VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

2007-01-06T18:02:00.000-08:00

KABATAAN NYT TRES

“Himig ko, Tinig Kabataan ‘To!”

THIRD TIME’S A CHARM!

As they say good things come in threes, like trilogies of pop-corn movies, Star Wars Prequels, Matrix, The X-Men and Lord of the Rings or the fantastic trios such as Three Stooges, Bee Gees, APO Hiking Society and Tito, Vic and Joey.

But this time, three’s definitely a crowd… and what a crowd it was!

It’s an understatement to say that we had a blast during Kabataan Night 2006, aptly called KN3: “Himig ko, Tinig Kabataan ‘To!” held December 9 at the Conspiracy, Visayas Avenue Quezon City.

At least 200 gentexters flocked at the bar that usually had capacity of 60 people (thank goodness, no stampede) to witness a celebration of the voice, vision and motion of the Filipino youth.

Voices

Vocalists from the PUP COC (College of Communication) Ensemble, lead by John Vincent (PUP Idol) and Cathy opened the event with their soulful rendition of “The Prayer” and our national anthem.

The rest of the pack, around 20 of them, showcased their chorale power by giving a classical twist to contemporary pop songs like “Kaleidoscope World” and “Taralets”.

Of course, can there ever be songs without poems? And to give a dose of great Filipino literature, we got three fellows of LIRA (Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika at Anyo) – a group formed by National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario that aims to produce present and future great Filipino poets. They are truly young advocates immortalizing our very own cultural treasures.

Mix poetry and music… sprinkle with inspiring message and definitely cool getups… what do you get? EARTHFISHFISH! Ironically, the soothing sound of this band turned the heat up and got the crowd on the edge of their seats. This band is really something else. And if you get to meet their members, you’ll know how awesome they really are.

As awesome, is the sound of another band called LADY BEDSPACERS. Contrary to their moniker, members of the band are all gentlemen from UP Diliman. They performed their original compositions; just like another amazing band we got called EXTERNAL USE. One of this band’s songs, entitled “Stay Forever” is even dedicated to our executive director; Ion. Marco’s vocals really gave that 80s rock groove to the concert.

VISION AND MOTION

The artsy venue of Conspiracy was surrounded by some of the masterpieces of the young artist of UP ARTISTS CIRCLE SOCIETY. With this bunch of modern artists, we are just so sure that the future of Philippine work of art is in good hands. Thank you to Greenpeace volunteer and Fraternity Alumni, Tomas Leonor for bringing his brothers and their creations. Truly, pictures paint a thousand words.

To power up the night a notch more, the energetic PUP COC Movers and Motion gave a show-stopping dance number. Despite some technical bloopers and minimal space, they were able to pull it off and gave the audience an amazing treat. Keep on dancing guys!

EMOTIONS

Like the visual arts exhibit, it is also the first time for Kabataan Night to feature a stirring theatrical presentation. And we got one of the best groups to deliver just that. TEATRO KOMUNIKADO from the College of Communication of PUP gave the crowd a thought-provoking and emotive play entitled “Maskara”. Ten talented thespians personified several awakening social issues encompassing homosexuality, abuse, patriotism, poverty and triumph. The experience was certainly worthy of acting awards!

ACTIONS

Of course, as we celebrated the volunteer month of December, we placed the spotlight on representatives of our guests from cause-oriented and youth lead/serving groups. We got Ms. Abigail Jabines, climate campaigner for Greenpeace and Andy from Ang Bagong Pinoy Movement. Other organizations like Youth on Fire and Red Cross Youth also came to support our cause.

MORE VOICES

Acoustic music shouldn’t fade even as the band – bandwagon rules the local music scene. Especially, when we got one of the favorite acts of the night… JAYCIE AND HONEY. The duo of these talented composers, with DJ Rodriguez (“their little drummer boy”) really proved that simplicity could be world-class. Check out more of them at jaycieandhoney.multiply.com

Third year high school student from Marikina, AIKO, the youngest among the performers showed great potential singing the hit song from Pinoy Dream Academy, “Hawak Kamay”. She was accompanied by GLEN, a talented guitarist and a band leader himself. Glen, our newest VOTY-recruit and also a radio broadcaster, performed on solo, Blessed Union of Soul’s “I Believe”.

Four bands, each of them unique and exciting, rocked the graveyard hours. First is DEVIANT from Mapua. Despite their “pasaway-meaning” name, the 7-member group which is lead by the only girl, Angel, is actually a Gospel – band… giving God all the glory with their music!

Up next is an all-girl band aptly called NYMPHZ, also from Youth For Christ of Mapua. More than just pretty faces, these girls are definitely serious with their music.

But if you want serious rockin’, SOLID CAMP CREW is just unstoppable. Also lead by the only girl, Angel Campo, this family of rockers is so passionate with performing. The energy of the band and that amazing vocals would really bring the house down. With the all out support of their father as a manager, this band would really stick solidly together.

Another act, all members are gentlemen from far-away Cavite City, MALDITA’S GROUND, negated their name. The group is certainly a pro. Lead by Ryan Marquez, this band would definitely give recent pop acts a run for their money before they know it.

SYNTAX, lead again by a female vocalist tore the house down. Daisy’s cover of “I’m Going Under” is arguably better than Amy Lee’s. She definitely got one tough flower-power. Superb!

The night (or dawn) capped with the fun-and-easy song numbers of our very own VOTY idols… Ronald, Chay, Resty, Ryan, and Resh. Great hosting was provided by the masters of ceremony, our founder Choy (we’ll never get tired of your voice impersonations); Rommel, RS, Ronald, Purple, Chay and MC.

A million thanks to Conspiracy Garden and Café, DZME 1530 kHz (www.dzme1530.com), VOTY volunteers Eunice, Christine, and Florence and the rest of the barkada. This is also for you Ionman! Soar High!

KN3 is the most successful, diverse and jampacked Kabataan Night yet.

Oops. we did it again for the third time…. We can’t wait to give you what’s next for the fourth!

See you all again in Kabataan Nyt Kwatro!

2007-01-01T02:45:00.000-08:00

sretna nova godina!

what i just said is a fervent wish for a happy new year!

30 more minutes if my computation is right, that in the philippines, my home country, a new year will soon arrive and the old one will become just history. i will celebrate my new year 8 hours late, as such that i am now in a foreign land, thousands of miles away.

what was 2006 for me? and what awaits me this 2007?

i will have to be honest that up to this minute i still feel some goosebumps and disbelief that i am actually here, being present amidst 36,540 young people of Europe and a mixture of other continents (though i say 90% is European).

where the heck am i? is one question you might ponder and what am i doing here so far away from my home? especially when it is new year's eve? am i not supposed to be celebrating it with friends and families?

i am in ćhrnomerećh, a town in the city of zagreb, the capital of croatia. a country broken by war, a country on the road to reconciliation. in this once broken city shone a light so bright it could set fire an entire world. what is that light? what am i saying?

friends, i assure you that i am not under the influence of any drugs, whatsoever, but i am definite that these past few weeks and events, had left me, so mesmerized, so overwhelmed, and so amazed, that i had these feeling of walking in the clouds, in euphoric joy and spiritual ecstasy... but why? what are these events that i am speaking of?

i will try my best to give justice in explaining in brief, simple and understandable terms these phenomenon of events.

a pilgrimage of trust and peace, came to stop by at zagreb, and the people of croatia, made their homes and their arms open wide, to be a home, to this pilgrims. thousands of young people, 15 - 30 years old, from 40 countries, the entire Europe, is well represented, and a minority of Asian, Latin Americans, and other neighboring continents came to join this pilgrims. four days of common prayer, shared by young people from the Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic and Greek Catholics. four days of workshops and learning experiences, to find God, meet God, and speak with God. four days of creating links, friendships, hope and love.

we live in a broken world. not just in our country, the philippines, but all throughout the world, Asia, and even rich Europe! the church is truly a broken body of christ. and we are parts of this broken body and we ourselves are broken.

we fear the future. as 2007 comes, i know we have been asking ourselves, what will be in store for us in this year? or what again the next year? or the next 5 to 10 years? material insecurity is very evident in our country, as much as it is also evident in prosperous Europe. unemployment, poverty, violence, flagrant injustice, ecological imbalances, all of which undermines our confidence in life. immense inequalities foster a fear of the future.

and yet there are many signs of hope.

as such that voice of the youth network has been doing in the past five years... creating positive social change in the midst of obstacles and odds in the political, socio-cultural and economic scene of our country...

now i see another hope.

in the words of Brother Alois, the Prior of the Taize Community...
''so many young people in the world are ready to make the unity of the human family more visible, they are prepared not to remain passive, but to set out in confidence that a future of peace is possible.''

in the midst of distress and miseries, in our lives, in our families, other relations, and our nation, we always casts our blame on God. we find ourselves asking, where have you been God? why dont you just flick a finger and command all these to be gone? why do you allow division, suffering and incomprehension?

but the answer in all of these, requires a commitment on our part.

choose to hope. choose to love.

christ came for no particular religion. christ came for the entire humanity. we should be united in this humanity.

2006-11-12T18:37:00.000-08:00

Kabataan Night 3: Join Ka Dito! Himig Ko, Tinig Kabataan To!
November 07 , 2006
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With the goal of promoting positive social change among youth and the pay it forward strategy of the organization, VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK (VOTY) in cooperation with Creativoices Productions, will be celebrating the youth in all of us through a concert for the youth and by the youth. VOTY is once again organizing Kabataan Night Tres (KN3): Himig Ko, Tinig Kabataan To! - a mini-concert-talk show to be held on December 9, 2006 at the Conspiracy Garden and Resto in Visayas Ave. Quezon City.

Now on its 3rd year, Kabataan Night has become a celebration of the voice, vision and motion of the youth's culture. Past performers were volunteer youth organizations, art enthusiasts, poets - students and professionals (and celebrities) – all presented their talents and skills (for free) in the name of volunteerism. The main objective of the event is to provide an alternative venue for the often unheard and unrecognized gifts of the youth in the field of modern-cultural and contemporary arts. KN3 also aims to give young people a sense of pride as they pursue the talents and skills they enjoy.

Whether pro or budding artists, expect talents from traditional to contemporary song numbers, acoustic and wired band performances, dance, poetry recital, drama, comedy, martial arts, and other visual presentations.

The event is open for everyone for free! It is also in time for the celebration of the National Volunteer Month, December, and the National Youth Week - truly a season of sharing!

This will surely give more meaning to a typical night out entertainment of young people - a night to remember. So be there when it happens!

To learn more about the previous Kabataan Night events, you may visit:
KN2 - http://tinigkabataan.multiply.com/reviews/item/2
KN1 - http://tinigkabataan.multiply.com/reviews/item/1

Photo Archives:
KN2 - http://tinigkabataan.multiply.com/photos/album/8
KN1 - http://tinigkabataan.multiply.com/photos/album/40

** We are still open for those who would want to share their talents and be an inspiration to the youth, for inquiries, please email kn3@voty.org

2006-10-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

World now has largest ever youth group in history--WB

INQ7.net
Last updated 04:30pm (Mla time) 09/21/2006

THE WORLD now has the largest ever youth group in history--young people between the ages 12 and 24 comprise 1.3 billion of the developing world’s population--and developing countries like the Philippines still has a window of opportunity to invest in the youth to lessen potential economic headaches in the future, the World Bank said on Thursday.

The latest World Bank report, the World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation, says in the Philippines, young people ages 10-14 number nearly nine million and comprise 11.7 percent of the population while youth ages 14-20 number over eight million and comprise 10.5 percent of the population.

"A third of the growth in the countries called the East Asian tigers is attributed to this 'demographic gift'. Most developing countries still have a window of opportunity to get this right before an aging population closes it," says Emmanuel Jimenez, lead author of the report and Director of Human Development in the World Bank’s East Asia Pacific Department.

A World Bank statement urged developing countries to invest in the youth now to benefit from huge payoffs for the future because today's young people will become the next generation of workers.

In the Philippines, this window will remain open for almost another 40 years. And the skills these young people develop as household heads and parents will have profound impacts on their children, the Report said.

The World Bank noted that the constitutional, legal and institutional mandates to invest in the youth is well-established in the Philippines. The country has a constitution that enjoins the State to "ensure the physical, moral, spiritual, and social well-being of the youth," a Local Government Code that mandates youth representation in local bodies through the Sangguniang Kabataan, and institutions like the interagency Council for the Welfare of Children and the National Youth Commission focus on the youth. Several government agencies also carry out programs targeted at the youth.

But the World Bank report said it was necessary to improve coordination and integration of policies.

Three strategic policies seen to enhance investment in young people include expanding opportunities, improving capabilities, and offering second chances for young people who have fallen behind due to difficult circumstances or poor choices.

“These address five fundamental transitions facing young people and affecting their whole economic, social and family life, namely getting an education, finding work, staying healthy, forming families, and exercising citizenship,” it said.

Opportunities

With broadened opportunities for better education and healthcare, the report said young people can acquire skills to navigate adolescence and young adulthood safely, while improved vocational training will help them compete in the workforce.

“These measures should be accompanied by enhanced job opportunities. This is important, not only at home, but also overseas, since young Filipinos, like those in other countries, are more prone to migrate. Youth political participation and involvement in social organizations are also essential for fostering young people's civic life in their own communities and vital for good governance,” it said.

The Report argues that without opportunities for productive civic engagement, young people's frustrations may boil over into economic and social tensions, creating long-simmering disputes.

Capabilities

Providing information to young people and developing their decision-making skills, especially to stay healthy and appreciate continued learning, is important, it said.

“Fewer than half of girls aged 15-24 in the Philippines know of the multiple ways to prevent HIV/AIDs. Also, only half get full care during antenatal visits. Armed with the right information and incentives, these young people can make good decisions. This is why programs such as reproductive health programs need to build in outreach to young people and provide them with accurate, accessible information,” World Bank said.

Second chances

“Countries need targeted programs for young people who have fallen behind due to difficult circumstances or poor choices. These can be dropping out of school, drug addiction, criminal behavior, or prolonged unemployment. Second chances help young people rebuild their future, which has a long-term beneficial effect on society as a whole. Rehabilitation is costly, but the payoffs are highest for young people who still have a lifetime of potential productivity ahead of them,” it said.

The Report cited the potentials of policies and programs in the Philippines, including enriching childcare and pre-school programs; school-based career guidance, among others. The Report also cites that the Philippines has legally codified youth involvement in governance through the Youth in Nation-building Act, an important first step in encouraging youth to vote.

“Through technical assistance, program support and projects, we hope to contribute towards the enhancement of government programs and policies that will enable the country to seize this demographic window of opportunity," said Joachim von Amsberg, World Bank Philippines Country Director.

The Report said that public spending alone would not do the trick. Policies must stimulate young people, their parents, and their communities to invest in themselves.

2006-09-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

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Kudos

by: Camille Bansil May 18 , 2006
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I should be thanking Ma'am Borican, my DevJourn professor, who required us to come up with a writing about MDGs on my last semester in PUP MassCom. When I surfed the net, particularly the MDG web, I came across the link of the Voice of the Youth Network. I got the contacts, and since it was a co-globe subscriber (Wow! Unli, itextmate ko kaya? Haha!), I right away sent a text of inquiry. I can't remember the exact details, but after some few text messages and a number of conversations over the YM for consecutive weeks, I finally decided to see the VOTY people. I felt the strong urge to see them, though I was totally oblivious of the reason then. Being a volunteer was so new in my system. Of course, I already joined a number of outreach programs, but in all honesty, I never felt that I am a part of them. The first time I met VOTY, I was so still and silent, kulang na lang sabihin ko, 'Teka, time out, 'di na ko maka-relate. May I go out?' I was so bombarded with continuous flow of information then, and my brain cannot process all of those at that moment. But when I came to know them, particularly those who joined the Cavite escapade, I began to ask myself of what could be the driving forces of these young people to engage on such kind of activities. Most of them are younger than I, but they managed to be active and productive members of several groups and organizations. Most of them has their own careers to manage, but they never made VOTY the last item on their list. What really amazed me during the Villa Dominga team building was the talent flourished by the members. They need not to be perfect on their abilities, because the confidence they possess is more than enough to make them shine and flicker. And if you'll ask if I felt that I was really a part of that event, yes, I did. Finally. Definitely. For me to go rural, in a place I never reached before, and spend two days and a night with people whom I never really knew? Now, that should be something, I told myself. Before I knew it, I was like telling my friends the following days, about how wonderful I felt with the VOTY people. I told them that I met younger people than us, and that these younger people are contributing big time to the society by involving themselves on these civic actions. I narrated how I felt when I realized that it seemed that we wasted all our four years in college by simply doing nothing for the society. 'Tas tayo, antatanda na natin, pa-graduate na tayo, parang wala pa din tayong kwenta.' I was not really blaming my friends when they began to giggle and asked what seems so wrong with me. Malamang, hindi nga ako yun. I remembered hearing them blew, 'Tol, nangyare sayu?' But still, I never really got tired of telling them to ask themselves of what could be their purpose, not only for themselves and their own families, but also for the society, or else they'll regret one day, and ask why they ended up choosing being mere 'audience' of life, and not being 'players' of it. Now, how far does VOTY is taking me? Being a part of VOTY is as if having a unique trophy of 'self respect'. Being respectful to your fellow is totally different from giving respect to yourself. Actually, the latter is more fulfilling. When I joined VOTY, I experienced a point wherein I finalized that I have a lot of abilities and capabilities, some seemed obvious, others are still to be discovered and used in the future. I came to know that once we give a chance to ourselves to use and develop our talents and abilities for the common good of the society, we are actually giving enough respect to ourselves too. We're giving enough justice to the deepest essence of self worth. It's as if burning your energy for a cause by being the moving object on Newton's law of inertia. 'Siguro mukha na s'yang matanda. Matagal na siguro tong mga pictures n'ya. Di lang siguro naaupdate ang website nya.' That was what I thought of Kuya Choy. The first time we met, I contained myself, avoiding to blab how surprised I was to see a young and vibrant Pocholo Gonzales. I read his name and his numerous achievements over the net, and I assumed that he might be a bald man in his 40s (Hehe, peace tayo, Kuya!). Again, I was so wrong because Kuya Choy is still a young man, well driven and action oriented. And maybe, many years from now, I would still see him and the rest of the VOTY people as a 'young' individuals because of their decisions, actions and contributions imparted and will impart to the Filipino youth. VOTY is not composed of 'perfect' people with 'perfect' personalities. I remembered how Kuya Ian differentiated perfect from EXCELLENT. These two words are as if another two battling words: idealistic and realistic. Excellent is better. Of course, there's nothing wrong with being idealistic, but possessing this character alone is not enough to climb the tree to success. You need not to arrive on your desired and expected outcomes. All you have to be is to be realistic enough to learn that you are not hundred percent in control of what is happening around you. A realistic and excellent person is an individual who is not afraid of failures and can always project a very positive attitude in the midst of seemingly-hopeless situations. When I think of VOTY, all I can think of is a picture of an excellent and strongly made, but still unfinished wall. Strong, since each building block composing it, stands for every VOTY member possessing an excellent degree of social responsibility and excellently displaying such character. But still unfinished though, since there are still better things to come – more activities, more members, more developments, all in accord with excellence. I can't be so sure of what the future holds. But I have this stiff assurance that VOTY will continue to be, not just an organization or network, but a virtue to be learned and accepted by every Filipino who wants to move forward to victory. For the nth time, I'll claim it, VOTY is an eye opener. When I became a part of this organization, I was in full regret at first. I was like blaming myself for the past years I had let passed by without taking few steps towards betterment. But now, I realized that brooding over the past will not do any help. Instead, little by little I am trying to recuperate from the past rotten and stagnant years of my life. I want to be at blast, of help, of excellence. Why am I speaking this way? Because I am a more fulfilled person me now. Changes will not come into your senses at once, but I have my drive to do so, again, the VOTY. And as I continue my journey, I know this organization is still with me. Though I already spoke of my countless insights about VOTY, those are still insufficient. I can't put into exact words and phrases this sacred and noble feeling I have towards VOTY. I can't give you the concrete details about it. But, I can make you feel what I feel now. Prove it yourself. Be one of us.

