Bangkok — Allowing for migration—both within and between countries—has the potential to increase people’s freedom and improve the lives of millions around the world, according to the 2009 Human Development Report launched here today.
We live in a highly mobile world, where migration is not only inevitable but also an important dimension of human development. Nearly one billion—or one out of seven—people are migrants. The Report, Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development, demonstrates that migration can enhance human development for the people who move, for destination communities and for those who remain at home.
“Migration can be a force for good, contributing significantly to human development,” says United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark. “But to realize its benefits, there needs to be a supportive policy environment as this Report suggests.”
Indeed, migration can raise a person’s income, health and education prospects. Most importantly, being able to decide where to live is a key element of human freedom, according to the Report, which also argues that large gains in human development can be achieved by lowering barriers and other constraints to movement and by improving policies towards those who move.
Read rest of report on the UNDP website
Monday, October 5, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
International Youth Day
August 12 every year marks the International Youth Day (IYD). A celebration geared towards engaging young people across the world. IYD began on the 17th of December 1999 when the General Assembly, in its resolution 54/120, endorsed the recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth (Lisbon, August 8-12th, 1998) that the 12th of August be declared International Youth Day.
Since it began in 1999, IYD has been celebrated using various themes and current issues. These themes and issues are listed below.
IYD 2008 - Youth and Climate Change: Time for Action
IYD 2007 - Be seen, Be heard: Youth participation for development
IYD 2006 - Tackling Poverty Together
IYD 2005 - WPAY+10: Making Commitments Matter
IYD 2004 - Youth in an Intergenerational Society
IYD 2003 - Finding decent and productive work for young people everywhere
IYD 2002 - Now and for the Future: Youth Action for Sustainable Development
IYD 2001 - Addressing Health and Unemployment
First Observance of International Youth Day 2000
This year’s theme is “Sustainability: Our Challenge. Our Future”. The theme explores the idea that “sustainability” not only refers to maintaining environmental balance and renewal, but it also encapsulates three facets of life: the environment, society and the economy. The actions and inactions of mankind over the years have had adverse effects on the environment. The impact of climate change as a result of green house effect cannot be overemphasized.
As the environment slowly but steadily deteriorates, it becomes more obvious that there will be inevitable consequence for future generations. Water bodies are dry up; the sun’s heat level is increasing; the glaciers or ice on the Antarctic are melting; the sea level is elevating; fisheries population is diminishing; the cost of food prices is increasing.. As these environmental threats become more serious, we are confronted with our future survival and livelihoods as young people..
As young people, we need to take responsibility for reducing if not eliminating the effect of environmental hazards. According to an article published in the March 2009 edition of Newsweek, Earth had a life span of about 5,000 years, but due to environmental damage the planet is now expected to survive for only 850 years.
Fellow young people, our future has been jeopardized! We need to unite to put our shoulders to the wheel by helping our respective governments, civil society organizations, donor agencies, and others deal with this seemingly insurmountable challenge.
Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND), a youth-based NGO in Ghana, has environmental sustainability as one of its key thematic areas of work. We engage young people to learn, understand and contribute to finding solutions to the world’s problem.
SYND is calling all governments, civil society organizations, faith-based organizations and development partners to provide aid, assistance, opportunities and/or platforms for young people. Channeling youths’ talents, energy, and resources into environmentally sustainable activities is an indispensable way of ensuring success in this campaign. Young people have been labeled as “the energizers of today and the holders of tomorrow”!
According to former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, “the future promise of any nation can directly be measured by the current prospects of its youth.” In the same vein, I want to state that the future sustainability of this planet can be directly measured by the level of engagement of our youth. The Management and Executive Members of SYND take this opportunity to salute young people all over the world and to wish them a happy celebration.
Fellow young people, let’s engage in sharing, learning, creating and trading information through the cross-pollination of ideas and ideals as future leaders for our respective homes, communities, societies, nations and the world as a whole.
