YES Insider Newsletter # 16 - 10 Stories
March 3, 2004
Insider the Insider:
1. Registration for YES Mexico 2004 is OPEN!
2. Post-Hyderabad Outcomes Workshop Held in India
3. New Livelihoods Research Survey Launched by YES Pakistan
3. Young Australians Win National Tourism Award
4. ICT Assessment Tools Available Online
5. Youth Social Capital Conference Coming Up in Peru
6. British Colombia Hosts Youth Employment Summit
7. YES Georgia Hosts YES Hyderabad Peer Exchange
8. YES Peru Network Launches New Website
9. YES Benin Members Elect Network Office Holders
10. Poonam Ahluwalia Nominated for Woman of the Year Award
1. Registration for YES Mexico 2004 is OPEN. The procedure in 2004 is as
follows:
a) Register your name online at:
http://www.yesweb.org/mexico/register.html
b) A formal invitation will be prepared for you. It will be a
personalized letter from the Government of Mexico, available to you online
in PDF format. You will be emailed the URL (web address) of your invitation
to download and print.
c) You will need to book your air ticket and apply for your Mexico
entry visa. Fundraising will be necessary as YES is not offering
scholarships for air tickets. Please use the fundraising toolkit at:
http://www.yesweb.org/campaign/docs/fundraising.pdf (900 KB).
d) Visa application. Please inquire if you also require a USA transit
visa to enter Mexico.
e) Please coordinate with your YES Network Coordinator if a Network
exists in your country. Country delegations are limited to 15 per country.
Women and minorities are encouraged to attend.
f) Communicate your needs and questions to this address:
mexico2004@yesweb.org
g) Participate in your country's local youth employment campaign in
preparation for YES Mexico 2004.
h) Online registration will close on September 15, 2004. Please
confirm your participation before this date. If you register by September
15, an invitation letter will be prepared for you.
i) Arrive in Mexico by October 3 for the event's first day on
October 4. See you there!!!
2. Post-Hyderabad Outcomes Workshop Held in India
Honorable Shri. B. Gopal Krishna Reddy, Minister for Employment Generation,
Government of Andhra Pradesh inaugurated a one day State Level Workshop on
"Generating Employment in Communities - A Perspective from Hyderabad YES
Regional Forum 2003".
The workshop, jointly organized by the YES Campaign and the Government of
Andhra Pradesh, was held at the Dr.Marri Channa Reddy Human Resource
Development Institute of Andhra Pradesh (MCRHRD Institute of AP). The
workshop was organized to disseminate the results of the highly successful
Hyderabad YES Regional Forum 2003.
The workshop brought together officials, members of civil society
organizations and youth representatives from all parts of the State. Eminent
speakers gave powerful and thought provoking presentations, citing success
stories on generating employment opportunities.
A specially commissioned publication, "Generating Employment in Communities-
A Guidebook for Trainers" highlighting the outcomes of the Hyderabad YES
Regional Forum 2003 was also released in the workshop. The publication,
written by P.K. Joseph and Bremley Lyngdoh of the YES India office, is
available online at http://www.yesweb.org/media_room/docs/guidebook.pdf
The Honorable Minister highlighted the importance of involving women in any
employment program with at least 33% women beneficiaries. Mr. PK Joseph,
Regional Coordinator, South Asia, YES Campaign, briefed the participants
regarding the issues discussed in the Hyderabad YES Regional Forum 2003,
activities of the YES Country Networks and the upcoming YES Academy
International. The soon to be launched YES Academy is also housed in the
premises of the Dr. MCR HRD Institute.
3. New Livelihoods Research Survey Launched by YES Pakistan
YES Pakistan is launching its second youth livelihoods survey in February,
2004. Following on from the success of the household survey conducted in
early 2003, this initiative will seek "to understand the priorities of
profitable and non profitable organizations in recruiting, retaining and
rewarding young employees", according to the YES Pakistan website.