2006-02-17T16:42:00.000-08:00

Kalingap: Outreach in Montalban, Rizal January 28, 2006 Sitio Maislap, San Isidro, Montalban Rizal
After a couple of rainy days, the sun finally smiled that one Saturday morning when members of Red Cross Rodriguez Chapter, United Nations Volunteers Philippines and VOTY visited Sitio Maislap, Barangay San Isidro Montalban Rizal. It took a two hour - drive from the drop off point in Katipunan passing through Marikina and San Mateo to reach our destination… we just can’t wait to see the kids and give them a treat. Around 50 kids aged 4 to 15 years old greeted us with wonder at their improvised function hall where we used a cool videoke machine as our sound system. With an “Aba – Syempre!” welcome from ate Eunice, the program kicked off with a song and dance number from a smart sweet local girl, Jessa who was later joined by one of UNV’s import from Japan, Ate Chiki. Ate Eunice, a new VOTY volunteer, charmingly led a game show for the kids. Two groups with five members each were formed. In a “Game Ka Na Ba?” inspired format, whoever member gives the most examples of a certain category in the least possible time wins. Well, as expected, the girls outsmarted the guys.

With Kuya Ion and Ate Florence, another group of kids out-danced and outrun each other in the classic parlor game “Trip to Jerusalem”, as Kuya Echo, and Ate Chiara had the kids rockin’ the ceiling with Bamboo’s Halleluiah. After a quick - snack break, all were all eyes and ears with Kuya Vanjo’s deserving-of-an-acting-award style of storytelling.No one had heard and seen of a Filipino – version of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” told like that before.
What followed were two trivia games joined by Ates Chiki, Nom, and Jem and Kuya Ryan. Kuya Vanjo once again pulled some wacky and smart multiple – choice questions for the kids. Up next is clearly the most exciting part… The gift-giving portion of the day! So what’s inside the cute and colorful VOTY freebie – bags? Picture puzzles, story, activity and coloring books and crayons, ball pens, pencils, toothbrush, Happee toothpaste, bath soap, and face towel. There were also packs of cookies provided by Red Cross Rodriguez Chapter. These items were bought with the help of the sponsors of VOTY and UNV’s Kabataan Night 2 mini-concert last December.
Kuya Ion then gave an inspiring message to the kids in order for them to Dream, Believe and Survive! Wrapping up is another treat from Kuya Vanjo who sang his version of “Totoy Bibo” with his anti-cigarette smoking lyrics. Thanks to Mang Danilo, the head of Sitio Maislip for the warm welcome. Thanks also to the rest of the guys who volunteered with us in a one – fun day! Thanks to the very disciplined and adorable kids of San Isidro, we’re definitely going to see you again soon.

2005-12-24T00:29:00.000-08:00

Kabataan Night 2: Ito Ang Kultura Mo!
Celebrating Youth Culture and Volunteerism
Towards Achieving the
Millennium Development Goals
“The Blow by Blow Account”
December 6, 2005
Quezon City, Philippines

It would take more or less a month of preparation, brigades of emails, a rollercoaster of highs and lows and unfaltering faith for the youth to organize open-mic night type of a mini-concert. At least this was the case for Voice of the Youth Network’s Kabataan Night 2 (KN2): Ito Ang Kultura Mo! (Youth Night 2: This is Your Culture!), which aims to celebrate Filipino youth culture and volunteerism towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. And what a celebration it really was.
Through KN2, which was held December 6 at the artsy Conspiracy Café in Visayas Avenue, Quezon City, VOTY has once again proven that the innate spirit of volunteerism of the Filipino Youth would not fail. The event we call KN2, is not probably everything we’ve planned but it turned out even better than we expected. Of course, it is risky to hold such an event, with the last minute cancellations of scheduled performers, technical (not wardrobe) malfunctions and other unavoidable circumstances. But seeing all those who came and who took part of the event leaving with smiles on their faces just made all our efforts worth it.
“Expect the unexpected.” That’s how VOTY founder Choy Gonzales described what’s in store for rest of the night. And he was right.
VOTY’s very own student volunteers Ryan Rivera and Resty Flores, (R&R) unwillingly became the first act. As if the pressure of being the first on the spotlight is not enough, their CD didn’t play (it’s not pirated, ok). What followed was the most brazen act of doing a live acapella duet of a classic patriotic Filipino song with an RNB twist. They did well.
Up next was Mr. Hussein Macarambon of the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu City Japan; doing his rendition of the song, “Amen Omen”. He certainly looked like a pro, singing and strumming the guitar. It was an honor for our Moslem friends to have participated in the event.
Adding more vibrant beats, sounds, rhythms and grooves to night are the six guys of Sruvaleh Drum Circle. They best describe their creative type of music as “an abstract language of love to the monochromatic funk and mixed – cultural world of music in the Philippines.” You just thought that the night couldn’t get any better than their “good vibrations” and the audience just couldn’t get enough of them. It’s just amazing how these young guys, who are not full time musicians, show so much passion about their talents and music that truly revive our indigenous culture.
Of course, girl power won’t be left behind. Move over Alicia Keys because here comes 14 year - old, Jerianne Mae Templo who already had a share of the spotlight when she made it through the Grand Finals of a popular singing contest on TV, “Search for the Star”. We’re just confident that her star would shine in its rightful place before we know it.
Then came to the delight of the audience is our favorite celebrity volunteer, Ms. Maybelyn dela Cruz, whose beauty is only surpassed by the beauty of her heart. Not everybody knows that this young actress who has grown right before our very eyes is a full-time volunteer for the Philippine Red Cross and she founded Youth and Elderly for Service. She’s talented, friendly and a proud volunteer… what more can you ask for? (She sings very well too, by the way).
But behind a good actor is a good voice talent and we got Choy to personify that. To those who don’t know yet, our founder actually is a voice talent who gives life to popular TV and anime characters, even politicians and other prominent personalities. It’s a rare treat to watch a man with dozens of voices in action onstage. He now manages a voice talent agency, Creativoices, where all the action, rather, the talk is.
There can never be songs without poems. And no one could have done a better poetry recital than Jovanie Nalzaro of the Thespian Society of Philippine Normal University. He’s an apparent heir to Balagtas after delivering “Sa Gitna ng Ulos ay May Pagsibol.”
16 year-old Richard Mallari deserved a standing ovation as well for his heart-wrenching ballads. He’s just a proof that Filipinos are really good singers.
Local bands rule the airwaves and music scene these days and it is just amazing that more and more talents are yet to be discovered. And one of the bands that would soon rock our world is Kala (http://www.rockedphilippines.org/), which is set to launch an album dedicated to the Filipino Youth. They are certainly cool – advocates of the MDGs. Like what Ion, VOTY Executive Director and the main – man host said, it’s great to see a band campaigning for the MDGs. They are U2 in the making, perhaps.
But boys don’t rule the “band” bandwagon. It’s definitely an arena for the girls too. Liquid Candy gave a female touch for the soothing style of Orange and Lemons, while Mediartrix would give MYMP a run for their money. Girls leading bands are definitely double treats!
Sruvaleh Drum Circle returned with a couple of rounds more. Did I say that the audience just couldn’t get enough of them? Awesome!
The best way to cap the exciting night is to have everyone singing the anthemic “Pinoy Ako” and the Tayo-tayo Song of the Philippine MDG Album by the United Nations Development Program. These tracks are certainly candidates for the “last song syndrome”.
KN2 won’t be possible without the trust and support of Conspiracy Café; United Nations Volunteer Philippines, our main partner and other organizations which include the Masonic District Lodge No. 5 of the most worshipful grand lodge of free and accepted Masons of the Philippines, particularly District Deputy Grandmaster VW Nash Cordova; Philippine Resources for Sustainable Development (PRSD) through its founding chairman, Robert Sagun; Centralized Decentralized Business Network (http://www.cdbn.org/) President Christopher Bernardo and Lion’s Club International through Ms. Evangeline “Nenet” Ang. KN2 is also supported by YMDG (http://www.youngmdg.com/) and Youth Power Against Drugs (YPAD).
Oops, KN2 didn’t end there - portions of the funds would be used for a Christmas outreach program. It’s much fulfilling to have fun for a cause. Thank you to all the volunteer performers who responded to our emails and invitations. To all those who celebrated with us, thank you very much for making the night successful… Until next year!!!

Written by: Mr. Emsie Reyes, KN2 program manager
votymedia@gmail.org

2005-10-09T05:07:00.000-07:00

PODWORX! UNICAST EPISODE 1 The Professional Podcasting Service of Univoicesal Productions

This is your ultimate guide to what’s happening in the world of voice-over in the Philippines. News, interviews, the hottest trends, tips about voice acting, and how to make it in the business. It’s your way to stay informed and get connected in the voice-over marketplace. Univoicesal Productions welcomes you to our official podcast.. Thank you for tuning in… Listen up, and listen well. This is UNICAST.. Episode One.

UNICAST EPISODE 1

2005-09-09T00:09:00.000-07:00

VOICEWORX!! Basic Voice Acting Workshop

Actions speak louder than words – this ages-old proverb with an ironic approach seems to be the root of some social issues these days. As one says what he means, other people will only find him credible if he accordingly acts in a way that backs up or affirms what he just said. In short, to deal with consistency issues very well, action is preferred to be in connivances with speech.

But have you ever imagined merging the “talk” and the “walk” together? If you don’t have any idea that words can be emotionally enunciated while delivering them, then step out of the dark and say hello to Voice Acting. In our fast-paced technology era, information and communication can easily be processed to get your message across. However, the best way to reach your target audience effectively is to communicate intellectually and emotionally. This gives the speaker a power to draw the listener into an emotional state that the latter can relate to. Only voice acting can give you such skill and ability. Hence voice acting is storytelling that requires acting skills in delivery.

Univoicesal Productions, the newest and only Voice Talent Institute-Agency that effectively meets audio project needs using the latest audio technology, introduces a first-of-its-kind Basic Voice Acting Workshop entitled VOICEWORX!! The eight-session course aims to teach the fundamentals of voice acting and to hone the skills that can be used for any voice recording from a simple telephone message-on-hold to a television or radio commercial, feature film, movie trailer, animation, instructional video, corporate presentation, documentary narration, multimedia audio book and magazine, or even your favorite cartoon or telenovela.

“Voice acting is an art,” Univoicesal Productions’ Founder and Managing Director Pocholo Gonzales believes. “It has been an integral part of my life. It gives me the ability to express myself through voice characterization. It is a non-chartered art waiting to be explored by many enthusiasts. VOICEWORX!! will help us open the doors to immense possibilities in the field of voice acting.” Take note Mr. Gonzales has done more than a thousand projects from original animation, TUTUBI PATROL by TOP PEG, dubbing in all TV networks to name a few, METEOR GARDEN, BUBU CHACHA, KURO CHAN, Radio Drama, DZRH, DZMM and DZXL., Commercials Radio and TV, Voice of Bibo Hotdog and he won the best voice talent award for ARAW AWARDS in AD CONGRESS 2004 by doing the Voice of Mike Enriquez and some characters. He even voiced several original computer games. He was trained in the US by no other than JAMES ALBURGER, the master of VOICE ACTING in California, USA.
Presently, he is the anchor of the only youth oriented radio program LAKAS KABATAAN, TINIG KABATAAN RECHARGED! Aired at DZME 1530 KHZ. Every Saturday 12-1 pm through his founded organization VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK www.voty.org

Participants of the workshop will have the chance to learn the ropes of voice acting such as creating believable characters for TV, radio and animation, and tips on how to become a successful voice actor. Plus, they will experience recording their own voice demo using Univoicesal’s acoustically-tuned digital audio recording equipment and facilities. Workshop schedules are slated to begin Sept. 19, 2005. For more details, you may log on to www.univoicesal.com, email. info@univoicesal.com or contact Jenny at 8934080.

Learn the tricks of the trade of voice acting and let your words speak the actions for you!

-Teddy Peñas

2005-07-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

Kabataan Night, A Success

There were about a hundred individuals from different organizations that participated in this year’ VOTY Kabataan Night.

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK

To our fellow youth:

Do you want to make a difference! Promote Possible Social Change! Through your Talent?

We would like to invite you to join us in a night filled with youthful surprises as Voice of the Youth Network lauded its first ever youth talents event dubbed as “KABATAAN NIGHT” on November 9, 2004 at the Conspiracy Cafe along Visayas Avenue from 8pm till 12 midnight.

It’s time to shine and be recognize through your talents and works. Unheard and unseen talents of youth advocates will be showcased and highlighted at this night.

Open to all youth, 15-30 years of age. This will be your chance to network, mingle and connect with other youth leaders and advocates that are partners of Voice Of The Youth Network. There will also be an induction of officers of all Voice of the Youth Officers and Coordinators so the more that you are expected to come. There will be a short orientation of what Voice of the Youth is all about and it will be your chance to meet other VOTY members in a light mood activity instead of the usual serious type mood seminar where you often meet some of our members.

There is no registration fee you can opt to buy drinks there if you do want and it is at reasonable prices. You can also bring as many friends with you. This is your show, this is the “KABATAAN NIGHT” so we would also like you to prepare something… it can be anything, ranging from a funky dance to a happy song. You choose what you want to highlight for this is our show, it’s the youth show, its “KABATAAN NIGHT”.

If you are interested to join or perform during the event please confirm your attendance. RSVP. contact us at info@voty.org 09179602413 or 4156050 look for Kristine or Emcie.

You can also text VOTY to 2299 or Text ENTER VOTY to 2213 and be connected.

Continue Inspiring, Informing, Empowering and Involving the Filipino Youth!

Mabuhay ang Kabataang Pilipino.

See you there!

Christopher Bernardo
Director for Finance
VOTY Net Spokesperson

nyoung1027@yahoo.com, ilenevalian@hotmail.com, markarthurabalos@yahoo.com, aaabdon@up.edu.ph, aisha_alvaro@yahoo.com, jeffrey.batac@up.edu.ph, nyz_sugarplum@yahoo.com, cmli_jc@yahoo.com, joseph_albette.buddahim@up.edu.ph, cbullecer@pacific.net.ph, victor4284@yahoo.com, markcabrera_31@yahoo.com, banana_rammah@yahoo.com, survivorjoey@yahoo.com, perpol16@yahoo.com, crindlestone07@yahoo.com, franciscorpuz@yahoo.com, maggie_corpuz@yahoo.com, cqdesagun@yahoo.com, mjduhan@up.edu.ph, Paulyn33@yahoo.com, ejfrancisco_03@yahoo.com, a_n_g_e_l_pooh@yahoo.com, mei_mei_go@yahoo.com, anghell@edsamail.com.ph, Des_hil@yahoo.com, scralatchtican_battlestar@yahoo.com, Daicasiano@up.edu.ph, johannajambalos@yahoo.com, csleones@up.edu.ph, myra.dorothy@gmail.com, tekoram_nnak@yahoo.com, kcmartinez@up.edu.ph, callsignmatrix@yahoo.com, ana_kristel.molina@up.edu.ph, enmonsod@up.edu.ph, sarsi_03@yahoo.com

If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll always be there just contact me at 09185241812 or email me at christopher.bernardo@up.edu.ph. We currently have a radio program that feature youth organizations and outstanding individuals. If you want to advertise your org project, just give me a call.

2005-05-31T07:03:00.000-07:00

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

Youth and Network Organizing Resources

This series of documents was put together with a great deal of help from a large number of people. The purpose of it is to help local young people form groups, get organized, make changes in their communities, and plug into the greater youth movement, locally, nationally, regionally, and globally.

We hope that this linking of movements can create new systems of decision-making from local to global levels in order to achieve sustainable development and create a world that works for all.

