indigenousyouth/
Four independent international
conferences on international indigenous youth organizing:
1) The Oxfam International Youth Parliament convened
Indigenous youth leaders from all over the world in Ausralia in 2000.
http://www.iyp.oxfam.org/issues/indigenous_caucus.asp
2) The International
Indigenous Youth Conference of 2002 in the Philippines convened indigenous youth
from near 25 countries.
The Conference Invitation
http://www.idrc.ca/mpri/documents/souvenir.doc
The Conference program:
http://www.firstpeoples.org/indconference.htm
The Conference Declaration:
http://www.tebtebba.org/tebtebba_files/ipr/iiyc.html
A Detailed Article about the Conference:
http://www.pwrdf.org/news/news.php?news=2002-05-09.news
3) 4th and 5th World
Indigenous Youth Conferences
Event: http://www.itv.se/boreale/wiyceng.htm
Discussion of an World Indigenous Youth Network: http://www.itv.se/boreale/valkea.htm 2
Manual for an Indigenous Youth Network: http://www.itv.se/boreale/network.htm
4) 1st Circumpolar Youth
Conference
http://www.dkik.gl/komp/kompmenu.html
2nd Circumpolar Youth Conferenice
http://www.suri.ee/doc/saami/lujavr.html
13.8 Cultural Youth
Movements
* Youth and
Music International was founded more than 50 years ago. It is a worldwide
network for youth and music that provides young people with greater access to
the art, both as performers and listeners, enabling them to develop through
music across borders. It links youth national youth and music networks in more
than 80 countries and is one of the largest cultural youth organizations in the
world.
http://www.jmi.net
* IDRIART stands for Initiative for the Development of
Intercultural/Transdisciplinary Relations through the Arts. It was born out of
recognition that healing forces, inherent in art, must take on a more social
role in answer to increasing isolation among people and cultures. For 20 years
the movement has been trying to build a creative environment where people from
different walks of life and from different countries, of different age,
nationality and culture can meet in the atmosphere of arts.
“Meeting through the art enables one to learn the art of meeting.” It was
founded in 1981 by Miha Pogacnik, a violinist and cultural ambassador of
Slovenia. It organizes international programs such as painting workshops for
young people and an annual Art and Business conference in Slovenia at Castle Borl. It
has also run workshops all over the world from Tibet to the Amazon.
http://www.idriart.org
* The World Organization of Young Esperantists (TEJO)
is an international non-governmental youth organization founded in 1938, that
works to foster peace and intercultural understanding among young people around
the world through Esperanto (an invented language). It is active in working on
the present-day problems and issues of youth, particularly regarding linguistic
and cultural matters. From its headquarters in the Netherlands, it coordinates
the efforts of its 40 national affiliates and members in more than 80 countries.
TEJO also works in collaboration with regional and international institutions
such as the European Youth Forum, UNESCO and the United Nations.
http://www.tejo.org
13.9 Youth,
Communication and Media Networks and Training Groups
* Focusing on young people and their communities, the mission of the International Debate Education
Association is to promote mutual understanding and democracy globally by supporting discussion
and active citizenship locally. IDEA offers students and teachers the opportunity to examine
issues affecting their lives and their communities. Participants come to recognize that
free and open discussion is essential to the establishment and preservation of open and
democratic societies. IDEA is an independent membership organization of national debate
programs and associations and other organizations and individuals that support debate.
IDEA provides assistance to national debate associations and organizes an annual
international summer camp. Since 1994 IDEA has introduced debate to secondary schools
and universities throughout Central and Eastern Europe, the Former Soviet Union, Central
Asia, the United States, Venezuela, Australia and Haiti and continues to grow throughout the world. IDEA also coordinates curriculum
development, maintains international educational contacts, fundraisers and organizes other
international events.
http://www.idebate.org
* Young Media Partners
(YMP) is an international membership association of young journalists (ages 15
to 25) in broadcast, print and electronic media, who are committed to using
their skills to build a world of peace, social justice and equality. YMP was
established as a Swiss-based not-for-profit association in the spring of 1997
with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. YMP's mission is threefold: 1) to
provide young journalists the information, knowledge, training, resources and
communication networks necessary for developing their media competence and
professionalism; 2) to assist them in developing media products that encourage
greater cooperation, tolerance, and a sense of global citizenship among young
audiences; 3) to promote greater acceptance of young journalists' contributions
in the mainstream media, as well as ensuring an outlet through YMP's own
newswire service and audiovisual productions. It has 10 bureaus around the world
in 10 different countries.