In collaboration with Punjab University and the support of National Youth
Service volunteers, the survey will collect data from over 50 organizations
in Lahore, Kasur and Sheikupura districts. Data will be collected until the
end of March and a report published at the end of May, 2004. Ali Raza Khan,
YES Pakistan Coordinator, believes the data will make a valuable
contribution to youth livelihood efforts in Pakistan.
"In order to help youth become more prepared, we have designed this research
to understand the needs of the organizations and labor market in order to
enable young people to become successfully employed. If youth are not sure
that they are prepared to join the labor market, chances are that they are
probably not.
The research will identify the priorities and information that can enable
youth to get and keep a job! It will give them an opportunity to learn about
the requirements of different organizations and consider these while
applying for a job.
In addition, we will also organize trainings for the marginalized and
underserved youth in the identified areas for their capacity building."
YES Pakistan website: http://projects.yesweb.org/YES-Pakistan
Mr. Ali Raza Khan, < aliaccessed@hotmail.com>
4. Australian Tourist Resort Inspired by YES Campaign
Two young Australians went home from YES 2002 in Alexandria determined to
include more youth in their business. Corinne Maloney and Juan Walker used
what they had learnt in Egypt to incorporate the employment needs of youth
into the operations of Daintree Eco Lodge and Spa, a luxury rainforest
resort in north-eastern Australia.
"Since attending the summit we have placed a huge emphasis on youth
employment, especially with the Indigenous people of our local community, as
many youth are not actively seeking employment or holding down jobs, "
Corinne Maloney said last week.
Within the community very few Indigenous people are employed in mainstream
positions and this we would like to change. We have begun our crusade,
although slowly, employing youths within Daintree Eco Lodge &
Spa. Since arriving home from Egypt in November 2002 we have had 6 youths
employed under Juan's guidance... not bad for a small business. We are
currently working on developing a model in which Indigenous youth are
successfully employed within westernised businesses and then applying this
to the wider community and hopefully further."
Daintree Eco Lodge and Spa won a National Australian Tourism Award in 2003
http://www.daintree-ecolodge.com.au/
Corinne Maloney, <corinne@daintree-ecolodge.com.au>
5. ICT Assessment Tools Available Online
Two new ICT assessment tools are now available online. According to the
Australian Development Gateway website, these tools help you plan for two
sorts of projects using ICT:
i) an ICT-driven project where some aspect of information and communication
technology is in the lead, and
ii) an ICT-supported project where some aspect of ICT could be used as a
means to an end - however, the use of ICT is not the main purpose of the
project.
The tools, funded by AusAid as part of the Australian Government's Virtual
Colombo Plan, ask you - the project planner - a series of detailed questions
to assist you in developing a plan. To access these exciting new tools visit
Australian Development Gateway.
http://www.developmentgateway.com.au/ict/index.html
Also, a background paper, "ICT and Development - Help or Hindrance?" Jan
2004 (PDF 540K), on the need for these two assessment tools has been
prepared by Dr. Richard Curtain. Dr. Curtain is a public policy consultant
with a substantial background of research in developing countries.
Curtain Consulting: http://www.curtain-consulting.net.au
6. Youth Social Capital Conference Coming Up in Peru
The Inter-American Development Bank's annual youth social capital conference
will be held in Lima, Peru, March 25-26, 2004. Mr. Esteban Gonzalez,
co-chair of the YES Campaign Committee, will make a workshop presentation
during this event
"Latin America and Caribbean Social Capital in Action: Young Entrepreneurs
and Volunteerism" is organized by IDB each year "to share experiences on the
impact of social capital - specifically the leading role of young
entrepreneurs and volunteerism - on the region's socioeconomic development."