A document outlining this vision and strategy is available at http://www.youthmovements.org

0. A Comprehensive Listing of Global Youth Movements and Global Youth Organizations
1. Background, History and Success Stories
2. Reports
3. Networking, Group Organizing, and Facilitation
4. Youth Participation Materials
5. Guides
6. Packaged Programs and Training Materials
7. Policy Oriented Documents

8. Other Perspectives on Global Citizenship

===============================================================================================

1. Background, History and Success Stories (References)

Fragmentation of Youth Movements.htm
The Story of the European Youth Forum.doc
Youth and Nation Building Introduction.doc
Youth and Nation Building Cases.doc

Do We Have a Movement Yet.doc

Youth Liberation Analysis.doc

Science of Community Organizing.doc

Examples (References)

Philadelphia Student Union.pdf
40 Youth Organizations Collaborate to Make Education Reform.pdf

1. Power of the Youth of Paraguay.doc
2. Action Plan of Youth Organizers in Paraguay.doc

2. Reports (References)

GYAN Report - Global Youth Movement Integration.htm

Ford Foundation Report on Youth Service.pdf
Benton Foundation Report - Youth Activism and Global Engagement.doc
International Youth Foundation Report - What Works in Youth Participation.pdf

Kellogg Foundation Report - Youth and Citizenship.pdf

Report on Youth in Decision - Making by the Innovation Center.pdf

FCYO Report - What is Youth Organizing.pdf
FCYO Report - Stories of Youth Organizing and Lessons Learned.pdf

Pew Trusts - Report on Youth in the Information Age.pdf

World Bank Report - Youth Building Knowledge Societies.pdf

International Youth Foundation - Newsletter on Youth Participation.pdf

3. Networking, Group Organizing, and Facilitation (References)

Networking

Co-Intelligence & Stories

Open Space Technology
Appreciative Inquiry
Social ThreeFolding
General Group Organizing

Networking (References)

1. Network Basics.htm
2. Network Startup.htm
3. Network Development.htm
4. Age of the Network Overview.htm

A Network Model from VirtualTeams-com.pdf

Co-Intelligence & Stories (References)

What is Co-Intelligence.htm

It All Began in a Fertilizer Factory.htm

A Gift from a Shepherd.htm
The Forgiveness Party.htm
Co-Intelligent Prison Work.htm
Future Search in Kansas City.htm
A Chimpanzee at Stanford.htm
Life Song.htm
The World's Most Unusual Workplace.htm

Imagining Collectively Intelligent Communities.htm

Open Space Technology (References)

Open Space Technology Introduction, Part I.doc

Open Space Technology Introduction, Part II.doc

Open Space Technology - The World Cafe.htm

Open Space Technology - The World Cafe Guide - Open Space Technology.pdf

Open Space Technology Introduction in Portuguese.doc

Appreciative Inquiry (References)

What is Appreciative Inquiry.pdf

Appreciative Inquiry Exercises from Nepal.doc
Appreciative Inquiry Guidebook for Fighting Poverty Nepal.pdf

Social ThreeFolding (References)

Social ThreeFolding, an Introduction (Philipines).doc

Social ThreeFolding Definition - Elaborated.doc

Social ThreeFolding Book - Shaping Globalization Chapter 1.doc

Institutional use of ThreeFolding, to Fight Poverty in Phillipines.pdf

General Group Organizing Concepts (References)

Community Organizing.doc

Calling the Circle.doc
Listening Circles.htm
Strategic Questioning.htm

Citizen consensus councils.htm
Future Search.htm

Why Young Activists Need Communities of Support.doc

4. Youth Participation Materials (References)

Brochure on Youth in Decision-Making by the Innovation Center.pdf
Forming a Youth Engagement Alliance.doc

14 Steps to Involve Youth in Decision-Making.doc

Principles of Youth Involvement.doc

3 Tools for Measuring Levels of Youth Participation (IYF).doc
Survey to Measure Youth Participation in Your Organization.pdf
Exercise - Are Youth Involved?.pdf

50 things youth and adults can do together.pdf
Quick Sheet on Youth-Adult Partnerships.pdf

Developing a Youth Council and Services to Serve Local Area Youth (California) (References)

0. Introduction to a Youth Council Developing Agency (California).doc

1. Elements of a Youth Serving System (California).doc

2. Functions of a Youth Council in the System (California).doc

3. Stages of Building the Youth Serving System (California).doc

A. Tips for Organizing an Effective Youth Council (California).doc
B. How to Run the Youth Council Assessment Survey (California).rtf
C. A Youth Council Assessment Survey (California).rtf

Experiences Mapping Youth in California Localities.doc

Youth Platforms or Agendas (References)

1. National Youth Platform or Agenda - An Introduction.doc

The National Youth Platform 2000 (USA).doc

National Youth Platform - Guyana.doc

Platform USA - Schematic.pdf
Forming a Youth Engagement Alliance.doc
Responses to a Collaboration Meeting to Form a National Youth Platform (USA).doc

Organizing a University Youth Summit or Local Youth Platform (USA).doc

5. Guides (References)

Guide - Organizing Local Youth Networks.doc

Guide - Forming a Youth Engagement Alliance.doc

Guide - Organizing a University Youth Summit or Local Youth Platform (USA).doc

Guide - Community Organizing.doc

Exercises - A Diverse Group of Exercises.doc

Exercises - FireStarter Youth Mobilizing Curriculum - Facilitar Manual.pdf
Exercises - Youth for Environmental Sanity - Workshops and Camping Guide.doc

Exercises - FireStarter Youth Mobilizing Curriculum - Participant Manual.pdf
Exercise - Tower Builder.pdf
Exercise - Crossing The Line.htm
Exercise - Reflection Activities.htm

Fundraising - Dealing with Funders.pdf
Fundraising - Sites for Youth on the Web.pdf

Fundraising - Making a Plan.pdf

6. Packaged Programs and Training Materials (References)

Training Kits
StudyCircles.org Materials

StudyCircles.org Materials (References)

What are Study Circles.htm
Organizing Guide - 1996.htm
Organizing Guide - 2001.htm
Best Practices and Evaluated Programs.pdf
Training Facilitators Guide.pdf
Diversity Guide.pdf
Intergenerational Partnership Guide 2002.pdf
Evaluating Your Study Circle Guide.pdf
An Evaluation of the Study Circles Program.htm

Training Kits from www.training-youth.net (References)

Training Essentials.pdf

Intercultural Training.pdf
International Voluntary Service Training.pdf

Project Management Training.pdf
Organization Management Training.pdf

7. Policy Oriented Documents (References)

Sample Organization Standards and Constitutions for Innovative Networks
UN Youth Documents
On Youth Policies

On Youth Policies (References)

White Paper on Youth - Council of Europe.pdf

European Youth Policy.pdf

Sample Institutional Youth Policy from the Red Cross.doc
Status of Youth Policy in the USA.pdf
Sample Youth Policy (Younger Americans Act).htm

Youth Policy Formulation Manual.pdf
Youth Policy Fundamentals.pdf

Sample Organization Standards and Constitutions for Innovative Networks (References)

Sample Constitution of a Global Self Organizing Network of Individuals (Chaordic.org).pdf

Sample Constitution for a Global Network of Organizations (Society for International Development).pdf
Sample FAQ of a Global Self Organizing Network (Chaordic.org).pdf

Sample Organizational Standards for Network Participation (Interaction.org).doc
Sample Principles of Organization and Principles of Practice (Chaordic.org).pdf

Sample Organizational Structure - Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Youth Alliance.doc

UN Youth Documents (References)

UNESCO - Youth Information Kit.pdf

Dakar Youth Empowerment Strategy.doc
Braga Youth Action Plan.doc
UN World Programme of Action for Youth.doc

8. Other Perspectives on Global Citizenship (References)

Black Perspectives on Global Youth Work.pdf

Developing a Global Dimension in the School Curriculum.pdf

Globalization and Higher Education.pdf

Teacher Education and Global Citizenship.rtf

Effort is underway to secure all copy right permissions.

You can also download all of these documents as a single 24.6 MB ZIP file.
To extract this file you will need to (download and) use Winzip (PC) or Stuffit Expander (Macintosh).
To read the PDF files you will need to (download and) use Adobe Acrobat.

2005-05-02T02:24:00.000-07:00

RADIO ASIA

Media professionals to debate issues at new Asian radio conference

Radio broadcasters, communications academics and representatives of
developmental agencies will be among those exchanging views at a new
radio industry conference in Singapore in June. RadioAsia 2005 is a
new side-event to the annual BroadcastAsia being organised by the
Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) and the
Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) in partnership with Singapore
Exhibition Services (SES). The three-day event, which is being
supported by the Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore, will
discuss the impact of emerging and converging radio communications
strategies in the Asia-Pacific region. The conference will be
convened by the CEO of the MDA, Dr Chris Chia.

"Radio is one of the most accessible and widespread media across the
world, yet its very ubiquity means it often falls short of
recognition. In seeking to redress this imbalance AMIC is happy to be
able to initiate the RadioAsia 2005 Conference, a milestone event,"
said Indrajit Banerjee, Secretary-General of AMIC.

"We've received very encouraging response to the call for papers for
this new conference, which is an indication of the need for such a
conference in this region," said David Astley, Secretary-General of
the ABU.

"RadioAsia is the first conference in the region to bring radio
practitioners and academics together to speak on the same platform
and address the issues impacting radio today. We believe this will
result in many new insights being discussed and debated".

Most of the speakers and participants will be drawn from across Asia,
but there will be many from the USA and Europe as well. AMIC and the
ABU are planning to publish the papers presented at the conference.

The event will comprise two-and-a-half days of conference sessions
and two parallel half-day workshops. The conference will feature
issues such as the development of radio, development communication,
community radio, radio and youth, radio regulation as well as
audience research and radio advertising. Industry speakers from ABU
member broadcasting organisations including Radio Australia, All
India Radio (AIR), Commercial Radio Australia and the BBC, and
academics from around the region will participate.

Two parallel half-day workshop sessions on radio will be conducted by
the Radio Netherlands Training Centre and the Deutsche Welle Academy
on the afternoon of the third day of the conference.

The dates of RadioAsia are 15-17 June 2005, and it will be held at
the Singapore Expo facility. Those interested in registering for the
conference can visit http://www.radioasia.org for more details.
# posted by Andy @ 08:15 UTC
--
--

2005-04-06T19:27:00.000-07:00

Clean Up Hinulugang Taktak:
YOUTH UNITED IN TAKING THE CHALLENGE!

Clean Up Hinulugang Taktak:
YOUTH UNITED IN TAKING THE CHALLENGE!

Like all great and profound accomplishments, the project started out with an individual’s bright idea. This time, it was brought about by an aspiration if not to revive what was and still is considered a national and natural heritage, but to at least come to the rescue of the ailing Hinulugang Taktak Waterfalls in Antipolo City.

After visiting the national park, Ms. Bebang Siy (as she prefers to be called) wrote me a letter (in an actual paper!) about her plan to gather close friends to clean up the upstream section of the poor falls. By instinct, I turned on to my org; VOTY (Voice of the Youth Network) for it is another great chance to involve the youth in such a worthwhile activity. Then, what is supposedly a small gathering to clean up loads of trash became a huge event, even global at that.

Timing is everything indeed. The event we called C.U. in H.T.: Clean Up Hinulugang Taktak would coincide with the celebrations of the 6th Global Youth Service Day (where VOTY was officially chosen as a national coordinator) and an advancer to Earth Day in April 22. Bebang secures funding from the good old and generous Antipolo lodge #334 Rizal bodies A&ASR, aside from a couple of other supporters. For the following weeks, VOTY’s radio announcements and email brigade to its online community were in full-blast. Relying on track record on gathering volunteers, these VOTY formulas never really failed to get unprecedented response.

JOINERS UNITE!

Still, creating a vibrant generation of young joiners is a usual challenge for any volunteer organization, even for VOTY. Like what we always say, among the many called, few would come and a lot lesser would even choose to stay. Somehow, people have the tendency to change their minds at the last minute, even after confirming their participation. But after experiencing much anxiety and discouraging circumstances as one of the organizers (the cause of which I would delve with later in the article), over a hundred volunteers heeded the call that one fine-weathered Saturday morning in Antipolo City. For that, the event was already a huge success. VOTY has once again served its purpose of providing the youth with an opportunity to be empowered and get involved in the community.

Students came representing their respective organizations from different universities and colleges. They came from University of the Philippines in Manila and Diliman, San Beda College, Philippine Normal University, University of Santo Tomas, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle College of St. Benilde, Lyceum, AMA University Caloocan, Technological University of the Philippines, City College of Manila, Miriam College, Technological Institute of the Philippines and Mapua Institute of Technology. Fresh grads, yuppies, volunteers from Philippine National Red Cross Youth and other NGOs also joined. Because majority of the organizations where the students came from is not environmentally inclined, this was the first time for most participants to engage in such activity.

Some of the volunteers even came from as far as Laguna just to grab the chance to visit Hinulugang Taktak National Park for the first time. Most of them don’t even recall the folk song “Tayo na sa Antipolo” where the waterfalls was acclaimed.

ROUGHING IT!

The national park shows promise with its pristine trees, affordable swimming pool and convenient cottages. Also, at first glance and from afar, Hinulugang Taktak is simply a gift of nature, being the nearest waterfall in Metro Manila. However a closer look would show years of neglect and a seemingly impossible task of reviving its dying black waters. Later in the afternoon, the bottom stream is covered with foam of laundry soapsuds.

The volunteers were tasked to pick up piles of trash in the upstream area of the falls, stretching a couple of meters in Brgy. Dela Paz. They had to rely on sticks or even plain hands to pick the most unrecognizable matter (or so you wished you hadn’t recognized the dirt at all). From diapers to muddy wrappers of grocery items, name it, they’re all over.

Enduring the sticky stench straight from the sewers, slippery surface and the summer heat for hours, it was almost being on TV’s Fear Factor or it’s local counterpart Extra Challenge. But we did it. Later in the afternoon, there is hardly any trash left to pick. That stretch was free from solid waste. If not for the gravely grimy waters, it is fair to say that the stream was almost clear.

Parallel with the clean up is a storytelling activity in the local daycare center with around twenty kids. To say the least, our nature-friendly storytellers got instant fans.

Park Superintendent Manuel Agunod said it was the first time that a clean-up drive of volunteers came to Hinulugang Taktak. Sadly, this probably would not be the last.

TOUGHER CHALLENGE AHEAD!

Picking trash must be the easiest part; maintenance is another matter. Somewhat disheartened, some volunteers experienced quite not the warm welcome we should be expecting from the locals. Some of the bystanders threw stones, even deliberately added trash while the volunteers were cleaning up. Some shouting “hindi kayo bagay d’yan” or “wala ring kwenta yan”. Fortunately still, few local youngsters joined us, saying that those “tambays” were not nearby residents.

Apparently, such mentality and the lack of discipline coming from the community could be the root cause of the problem. During the remote live broadcast of VOTY’s radio program, (aired over DZME 1530kHz) representatives of some of the organizations interviewed that noon shared these sentiments.

Sean of San Beda stresses that residents should be first asked if they support such clean up drive. Sean even takes notice of a woman washing clothes near the stream.

Julie Anne of UP Manila believes that the waterfall is a suitable venue for the youth to become aware of the reality and problems besetting the environment. At the same time, she laments the lack of support from the government “Gaya ng mga simpleng equipment na pwedeng ipagkaloob ng gobyerno o ng mga baranggay ay hindi po naibigay kaya nagta-tyaga kami sa pamumulot ng sticks,” she adds.

Oliver of UP Red Cross Youth and Christopher of UP Pugadlawin Society, agree that these projects should be continued but the best solution would still come from the community’s own discipline.

Sheryl of UP Guidon suggests, “The community must organize themselves to continue and maintain what we’ve started.”

Choy, one of the few residents who joined, advises his neighbors, “para mapanatiling malinis ang ilog natin dito, kailangan ng kaunting kooperasyon at pagkakaisa”.

JP of PNU Students Volunteers Organization hopes that the residents would be inspired by the initiative and reasons “Mahirap kung ang mga tao mismo sa lugar ang walang inisyatibo para gumawa sa sarili nila, otherwise, this would be useless.”

But it’s not useless.

According to Mr. Agunod, the waterfall is a merging point of five rivers and finally ends up in Laguna de Bay. Therefore, to bring the waterfall back to its former glory would take a massive information campaign and rehabilitation effort, especially, cooperation among the residents. The national and local government, volunteer groups and private sectors must unite, and must do it fast. Unlike most rivers especially within Metro Manila, there’s still hope to save Hinulugang Taktak.

YOUTH POWER!

After an arduous, tiring and stinky day, the event clearly created deeper impact and meaning for all the young participants. It is a testimony to how different organizations and universities could unite for a great cause and become triumphant. It is clearly youth power in action. I am overwhelmed and amazed on how passionate and hardworking these young leaders and volunteers are.

“I really enjoyed it, although very tiring, the event is very fulfilling… It’s one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had,” says Alma of PUP.

Unfortunately, these efforts are hardly given much deserved recognition and support. The discouraging part I was saying earlier, is the fact that the government offices wherein VOTY asked for help all declined. Call it miscommunication, but I realized that even moral support from the government would require at least 15 - working day notice. The austerity measure in accordance with the Malacañang Administrative Order No. 103 also restricts support for such worthy cause.

But bureaucracy would not dissolve the youth spirit. Once again, the initiative and efforts of idealistic and driven young individuals have surpassed odds and broken new grounds in the name of volunteerism and community service. Indeed, at this very moment in history the youth remains as the hope of the country.

Thanks to individuals and organizations that provided the needs of the volunteers without hesitation. Among them are the Antipolo lodge #334 headed by Mr. Romy Ignacio, Dave Mariano of UP consumers cooperative, Mr. Art Danny Datu of VJ Graphics, Ms. Anna Liza Laxamana of Next Step Events Planner, Mr. Art Gruenberg of Good Life Now Corporation, Director Theresa Lim of PAW Bureau, Fred de Claro, Artemio Padragoza, Mr. Manuel Agunod of HTNP and residents of Baranggay Dela Paz.

About the author: Mr. Emsie Reyes, is a writer and broadcaster of DZME 1530kHz. Host of Voice of the Youth Network Advocacy AM Radio Program, airing Saturdays 12nn. www.voty.org

2005-04-06T03:45:00.000-07:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

Philippines To Transform State Broadcasting System into Independent Public Broadcasting Service
21-03-2005 (UNESCO)

The quest for a Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) in the Philippines may soon be realized. A multisectoral group met 10 March 2005 at SEAMEO-INNOTECH in Quezon City to plan out strategies in the setting up of the PSB.

The group’s interest was buoyed up by the commitment of the Secretary for Government Mass Media Group Cerge Remonde that the core of the envisioned PSB will come from government media networks which include the National Broadcasting Network (NBN) and Philippine Broadcasting Service.

“For over four decades, we have been advocating for an alternative broadcast channel to complement the commercially-dominated Philippine broadcast media, “ said Florangel Rosario-Braid, convenor of the multisectoral forum and chairperson of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines Communication Committee.

According to Ms Braid, past initiatives did not succeed because of the lack of political will by national government to give up government media, uncoordinated advocacy efforts, low priority given by the legislature, and absence of a feasibility study.

Preciosa S. Soliven, Secretary General of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines assured the 50 forum participants that UNACOM and the UNESCO Secretariat have committed to give modest funds to support preparatory activities including the conduct of a feasibility study, public information and legislative advocacy, and production of program prototypes.

UNESCO is in the forefront of promoting and strengthening PSB systems worldwide. UNICEF Philippines also supports the initiative.

According to Secretary Remonde, a bi-partisan group of legislators from both houses of congress have expressed support for legislation that will set up the PSB.

NBN Channel 4 General Manager Jose Isabelo and PBS Director Rafael Dante Cruz also attended the forum and expressed support for the establishment of the PSB. A joint meeting of NBN and PBS media executives is scheduled in April 2005 to further discuss the conversion of the two government stations into a PSB.

During the forum, former press secretary Rod Reyes expressed support for the conversion of NBN and the government radio stations nationwide into a PSB and said that now seems to be the correct time.

Public broadcasting is distinct from state broadcasting as the former is owned, managed, financed and controlled by the public rather than the government, explained Rogelio V. Cuyno, president of the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication. AIJC serves as the technical secretariat for the PSB Project.

