VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER
Peace Child E-Bulletin March 2005
Editorial Letter
Dear Friends,
This month marks the celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8. Commemorated by the United Nations and observed in many countries as a national holiday, the occasion honours the economic, social, cultural and political contributions of women, past and present. It also reminds us that around the world, millions of women still struggle for access to basic rights and opportunities that many of us – male and female - take for granted everyday.
International Women's Day is the extraordinary story of ordinary women as makers of history, rooted in centuries of struggle to participate in society on an equal footing with men. The modern tradition stretches from the suffrage movement at the turn of the century to the French Revolution, and even before through pockets of female resistance in ancient civilisations.
Today, the battle of the sexes is fought on all fronts: in some parts of the world, primarily in boardrooms, university halls and judicial courts; in others, in hospitals, slums and conflict zones, as the HIV/AIDs pandemic and rape as a weapon of war take their particularly brutal toll.
We at Peace Child firmly believe that we can all advance the cause of female empowerment in our own ways. There are many opportunities to help, from volunteering, donating and fundraising to grassroots campaigning and political lobbying - to simply raising awareness amongst our families and friends. Let’s take a stand to protect the women in our lives, and improve the lots of our future daughters.
The Peace Child Editorial Team
Contents
1. Peace Child International: What’s going on?
2. BTC news:
3. 3rd World Youth Congress:
4. Calendar
5. Volunteer Opportunities
1. Peace Child International: What’s going on?
Gaby (Peru) has settled in well. Orsi (Hungary) missed us so much, she has decided to come back to Peace Child! There has been quite a lot of fund raising activity going on to raise money for BTC groups.
Star of the fund raising field is 17 year old Jessica Grisewood who took part in the Moroccan Congress. She and her mother, Jane visited Jagan and the Peace Child India projects in Bangalore last summer and saw at first hand the different challenges they faced. She persuaded her school - Ipswich School - to adopt Peace Child India as their official charity. The main activity was to run a raffle and she raised £4000 through this and selling hand made Indian cards. This will go to repairing items at the Binney Mills School and getting computers and Internet connection in the Peace Child Office. Jane has sent 1,000 children’s books for the Reading Room Project.
Rosey, with the help of a few friends, David and the interns organised the 2nd reels party that raised £1300 for the Honey and Mushroom project in India. This generated another £250, which will mainly go to a Goat project in Morocco. Another ex Morocco Congress delegate is helping organise a raffle that will support a project in Africa.
2. BTC News:
· Peace Child Ireland:
Hi, I’m Bryony Dunne and I am a youth director for Peace Child Ireland. I have been involved with Peace Child ever since the youth summit in Morocco. We have recently set up Peace Child Ireland and it is going great. We have now trained up a group of youth to be Peace Child Ambassadors and they will be entering schools at the end of March, which I think will be great fun. Another youth called Ronja and myself have raised money for the tsunami disaster and will be sending it to India to help coastal schools. We hope to join the trip to India with the Cornish Ambassadors in October.
· News from the Peru Office:
The Ecotourism project in the rainforest in Peru is going ahead thanks to Naomi Jones and Carolina Rengifo!!! Carolina was the Latin American desk officer at Peace Child and she and her husband Adrian decided to support this project, which will start training programmes to help young people develop new abilities and skills relating to ecology and sustainable development. They plan to construct a rural hut (Eco-Hut), start a duck-farm, and outfit two artesian wells with a manual and mechanic system (Eco-Well). They also plan to edit and print an environmental magazine and an eco-tourist map. This project has been proposed by Roy Nogueira, 22, with adult mentor Brother Paul Mc Auley, and will be supported by Carmen Mori , the Field Officer.
Juan (ex Latin American desk officer) has recently returned from England and is now working with the Peruvian office. The office there is being reorganised right now, taking advantage of the university break period and preparing everything for the return of the internal volunteers, as well as creating new areas and giving responsibilities to all of them.
The University has agreed to keep supporting the MRPT office by paying the office expenses and giving salaries for 6 months to the Field Office and volunteers (according with the University Rules).
International Volunteers: Josh and Lorenzo from London will be the first volunteers coming to Peru to participate in the projects of the field office. More volunteers will follow – a young girl from German and some others from different countries. Arrangements are currently being made for them.
· Peace Child Argentina
Marina, our Peace Child coordinator in Argentina, visited us in England and told us that the group in Argentina are planning to do a Be the Change! Education and Action Project for sustainable development. The programme seeks to teach children and young people the concept of sustainable development in a way that is easy to understand, giving them the tools to be sustainable in their daily lives. It will be carried out in different parts of Argentina.
3. 3rd World Youth Congress - Scotland
The first acceptances have gone out. The “Welcome Package” is being sent out this week. The plan for making a DVD on the actual Congress has started. We are still looking for singers/dancers/theatre groups/musicians. We also welcome interesting ideas/speakers/leaders for workshops. These will be 75 minutes long and be for 15 to 20 delegates. If you are an activist or a delegate coming to the congress and have ideas for a workshop which you will like to give please contact Cecile at Africa@peacechild.org . There will also be a few places for trained facilitators for meetings.