Long live the positive dreams and aspirations of young people!
Long live our world!
Best regards.
Chibeze Ezekiel
Executive Director
Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND)
+233 244 967931
synd.ghana@hotmail.com
Since it began in 1999, IYD has been celebrated using various themes and current issues. These themes and issues are listed below.
IYD 2008 - Youth and Climate Change: Time for Action
IYD 2007 - Be seen, Be heard: Youth participation for development
IYD 2006 - Tackling Poverty Together
IYD 2005 - WPAY+10: Making Commitments Matter
IYD 2004 - Youth in an Intergenerational Society
IYD 2003 - Finding decent and productive work for young people everywhere
IYD 2002 - Now and for the Future: Youth Action for Sustainable Development
IYD 2001 - Addressing Health and Unemployment
First Observance of International Youth Day 2000
This year’s theme is “Sustainability: Our Challenge. Our Future”. The theme explores the idea that “sustainability” not only refers to maintaining environmental balance and renewal, but it also encapsulates three facets of life: the environment, society and the economy. The actions and inactions of mankind over the years have had adverse effects on the environment. The impact of climate change as a result of green house effect cannot be overemphasized.
As the environment slowly but steadily deteriorates, it becomes more obvious that there will be inevitable consequence for future generations. Water bodies are dry up; the sun’s heat level is increasing; the glaciers or ice on the Antarctic are melting; the sea level is elevating; fisheries population is diminishing; the cost of food prices is increasing.. As these environmental threats become more serious, we are confronted with our future survival and livelihoods as young people..
As young people, we need to take responsibility for reducing if not eliminating the effect of environmental hazards. According to an article published in the March 2009 edition of Newsweek, Earth had a life span of about 5,000 years, but due to environmental damage the planet is now expected to survive for only 850 years.
Fellow young people, our future has been jeopardized! We need to unite to put our shoulders to the wheel by helping our respective governments, civil society organizations, donor agencies, and others deal with this seemingly insurmountable challenge.
Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND), a youth-based NGO in Ghana, has environmental sustainability as one of its key thematic areas of work. We engage young people to learn, understand and contribute to finding solutions to the world’s problem.
SYND is calling all governments, civil society organizations, faith-based organizations and development partners to provide aid, assistance, opportunities and/or platforms for young people. Channeling youths’ talents, energy, and resources into environmentally sustainable activities is an indispensable way of ensuring success in this campaign. Young people have been labeled as “the energizers of today and the holders of tomorrow”!
According to former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, “the future promise of any nation can directly be measured by the current prospects of its youth.” In the same vein, I want to state that the future sustainability of this planet can be directly measured by the level of engagement of our youth. The Management and Executive Members of SYND take this opportunity to salute young people all over the world and to wish them a happy celebration.
Fellow young people, let’s engage in sharing, learning, creating and trading information through the cross-pollination of ideas and ideals as future leaders for our respective homes, communities, societies, nations and the world as a whole.
Long live the positive dreams and aspirations of young people!
Long live our world!
Best regards.
Chibeze Ezekiel
Executive Director
Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND)
+233 244 967931
synd.ghana@hotmail.com
Youth-Led Development and Volunteerism: Making a Case for Sustainable Development
August 12th has been declared by the United Nations and is thus recognised by the international community as International Youth Day. Its purpose is to pay tribute to the contributions of young people in the development of their countries and also the world at large. It also serves to create a forum for discussion about issues surrounding both youth and development.
The theme for the International Youth Day 2009 was: “SUSTAINABILITY: Our Challenge. Our Future.”
Youth development issues continue to be one of the most significant and pressing issues of our era. Among the many issues that confront the youth of today are those such as high risk of HIV/AIDS, unemployment and underemployment, lack of education and skills, social exclusion, limited infrastructure to meet youth interests, civil war, unstable political environments and the struggle for identity.