With new media, the concept of PSB need not be limited to the use of radio and television, added Cuyno. There are other technological options available such as the use of the Internet and even mobile telephony. The linkage with existing community radio stations nationwide is also being considered. Among these are the Tambuli radio stations and the Gender and Peace (GenPeace) community radio stations managed by the Notre Dame Foundation in Mindanao. In the end, according to Mr. Cuyno, “we may even have a Public Multimedia Center which is decentralized or de-massified rather than monolithic.”

According to Elizabeth Diaz of the Concerned Women of the Philippines (CWP) and Philippine Association of Communication Educators (PACE), there is multi-sectoral clamor for the PSB. The commercial orientation has created an entertainment-oriented programming guided by the rating system. Even news and public affairs programs are being repackaged to be more “show-biz” oriented.

A recent survey conducted by the AIJC among multisectoral representatives revealed that nine out of 10 respondents said there is a need for PSB in the country. Approximately two-thirds believed that such a system could be economically viable.

Ms. Braid said that it may take at least another year to achieve the vision for a Philippine PSB. This is good news considering that we have been lobbying for a PSB the past four decades. Now, if only the Filipino audience can still wait.

(By Ramon R. Tuazon, Asian Institute on Journalism and Communication)

Link(s) UNESCO and Public Service Broadcasting
UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines
Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication
SEAMEO Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO INNOTECH)
Contact Ramon R. Tuazon, Asian Institute on Journalism and Communication
Tarja Virtanen, UNESCO Office In New Delhi

Field Office(s)

Source UNESCO

2005-04-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

KABATAAN! NIGHT!

KABATAAN NIGHT, more than the usual

"A modern method of organizing youth activities using electronic media."

This is how Comm. Marc Castrodes of the National Youth Commission defines the
project dubbed "Kabataan Night", which was organized by Voice Of The Youth
Network that was held in the Conspiracy Garden Café on November 9. The said
event also became the launching date for the organization's radio program
referred to as "Lakas Kabataan-Tinig Kabataan: Recharged!" (LKTKR).

It is quite interesting to note that Voice Of The Youth has not considered the
lack of Funds as a constraint in pursuing the said project. There were about a
hundred of individuals and organizations that participated in the said
activity, thus, making the whole place jam packed. Who could have thought that
it is possible to organize an activity by focusing on the strengths of every
members rather than the weakness of the organization. We all have talents that
we can share to other people however we don't usually find a venue where we can
share these talents. Sometimes even those close to us mock us whenever we try
expressing ourselves. That's the reason why sometimes we feel down and tend to
hide our talents and skills instead of developing them.

I never really got the chance to recite poems since our society is more into
singing rather than the classical "Balagtas" way of reciting poems. But during
that night I was given a chance to recite and it feels good on my part that
knowing that I do have a talent which I could say makes me unique from other
people. But more than this, I realize that I was not the only person who was
into poetry reading, a lot of people who also performed recited poems, even an
actor of a certain beer commercial, Ronal Tupas who was dubbed in the screen as
"Baby Toy" recited a poem entitled "Ako ay may Alaga" which really made a lot of
us cry out in laughter.

The more interesting skills that were shown was that of Ateneo Arnis group,
where I really have to move away from the stage because of my fear of being
chopped in the head of their arnis. They really move so fast just like your
martial artists that is often seen only in the big screen. There were a lot of
individuals who sang, these include people from the UP Music Circle, and other
individuals who have been part of Voice Of The Youth. Ms. Laiza Milo, a host of
a certain horror reality TV was also seen there singing "Insensitive" and "Make
me Real" songs. Who could have thought that these people who are only seen
casting away ghosts and demons are seen there smiling beautifully and singing
charismatically as if serenading all those who are listening.

There were announcements made by different organizations who have been involve
in Voice Of The Youth activities for the last two years of its existence as a
network of organizations. There were artists and people in the government and
the private sector that graced the event. Philippine Society of Youth Science
Clubs came there as a pack while there was some students who came from Schools
like Mapua, UST, DLSU, Ateneo and UP.

Indeed, the "Kabataan Night" had become more than a showcase of youth talents.
According to Prof Vim Nadera of UP Diliman, it was "the youth running the whole
show altogether."

Congratulations to Voice Of The Youth for the success of "Kabataan Night".
Mabuhay ang Kabataan Pilipino!

2005-04-02T11:47:00.001-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK:
Empowering the Youth from Cyberspace to the Airwaves!

A convergence of technological extremes - that is one way to describe the efforts of a group of young individuals dedicated in reaching out and recharging what potentially is the most powerful force of the country, the Filipino Youth. Voice of the Youth (VOTY) Network, in its mission of empowering the youth, has gone back to its roots to conquer both cyberspace and the airwaves in the name of youth service.

Soaring Online!

While so many young people has been spending significant amount of time, money and energy in the Internet with online games and cyber-autographs, VOTY for several years has been reaching out to thousands to provide useful information and opportunities that young people should become aware of. The fact that the Internet provides an infinite wealth of these opportunities had long been motivated 25 year-old, Pocholo Gonzales, founder of the internationally recognized and award winning organization. Through VOTY these milestones are shared to the Filipino youth.
He believes that the youth should realize that the right use of technology could provide them opportunities that would make them literally go to places and become involved in once in a lifetime activities. Take it from someone who, despite coming from humble beginnings, has gone to more than twenty countries around the world because of international youth events that are widely circulated in the Internet. Take note, these travels are for free.
All of these youth affairs in and out of the country are made available online through the continuously evolving VOTY website, www.voty.org and the e-groups that have been reaching thousands of email accounts around the world. More to that, the website also provides services offered by VOTY and its partner international and local organizations. It is also a venue where young people could voice – out their concerns to the society and VOTY addresses these concerns by providing real actions.
Even if there is 11.8 million Internet users in the country at present and the figure is expected to double in the coming years, still millions of young people in the country have not been introduced to computers. However, cellular phones have undeniably penetrated almost everyone from all walks of life, especially now that access is getting as cheap as it gets. Internet services even provide technically free SMS and MMS services. Not to be left out, VOTY once again infuses youth empowerment to mobile technology. This is through the VOTY Power Groups. Simply by typing ENTER VOTY and sending to 2213 makes one already a cyber-member, receiving updates on youth events. It’s another innovation indeed from a technologically driven group of young idealists.

Soaring On - Air!

Innovator, pioneer and responsible risk taker, VOTY returns to an industry that younger generation somehow turned away from all these years. It’s the AM Radio - the broadcast medium that started it all yet still prevails as the most affordable and accessible… not to mention still being at the frontline of journalism. At the face of the triumph of highly commercialized FM and “MTV generation”, who would’ve thought that a group of ordinary students and yuppies just bursting with bright ideas regularly flock inside a small radio booth in Quezon City? For one hour every Saturday noon, young people make a pro-active noise on the airwaves in a radio program dubbed as “Lakas – Kabataan, Tinig Kabataan: RECHARGED” or LKTKR aired over DZME 1530kHz. LKTKR in fact is the on – air version of the VOTY website.
Taking the challenge of reintroducing AM Radio to young people, what could be more effective than putting them on the spotlight, or in this case a microphone that could be heard nationwide? Though not as perky or thrilling than being a celebrity wannabe on TV or a DJ on FM, it’s an equal delight to witness how passionate young people could get when they want to be taken seriously.
As media focus more in trivial if not in bad news, young people that truly makes sense in society has been receiving less exposure than what they truly deserve. It would take a long process of psychological and cultural transformation to divert young people’s attention away from apathy and turn towards nation building. However, as long as VOTY successfully scouts for these individuals and youth organizations to recognize and maximize what’s innate, there’s really a silver lining ahead.
Denouncing absurd and nonsense debates, topics on VOICE OUT segment revolves around youth empowerment and advocacy, while special guests for BILIB KAMI SA’YO are inspiring youth leaders and achievers, even celebrities that truly goes beyond making cute faces. JOIN KAYO DITO is just overflowing with worthwhile youth events and RIBYU SA RADYO puts the sense in entertainment and trends. But the major difference with LKTKR is that it has more actions than talk, making you realize that good things really do happen in the country and it’s all because of the YOUTH.
Imagine all of these high-tech efforts out of pure volunteerism. Now, youth service has never been “cooler”.
VOTY remains a firm believer that the YOUTH is the HOPE of the country not only for the FUTURE but the PRESENT as well. Service, action, volunteerism, and advocacy mobilized by technology and media… this is the Voice of the Youth Network - inspiring, informing, involving and empowering! The commitment goes on and the possibilities are as infinite as both the airwaves and cyberspace combined.

2005-04-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

MAKING YOUR VOICE HEARD

Making Your Voice Heard -
A Media Toolkit for Youth

SHOWREEL

Snapshot
View images of the project's work

Website
Check out the Media Toolkit for Youth

Organization

The Media Awareness Network (MNet)

Contact details

Cathy Wing
Media and Internet Education Specialist
Media Awareness Network
1500 Merivale Road, Third Floor
Ottawa, ON, K2E 6Z5 Canada
Tel: +1 613 224 7721
Fax: +1 613 224 1958
Email: info@media-awareness.ca
Website: www.media-awareness.ca

Project partners

National Youth-In-Care Network
YouCAN!
Youth Action Network

Location

Canada. The consultation and workshop sessions for this project were done with urban-based national organizations and at conferences drawing participants from both urban and rural areas.

Background

The mainstream media often portray youth in a negative light. Positive portrayals of youth, especially minority youth, are often unfairly ignored in favour of angry, violent or sexual images. This can undermine a young person's sense of self-esteem, and erode cultural values. This happens despite recent statistics showing that youth crime is actually on the decline and that volunteerism rates among youth have doubled in Canada over the past decade.

The following are quotations from young people participating in MNet's 'Speak Out' online discussion group for youth. "Teenagers are rarely portrayed fairly by the media, especially minority teenagers."

"I think that people our age are portrayed by the media as violent, lazy and uneducated. I myself have held down two jobs, am going to high school full-time and take high school classes on the Internet. I would like to see, for once, something put forward to the public to let them know we are not lazy people."

"I'm saying that I feel that I'm being let down by the media. They have no grasp of reality, and even worse, they're not even trying to improve. Maybe I'll just stop reading magazines and watching TV."

"Why does the media flock to [cover] negative things before good things? They will so very quickly put a 'teenage murderer' in the front-page news before they would put a 'teenage scholar'. It seems to me that society has a two-faced view of us as young people. They claim we are the future, but still they portray us as out-of-control maniacs with no sense of direction."

Aims and objectives

Firstly, to acquaint young people with the news media - what makes the news, what drives the news, and why stereotyping is used so often by print and especially TV journalists. Then to help youth get involved in using media to further their aims as active citizens who have the right to fair and accurate media portrayals, and a public voice on issues affecting youth.

To provide youth with their own resource with which to raise awareness of, and address, negative stereotyping, so that youth and youth-serving organizations can begin to access the media themselves, build relationships with those in the media and, hopefully, improve news coverage of youth by encouraging reporters to report on the positive as well as the negative.

Participants

Media Toolkit for Youth was developed, tested, distributed and promoted in collaboration with several national youth-based organizations. Our partners for the Toolkit were:

National Youth-in-Care Network
YouCAN!
Youth Action Network

Target audience

• Teenagers and young adults aged 13-20.

• Media educators and community workers working with youth.

Wider beneficiaries

Young people, youth-based organizations, youth-serving organizations, educators, community workers, crime prevention and law-enforcement professionals.

Involvement of children

Our partners, National Youth-In-Care Network, YouCAN!, and Youth Action Network were involved in the development of the Toolkit content. They helped MNet to develop workshops based on the Toolkit which were presented to young people at their national conferences. A shorter version of the Toolkit (a mini-toolkit) was included in resources produced for these conferences and in a community resource guide for youth in care developed by National Youth-In-Care Network.

Summary of project

• Consultations with youth-based organizations to develop the Toolkit content.

• Development of the web-based Toolkit.

• Workshop sessions for Toolkit at youth conferences.

What are the end products?

The Toolkit is an online resource in two parts: Understanding the Media and Accessing the Media.

Understanding the Media is an educational component designed to:

• define and identify stereotyping in the media;

• educate youth about the problems resulting from negative stereotyping;

• provide young people with an understanding of the news media and the business of news.

This section of the Toolkit:

• looks at the problem of stereotyping and negative portrayals of youth in the media, particularly in news;

• answers the question 'What is news?', emphasizing that news is business, not a public service;

• examines the techniques of newsgathering;

• looks at the journalists' constraints, such as time (deadlines), simplicity (length or duration of story) and bias, and how these constraints can lead to inaccuracies, stereotyping, oversimplification and exploitation.

Accessing the Media examines ways in which youth and youth-serving organizations can work to improve local news coverage of youth. This section covers the following topics:

• knowing the media outlets in your own backyard, knowing the right reporters to contact;

• building relationships with media people;

• maintaining your media presence;

• knowing your rights;

• communications planning: how to plan for an event or an announcement of an activity that you want the media to notice;

• handling a media interview.

Accessing Community Media

• Getting involved with community TV stations and radio stations.

• Writing for local community papers.

• Getting involved with online community media, like Young Peoples' Press.

• Daily newspapers with sections written for and by youth.

Using the Internet as a communications tool

• How to build and promote an effective website.

• Communicating your message on the Internet, using newsgroups, listserves, email.

The Media Toolkit for Youth is available in French from Autumn 2002.

Partners

See Project partners above.

Funders

Health Canada
Justice Canada (Crime Prevention Partnership Programme).

Cost

The cost, including consultations, preparation of materials and outreach and conferencing activities was approximately US $30,000.

Strengths of project

This is a unique project which encourages a positive, proactive approach to media education. Once young people have actively dealt with the news media themselves, they will better understand the news media they consume daily. We have received international praise from educators who tell us there is nothing else like the Toolkit available elsewhere - online or off.

Challenges

The most difficult challenge is finding additional funding to expand the scope of the Toolkit (such as adding video and audio streaming) and to promote the resource.

Evaluation

We have monitored through online statistics, measuring the number of times the Toolkit is visited, as well as our online Feedback and Guest Book entries. We are also currently reviewing options, contingent on funding, to present an online survey, which will give us an immediate evaluation tool for online users.

Lessons learned

Consultations with young people greatly enrich the development of any materials intended for young people.

Sustainability

We hope that by providing this education tool online, many young people will have the experience of being proactive vis à vis the media.

Anecdote

The Toolkit was promoted on the Media-L listserve (the premier listserve for media educators in the United States of America) by Elizabeth Thoman, Executive Director of the Center for Media Literacy. She wrote: "What a fabulous website!! And what a great service not only for kids but their teachers and parents, too. Even though you focus on Canadian media/contacts, there's a wealth of info for everyone around the world. I'm definitely adding this site to our CML Links page. And thanks to all of you there for developing such a terrific resource."

2005-04-02T08:37:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

International Children’s Book Day

SINCE 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen’s birth anniversary, April 2, International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire love of reading and to call attention to children’s books. Leading the celebration is the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY).

Founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 1953, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is a non-profit organization which represents an international network of people from all over the world who are committed to bringing books and children together.

It is composed of more than 60 National Sections all over the world, with one operating in the Philippines. As a non-governmental organization with an official status in UNESCO and UNICEF, the IBBY has a policy-making role as an advocate of children’s books. It is committed to the principles of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by the United Nations in 1990. One of its main proclamations is the right of the child to a general education and to direct access to information. Due to IBBY’s insistence, the resolution includes an appeal to all nations to promote the production and distribution of children’s books.

As an annual undertaking, the International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) celebration allows a national section of the IBBY to take on the opportunity to be the international sponsor of ICBD. The host National Section decides upon a theme and invites a prominent author from the host country to write a message to the children of the world and a well-known illustrator to design a poster. This year, the host national section is India with the theme "Books Are My Magic Eyes.’’

ICBD celebrations across the world involve the holding of special events that may include encounters with authors and illustrators, writing competitions, and announcements of book awards. In the Philippines, the National Section is expected to implement a host of events, from book launchings to exhibits, manifesting that the industry for the production and distribution of children’s books remains robust in our own land.

2005-04-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

Are Today's Youth Equal
to the Magsaysay Challenge?

…“You are equal to the task: you have the clear-eyed vigor of youth, and your minds have been sharpened into keen and precise instruments. You will not fail if you bear in mind always that your success and well-being as individuals cannot be separated from the well-being of your community, from the progress and development of your nation. You cannot fail if you have faith in your God and confidence in yourselves. As useful citizens of today, I welcome you. As leaders of tomorrow, I salute you…”

Thus spoke the much-loved Filipino president, with much faith, before the graduating students of the University of the Philippines in 1955. Fifty years later, the challenge continues, through the Ramon Magsaysay Student Essay Competition (RMSEC). Now on its 4th cycle in the Philippines, RMSEC is a vehicle of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) to connect the remarkable lives and work of Magsaysay Awardees with the aspirations of the youth. Secondary and college students may well take the challenge and prepare to enter the competition. Educational institutions and teachers nationwide are enjoined to get their students to participate.

GREAT NEWS for all secondary and college students: the Ramon Magsaysay Student Essay Competition is on. The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) calls on high school and college students to take the center stage, and enjoins educational institutions and teachers nationwide to get their students to participate. What better way to spend summer meaningfully…

Students may surf the Foundation website – www.rmaf.org.ph – or visit its Asian Library. Read and research on the lives, work and dreams accomplished by the so-called unsung heroes of Asia – the Magsaysay awardees. They manifest the life of dignity and selfless service long associated with the much loved late Philippine president.

There are many available publications offering invaluable data to researchers. The Book of Record is a continuing compilation of the biographies of the awardees from 1958 when the first awards were given and is now on its 12th volume. There are the 2002 Book of Citations and its CD version, which incorporate all the official commendations; these are available at RMAF at discounted rates of P200 and P100, respectively. Co-published with Anvil Publishing Inc are two popular books, “Great Men and Women of Asia” and “Young Pens For Young Minds”. "Great...", the first in a five-book series on selected awardees by decade, captures the riveting and remarkable lives and work of fifteen Magsaysay Awardees selected from a roster of more than 50 honored by Asia's premier prize during its first decade, 1958-1967. "Young Pens" anthologizes a selection of winning essays in the first four years of the Ramon Magsaysay Student Essay Competition (RMSEC), three in the Philippines from 2000 - 2003 and a maiden run in Korea in 2004. The two books are at affordable prices at all National Bookstores and Powerbooks outlets nationwide. All these reference materials are also at the Asian Library, Ground floor, Ramon Magsaysay Center, 1680 Roxas Boulevard, Manila; selected school libraries nationwide also hold Book of Record volumes.