http://www.comminit.com/pds7-2001/sld-2438.html and youngmedia@youthlink.org
* Global Action Project,
Inc. is a media arts organization that provides training in video production and
new media technologies for youth both locally and internationally. In
collaboration with regional organizations it works in diverse areas of the world
to produce videos. The producers are peer educators. They benefit from their
interactions with international cultures and learn from screening and workshops
that highlight connections between local and global issues. The programs have
taken place in Croatia, Northern Ireland, Ghana, Guatemala and the Middle East.
http://www.global-action.org
* Global Nomads Group (GNG)
is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting global education through
videoconferencing and interactive broadcasting. We partner with educators to
conduct collaborative learning projects that encourage cross-cultural dialogue
and reflections on the global issues that affect our lives.
http://www.gng.org
* Young PRESS is a collaboration among more than 20
youth-run and youth-focused organizations in media, technology and education. It
was designed to provide a collaborative model to strengthen youth media and
reach across the digital divide using both new and old technologies. The network
encompasses audio, text, video and TV, including satellite and internet-based
conferencing. The project was prepared to be launched as a Pilot Project at the
United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children and Children's Forum
to be held in New York, September 16th-21st. Due the terrorist attacks on the
United States, the Special Session was postponed for six month and the Young
PRESS project slowed down. Today is run over the Internet to cover global issues
from the reporting perspective of children and youth. Young PRESS is a project
"in progress."
http://www.youngpress.org
* In 2000 the World
Conservation Union (IUCN) and several partners launched a program to train
youths to become young journalists at the service of biodiversity. The program
aimed to train an international corps of young reporters to be dispatched to
cover major events ranging from conferences on climate change and forest
conservation to the Olympics and environmental trade fairs. They only
participated in two events during that year, both organized by the IUCN. In 2002
they reported about the WSSD in South Africa.
http://www.iucn.org/info_and_news/gyrp , WSSD
Coordinator: Mirza Delibegovic, mirzadelibe@hotmail.com
13.10 Other Theme and Issue Focused Youth Groups
* The International
Movement ATD Fourth World is an intergenerational movement dedicated to
overcoming extreme poverty through training of youth. Its goal is to foster
partnership with families in persistent poverty and other citizens. It was
founded in France in 1957 by Father Joseph Wresinski who grew up in poverty
himself. Today, the International Movement ATD Fourth World has a full-time
Volunteer Corps with teams in 20 countries and correspondents in 90, actively
involving some 100,000 people worldwide. Many weekend and week-long workshops,
workcamps and other gatherings are organized. At these, young people can get
training, share their ideas and give each other more strength to able to
continue the fight against poverty in their daily lives.
http://www.jeunesse-quartmonde.org
* Global Youth Connect was
born in 1997 when young people and leaders in the fields of human rights and
genocide prevention gathered together, intent on finding new ways to prevent the
crimes against humanity then ravaging the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and other
zones of conflict around the world. As a result, a group of international young
activists bonded together to build an organization whose goal would be to
prevent such atrocities from occurring in the first place. GYC has developed an
international young activist learning community and organized an overseas trip
for young activists. It also produces occasional email newsletters about
resources for youth activism.
http://www.globalyouthconnect.org
* Youth Ending Hunger (YEH)
is a youth organization within Hunger Free World, a Japanese NGO that aims to
create a world free from hunger. Its network is active in 11 countries. Youth
who take the leadership positions in YEH must be between 15 to 24. From 1991 to
2001 YEH organized 10 Global Youth Conferences in which members from various
parts of the world met and discussed global strategies to end hunger. The group
runs projects on the ground in developing countries and does lobbying on
HIV/AIDS in every member country. YEH-Japan funds the projects on the ground
pays for the administration costs of the YEH movements in developing countries.
http://www.hungerfree.net/yeh/
* The International Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth Organization (IGLYO) was created in 1984
as a reaction to the need for better co-operation among regional, local or
national lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) youth and student
organizations. It is an important meeting point and LGBT youth rights stronghold
in the European region.