The World Program of Action for Youth (WPAY) lists ten areas to be considered as of pressing priority. These areas cover a wide range of issues relevant to the youth of today, including: education; employment; hunger and poverty; health; environment; drug abuse; juvenile delinquency; leisure-time activities; girls and young women; participation; globalization; Information and Communication Technologies (ICT); HIV/AIDS; youth and conflict; and intergenerational relations. For the governments of developing countries, bringing these priority areas into their decision-making and policy development in order to promote youth development has proven to be little more than lip service. Countries such as Ghana can do little more than wait whilst the implementation of policies such as Ghana's National Youth Policy continue to be postponed
Young people form a major proportion of population segments in developing countries. This has major implications for policy formulation, resource allocation and the development of youth programs. Unfortunately, more often than not in the development arena, young people are perceived as a 'problem in development', rather than a 'resource for development' that can act as catalysts for the development of their countries. Thankfully, despite this prevailing attitude in some forums, the positive contributions of young people continue to illustrate the fact that if young people are given the required platform and resources they can “be the change” that we want to see.
Youth Led Development (YLD) initiatives are community service projects planned and implemented by young people under the age of 25 (although some African countries tend to define the age category to which ‘youth’ applies in a very broad sense, for example from 10 to 35). Such initiatives are generally grass-roots, small in size, and carried out mostly, but not exclusively, by youth volunteers. Resources are more often than not limited but YLD initiatives make important impacts in promoting human and/or community development.
Ghana is just one country that benefits greatly from YLD initiatives. It is important that this volunteerism is promoted, recognised and sustained, through initiatives such as the National Award scheme and events such as International Youth Day, and the annual Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) held in America. Nevertheless, further incentives are necessary to ensure that young people are motivated to offer their youthful exuberance for the purpose of development.
In his victory message after the United States elections, President Barack Obama remarked that “[Change] can’t happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.” The Obama campaign highlighted its belief in youth by promising a US$4,000 education credit to students engaging in 100 hours of community service a year. This shows a practical approach towards promoting social entrepreneurship and aiming to reduce blame placed on the state for the all societies woes.
By investing in YLD, unemployment and underemployment among young people can be reduced. In an era where most employers want to see relevant working experience as part of their recruitment policy, volunteerism can be a stepping-stone towards meeting some of these demands. The youths involved in YLD learn invaluable project management, fund-raising and leadership skills, build self-esteem and self-confidence, all of which hugely boost their future employment chances. Additionally, promoting YLD can be seen as a cost effective approach toward promoting sustainable development as most young people value experience and knowledge rather than hard cash salaries, which many employers may not be ready to offer. Moreover YLD is a means of promoting human security towards sustainable development. Young people, who may otherwise fall into activities such as armed robbery and prostitution, find themselves doing something worthwhile that promotes their personal and community’s development.
Operational challenges facing youth structures and organisations are numerous, such as a lack of independence in terms of decision-making, lack of recognition coupled with the challenge of being seen as a credible organization, and lack of resources (both human and financial). One way of mitigating these limitations would be through the support of youth focused organisations by corporate institutions and governments. Similarly, there is a need for fellowship programmes that build the capacity of young people from regions like Africa as well as mentoring programmes that promote adult (experts)-youth engagement. Developments such as these would serve as a great step towards building the capacity of young people for them to make outstanding performances in their entrepreneurial activities.
Most operational challenges that confront young social entrepreneurs can be overcome by well-planned pilot processes, public-private partnerships and an enabling YLD and volunteering policy framework. The invaluable resource of youth needs to be recognized and invested in, in the same way in which other resources are. For development to be sustainable, we need to ensure that the next generation is enabled to participate in every step of the development process. However, rather than relying solely on top-down development and implementation of policy, we as youth can prove our worth by acting, caring, and making a stand.
Michael Boampong,YPWC
The theme for the International Youth Day 2009 was: “SUSTAINABILITY: Our Challenge. Our Future.”