By immersing themselves in these fine gems of humanity, students will discover inspiring subjects for the essay competition’s theme, “Inspiring Me To Make A Difference: Personal Lessons From A Magsaysay Awardee”. Missionaries and military leaders, farmers, housewives and heads of government, or great minds of science and gifted artistic souls, a rice research body and an international relief agency – these are among Asia’s living heroes – organizations and individuals who transcend race, gender and religion to display "greatness of spirit in service to the people. According to RMAF president Carmencita Abella, the Foundation looks at the competition as a crusade to animate the young generation to want to demonstrate the same selfless leadership in their own lives.

For competition mechanics and other information, please contact the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation at 521-3166 to 81 or toll free 1-800-1-888-2390, or through e-mail essay@rmaf.org.ph. Entry forms which may be downloaded from the RMAF website and reproduced, or available at schools and universities nationwide. Deadline for submission is on July 30, 2005. Entries may be forwarded to the following chairpersons of the Regional Boards of Judges:

Dr. Ma. Luz Vilches
Associate Professor & Chairperson, Department of English
School of Humanities, Ateneo de Manila University
Loyola Heights 1108, Quezon City
Tele-fax (632) 426-6120
Email: mvilches@ateneo.edu

Ms. Elvira S. Balinas
Department of English, College of Arts and Science
Angeles Univ. Foundation, Angeles City, Pampanga
Tel: (045) 888-2663 to 65 Local 712
E-mail: levbalinas@hotmail.com

Dr.Leoncio P. Deriada
214 San Jose St., Molo, Iloilo City 5000
Telephone: (033) 338-0268
Email: lp-deriada@yahoo.com

Prof. Christine Godinez-Ortega
College of Arts & Sciences, Mindanao State University -
Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City
T: (063) 221-4050 to 55 local 111
Email: girliebaylan@yahoo.com

Prizes include P100,000 each for two national grand prize winners, and Samsung PCs and MP3 Players for the eight (8) regional winners, with 25” Samsung Flat TVs for their schools. The private sector has been invited by the Foundation to participate in this undertaking. Its major partner is Samsung Electronics Philippines while Nestle Philippines continues to help promote the competition. This year’s partnerships have been enriched by Knowledge Channel, National Bookstores and Anvil Publishing Inc. Shoemart will again host the “Ramon Magsaysay Student Essay Competition @ SM” travelling exhibit in its super malls nationwide from February to July. The exhibit presents the winning works of past RMSEC grand prize winners and an introduction on the Ramon Magsaysay Awardees. Robinsons Malls will continue to help publicize RMSEC by displaying competition posters nationwide, and RMSEC posters will also be up on LRT stations and MRT trains.

INTEL Teach, a collaborative training program spearheaded by INTEL Philippines and the Department of Education (DEPED), will include the 4th RMSEC in its program this year. RMAF also will coordinate with the networks of DEPED’s National Schools Press Conference (NSPC), the National Youth Commission (NYC), the Ayala Young Leaders’ Conference (AYLC), and the UNESCO Youth Clubs / Associated Schools Project network (ASPs). The Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and other educational organizations are invited to ensure wide participation: the Coordinating Council of Private Educations Associations (COCOPEA) and its affiliates, the Philippine Association of State Universities & Colleges (PASUC), the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), the Association of Christian Schools, Colleges and Universities (ACSCU), the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU), the Council of Department Chairpersons in English (CDCE)and College English Teachers Association (CETA). All remind high school and college students to join!

Foundation Contacts:
Lourdes K. Mercado-Balbin, Communications Officer
Sandy de la Cruz, Communications Assistant
Telephones: 52103166 to 81 Locals 161, 180, 184
TeleFax: 524-2390

RULES FOR THE COMPETITION:

There are two levels of competition: Collegiate and High School, open to all bonafide Asian students in the Philippines.

The essay, on the theme "Inspiring Me to Make a Difference: Personal Lessons from a Magsaysay Awardee," must be written in English, typewritten or computer-typed, double-spaced on 8.5” x 11” bond paper with one-inch margins on all sides. If computer-typed, use 12 pt. Times New Roman or Book Antiqua. No name or any identifying marks must be written in any of the submitted essays.

All essays must be between two (2) and four (4) pages, thus about 500-1,000 words, in length. Each essay may have its own title. Submit five copies of the essay in one manila (brown) envelope. Photocopies will be accepted. All entries must be accompanied by a fully accomplished entry form which is available from your school, from the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, and the RMAF website, www.rmaf.org.ph. Only one entry form per contestant is allowed. Entry forms may be reproduced.

Only original and unpublished work may be entered. Essays which have won in previous contests may not be entered. All entries shall become and remain the property of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation.

First and second-degree relatives of employees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation are disqualified from joining.

Deadline for submitting entries is on 30 July 2005, the same date for receiving mailed entries.

There are two streams of judging: regional and national. Entries are classified into geographical clusters (Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao). At this first stage of elimination, the Regional Boards of Judges select three essays each for the high school and college levels per region. From this selection, the National Board of Judges will choose the eight regional finalists - four high school; four college –each to win a Samsung PC and MP3 player; their schools to receive 25” Samsung Flat TVs. From this roster will emerge the grand prize winners, one for each level.

The two national winners will each win P100,000 from the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. They will be announced at the awarding ceremonies in August, during the Magsaysay Festival Month, at the Ramon Magsaysay Center, Roxas Boulevard, Manila.
PRIZES AT STAKE

Prizes include P100,000 each for two national grand prize winners, and Samsung PCs and MP3 Players for the eight (8) regional winners, with 25” Samsung Flat TVs for their schools. The private sector has been invited by the Foundation to participate in this undertaking. Its major partner is Samsung Electronics Philippines while Nestle Philippines continues to help promote the competition. This year’s partnerships have been enriched by Knowledge Channel, National Bookstores and Anvil Publishing Inc. Shoemart will again host the “Ramon Magsaysay Student Essay Competition @ SM” travelling exhibit in its super malls nationwide from February to July. The exhibit presents the winning works of past RMSEC grand prize winners and an introduction on the Ramon Magsaysay Awardees. Robinsons Malls will continue to help publicize RMSEC by displaying competition posters nationwide, and RMSEC posters will also be up on LRT stations and MRT trains.

2005-03-28T06:53:00.000-08:00

The Radio Manifesto
addressed by young people from around the world
to radio broadcasters everywhere

Compiled by the World Radio Forum group of broadcasters, producers, journalists & trainers in partnership with radio stations, youth media organisations, national and international children’s rights NGOs and their facilitators

CONTENTS
Acknowledgements............................................ 3
Foreword............................................................ 3
Messages........................................................... 4

Part I Context
Scope................................................................. 5
Objectives ......................................................... 5
Development...................................................... 6
The role of radio in children’s lives..................... 6
Age-groups......................................................... 7
Key events.......................................................... 8
Key actions......................................................... 8
Theoretical basis................................................ 9
The way ahead................................................. 10
Part II The Radio Manifesto
... Section 1 -. declaration................................. 11
... Section 2 -. children’s rights and radio........ 12
... Section 3 -. young people’s participation...... 13
... Section 4 -. traditional stories and culture.... 14
... Section 5 -. education programmes............. 15

Part III Annexes
Contributors...................................................... 16
Rules for Radio............................ see back cover

Acknowledgements:
World Radio Forum acknowledges with thanks the help and support of:

Athina Rikaki, President of the European Children’s Television Centre
The Plan Media Team of West Africa
Bill Bell, Save the Children International Alliance
Gerison Landsdown, Children as Partners Alliance
Chris Schuepp, UNICEF Young People’s Media Network
All staff and volunteers at Bush Radio, Cape Town, South Africa
Mike Jempson, The PressWise Trust (Mediawise)
Karl-Gunnar Lidstrom, I.P.O. for Education & Training, Sweden
Susanne Krucsay, Federal Ministry of Education, Science & Culture, Austria

in enabling, promoting, assisting and advising on the development of this work
Sarah McNeill
World Radio Forum
April 2004

Foreword:
Any radio station that claims to be serving the interests of the community and representing the democratic values of a society, has to integrate children and youth into their programming. It is not just an issue of programming ‘for the children’ (something that usually adults do), but allowing the young to express their voices and acquire little by little the experience and commitment that will make them opinion leaders and responsible citizens.
The fact that children take in their hands the radio waves is a logical consequence of any democratization process. Young people may not vote, and many of their rights may be restricted because of their age, however they are the pivotal force in any society that looks ahead for 10 or 15 years. The more responsibilities they have in participating in community life, the more today’s children will become leaders of tomorrow’s communities and nations.
Young people still have many attributes that, often, adults have lost : integrity, optimism, faith in the future, commitment to human values, creativity, enthusiasm. Providing them the opportunity to communicate these values and attitudes through radio, will benefit the ensemble of the society.

By Alfonso Gumucio-Dagron
(Bolivian born journalist, film-maker and communications development specialist, Alfonso Gumucio-Dagron has worked extensively in Africa, Asia and throughout Latin America for UNICEF and other UN agencies. His published work includes ‘Making Waves’ 2001 )

Messages of support:
The Radio Manifesto is a clarion call of our children’s intention to express themselves through the use of media, in general, and radio in particular. It clearly explains, for radio broadcasters worldwide, the important role they can play in putting children’s human rights into action - not just in making sure the decision makers of tomorrow are protected and respected but also by enabling them to be actively involved in the development of their communities.
Zane Ibrahim, Managing Director,
Bush Radio, Cape Town, South Africa

This Manifesto makes it very clear that children are part of the community and further enables children to voice their opinions in a world that they too inhabit and care for.
The usefulness of their Manifesto as a children’s rights instrument for making change is essentially in making participation a reality and creating an awareness in the communities about children’s rights as well as nurturing future leaders in radio and communication.
Charlotte McClain, Commissioner,
South African Commission on Human Rights

The international Radio Manifesto is an important document. Children are taking action to tell us what they want and what they need from radio. It is our duty to respond.
John Chaloner
Regional Director, Plan West Africa

Most of the young people who have contributed to this Radio Manifesto are from the low income countries of the world where radio is the most widely used form of media. In it they are asking radio broadcasters to play a more proactive role to implement many of the rights enshrined in the UNCRC. The media often shows us the problems of children’s lives. Now, these young broadcasters are showing that they want to be, and that they can be part of the solution.
Cecilia von Feilitzen, Ph.D. Scientific Coordinator, The International Clearinghouse on Children,
Youth and Media,
Nordicom, Goteborg University

The great thing about radio waves is that they can travel across borders and build bridges. The great thing about this Manifesto is that it is a mirror image of a radio wave – it was written by young people from different parts of the world, it connects and builds bridges. It shows that working together with young people and giving them a voice is a great way of making radio programmes which can contribute to positive change in our societies.
Chris Schuepp, Coordinator,
Young People’s Media Network in Europe and Central Asia

Scope
The scope of the Radio Manifesto encompasses every aspect of children’s lives in the same way radio, as part of the media, reflects every aspect of international, national and local community life. Twenty four hours a day in countries around the world, millions of voices representing every level of experience broadcast to billions of listeners. In many countries radio continues to be the mass media.
The majority of stories featured on local, national and international radio news impact in one way or another on the lives of children. Yet the views and voices of children themselves are excluded, either because they are not deemed to be part of the community, or because broadcasters do not recognise that children would or could have anything of value to say, or because it is judged that adults would not want to listen to children.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has been ratified by every country in the world bar two. Broadcasting authorities and public service broadcasting organisations in all of the signatory nations are obliged not only to communicate information about the UNCRC and raise awareness on child rights, but are also duty bearers for putting the articles of the Convention into action. Translations of the UNCRC can be found at: www.unicef.org/magic/briefing/uncorc.html

Objectives
The Radio Manifesto addresses all radio broadcasters as well as those in power at every level of policy and decision making in international and national broadcasting. Its objectives are:
1 To develop awareness of the role of radio broadcasters as duty bearers for children’s rights and the UNCRC
2 To set internationally recognised, child-rights based standards for the provision of appropriate radio programming for children and youth.
3 To give children and young people a voice in defining what they want and what they really need from radio
4 To provide those lobbying for children’s rights with an effective and internationally recognised instrument for change and to involve young people as equal partners in the process of making change at policy and decision making levels of local, national and international radio broadcasting.

Development
In September 2001 the South African Government, Department of Communications, was seeking new ways to support and develop children’s radio programmes at community level. Youth broadcasters at Bush Radio in Cape Town wanted to put forward their view and decided to make it the subject the focus of their annual ‘Radio Kidocracy’ conference. Referring to the UNCRC and also the South African Charter on Children’s Broadcasting (2000), they organised discussion groups on the first ever ‘Children’s &Youth Radio Manifesto’. Their document, produced in 2001, provided an outline for further development.
Subsequently, youth radio groups in other countries became involved by holding discussion groups to define their own contributions. Support from the European Children’s Television Centre, the Save the Children International Alliance, Plan International (West Africa Regional Office) and the Children as Partners Alliance (CAPA) helped spread information about the Manifesto to many of those working with the young in other media projects. All contributions have been incorporated into the original document to make their Manifesto international and representative. As far as possible, and within the constraints of translation, the text of the Manifesto aims to respect the integrity of the children’s own words.

The role of radio in children’s lives
Children are radio listeners from very early on in their lives, hearing radio in their home environment and at other locations where radio receivers are tuned to local and national stations. They are part of large in-car audiences at certain times of the day and they are also part of the remote highland, island and rural communities which rely on radio for news and information. Some radio organisations broadcast to children in schools. Some children hear radio in their place of work. But whether they hear broadcasts at home, in the market place, in a car on the way to school or sitting under a tree in an outlying village somewhere in Africa or Asia, they are not likely to hear the views or voices of people their own age.
The broadcasters’ disinterest in representing children has resulted in a tendency to replicate in news and other programming, the same stereotypes of children as those perpetuated by television and the press. News stories on child rights issues may show children as the cause of a problem or as part of a problem but rarely as part of a solution. When the views and voices of children themselves are excluded, the effect is to make them the objects of anger, disapproval, pity or even fear. The media attitude becomes an accepted standard and media values become shared by the audience at large.
If, however, a radio journalist includes (as in an example taken from a war report from Angola) the words of an injured child describing how his village was attacked and the way he became separated from his parents and how he was trying to find them, the listener is able to respond in a different way. The child is humanised as is the listener’s response. Understanding is awakened. Radio can do this. It has an important effect on children’s lives in the way it influences the perception of adults.
Radio’s unique facility to provide actuality (such as the voice of a child) without compromising his/her identity makes it an especially effective medium for promoting children’s rights AND protecting their identity, two key principles of the UNCRC. Radio broadcasters also have to take account of their role to act in the best interests of the child by careful withholding of names where children are put at risk by being identified.
The Radio Manifesto is about making the views and voices of children and young people heard in mainstream broadcasting where they can have an impact on all listeners; where adults hearing young voices speaking on the radio revise their estimation of the contribution children and youth can make in the community; and where adults re-evaluate the status of children, of the girl-child in particular and of children who are marginalised for whatever reason.
Radio can do these things because it is the most widely received, cost effective, 24 hour, national and grassroots medium of communication. It broadcasts in hundreds of different local languages, reaches beyond the perimeters of the developed world and provides a source of information, education and entertainment to all, including those who do not have access to any other mass media.
The Radio Manifesto calls on radio broadcasters to become instrumental in taking action to implement children’s rights, and shows how the young can be part of that process and how radio can become a tool for making change in their lives.

Age groups
The UNCRC defines the child as being a person of 18 or under. Within this age range, categories multiply from the new born to the late teens. Producers of media for children usually target under 5s; 6 - 8s; 7 - 10s; early teens; and ‘youth’. Radio production for children, where it exists, is normally organised within these parameters. Most ‘children’s radio’ has been in the form of programming made by adults for children with some very successful examples of children being given opportunities for participation.
Radio-in-development projects have involved children as young as 8 in learning how to use digital recording equipment and work with microphones. Radio is also of particular value to disabled children. At the upper end of the age range it has been demonstrated that young people who have had the experience of participating in radio production and broadcasting are adept at passing on their skills to their peers and to younger would-be broadcasters. Some groups, such as CREW at Bush Radio in Cape Town, also receive technical training for their weekly live show and put the programme on air themselves.
Consequently, young people contributing to the Radio Manifesto have included children as young as 8 and have involved all ages up to 18. But the demands they make and the needs they articulate relate to the provision of appropriate radio programming for children of all ages. They also call for the views and voices of the young to be heard in mainstream broadcasts because children are affected by the social, environmental and economic issues discussed by adults and want to make their own positive contribution to the debates.

Key events
1995 Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) thirteenth session (Geneva) general discussion - the child and the media.
1997 CRC working group on the child and the media (Paris)
1998 CRC working group on the child and the media (London)
1999 The Oslo Challenge workshop (Oslo)
2001 3rd World Summit on Media for Children (Thessalonika) World Radio Forum (WRF) founded.
2001 “Radio Kidocracy Konfrence”, Bush Radio (Cape Town). Work started on a children’s & youth radio manifesto.
2002 United Nations Special Session on Children (New York)
2002 AGORA meeting of children’s & youth media professionals (Athens)
2003 AGORA meeting of children’s & youth media professionals (Bologna)
2004 4th World Summit on Media for Children & Adolescents (Rio de Janeiro)

Key actions
The concept of a young people’s radio charter arose from statements put forward at the 1995 CRC general discussion on the child and the media that called for dialogue with media professionals on how the younger generation could be given a greater voice in the media; how children could be more effectively protected from harmful influences from the media; and what could be done to ensure that the media did not abuse children, either individually or as a group, in their reporting. “ It is believed that it should be possible to give children a voice which would be genuine and not merely a ‘token’ voice, particularly through radio.” (Thomas Hammarberg 1997)
The Oslo Challenge workshop (an outcome of the ‘Child and the Media’ working group meetings) emphasised the need to enable children’s participation in the media and noted consistent references to radio as a particularly suitable medium for children’s participation.
In 2001 the 3rd World Summit on Media for Children, hosted by the European Children’s Television Centre, included radio on their agenda and welcomed the participation of delegates from this field of children’s media. Radio delegates formed the group that was to become known as the World Radio Forum (WRF).
Bush Radio in South Africa held the first ‘Radio Kidocracy Konfrence’ in Cape Town that same year, and youth participants were invited to put into their own words what they needed and what they really wanted from radio. Their discussions produced the first outline for a Radio Manifesto.
In 2002, during the UN Special Summit on Children, the WRF website was launched, featuring information on the development of an international children’s & youth radio manifesto.
The same year, at the annual AGORA conference organised by the European Children’s Television Centre, the World Radio Forum (WRF) presented work in progress involving children’s radio groups from other countries in contributing to the Radio Manifesto. At the 2003 AGORA conference the WRF was invited to present the completed Manifesto at 4WSMCA, the Rio Summit, in Brazil.