http://www.iglyo.org or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iglyo_members
* The TakingITGlobal ICT
Network believes that young people can and are harnessing the power of
information and communications technologies (ICTs) to assure opportunity,
empowerment, and inclusion for all. The network provides an opportunity for
young people to meet each other, collaborate, and share advice to improve their
ICT-related activities. It also serves as a conduit through which young people
can be recognized by and become involved with national and international
initiatives that pursue any of the following four goals: 1. Create and provide
access to ICT infrastructure. 2. Develop content for various media. Provide ICT
training to marginalized groups. And 4. Provide ICT policy advice to governments
and funding agencies.
http://ict.takingitglobal.org
* The Space Generation
Summit was a two and a half day meeting of approximately 200 international young
delegates for the purpose of refining and articulating the vision of young
people on the future utilization and exploration of space by humanity. It was
held in conjunction with the World Space Congress - the largest gathering of
space scientists for a decade - and builds on the work of the Space Generation
Forum of the Third UN Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer
Space. The SGS took full advantage of the unique opportunities that WSC offers
to present a unified global youth vision on space issues to world leaders.
http://www.unsgac.org/sgs/index.php
14. General Networking and Facilitation
* The Youth Workshop of the
Alliance for a Responsible and United World is a loose network of young
facilitators dedicated to organizing events, sharing information, and preparing
for challenges that youth face in the world. The Alliance is global network of
citizens groups dedicated to strengthening civil society participation in global
decision-making.
http://www.alliance21.org/en/colleges/youth/contacts.htm
* Emerging
Practitioners in Philanthropy is a newly established national network of young
professionals and people involved in the work of organized philanthropy.
Membership includes staff, trustees, donors, students and others who are
involved in philanthropy and interested in connecting with a peer group to
promote a social justice agenda and provide youth leadership within the
philanthropic sector. The network membership is largely from the United States
but it is developing international relationships.
http://www.epip.info and http://www.foundationsforchange.org/epip.htm
* The International Young
Professionals Foundation (IYPF) is a not-for-profit public company working in
the fields of human rights, poverty eradication, environment and social capital,
within the broad context of sustainability. It utilizes and promotes the
resources, skills and knowledge that Young Professionals can bring to this arena
in order to create a better world for current and future generations. The
Foundation's vision is "A global community of Young Professionals creating a
better world for current and future generations through local and global
action". The IYPF works with young professionals to generate solutions to the
challenges faced in creating a better and brighter future for all and to support
and facilitate projects emanating from this process.
http://www.iypf.org
* Leadership for
Environment and Development (LEAD) is an international network of professionals
committed to sustainable development. Its 1200 members from nearly 70 countries
are drawn from business, media, public sectors, academia and non-government
organizations. The LEAD network was set up in 1991 by The Rockefeller
Foundation. LEAD's aim is to create and sustain a global network of emerging and
working leaders ready and willing to address environment and development
challenges in different countries.
http://www.lead.org
* Pioneers of Change is an
emerging, self-organizing, global learning community of committed, young people,
in their mid-20's to early 30's, from diverse cultural, social, and professional
backgrounds. Pioneers of Change numbers over 1000 individual pioneers in over 70
countries, who have made a personal commitment to continuous learning and
contribution. Pioneers organize in learning teams, project groups, and local
networks as part of the flexible structure of the organization. A series of
learning programs form the core of our activities.
http://www.pioneersofchange.net
* Re-evaluation Counseling
(also known as Co-Counseling) is an international movement where people of all
ages and of all backgrounds learn how to exchange "effective help" with each
other in order to free themselves from the effects of past distress experiences.
They are well organized internationally, even with their youth.
International Reference Person for youth: http://www.rc.org/lists/young.html , International
Reference Person for young adults: http://www.rc.org/lists/young-adults.html , Page on
youth: http://www.rc.org/present_tense/liberation/young/ ,
Internet portal for the movement: http://www.rc.org
15. Youth Groups and Networks focused on Youth
Participation in Decision-Making and Activism
15.1 Supporting
Youth Activism
*
Oxfam's International Youth Parliament is a network of young leaders in 150
countries with a vision of "youth building an equitable, sustainable and
peaceful world." It organized an inaugural conference in October of 2000 and
continues to provide the participants with support to implement individual
action plans that they developed. The website provides training materials
ranging from time management to fundraising. The IYP secretariat is currently
examining the impact of globalization on youth.
http://www.iyp.oxfam.org
* JustAct is a national,
nonprofit organization promoting youth leadership and action for global justice.