Youth development issues continue to be one of the most significant and pressing issues of our era. Among the many issues that confront the youth of today are those such as high risk of HIV/AIDS, unemployment and underemployment, lack of education and skills, social exclusion, limited infrastructure to meet youth interests, civil war, unstable political environments and the struggle for identity.
The World Program of Action for Youth (WPAY) lists ten areas to be considered as of pressing priority. These areas cover a wide range of issues relevant to the youth of today, including: education; employment; hunger and poverty; health; environment; drug abuse; juvenile delinquency; leisure-time activities; girls and young women; participation; globalization; Information and Communication Technologies (ICT); HIV/AIDS; youth and conflict; and intergenerational relations. For the governments of developing countries, bringing these priority areas into their decision-making and policy development in order to promote youth development has proven to be little more than lip service. Countries such as Ghana can do little more than wait whilst the implementation of policies such as Ghana's National Youth Policy continue to be postponed
Young people form a major proportion of population segments in developing countries. This has major implications for policy formulation, resource allocation and the development of youth programs. Unfortunately, more often than not in the development arena, young people are perceived as a 'problem in development', rather than a 'resource for development' that can act as catalysts for the development of their countries. Thankfully, despite this prevailing attitude in some forums, the positive contributions of young people continue to illustrate the fact that if young people are given the required platform and resources they can “be the change” that we want to see.
Youth Led Development (YLD) initiatives are community service projects planned and implemented by young people under the age of 25 (although some African countries tend to define the age category to which ‘youth’ applies in a very broad sense, for example from 10 to 35). Such initiatives are generally grass-roots, small in size, and carried out mostly, but not exclusively, by youth volunteers. Resources are more often than not limited but YLD initiatives make important impacts in promoting human and/or community development.
Ghana is just one country that benefits greatly from YLD initiatives. It is important that this volunteerism is promoted, recognised and sustained, through initiatives such as the National Award scheme and events such as International Youth Day, and the annual Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) held in America. Nevertheless, further incentives are necessary to ensure that young people are motivated to offer their youthful exuberance for the purpose of development.
In his victory message after the United States elections, President Barack Obama remarked that “[Change] can’t happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.” The Obama campaign highlighted its belief in youth by promising a US$4,000 education credit to students engaging in 100 hours of community service a year. This shows a practical approach towards promoting social entrepreneurship and aiming to reduce blame placed on the state for the all societies woes.
By investing in YLD, unemployment and underemployment among young people can be reduced. In an era where most employers want to see relevant working experience as part of their recruitment policy, volunteerism can be a stepping-stone towards meeting some of these demands. The youths involved in YLD learn invaluable project management, fund-raising and leadership skills, build self-esteem and self-confidence, all of which hugely boost their future employment chances. Additionally, promoting YLD can be seen as a cost effective approach toward promoting sustainable development as most young people value experience and knowledge rather than hard cash salaries, which many employers may not be ready to offer. Moreover YLD is a means of promoting human security towards sustainable development. Young people, who may otherwise fall into activities such as armed robbery and prostitution, find themselves doing something worthwhile that promotes their personal and community’s development.
Operational challenges facing youth structures and organisations are numerous, such as a lack of independence in terms of decision-making, lack of recognition coupled with the challenge of being seen as a credible organization, and lack of resources (both human and financial). One way of mitigating these limitations would be through the support of youth focused organisations by corporate institutions and governments. Similarly, there is a need for fellowship programmes that build the capacity of young people from regions like Africa as well as mentoring programmes that promote adult (experts)-youth engagement. Developments such as these would serve as a great step towards building the capacity of young people for them to make outstanding performances in their entrepreneurial activities.
Most operational challenges that confront young social entrepreneurs can be overcome by well-planned pilot processes, public-private partnerships and an enabling YLD and volunteering policy framework. The invaluable resource of youth needs to be recognized and invested in, in the same way in which other resources are. For development to be sustainable, we need to ensure that the next generation is enabled to participate in every step of the development process. However, rather than relying solely on top-down development and implementation of policy, we as youth can prove our worth by acting, caring, and making a stand.