Theoretical basis
The process of developing the Manifesto internationally through collaboration with children’s & youth media groups, working at grassroots level as well as in partnership with national radio broadcasters, has been shaped and informed by the research, fieldwork and literature on child participation and participatory research methodology which burgeoned during the 1990s.
The content of the manifesto is founded on the principles of protection and participation encoded in the UNCRC. From its inception, the Manifesto was based on Articles 12, 13 and 17 which refer to the child’s freedom to express an opinion and right to be heard; the right to have access to the media of their choice; and the right to information on all issues affecting their lives.
Those taking part in early Manifesto discussion groups drew further on the Convention with reference to the rights to health, security, education and freedom from discrimination. At a later stage, when debating how radio can put into action the rights of marginalised children, Article 39 was also included.
Similarly, Article 31 which enshrines the child’s right to leisure was highlighted when discussion turned to the role of radio in providing fun and entertainment for children whose lives are deprived of any opportunity for play.
As more groups became involved in the Manifesto discussion process, further contributions reflecting many facets of the UNCRC were articulated and categorised under the five headings which now shape the main text presented in this document.

The way ahead
The Radio Manifesto is open for further contributions from children’s & youth radio groups wishing to add to, change or elaborate on its content. The text of the Radio Manifesto is posted on the World Radio Forum website on the Internet at (www.worldradioforum.org) and can be downloaded together with notes for structuring discussion workshops which enable young people to develop their thoughts on the issues involved.
A process of adoption will also be set in motion by the World Radio Forum, involving radio broadcasters, organisations and associations in endorsing the Manifesto and supporting its aims and aspirations.

PART II - MANIFESTO

SECTION 1 Declaration.
What we believe and really want to say on radio
We want to speak out against all forms of violence - killing, abduction and sale of children, rape and every other kind of child abuse and exploitation
We want to speak out against the causes of violence such as power-seeking, drug addiction and alcohol abuse and poverty
We need our voices to be included in denouncing war and in speaking out against the exploitation of children in armed conflict
We would like to speak up for people to love and respect each other
We would like to speak up for peace in the world
We would like radio to give us the space for more smiles and less sadness and for singing songs, laughter and play
We want our voices to be heard in the fight against homelessness, poverty and disease
We need our voices to be heard in the fight against HIV and AIDS
We would like our voices to be included in the building of safe and secure environments for everyone
We want to speak up for the care and conservation of our environment and against deforestation, desertification and pollution
We would like radio to show how it is possible to treat everyone (including children and especially including girls) equally
We want to speak out against all kinds of discrimination and ensure that radio gives disabled children the opportunity for their voices to be heard
We need radio to bring tolerance to our world of different nations, religions and cultures
We would like radio to reflect the way children and young people everywhere are collaborating to help build a better world

SECTION 2 Children’s rights and radio
Our Manifesto recognises:
that each state is obliged to make the rights contained in the UNCRC widely known to adults and children and to translate the rights of the Convention into reality
that radio is the mass medium which can best deliver information to all and implement the rights of the Convention for all including those who, for whatever reason, have no access to other media
that children’s rights to access to the media, freedom from discrimination, freedom to express an opinion on issues that affect their lives, rights to health, education, information, leisure, and, for those who are excluded, the right to social reintegration, and other rights articulated in the Convention, can all be effectively put into action and delivered by radio

We call on radio broadcasters:
to recognise that young people have a right to express themselves freely on radio by including their views and voices on issues that affect them
to give children courage to speak up on radio by creating safe conditions and, if necessary, protecting their identities
to use field recordings to include youth views and voices
to target different age groups in appropriate ways with suitable programmes
to broadcast child-rights related information for children and parents
to enable the voices of abused and marginalised children to be heard
to avoid stereotyping children in news reports and ensure that positive news values are included in coverage of child-rights stories by including positive as well as negative aspects
to ensure that radio stations set up combined efforts to make the voices of young people heard to empower a stronger voice for them by promoting youth shows and demonstrating young people’s ability and wish to work together
to broadcast discussion on different aspects of the UNCRC to educate and inform adults about children’s rights

SECTION 3 Young people’s participation in radio
Our Manifesto recognises:
that public service radio is for the public and local communities
that children and youth, as well as their parents, are an integral part of the public and of the local communities served by radio broadcasters
that children’s rights organisations and others are supporting young people in forming their own radio groups
that children’s and youth radio groups offer a relevant resource for radio broadcasters’ programme content
that children and youth involved in radio have responsibilities as well as rights

We call on radio broadcasters:
to ask what are the most important things producers and reporters can do to make the voices of children & youth heard in the community
to produce more programmes which involve the participation of young people and broadcast more programmes made for children
to broadcast what is necessary for children (in terms of information and education) as well as what is fun, interesting and enjoyable
to encourage children and youth to participate in managing, developing, producing and presenting their own shows
to provide mainstream radio programmes that focus on issues concerning the young and give young people the opportunity to take part with adults to express their views and help in constructing solutions to problems
to liaise and collaborate with children’s & youth NGOs as a resource for mainstream programmes dealing with child rights related issues
to produce radio programmes which encourage understanding and break down barriers between generations
to help parents listen to what their children have to say by enabling discussion between children and parents on subjects that may not be talked about at home such as excision, early marriage, HIV & AIDS
to respect children’s views and experiences

SECTION 4 Traditional stories and culture on radio
Our Manifesto recognises:
that by featuring traditional storytelling, radio can promote cultural diversity, tolerance and understanding
that traditional stories appeal to adult as well as child listeners
that in broadcasting traditional stories, poetry, rhymes and games, radio can preserve and promote different languages and ensure that children can continue to enjoy the culture and oral traditions of mother tongue languages
that radio drama is an effective way to provide successful forms of entertainment for different age groups

We call on radio broadcasters:
to broadcast more traditional stories, rhymes and song-games for the very young at times when they can listen
to reflect the contribution children can make in the performance and retelling of traditional poems and stories
to provide a source of fun and enjoyment for children and youth as well as for adult audiences
to make sure there is a place for poetry in people’s lives and that poetry for and by young people is included
to reflect the way traditional forms of entertainment are made relevant to young people in new forms such as hip-hop
to respond to the needs for entertainment of marginalised and deprived groups such as children in refugee camps
to give airtime to the issue of children’s need for recreation with discussions about every child’s right to have time for leisure as well as spaces for play and for sports activities

SECTION 5 Education programmes on radio
Our Manifesto recognises:
that radio can provide programmes which put into action children’s right to education.
that children and young people need education programmes on radio which are appropriate for their age range and which are clear and informative.
that radio can enable free education for all children especially for those who cannot attend school
that radio can provide education programmes in different languages

We call on radio broadcasters:
to make appropriate provision of learning programmes for children of all ages for those in school and for those unable to be in school
to educate adults, especially parents, about every child’s right to education and about the importance of including girls
to broadcast debate on the need to build schools and train teachers
to help advocate against corporal punishment in schools
to support radio clubs organised by, with and for the young, by making available technical expertise, access to airtime and opportunities for children to learn radio making skills.

PART III - ANNEXES
Participating children’s & youth radio groups
SOUTH AFRICA. Childrens Radio Education Workshop (CREW), Bush Radio, Cape Town. (The Radio Manifesto pioneer group of 2001)
Ilhaam Jamal,14; Vuyo Halom,14; Lucille Julius,14; Thando Magaqa,15; Leonie Louw,17; Wendy Burnell,16; Michael Tshoko,17; Cikizwa Njana,15; Tasmin Salies,14; Kelan Linden,12; Namhla Nabe,15; Springs Mahlutshana,15; Natasha Dole,15; Akhona Ngoqo,15; Gabriel Marchand,14; Mongezi Mtebele, 15.Coordinator: Nashira Abrahams
"We want this Manifesto to stand as a testament to the resourcefulness and competency of children in the world today. And also as a launch pad for their future exploration of the media as youth communicators."
INDIA. Butterflies Broadcasting Children (BBC), Butterflies Organisation of Street & Working Children, New Delhi.
Sonu-1; Muslim; Imran; Rajinder; Raju-1; Raju-2; Subodh; Abdul; Babloo; Pappu; Ehsan; Sonu-2; Aizy; Yadunath; Shahid; Bilal; Govinda; Karim; Anuj.
Facilitator: Sunil Kumar
Director: Rita Panniker
You can listen to radio everywhere; we cannot watch TV while working but we can listen to radio while working. Not everybody can read books. For TV, electricity is required, but it is not required for radio.
WEST AFRICA. “I am a Child but I have my rights too!” Plan West Africa Media Project: SENEGAL, Radio Gune Yi.
Aminata M’bodji,9; Atta Dramé,12; Thiémokho Traoré,17; Alimalore Doulahansy,15; Cheikh N’Diaye,8; Ndoumbé Diop,17; Papa Malick Barros,11; Moustapha Sidibé,15; Olivier Kwizera Gasigwa,14; Awa Coumbaelle Mballo,10; Kippré Moctar,10; Nassima Hanni,11; Fatou Gueye,15; Aissatou Ndiaye Diagne,11.
Plan facilitator and Radio Manifesto project coordinator for West Africa: Florence Cisse
Plan Radio Gune Yi facilitator: Khéwé Mbaye
Plan Regional Media Programme Advisor: Mimi Brazeau
Plan regional radio campaign coordinator: Aminatou Sar
They should also broadcast programmes made with children affected by HIV & AIDS who are marginalised. Invite them in to the radio studio together with medical experts or NGOs to make listeners understand that these children are just the same as we are but that they are unwell and that we have to help them and be with them in their loneliness BURKINA FASO, Boulsa group.
Aristide Ilboudo,15; Moussa Sawadogo,12; Arnaud Tasoba,14; Mercédes Nadié,12; Abzéta Kouéogo,16; Pascal Sawadogo,13; Moussa Kougouri,16; Halidou Nabalma,16; Arnaud Larba,16; Francois Sandwidi,16; Natacha Thiombiano,11; Bibata Kam,11; Augustine Sedogo,12; Larraine Tapsoba,11; Doris Wemba,14.
Plan Burkina Faso child rights coordinator: Allain Some
We call on radio broadcasters to invite our parents to speak with us. Our future depends on you, our parents. Forgive your children when they make mistakes. We need radio to broadcast programmes for children to help them learn what life is all about.
BURKINA FASO, Gaoua group.
Arouna Gnanou,16; Nadège Kambirè,13; Dihourotè Somè,15; Adama Lenguélegué13; Judith Babouan,16; Clemence Dageri,15; Alima Ouatlara,11; Fatimata Ouédraogo,14; Lazare Kambire,14; ZenaboNabaloum,13; Dramane Sankara,16; Aboubacar Sawadogo,16; Yaliete Da,13; Marthe Kambouotlo,16.
We want to appeal to all young people to participate as much as they can in radio broadcasts to make their views known and defend their rights.
MALI, Bamako group.
Niagalé Traorë,14; Mountaga Moctar Diakité,13;Lalla Touré,13; Konaté Mohamed,12;Fati Touré,19; Abdoulaye Fofana,13; Fatoumata Bah,13; Mohamed Lamine Sissoko,14.
Plan Mali media project coordinator: Kadiatou Bocoum
We want to say to the adult world that children who are disabled, or orphans or homeless need to be able to join us and be part of our community life.
BENIN, Cotonou group.
JeanBaptiste Zanklan16; Faridath Bissimiou15; Esaie Padonou15; El Ghaffar Biokou13; Maxime Monteiro14; Rodrigue Fannou15; Joël Hounkpatin14; Bernice Adamaze14; Carole Adjanohoun16;Faridou Bissimiou15; Ulrich Agblenon16; Sylvie Aboha16; Jadiath Osseni; Gwladys Kinsou13; Prisca Amoussou 14; Igor Amadji15; Elfried Zotcheme,13.
Plan Benin child rights coordinator: Paul Fagnon
We think that radio programmes for young people could help improve children’s lives if the broadcasters were serious about it and if they made good entertainment to help change attitudes and the way people live their lives…
CAMEROUN, Ndop-Bemessing group.
Elvis Formunkwin,13; Eugene Nfor Labah,17; Tani,14; Chenyi,15; Olivia Ameik,13; Doris Ningbang,14; Keji Elvis Ngum,13; Nghogukeh,16; Yenji Mariatu,14; Nyenipork,15; Jeanvier Atteh Tegang,16; Fosi Ndende Ernest,16; Kumfa Raoul Bengneh,14; Melvis Yungwe,15; Gwain Lindu,15; Ondrine,14; Charles Mbengyeing Tenkang,17; Memoh Gaston Mboh,16; Cemillian Bongeh,16; Linda,16; Novert Bikeh,14; Ngwa Maurice Mimba; Gregory Wogeikike,15; Chirfung Robin Toseh,16; Melvis Meshit Tangeh,14; Linus Mbah,16; Clerance Ghanseh,14; Frederick Mesekeh Bebar,18; Ivo Bonde,17; Catherine Masoh,14; Solange Mboh,17; Constantine Nchang,18; Gilbert Nkcongwa Tanui,14; Valery Kemboh,16; Platini Nkeh Plashni,16; Ntanikweh Evaristus Nchewbonui,13; Ufor Ivo Tafili,13; Ruth Kenwi,13; Blandine Mboh,14; Frederick Kienda,17; Thierry,15; Yuonui Bruno Tainchua,16; Sidonie N.Mutch,16; Rita Wunyi Ngong,16; Lilian Menubanui,17; Silas Nlume Mumancho,16; Princely Yungho,15; Constance Nchuekain,15; Sylvester Muna Kotia,19; Kenyi Jaran,18.
Plan facilitator: Luma Tafili Walter
Plan Cameroon child rights coordinator: Bernard Ngamo
The children were in total support of all the points advanced by the South African children.
CAMEROUN, Lossou group.
Pierre 18; Dany 11; Emilienne,11; Chantal, 11; Jean Marie, 10; Rose, 15; François, 14.
Plan facilitators: Michel, Basile, Blanchard.
The news often gives reports about children who are abandoned and other acts of criminal nature but the voices of children are rarely heard in these reports because the radio broadcasters don’t think it’s important.
CAMEROUN, Petit Bonando group
Julie, 12; Jeannot, 16; Jules, 19; Solange, 7; Bernadette, 13; Madeleine, 15; Doriane, 12; Calvin, 16; Zacharie, 17.
Plan facilitators: Louis, Paul.
Adults would be more affected if they were to hear children talking of their experiences, and in this way they would become aware of the fact that the child is a sensitive being in all these situations.
CAMEROUN, Mayos group.
Henriette, 9; Noel, 6; Paul,13; Emile 14; Ondo, 12; Ambo, 14; Emmanuel, 17; David, 18; Alamba, 14; Kombele, 12; Emmanuel, 19; Fradin, 19; Jeannette, 15; Antoinette, 12.
It doesn’t take much training for a child to be capable of making recordings for radio.
Plan facilitator: Mathieu.
CAMEROUN,Nkolbikon group.
Janvier, 15; Jean, 18; Nostor, 10; Elyse, 12; Michel, 19; Martine, 15; Paul, 18; Joseph, 18; Paul, 12; Simon, 24; Jean Bosco, 19; Martin, 11; Remy, 19; Sylvie, 17; Charles, 18; Corantin, 14; Pauline, 12; Rosine-Yvette, 13.
Plan facilitators: Philemon, Gerard, Laurent, Joseph, Paul, Patrice.
Children should always be able to say what they think about decisions made on anything that concerns them.
CAMEROUN, Nkolimadjap group.
Florette, 10; Blandine, 16; Janvier, 12; Laurent, 17.
Plan facilitator: Misseme
Children’s rights do not mean that children should be insolent.
.
NEPAL. Hatemalo Radio, Hatemalo Sanchar NGO, Kathmandhu.
Krishma Pokharel, 16; Rajendra Pyakurel, 16; Kashav Pandya, 16; Nirijana Bhatta, 16; Binod Karki, 16; Shusila KC, 17; Nina Maharjan, 17.
Programme Manager: Saurav Kiran Shrestha
We want our voices to be heard against any set of ideas that underestimate children’s ability and potential; such as the idea that children cannot think or do anything because they are small.
GHANA. “Curious Minds”, Children & Youth in Broadcasting/ Child Survival & Development Action Club/Radio Production. Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Accra.
Grace Gyimah-Boateng,14; Nicolette Chachu,15; Edith Asamani,13; Godfred Kwapong,14; Esther Attipoe,16; Evelyn Fia-Kwofie,14; Obed Omari-Boateng,18; Emmanuel Ashong,17; Emmanuel Brown,18; Isaac Fuseini,12; Emmanuel TeiDjanmah,10; Godwin Amewode,14; John Paapa Awotwi,13; Emmanuel Adu-Fosu,17; Daniel Agbenoto,18; Samuel Quaye’16; Jethro Allotey,17; Judith Sackey,10; Eric Hagan,18; Sydney Hushie,19; Rose Gifty-Odoi,10; Samuel Kissi,18; David Aburabura,19; Mary Magdalene Ayikwei,17; Adelaide Awuletey,17; Kwaku Boakye-Appiah,15; Rhoda Gyimah-Boateng,11; Charity Naa Jormoh Bill,8; Gifty Pearl Abenaab,19; Lawrence Laryea; Bernice Akuamoah,17; Mayqueen Dzifa,18; Sheilla Darpoh,17; Frederick Johnson,17; Festus Mireku-Dankyi,17; Dorcas Ahiabah,14; Agnes Oparebea,18; Hilda Apreh,15; Ishmael Gyebi-Boateng,16.
Facilitators: Emmanuel Arthur, Jonathan Darpoh, Philanthropist Nyame, Edmund Agbeve, Adelaide Odoi.
Project Manager: Kingsley Obeng Kyereh
Our radio programme has opened the way for some parents who would not talk to their children to do so, because discussion on the radio generated further discussion at homes and in the community. Children involved in radio programmes have to show responsibility wherever they are in order not to give others any reason to speak against children being on the radio
UKRAINE. “Children’s Voice”, Foundation of Youth Culture & Education (FYCE) Independent Children’s Media Centre, Kiev.
Denis Stepura, 17; Dmytro Aksyonov, 17; Oksana Bilyk, 17; Irina Vorotyntseva, 15; Oksana Draguschak, 18.
Programme Director: Tetyana Bilar
It is very important to make wider public aware of power of the radio and the possibilities it create for children - in education, children’s rights promotion and protection, culture and safe and secure environments for all. Many regions of Ukraine are suffering from the lack of information - radio is the most accessible source of information for Ukrainians.
GUINEA. Kindia Children’s Radio Group, Konakry.
Djenab Barry, 6; Mamadou Kourouma, 8; Aissatou Bah, 10; Wazir Diallo, 14; Eric Kali Vogui, 14; Sow Abrahim Kalil, 13; Thierno Moustapha Diallo, 12; Balla Moussa Diakita, 12; Oumar Doumbaya, 10; Kadiatou Bah, 11; Mamadou Yayo Camara, 12; Sadou Barry, 9; Sonna Maimouna Diallo, 17; Hindou Gomez, 11; Hadja Mariama Sadio Diallo, 17.
Project facilitator: Penda Diallo
In order for children to be able to express themselves on the radio, they need to be sure that they are not taking a risk. It is very important that they are given responsibility and that they have a role to play in the world of adults. With youth journalists, more children would listen to radio; in fact no one knows better how to talk about the problems children face than the children themselves.
MOLDOVA. Moldova Youth Radio Group, Moldova Youth Media Centre, Kisinau.
Victoria Mocanu,14; Liliana Esanu,15; Emilia Timohin,14; Cristina Pusca,14; Cristina Vrabie,15; Nadejda Vicol,14; Natalia Castravet,14; Irina Ceban,14; Irina Popa,14; Sabina Lupascu,15; Nichifor Sasa,15; Nicu Cosovan,14; Segui Onofrei,17.
Coordinator: Roxana Teodorcic
Most of the radio are listened by adults. That’s why when a child wishes to express his opinion, he could be refused, or his opinion is not taken seriously. That’s why if a child would like to present a broadcast he will be totally refused because for the adults he is still a child without experience.
GEORGIA. Georgia Youth Radio Group, Association of Disabled Children / Independent Media Centre, Tbilisi
George Baramidze,15; Tamar Gogichaishvili,13.
Director of Youth Studio: Gunara Bibileishvili; Facilitator: Dato Borchkadze.
Coordinator: Gunara Bibileishvili
We want radio to give disabled children the opportunity for their voices to be heard in the fight against social discrimination

RADIO RULES !
A code of practice for young broadcasters

These ideas were guiding principles for the producers and concepts that were taught to youngsters they worked with at New York Kids, the weekly, live show which was broadcast for 9 years by WNYC in New York City.