4. Calendar
· Human Rights Conference - March 12, 2005; University Of Nottingham, School Of Law And Social Sciences Nottingham, United Kingdom
Human Rights in the age of global society, interconnectedness and an increasingly shrinking world bring about the question of how coexisting and interacting cultures and peoples accept the very notion of human dignity. This conference will explore the challenges and the extent to which human rights, as reflected in international law, are perceived by various cultural undertones.
More information can be found at: human-rights-conference@nottingham.ac.uk
· World Student Community For Sustainable Development Annual Meeting - 16th to 19th of March 2005; MIT Campus, Cambridge, USA .
The World Student Community for Sustainable Development is an international student group dedicated to providing interested students with a network for communication and action in the research and implementation of sustainable development.
More information can be found at http://www.wscsd.org
Contact: Konstantin Vassiliev--kostyavasiliev@hotmail.com
· Student's Conference On Sustainable Development At Cape Town- 16th to 19th of March 2005; Arabella Sheraton Grand Hotel Cape Town, South Africa
The ASC-SD is an international student group dedicated to providing interested studens with a network for communication and action in the research and implementation of sustainable development. More information can be found at all TIG representatives in All TIG member African countries
At the 2005 Annual Meeting, we hope to develop this knowledge base by sharing student experiences in research, learning, and grassroots efforts related to sustainable development. While discovering the means to successfully implement sustainable development, we will discuss the ethical dilemmas posed by technological decisions and policies that involve competing human, environmental, and economic interests.
Contact: Konstantin Vasiliev- kostya@africamail.com
· 2nd International Forum On Partnerships For Sustainable Development –21st to 23rd of March 2005; Palais Des Congres Marrakech Morocco
In cooperation with The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA). The purpose of the Forum is to advance sustainable development implementation by strengthening and fostering water and energy related partnerships. The 2nd Forum will build upon outcomes from other international partnership discussions, including the 1st International Forum on Partnerships for Sustainable Development and the 12th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Forum outcomes will be presented during CSD-13 in New York from April 11-22, 2005.
Partnership practitioners from government, civil society, private sector and international organizations, particularly those who are involved in the day-to-day operations of existing water or energy related partnerships as well as those who seek to strengthen, launch or join water or energy related partnerships.
More information can be found at: http://www.minenv.gov.ma; www.un.org/esa/sustdev/partnerships
· South Asian Conference of Youth Organizations- 16-18 March 2005 in New Delhi
The Conference will consider plans of action for capacity building of youth organizations, as well as provide the platform to discuss outcomes of the Sarajevo World Conference. This conference is an ICYO event geared towards organisational capacity building and involving youth and youth organizations in the development process. ICYO expects a World Bank official’s presence and participation at the conference.
Other topics for discussion at the event include: the HIV/AIDS pandemic and risky behaviours, employment, peace-building and conflict prevention.
Contact: icyo@icyo-india.org or youthorgconference@icyio-india.org
5. Opportunities:
· International Essay Competition
The World Bank announces the opportunity for young people aged 18 to 25 to participate in an International Essay Competition for a grand prize of $5000. The essays should address ways to assist the development of youth amid the world's current crises. They should not be longer than 10 pages (4000 words, maximum) and can be submitted in English, French or Spanish only. The deadline for submission is April 15, 2005 and finalists will be announced May 1, 2005. Visit www.essaycompetition.org for more details.
· 2005 Young Digital Creators Program
ICAF Educational Partner, UNESCO announces a call for participation in the 2005 Young Digital Creators program for youth aged 12 to 19. The project invites youth of all cultures to design digital artwork exploring the themes of Water, HIV/AIDS, Urbanization, Linguistic diversity, or the History of Africa. Visit the UNESCO web site for further information and registration forms. http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-
· Vision 2020 - The Future of Education
Microsoft and TakingITGlobal are running a world-wide creative contest: Vision 2020: The Future of Education. Students and teachers are invited to present through an essay or visual representation their vision for education in 2020. How will you learn in the year 2020? What can technology contribute in teaching and learning?
Submissions to the contest can be made as:
* Essays (200-500 words),
* Cartoons (with captions),
* Graphical representations with descriptions.
The contest is divided into three categories:
* Students Tertiary,
* Students K-12,
* Teachers K- 12.
Essays can be submitted online at: http://panorama.takingitglobal.org
While images can be submitted at: http://gallery.takingitglobal.org/contest
· Essay Contest- Caring For our Planet
The Goi Peace Foundation is pleased to invite young people from around the world again this year to enter our Essay Contest.
This year s theme is CARING FOR OUR PLANET.
First time winners will receive a cash award and a trip to Japan.
The deadline for entry is June 30, 2005.
You can find the complete guidelines at the following website :
http://www.goipeace.or.jp/english/activities/programs/programs-14.htm.