Michael Boampong,YPWC
Monday, August 17, 2009
MDG 8 in Real Practice towards Promoting Sustainable Development
YPWC MDG Clubs, which are operated in junior high schools in Ghana, serve as communication hubs, resource centres and inspiration for engaged youth and their communities. These clubs provide youth with the facts, the advisory support and financial resources to make their action plans a reality rather than just a dream. This programme seeks to equip youth with the right tools to gauge what their communities need and to motivate others to take on responsibilities and roles that are necessary to achieve the MDGs and to eradicate poverty in Ghana.
This year one of the functional YPWC MDGs Clubs in Ghana joined the rest of the world to mark the Global Youth Service Day (GYSD). The event was hosted at Bunkpurugu in the Northern Region from the 24th to 25th of April, 2009. The theme for the event was “Empowering youth to plant trees for environmental sustainability”.
The GYSD is an annual event that recognizes and celebrates the contributions of youth towards sustainable community development through voluntary service and the contributions made by the community (public, private, and nonprofit sectors) to empower young people. The day also provides a platform for young people in the world to take practical action that benefit their communities.
The two-day programme included a capacity building session and a tree planting session. There were a total of 25 participants at the event. Godwin Yidana and Gayle Pescud, both of YPWC, facilitated the event with the help of Matthew Nyannube Yosah, the YPWC MDG coordinator for the area. The programme was funded by Youth Service America.
The objectives of the event were:
1. To inspire participants to take action locally and to empower them for effective community development by equipping them with communication, leadership, time management and report writing skills.
2. To construct a tree nursery in the community that provides young people with seedlings to encourage tree planting, which is in line with the MDG 7 to ensure environmental sustainability.
ACTIVITIES:
The first day of the event, 24th April, marked the first day of the GYSD celebration which featured a capacity building seminar facilitated by Godwin Yidana and Gayle Pescud, both of YPWC.
The capacity building workshops were focused on four important topics:
• Leadership and time-management skills
• Report writing
• Communication skills
• Goal setting
The second day of the event, 25th April, started with a reflection exercise that provided participants with an opportunity to share with the group what they had learned on the previous day. They also had the opportunity to present to the group assignments that they had been given the previous day. This was a very practical exercise in presentation and communication skills.
After the reflection exercise, participants worked together to create a tree nursery to care for the seedlings that were bought. The tree nursery was successfully constructed and 65 seedlings (five Tig seedlings and 60 Mango seedlings) were cared for there. These seedlings have since been transplanted around the school compound in town.
IMPACT OF THE PROGRAMME
Though the programme was only two days long, it did make a lasting impact in the lives of the youth who participated.
The programme provided the participants with a platform to learn effective communication skills and how to apply those skills in their work. They learned about effective communication and group dynamics and then applied the lessons the following day during the construction of the nursery.
The programme also empowered members with leadership and time management skills. During the capacity building seminar, members were taken through a series of important leadership, time management and effective communication exercises.Some of them had the chance to stand before other people to do a presentation for the first time in their lives.
OTHER NEWS
In a related development, our Global Sister School partners-, Step by Step, a community education nonprofit in the USA, hosted an “Earth Day Block Party” at the Big Ugly Community Center on Saturday, 18th April, 2009 as part of their activities to mark GYSD. Over 80 young people took part in discussions, presentations and community service activities relating to water sanitation. Community members and youth worked on service activities, including a stream clean-up and planting trees on stream banks.
Youth and volunteers waded through a creek for a half mile and picked up 236 lbs of garbage and 75 lbs of recyclables. Volunteers planted over 150 riparian trees, including silky dogwood and tulip poplar. Volunteers also interviewed 10 people and recorded their thoughts about local water issues.