Truth Never tell lies on radio
Swearing Never use bad language on radio
Slander Never say bad things about people
Accuracy Always check facts and aim to be accurate
Deception Never deceive listeners in any way. If you get caught,
no one will believe you anymore.

Children’s Rights Be aware of children’s rights in the way we produce the
programme and make the rights of all children part of our
responsibility as broadcasters.

Right to Reply When you broadcast criticism of people or organizations,
make sure they have the opportunity to answer the criticism.
We have the right to express an opinion and also to ask
questions. Everyone has the right to reply.

The Radio Manifesto is produced by the World Radio Forum
Rio Summit 2004 - 4th World Summit on Media for Children & Adolescents

2005-03-28T06:47:00.000-08:00

NEWS FROM THE WORLD RADIO FORUMDate: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 08:43:41 -0500NEWS UPDATE FROM THE WORLD RADIO FORUMThe <http://www.worldradioforum.org>World Radio Forum site features these new stories about WRF producers and upcoming events.READ ALL ABOUT IT!AGORA 2005 (JUNE, 2005) THEME IS "NEWS BY YOUTH, NEWS FOR YOUTH"AFGHAN RADIO FOR KIDS GROWSRADIO SALAM EXPANDS BROADCASTING TO YOUTHMCNEILL ARTICLE PROMOTES RADIO AND YOUTHDIGITAL RADIO FOR UK KIDSBUTTERFLIES PROVIDES TSUNAMI RELIEF TO CHILDRENCHILDREN'S PRESSLINE PROMOTES RADIO MANIFESTO2004 KIDOCRACY KONFRENCE REPORTThe World Radio Forum is an international group of national, community, and internet radio producers and broadcasters who make radio for, with, and by children and youth. WRF members work in broadcasting, education, entertainment, development, and social change and hold these two beliefs:1) Children and teens must be enabled to actively participate in radio production2) Radio broadcasters and producers are duty bearers for children’s rightsFor more information contact WRF Director Sarah McNeill, smcn@worldradioforum.orgThe World Radio Forum...an international group of national, community, and internet radio producers and broadcasters who make radio for, with, and by children and youth. WRF members work in broadcasting, education, entertainment, development, and social change.We focus on the best interests of young people. And we believe: *The young must be enabled to actively participate in radio production *Radio broadcasters and producers are duty bearers for children's rights *Rights and responsibilities: Check out the Rules for Radiomakers (Kids & Adults)http://www.worldradioforum.org/rules.shtml

2005-03-28T06:46:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

RadioAsia Conference to be held at BroadcastAsia 2005 -- Singapore

CALL FOR PAPERS -- SPEAKERS

The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), together
with the Asian Media Information and Communication
Centre (AMIC) are partnering to introduce a premiere
radio event for the Asia-Pacific region. To be known
as the RadioAsia conference, this year's inaugural
event will take place in Singapore in association
with BroadcastAsia 2005 in June.

Papers are invited on the following topics
(additionally, new topic ideas that are relevant to
the radio industry are also welcome):

Public Service Radio
Audience Research
Industry View: Evolving Radio Content Formats
Crisis and Conflict Communication
Radio and Youth
Radio Regulation
Community Radio
Cross-Media Strategies: Harnessing the Web
and Mobile Phone
Development Radio Journalism
Radio Advertising
Digital Radio/Audio Broadcasting

RadioAsia 2005 will be held on 15-17 June 2005
and is the first of a planned series of annual
conferences on radio in Asia. The programme
for RadioAsia will consist of two days of
conference sessions followed by a one-day
workshop.

The field of radio broadcasting has a long history
in the Asia-Pacific region. On many occasions
during that period, observers have tried to
'write-off' the medium in the face of competing media
like TV
and the Internet, but radio has continued to reinvent
itself time and time again.

In recent years, while much media attention has
justifiably focused on newer entrants like broadband
services and broadcasting to mobile phones, we
believe it is time to re-visit the promise and
pathways of radio communication in the Asia-Pacific.

With rapid globalisation and transformation of
political and economic structures, commercial, public
and community radio are important and influential
media and, through the application of new
technologies, can offer new opportunities and
challenges for media practitioners.

This new conference will focus on the impacts
of emerging and converging radio communications
strategies in the Asia-Pacific. Speakers and
attendees will be drawn from across the region,
as well as US and European radio agencies.

More information can be found at www.radioasia.org
where the conference programme will be updated
regularly.

Sponsorship packages for the conference are also
available.

In the meantime, if you require any further
information, please do not hesitate to contact
Vanessa Ching (vanessa@...).

Kind regards,

Vanessa Ching
Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union
Tel: + 603 - 2282 3592 ext 232
Fax: + 603 - 2282 5292 / 603 - 2282 4606
vanessa@...
www.abu.org.my

2005-03-21T09:22:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

hy Good Communications Matters for Nonprofits

For decades, many nonprofit organizations followed the dictum: “Do Good, Maintain a Low Profile and Others Will Provide.” “Others” often included clients, public supporters, charitable donors, and even the organization’s staff and board members. It was viewed as self-serving, even taboo, for nonprofits to allocate time and resources to promote understanding, goodwill, and support for their mission and objectives.

This Communications and Marketing Kit has been compiled by the Kellogg Foundation to help its grantee organizations reach and secure support from their many constituencies. It includes both references and specific, detailed steps necessary to understand options, identify resources, plan, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of a communications/social marketing initiative for your organization. (Underlined text provides direct Internet links to the cited resources.)

Today, Americans are a bit cynical about rhetoric. They tend to believe leaders, and organizations, that lead by example. When our actions fail to support our words, we lose credibility and authority. And, even successful, well-led organizations can have trouble communicating with the public if they fail to present a compelling message about who they are and what they contribute to society.

As nonprofits, we focus most of our attention on the issues and clientele we were created to serve. Too often, we underestimate the value of what we’ve learned from our work—the human stories, research findings, and best professional practices. Yet this field-tested knowledge can be invaluable when placed in the hands of the public, policymakers and other nonprofit and government agencies. Improving your group’s ability to communicate can have two-fold benefits: It can inform policies that will help advance your mission, and by increasing your visibility, make your organization more attractive to new members and donors.

This toolkit outlines the essential elements for building an effective communications and media relations program. It has been created primarily for Kellogg Foundation grantees. We hope you will find its content provocative, action-oriented, and a link to the many other publications and Internet resources that can help us all do a better job of communicating about our work and serving the needs of society.

Karen E. Lake

Director of Marketing and Communications
W.K. Kellogg Foundation

We are all impacted by the incredibly rapid transformation in traditional social structures, lifestyles and behaviors, by the advances in computer technology, and the globalization of the economy. Today nonprofit organizations must effectively communicate and literally “social market” themselves if they are to increase public awareness, secure public and private funding, and ensure the delivery of their important services to people and society.

An understanding of communication principles and serious application of proven communication practices can support the leader to achieve these goals.

2005-03-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

International Youth Foundation

Grantee: International Youth Foundation
Interviewee: Rick Little
May 2003, Baltimore, Maryland

Would you please state title and overall relationship to IYF?

I'm a founder of the International Youth Foundation.

Rick, you had a long history with the Kellogg Foundation. How you first came in contact with the organization is very important and telling. Would you mind sharing your story of how you first met Russ Mawby and what happened?

Okay. I first came to know the Kellogg Foundation when I was 19 years old. I was just out of high school. I didn't even know what a foundation was. I had never heard of a foundation and I remember being very surprised that there were actually organizations whose purpose was to give away money. Someone told me that there were such institutions and that I should go to the Kellogg Foundation. This was the 156th foundation that I went to. I had gone to 155 other foundations asking for money to support a project that I was trying to develop at age 19 to help other young people like myself who have come through difficult times. I had grown up in a family in a small Midwestern town, a little farming town in Ohio with a lot of pain in my family. An alcoholic mother, a drug-addicted father. I had walked through the pain and darkness of that kind of a family and having come through that hardship trying to figure out how to make sense of that and how to find your way through it, I decided to start an organization to help other young people like myself.

So in trying to raise money to start this organization, I asked some people how do you get money to do that? They said go to foundations. And after a 155 rejections, Kellogg was number 156. Many, many people had suggested a man by the name of Russ Mawby, and I remember writing to Dr. Mawby and having other people write to him, and I was able to secure a meeting. When I went to see Russ in 1975, 1976 perhaps, I begged my way into his office. I remember distinctly now, it seems so funny. In the old Kellogg building out on North Avenue there was a safe. This a memory of a 19-year-old who didn't have a clue what he was trying to do. I walked by this safe in the hallway being escorted to Dr. Mawby's office, and I remember thinking, 'I wonder if that's where Kellogg Foundation keeps its money?' What was supposed to be about a 30 minute meeting turned into a two and a half hour meeting. I poured my heart out to him about my own family and about this idea of developing a program for other young people like myself who struggle. We went to lunch together and within a matter of weeks he called and said that they had more than doubled the request, this without a formal proposal. That's how I first came to know the Kellogg Foundation.

Your proposal at that time, what was it targeting? How did your interest in serving youth come about?

The original proposal to the Kellogg Foundation grew out of my own struggle as a young person growing up in a small town with a lot of problems in my own family. But well beyond my own issues and struggles, one of the first things I did was to set out to talk with other young people to find out if my problems and issues unique or do other young people share these concerns? And so I interviewed more than 2,000 young people. I spent nine months living in my car, living in the streets and I went around the country and interviewed 2,200 young people in schools, in streets, in communities and I came up with the top 10 concerns of those 2,200 young people. Those top 10 issues became the basis of what then became the Quest Program. When I went to the Kellogg Foundation asking for resources to start Quest, it was based on these top 10 concerns, things like how to develop self confidence, how to get along with your parents, how to develop friendships, what's the meaning of life, how to set goals and figure out what you're going to do with your life, those kind of issues.

Did your work with Quest, the experience you gleaned during the years of running that program, provide you with a launching pad for the IYF idea? Is there a relationship and how did that vision come about?

I started the Quest Organization in 1975 with the support of the Kellogg Foundation and my dream for Quest at that time was that it would be able to grow and reach lots of young people, teaching life skills. Quest over the years actually grew into the largest, at the time, drug abuse prevention program in the United States and then in the world. Quest is used today in more than 30,000 schools and more than 30 countries around the world in teaching life skills. I've always believed and I still believe that we actually don't have a drug problem in the world, we have a people problem, and that fundamentally underneath the drug problem or the teen sexuality problem or many of the problems that we face in the world, underneath it it's a problem of values, it's a problem of relationships, a lack of life skills, a lack of confidence, it's a lack of a set of values and skills that young people have in their lives. As Quest grew over the years, I began to work with Quest in many countries, and working with leaders of local nonprofits and NGOs and schools around the world, it became clear to me that actually we know a lot about some things that work.

Quest is one example of something that works. It's worked effectively in many cultures and countries and contexts around the world. Quest is one example but there are hundreds, thousands of examples of things that work, ideas that work, programs that work, strategies that work, philosophies that work effectively in many countries and contexts. The problem often is that while we know a lot about some things that work they're often not done at scale, they lack capacity and they're not done in ways that are sustainable. And so in the mid to late 80s, after Quest was in 20 some countries, I became rather obsessed with this idea of how do you build on what we know as to what works, and how do you do it in ways that are scalable and sustainable? And so that started idea of IYF.

So in the late 80s I became rather obsessed with this idea of scale and sustainability and effectiveness and so the International Youth Foundation was built on that very simple idea. IYF is built on the notion of what we call ESS: effectiveness, scale, sustainability. How do you find what works, what's effective; how do you take it to scale; and how do you do that in ways that are sustainable?

So what are the mission and goals of IYF?

It's the work in local and national partnerships that means identifying NGOs, corporations, government in a country, and identifying with them strategies and other organizations that are effective in meeting the identified needs of young people in that country and then helping to scale up effective programs and approaches to meeting those needs and doing it in ways that are sustainable. If you look at the IYF of today, as it has developed over the last 13 years, what you would find is a network. IYF is a network of relationships more than anything else. There is a network in some 50 plus countries of partnerships, relationships of organizations, foundations, corporations, NGOs who have themselves a web of other organizations in relationships that are working on a whole set of issues--youth employment, drug abuse, life skills, reconciliation programs, tolerance programs, technology programs. There's a whole range of programs that we and our partners are funding together to meet the needs of these young people.

It's a huge idea. How did you get it off the ground? What took place?

How do you get something like this off the ground? You know, it's a grand concept, it's a big idea, how do you find what works in the world and then go out and do such a big thing from nothing? Well that nothing all started with significant grant support from the Kellogg Foundation. There would not be an International Youth Foundation without the Kellogg Foundation. The foundation provided three things at the beginning that made IYF possible. First was the intellectual support. There was a team of people with the Kellogg Foundation who were critical in helping to conceptualize and think about this idea, from board members to Russ Mawby to others on the senior staff and consultants that were provided. Second is in the financial support that was provided. Kellogg provided over the course of 11 years or so about $68 million, I think. Still the largest commitment perhaps or certainly one of the largest commitments in the history of the Kellogg Foundation. So the financial support of Kellogg was critical. Not only in the amount, which was unprecedented at the time, but also in the duration. It was long enough to allow for IYF to develop the other networks of support that have now developed. You don't launch something on this scale globally without enduring support from a founding donor. You need this kind of support and Kellogg had the wisdom and foresight to provide that kind of support, which was critical.

And then thirdly, Kellogg opened lots of doors. It brought in other networks of relationships and partners. So all three of those were critical in building the relationship. The other part of that, how you develop something like this from scratch has to do with other relationships we were able to bring to the table. From the beginning the International Youth Foundation was built on the very idea that, by our very name, International Youth Foundation, international was core to the concept of IYF. If you think about wanting to help the world's children, the world's young people, a lot of people would say, from the United States in particular, “Well, we have so many problems in America today with our own young people, why are you focusing so much energy outside?” Well, when you think about the fact that only about three and a half to four percent of the world's young people live in the United States, 96 percent live somewhere else, it's critical that we take a global point of view. In 1988, 1989, 1990 when IYF was being birthed, the Berlin Wall still stood, technology was incipient. Look at the Internet in 1989--it had about a hundred pages of material on the Internet and you think about how the world has changed since the late 80s. Fundamentally. Globalization wasn't even on the radar. Most people in late 80s weren't talking about the concept of globalization if you think back to the language that was used. We were living in a different era in the late 80s. It's changed dramatically. But IYF was born in that era, not this era. And in that era we took a bold step to say we wanted to be global. So from the beginning, IYF had this concept that we would be a global foundation that happened to be based in the United States rather than being an American Foundation that worked globally. Those are two very different concepts. And so our board is a global board. I'm one of only two Americans on the board of IYF. If you look at the character of IYF from its board to its staff, a third of IYF's staff comes from outside the states. Virtually all of our partnerships except one are outside the United States. If you look at our resource base, our financial base, a huge share of our money has always come from outside the United States. So we've worked very hard to not only talk about and think as a global foundation but to frame ourselves in that way.

You used the term bold, and it applies at a number of levels. Would you reflect on that point when you were coming to the Kellogg Foundation and asking for funding for this big effort. It was pretty risky, pretty bold. What were you thinking at the time?

You know when the International Youth Foundation was conceived, it was clear to me to do something on the scale that I and others felt needed to be done. When you look at the landscape of the world and at the problems that were clear and evident at the time, it was clear to me and to a lot of other people, there were many organizations in the world who were working on that zero to five age group, or on the older college age group, but for that population between the five and 20, it was a kind of wasteland. You'd be hard pressed in 1988 to find any. I think the Kellogg Foundation investment was about a million dollars in 1989. We convened more than 300 leaders from many countries to do the strategic evaluation of this. They were looking at and questioning and evaluating and developing strategy. What we found was that there was no organization on the global level that was about the business of this five to 20 age as a focus, about the business of mobilizing resources, about the business of finding what worked and scaling it up.

There were lots of organizations on the ambulance side of the equation, but on the prevention side, on the five to 20 side not much. So the boldness of IYF, if we call it that, in my judgment was and still remains critically important. Frankly I would say we need even greater boldness today, if you look at the challenges facing the world today. I spent a lot of time in many parts of the world where you speak with young people about hope and about what is it that they look forward to and you see for so many kids the sense of lost opportunities, the sense of no hope because either of HIV/AIDS or no jobs. What's at the end of the pipeline? You know, 80 percent of the new jobs created in Africa last year were created not in a formal sector but in the informal sector, the shadow economy. Kids have little opportunity to really find a job unless they go out and try to create one. There's so little opportunity for so many kids and something has to change in the equation. If anything, we need greater boldness. I think IYF is one small part of the boldness that's required.