(IDB website)
Representatives of YES Networks in Peru include Jorge Moncada from Honduras,
Dacil Acevedo Riquelme from Argentina, and Ursula Carrascal Vizarreta from
Peru. Read all about this exciting event at the Inter-American Development
Bank's website.
http://www.iadb.org/etica/ingles/encuent/enc-per-i.cfm
7. British Colombia Hosts Youth Employment Summit
An exciting youth employment conference was held in Victoria, British
Colombia, Canada in November, 2003. Inspired by the YES Campaign, local
youth leaders invited community stakeholders to participate in a dialogue on
youth livelihood issues.
Work Streams Employment Society, a Victoria-based organization that provides
a wide range of youth employment services, sponsored the November event. The
major outcome of the event is a comprehensive report reflecting the
priorities of all stakeholders who participated. This report, which is
available online, is currently being presented to British Colombia
parliamentarians. Organizers are working to ensure the report is made
available to state legislators in time for consideration in the upcoming
Youth Employment Strategy parliamentary bill.
An excellent report is available at the Work Streams Employment Society
website.
http://www.workstreams.bc.ca/news.html
Contact: Ms. Erin O'Byrne, <erin_obyrne@workstreams.bc.ca>
YES Canada
http://www.yescanada.org
8. YES Georgia Hosts YES Hyderabad Peer Exchange
In Georgia, the National Health Center, together with YES Georgia, organized
a seminar on the subject of HIV-AIDS in February, 2004. The Coordinator of
the YES Hyderabad Network, Mrs. Yamuna Pathak was the guest speaker during
her trip to Georgia.
Mrs. Yamuna's presentation focused on issues of children's education,
awareness of reproductive health, activities in India and ideas for future
collaboration between NGOs in India and Georgia. Afterwards, YES Georgia and
YES Hyderabad Networks signed an agreement outlining areas of future
collaboration. Mrs. Yamuna also met with a wide range of youth leaders,
health professionals and government officials during her trip.
The seminar was organized at the University of Gori, at the AIDS National
Center office. According to Nugzar Meladze, YES Georgia Coordinator, the
response has been very positive. "This seminar was very interesting and
afterwards I received calls from other regional offices to organized similar
seminars there. We also would like to start exchange programs between young
people and opening cultural centers in Tbilisi and in Hyderabad."
For more information visit the YES Georgia website:
http://projects.yesweb.org/YES-Georgia
Mr. Nugzar Meladze, <nugzar@yesweb.org>
9. YES Benin Members Elect Network Office Holders
January 15, 2004. More than 50 members of YES Benin met in the capital Porto
Novo to present a Strategic Plan to special guests and members. The Plan was
ratified by members and presented to officials of the Ministries of
Industry, of Development, of Youth & Sports, and the City Council of Porto
Novo.
According to YES Benin's website, the Government's Director of Training
expressed his department's willingness to collaborate with YES Benin to
offer services and implement projects to benefit youth. Other senior
officials placed particular emphasis on improving the workplace skills of
youth.
Later, Network members democratically elected its office holders for 2004.
Led by a National Steering Committee, YES Benin also elected regional
representatives from the twelve districts of Benin. Read more about the
activities of YES Benin at: http://projects.yesweb.org.org/YES-Benin
Mr. Honvou Toussaint, Network Coordinator, <honv@avu.org>
10. Poonam Ahluwalia Nominated for Woman of the Year Award
YES Campaign Executive Director, Poonam Ahluwalia was nominated for the 2003
South Asian Woman of the Year Award in January. The annual award is
organized by the India New England News, a newspaper for the South Asian
community in New England, USA.
In a field of impressive candidates, Poonam Ahluwalia was honored for her
ground-breaking work in youth development. Over 300 guests from the South
Asian community enjoyed a gala dinner at the Seaport Hotel in Boston,
January 29, 2004 to honor the 20 nominees. The award for the New England
South Asian Woman of the Year went to Professor Tejal Desai, a 31 year-old
biomedical engineering researcher at Boston University.
Read all about this year's award at this website:
http://www.indianewenglandnews.com/sections/178100.html
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