Founded by students in 1983 as the Overseas Development Network, the
organization has been a forum for thousands of young people to address global
issues such as social inequity, human rights, and environmental sustainability.
JustAct's mission is to develop in young people a life-long commitment to social
and economic justice around the world, by providing a network linking students
and youth to learning opportunities and to grassroots movements working for
equitable, sustainable, and self-reliant communities. JustAct encourages more
young people to examine the forces at work that truly contribute to injustice
and inequality in the world. While providing relief and addressing the immediate
needs of families and communities in distress are essential, we know that it is
only by dealing with the root causes of social and economic inequality at home
and abroad that the need for charity will one day diminish.
http://www.justact.org
* Youth Leaders International is a two year youth
leadership training program. It works in near a dozen countries on four
continents. The program was started in 1996. It works with young people from 13
to 15-years-old, brings them to a international leadership conference,
challenges them to develop a service project, live in another country, make a
plan for their future, mentor a younger student, and ultimately participate in a
life skills training program.
http://www.leaders.org
* Leaders Today is
dedicated to helping young people realize their fullest potential through
leadership education and development using innovative, youth inspired
curriculum. Marc and Craig Kielburger founded Leaders Today with a common vision
to empower youth to become socially involved and their inspirational work has
been profiled on Oprah, 60 Minutes and Much Music as well as in The New York
Times, YM, Time for Kids and Seventeen, among many others. Leaders Today
administers one, two and five day workshops around the world, holds annual
leadership training academies, and facilitator training programs. It also
organizes overseas volunteer trips to Latin America, Africa, and Asia. It helps
young people reach their fullest potential through leadership education and
development using an innovative, youth inspired curriculum. Marc and Craig
Kielburger founded Leaders Today with a common vision to empower youth to become
socially involved.
http://www.leaderstoday.com
* Peace Child is an
international organization which empowers young people to inform themselves and
take action on major world issues. Since its founding in 1982 it has grown to
include over 500 youth groups in 120 countries. Registered in the UK as an
educational charity, Peace Child has consultative status at the UN for which
they have done many projects.
http://www.peacechild.org
* NASYM is an umbrella
organization formed by 98 national youth and students organizations from
different parts of the world that support the concept of the Non-Aligned
Movement. NASYM's objectives are: to work with students and young people towards
the aims and ideals of universality; to strive for national liberation, for
economic, social and cultural justice, for equality among nations, for
cooperation among nations and peoples, and against all sorts of oppression and
repression.
http://www.uruklink.net/nasyo (The site seems to have
expired, though it can be retrieved via Google's cache http://www.google.com.br/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=+site:www.uruklink.net+nasyo
) , nasyo@uruklink.net
* YDC is an international
youth organization whose aims are to strengthen youth structures working on
North-South cooperation in order to promote development, the protection of the
environment, international justice and cooperation. In its efforts to bridge the
gap between North and South, YDC sets up programs for the purpose of development
education and political campaigning on North-South issues. The activities are
wide ranging and include seminars, workshops, training courses, campaigns,
publications, simulation games and research on development questions. The
network has 66 member youth organizations including local grassroots
organizations, national NGOs and international institutions. It also works with
an additional 40 institutions as organizational partners.
http://www.ydc.nl
* World Youth Service and Enterprise (WYSE) is an
international training program. It gathers young people for two week intensive
leadership programs, that are conducted by a team of international educators.
Participants learn that to effectively lead others, they must first know
themselves. The curriculum includes many individual and group experiences to
help participants explore their leadership qualities. WYSE has consultative
status with the United Nations.
http://www.wyse-ngo.org
* The Common Futures
Forum (CFF) was a unique initiative set up to promote and support new forms of
social leadership and activism by linking young social entrepreneurs from around
the world who were innovators at community, national and international levels.
It was run by the Global Meeting of Generations project of the International
Development Conference (IDC) in Washington, DC. After a number of global
gatherings and network building, over the course of a few years, the IDC
developed internal problems and no longer exists today. A web archive of the CFF
still exists, pr