The programme was coordinated by Mathew Walker, YPWC’s Global Sister School Programme Coordinator and funded by a Learn and Serve Project FLOW grant through the West Virginia Commission for National and Community Service and a West Virginia DEP Stream Partners Grant. Project FLOW is a water education program that uses hands-on service learning to introduce environmental concepts, stewardship, and leadership development. Project FLOW teens will use the information collected from the interviews about weather issues to create videos that highlight community concerns.
The Global Sister School/Youth Groups programme of YPWC has its basis on Goal 8 of the MDG-Developing Global Partnership for Development. The main objective of the programme is to connect and network with youth groups around the world in order to build relationships and work towards social and economic development and the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. Schools and groups in African countries connect with, communicate and tackle issues with groups and schools from other continents, sharing best practices and implementing action projects related to the MDGs. The main activities of the organization include classroom and youth programming, internet based communication, and project development and management.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Millennium Campaign Releases New Stand Up and Take Action Video
Young People,
Have you seen the new STAND UP AND TAKE ACTION Video? It's :here and remember to join the rest of the conscious world to STAND UP and TAKE ACTION to make poverty HISTORY!
Have you seen the new STAND UP AND TAKE ACTION Video? It's :here and remember to join the rest of the conscious world to STAND UP and TAKE ACTION to make poverty HISTORY!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Achievements in International Development Award ‘09
Know somebody who's made a real difference to the fight against global poverry? Why not nominate them for the DFID/Marie Stopes/Guardian 'Achievements in International Development Award'. Closing date Friday 24th July - http://bit.ly/BHZp2
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Monday, July 6, 2009
Young People Move to Save the Planet: Flow Day of Service
An Earth Day Block Party, hosted by Step by Step http://www.stepbystepwv.org/ a community education nonprofit, was held at the Big Ugly Community Center on Saturday, April 18th from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Students from Logan, Lincoln and Kanawha counties were joined by AmeriCorps VISTAs and
FLOW (Future Leaders of Watersheds)- http://www.stepbystepwv.org/blogs/ - participants from four sites gave short presentations about water to the public. Ric MacDowell, Director of the EPA Alternative Wastewater Demonstration Project, gave a presentation about septic tanks and wells, then led a brainstorm session that determined two pressing water issues. Youth and adults broke into two discussion groups then reported their recommendations back to the group. Community member Dale Kennedy participated in the event. “It was quite educational. I took away from it a few tid-bits about my water treatment system that I will be using.”
After an outdoor lunch, community members and youth worked on service activities, including a stream clean-up and tree planting on stream banks. Youth and volunteers waded through the creek for a half mile and picked up 236 lbs of garbage, and 75 lbs of recyclables. Mark Buchanan, with the Conservation Agency, directed the riparian (stream bank) tree planting project where volunteers planted over 150 riparian trees, including silky dogwood and tulip poplar. “It was very good thing for the community,” Kennedy commented. “A lot of the trees we have now are dying, and we needed some new life in this area.” Volunteers also interviewed 10 people and recorded their thoughts about local water issues. Project FLOW teens will use this information to create videos that highlight community concerns.
Project FLOW is a water education program that uses hands-on service learning to introduce environmental concepts, stewardship, and leadership development. This event is funded by a Learn and Serve Project FLOW grant through the West Virginia Commission for National and Community Service and a West Virginia DEP Stream Partners Grant. The WVDEP’s Make it Shine Program provided supplies for the cleanup and trees were provided by the Conservation Agency. The Block Party is a combination event to celebrate FLOW Day of Service, Global Youth Service Day and Earth Day. Participating Project FLOW sites are the Big Ugly Community Center, Harts Primary, Omar Elementary, and East End Family Resource Center. Please contact Matt Walker at 304-855-5402 or mwalker@stepbystepwv.org for more information about Project FLOW or to learn more about the Big Ugly Community Center.
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