Talk about some of the personal dynamics that go behind creating a vision. When you got that phone call from the Foundation, when they said “We're going to go with this, Rick, start moving,” you probably felt a mix of exhilaration and probably fear. What did you feel and how did you act at that point in time?

When I got the first phone call, the notification that the Kellogg Foundation had approved the first support for the International Youth Foundation's creation, it was quite a range of feeling. It was both exhilaration and excitement and a sense of 'We did it.' You know this is a moment for celebration because it was the culmination of a lot of work. It was also a moment of pause because I knew, having built Quest for 14 years, what it meant to actually start with nothing and try to build something. I knew what it was we were embarking upon, and in order to receive a big chunk of that Kellogg money, well over half of it, that meant we had to go out and raise a lot of money. A lot of the Kellogg money was conditional upon raising two to one, that is $1 from Kellogg for every $2 raised from other sources, and not just other sources but new money, nontraditional sources. So there were quite a few stipulations incumbent upon this grant. At that point, it was just me and an assistant, so I had to now go out and hire a staff, build an organization, build capacity and raise money, to build a global organization from Battle Creek. I felt a bit of doubt there, with that excitement. I also felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to the Kellogg Foundation. I know that this was a very difficult decision for the Kellogg Foundation, it was a lot of money for a concept, and to this day I have such gratefulness to the board of the foundation and to Russ and the senior team at the foundation because I know that it took a lot of discernment and wisdom to make that decision.

It seems like, while you're out trying to build an organization, create those partnerships, get the buy-in, you're also being held accountable for getting things going and implementing on the ground, starting to serve the youth. How did the International Youth Foundation handle that and what were the tensions that existed?

That's a perceptive question because when you are building an organization, particularly one of this scale and magnitude, few people appreciate, especially when you have to raise so much money to meet challenge requirements and build the capacity of a new organization and build partnerships in countries where, say, in Poland, in a brand new democracy, civil society didn't exist before. The idea of a foundation, what is that? Let alone a grant-making foundation and with tri-sectoral partnerships, what is that? We've never had a private sector before, what is it? So trying to build these kinds of community foundations in places that are difficult while you are raising new sources of money, while you are building a global foundation and deliver effective programming, it's a difficult challenge because there are so many things operating simultaneously.

Trying to meet all of that at one time is a challenge. But you know this is a challenge not unique to IYF, one faced by many organizations small and large. This is not unique also to global organizations, this is a challenge in the reality of local community organizations as well. They're just at a different scale with different players. But it's a challenge that many donors don't fully recognize, but when it comes to accountability there are always these two parts to evaluation. You're evaluating both for outcomes, which is critically important, but also in terms of process. So we have always evaluated on both scores. The Kellogg Foundation was actually very helpful to us on both of those scores and we had a study team that was developed and organized by the Foundation, which proved to be invaluable to us. It was an independent group that walked alongside us for several years and helped us on both of those scores, process and outcomes. And we found it to be an extremely valuable process.

You've talked about creating a global network. Could you please provide a few examples of partnerships in that global network? Could you also give some examples of some of the Mexico and South African partnerships that were created?

When you think about the International Youth Foundation, one of the core activities of the International Youth Foundation is to create partnerships with indigenous organizations. These are often referred to as foundation-like organizations because in some ways they operate like a community foundation, like an operating foundation, like an NGO. They're kind of a hybrid. They have a grant-making portfolio, they have a program portfolio, they invest in programs, they run their own programs oftentimes. So they're a mix and they are in the business of looking in their own country for what works. What are the effective programs and practices in our own country that work? In technology, in health, in education, micro lending, in employment. And then they go about the business of either managing, running or funding a multitude of initiatives in their own country.

Some of these programs and initiatives are very large and some are relatively small, depends on the country. For example, in Brazil, there's a very large partnership with Abrinq. The Abrinq Foundation is in every region of the country. You look at the Philippines, that's one of our largest partnerships. Works all over the country from North to South, East to West, lots of islands are involved. It's a very significant, big partnership. They work a lot around juvenile delinquency issues and education issues, technology issues. A wide range of programming going on. If you look in South Africa today, we have a significant partnership in South Africa. One of our oldest partners in terms of how long we've been together. We started in South Africa I think in 1991 or 92. Mexico, one of our oldest partnerships. In fact. we have two different sets of partners in Mexico, which is worth noting. We have a partnership with the Oaxaca Community Foundation in the South that we do in collaboration with others and this is more like a traditional community foundation and they're funding a wide range of youth and children's initiatives. Then we have another partnership with Vamos, which is more national in its scale and character and they're funding a wide range of activities. So it depends on the country how we carry out our activities. Then we have other kinds of partnerships with companies. We have a significant global partnership with a number of global corporations. Nokia is a great example. Here's a company that has stepped up to the table in corporate social responsibility and we have a significant global partnership called Make a Connection. And together we are working in many countries around the world with local Nokia staff and employees to devise a program and a strategy that Nokia funds through us and so it's four-way partnership: Nokia Corporation in Finland, IYF in Baltimore, IYS in the country and Nokia team in that country. And we work as a partnership in carrying out programs in each country. We have those kind of relationships with a number of companies. Nokia is one of the largest but we have significant relationships with a number of private companies as well.

When IYF is building these partnerships, when you talk to business, when you talk to government, when you talk to leaders in civil society, what do you generally hear back? What's their first reaction to the whole idea of joining in to this type of network and being a part of the International Youth Foundation's work?

You know our team travels all over the world, we are constantly interacting with leaders of business and industry and government and NGOs and foundations, so we are engaged and the reaction to IYF's work is, I would say, fairly uniform across the spectrum. People are concerned. I would say there is more interest today in youth development, youth issues than perhaps at any time since IYF was conceived. I'm not sure if it's just a matter of how the cycle flows or of the geo-political environment today with terrorism concerns, but it's clear to me that there's a growing concern in the world and a growing recognition that unless we get the youth part of the equation right, we're going to pay great consequences on the other side. When you look at the six billion people who live in the world today, half of them are under the age of 25, and when you look at the poorest countries in the world, the proportion is much higher. You look at a place like Afghanistan and you think about what's happened in that country in the last couple of years since 9-11. Most people don't begin to perceive that 72 percent of the population of Afghanistan is under the age of 24, 72 percent. Well, what does it mean for a country like Afghanistan where there's now a major rebuilding going on since the war, what does it mean to a country where nearly three out of every four people are young people under 24? It means a lot about what you do there in the reconstruction, what you do there in terms of education and social service and the like.

If you look at the Arab world today where a lot of people are concerned and try to figure out what do we do? How do we relate? How does East meet West, etcetera? What about the cultural divides? What about the religious divides? What does it mean that more than half of the Arab world is under the age of 15? So there's a growing recognition. You find that even gatherings like the World Economic Forum, which traditionally deals with economic and trade issues, today they have as a regular part of their agenda a human development track that is attended as much by the participants as the economic and trade track. They have major sessions around what we do with the young people, how we better equip these young people so they don't become the terrorists of tomorrow. What do we do in terms of education and values formation? How do we begin to instill a sense of democratic values and open society values? So there is a readiness, I believe, and a recognition in many parts of the world and segments of society that the time has come, where in the past, well, “Youth, nice to do, somebody ought to do it.' Today I think there's a readiness that has not existed before.

Are there differences in terms of perceptions or reactions between those people in business or those in government or the nonprofits that you talk to? Does business come at it one way whereas government looks at the issue differently?

There is no doubt that while there is a growing recognition and a greater readiness to look and talk about and debate the youth question, each of these segments--business and industry and trade unions and governments and NGOs--looks at the question from their own perspective, and we're each touching a different part of the elephant, so to speak. Which is, I think, healthy and understandable and pragmatic. The important thing is we're all talking about the issue and, from my point of view, each side has something very valuable to bring to the table and that's one of the reasons why IYF and its work is so doggedly promoting multi-sector partnerships. Because we actually believe and have seen it in practice repeatedly that when all sides are sitting at the table they all have something to contribute.

You know, historically many NGOs are skeptical of the private sector, skeptical of working with business and many in business have been skeptical traditionally of working with NGOs. They have been on the receiving end of many who have been very critical of business. IYF has been working hard to begin to bridge some of the gaps and to say, 'No, we have to sit at the same table. We may have different perspectives. We may view some of the issues differently but actually we have a lot to bring to each other.' The same with government. And yes, they do approach these issues differently but we can learn a lot from each other. For example, we created something called the Global Alliance for Workers in Communities and at that table we have NGOs, trade unions, global brands like Nike and Gap and others, we have the World Bank. So we've brought together stakeholders who often do not sit together, but for the common vision of improving the lives of young people who work in those factories that many in the press would call sweatshops. I've been in many of those factories and we're working in those factories and those are also places of organized work, places where development can happen, places that provide employment. Those are places where young people are gathered in large numbers every day. Where schools can be. Where health clinics can be. Where development can actually happen and so by bringing the players together good things can happen for young people. And in our experience, many of these companies, including Nike and Gap and others, want good things to happen and so we're working hard to help facilitate that kind of dialogue and that kind of work.

Rick, are young people at the IYF table?

Young people are a critical part of the equation and young people are at the table. It's implicit and explicit in the philosophy and the work of IYF and in the work of our partners. It cuts through everything that we do, that young people are not just the future as folks talk about them, but they are the present, they are the ones that this is all about. So it's not only doing work for, it's doing work with. If you'll look at the work of the Global Alliance, for example, it starts with young people. When we are in the factory, we don't go into a factory and say 'Here's what we think young people ought to have in this factory.' It starts with the young people, the young workers. We actually interview young people in the factory, one on one, in large numbers. Hundreds, if not thousands in the factory to find out 'What are your needs? How do you see the situation? What would you like to improve? What's happening in your own life that you would like to see change?' So it starts with the young person inside out and then we form teams, project teams, made up of the young workers themselves. They help to direct strategy and program implementation, etcetera. Just in that one example of the Global Alliance, it's driven by the workers and young people themselves. If you look at the programs of our partners, not all, it depends on the program, but the majority of those are young-led, youth-conceived, youth are playing a key role in the work that we do.

Can you talk about why supporting 'what works' is the approach you've taken and what it means?

At the core of IYF's philosophy from its inception is the concept of what works. How do you build on what works? In the conceptualization of IYF, as best we could add up the numbers from all the sources we could find, as reliably as it could be done, we found that about 80 percent of the money granted by foundations and corporate givers to fund projects abroad, outside the U.S., about 80 percent of it in the children and youth field was to support the development of new programs, new project innovation, rather than identifying things that already work and helping to scale up, build to capacity and build to sustain things that already were working. I remember feeling so frustrated even in my own work in Quest for so many years before IYF. I would be so frustrated as a grantee. You develop a successful program, it was working, you had evaluation data to say it changes lives, it's transformative, it reduces drug abuse, it keeps kids in school – you can go through the list – and there are many, many organizations in the world who have the data and you go to donors and they say well, we don't fund ongoing operation cost. Well, we don't fund the sustenance of a program but we would be interested if you wanted to develop a new parent component or a new community involvement component or if you want a service-learning component, we'd be interested in doing that.

I remember scratching my head, wondering 'Well, if what we do works, why wouldn't we want to fund the expansion or continuance of what we do? It works. Why would you want to fund us to do something different?' I've talked to hundreds of NGO leaders over the years in many countries who share this deep frustration because there's somehow this assumption that is made often that somehow the government is going to pick it up if it works and somehow it'll be sustained by someone and yet we actually know factually, empirically that the vast majority of programs, some statistics run as high as 90 percent, of programs that are funded by private sector donors go out of existence within five years after the conclusion of the first grant from a private sector donor. So you get a grant for a three-year startup project and five years later the project no longer exists. Not because it wasn't effective. Not because it wasn't changing lives. Not because it didn't work but because that private sector donor didn't work with the NGO to find a way to sustain it. So I am rather obsessed about this idea, as many people are in the world today, about how to build sustainability for things that work? So IYF's philosophy is built on this premise that we know a fair amount about some things that work and we need to find ways to sustain them.

Rick, please talk a moment about challenges and opportunities over the years. Can you give a brief of summary of what some of those might have been?

IYF has been in existence now since 1990 and as I look at the challenges and opportunities, we've had a lot of both. If I think about the great challenges that we've faced, they kind of fall in blocks of time. In the very early stages it was just getting organized, getting capacity built, building a board that is representative of the globe and getting the right kinds of people involved early on. Broadening the funding base is one of the great challenges, and frankly, having the right kind of commitment from Kellogg Foundation was critical. The right amount of money at the right level for the right kind of time with the right kind of flexibility was critical to making this work. At the same time it was problematic, as I knew it would be. We had a lot of money to raise as matching money but one of the challenges was that some donors would look at that amount of money and say well, you've got so much money from the Kellogg Foundation, why would you need money from us? Or they perceived that Kellogg owned it. This has got Kellogg all over it, why would you need money from us? And so a real challenge early on was somehow making it clear that A), Kellogg didn't own it, didn't want to own it and B) while we did have a lot of money from Kellogg, we didn't have that money from Kellogg unless we raised more money. And so we had a lot of battles on the resource development side of this equation, and that was a great challenge in the first several years trying to get this thing off the ground and bring new players to the table.

The second great challenge early on was developing the partnerships. Because it's always important when you launch something new just to have some early, credible wings, some creditable successes and I emphasize both, early and credible. You need early successes but they have to be ones that have meaning, and we had some challenges in a very early stage of trying to identify the right kinds of countries where we would work. Mexico, South Africa, Poland, and Ecuador were the first four countries where we began IYF and we had some bumps in the road in Mexico and in South Africa as we got started. Some people saw a lot of money because of the Kellogg grant, but they didn't understand the terms of the Kellogg grant and so those became some challenges we had to work through. Again, a lot of it was perception and communication. In three of those countries we actually were forming new foundations where they didn't exist. We were working with leaders in the country to develop new, bottoms up foundations, national foundations with a new board and a new governance structure and new staff to raise money in the country. Trying to do that in three locations simultaneously was a real challenge. In one country, Ecuador, we were working with an existing foundation that already had some history and track record.

So where are you now? What is IYF?

IYF today has matured. It's grown. We're 13 years into it now and we've gone through the peaks and valleys of an organization that has grown and matured. We have a multi-faceted program; it's a much more complex organism today, working in a wide variety of countries and regions: the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Latin America, working in many parts of the world. We have a wide variety of partnerships working on a wide array of issues. So the portfolio is broad. Our partnerships and our relationships are broad and complex. Our funding base is broader. For the first time now, we are developing much more significant relationships with government income and support. So that has its own complexity. So the nature of the organization has changed, and I think for the better and in a good way. The tenets and the values of the organization, the character and the philosophy of the organization, I believe, remain pretty much intact with the original notion. We have not veered from our fundamental focus on young people, on things that are transformative for young people, things that work for young people. We're still focusing on scale, on effectiveness, on sustainability, on partnerships, on tri-sectoral relationships. Those fundamental tenets remain foundational to IYF.

When you reflect back on the last 13 years, what are the most important lessons you've learned?

There are lots of lessons but there are a few that are particularly important. I'm reminded about the importance of boldness, you know, when you look at the world today and you see the continued suffering by so many young people. When you work at this level, the global level, it's easy to get caught in the global issues and get distanced as an organization from the ground. And it is so important to stay connected, viscerally connected in every way. It is important to be bold, bold in thinking, bold in action, because the reality is, if you look at many of the driving issues in the world today for young people, while there has been great advancement in many areas of the world and great progress has been made, and IYF has contributed greatly to many of those, there continues to be great need in the world and there is much work to be done. So I'm reminded of an old lesson, that we need to keep at it and it doesn't matter how much we all think we're doing, whether it's the Kellogg Foundation or IYF or a thousand other great organizations doing great work, we're not doing enough. And the lesson is we have to be smarter, bolder, more imaginative than we have even been in the past.

And also that change is okay. You know, it's one of my favorite quotes and I've used it a thousand times because I believe it so deeply. Eric Hoffer said that, “In times of change, the learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” We surely are living in a time of incredible change in the world and it's incumbent upon the IYF, the Kellogg Foundation, and all other great institutions in the world to be learners and to embrace this world and to change the world as learners and to say: “How can we be more bold, how can we be more imaginative in the work that we do?”

I've learned not to be bashful about admitting mistakes. I've learned that it's okay to say some things aren't working. It's okay to say that there are some failures along the way, that failure is part of the process. Actually, if all of us collectively would acknowledge where some things aren't working so well, it would enhance our ability to get to success more quickly. I've learned that partnerships fundamentally add value. They're messy, they're difficult, they're complicated, relationships that are institutional, and cross-sectoral, but at the end of the day, none of us have enough money, enough wisdom, enough smarts to solve the problems alone. Relationships and partnerships, I still fundamentally believe, are the best way forward in addressing problems in young people.

What does the future look like for IYF? What might folks expect to see 10 years from now? Have you set markers?

What does the future look like for the International Youth Foundation? That's a good question. The board of IYF has been wrestling with this question. We have a new CEO, David Hornbeck, who is terrific. We've got a great team, Bill Reese and the team here at IYF. This leadership group, the board and David and Bill, all of us are looking now at the strategy going forward. What I'm clear about is that the foundational piece, effectiveness, scales, sustainability, remains intact. The focus on young people remains intact. What I'm clear about is that we will remain focused on transformative work and reconciliation work. I'm clear that the big driving issues in the world are youth employment and that issues related to tolerance and issues related to technology and education and the like will remain but the way in which we carry out that work will probably change. The way in which it's going to change, I can't say. I don't know. But we're going to be carrying out a strategy with strategic thinking process in coming months and I'm not sure when that's going to be.

How has it felt to you as an individual who had this vision in the beginning, how has it felt to be part of this and to see it grow and develop and succeed in the way that it has?

You know, as a founder, first of Quest and now of IYF, this is a deep, passionate work for me and it is part of my life. I do this because I care so deeply about the issues and it's something I've committed my life to. It's not just my work, it is my passion, so to watch and participate in the growth of IYF has been a great, great thing for me. I feel so privileged to have been a part of it and play a role in it, and I'm so grateful to the Kellogg Foundation for making it possible. It's been a great thing. I hope and pray that we've made a difference in the world for lots of kids. I think we have.

You had a vision for Quest. You had a vision for IYF. Is there another vision?

You know, as I transition from IYF and move now to my next work, I'm IYF's biggest fan and I remain on the board and actively engaged. I continue to chair the global alliance but my next chapter moves me to the work of something called the Imaginations Group. Imagining a nation that invests itself fully in the development of its young people, a nation that adopts a set of policies nationally that makes that happen. Imagine a nation that mobilizes its citizens to engage themselves in the lives of young people more fully. Imagining a group of nations that actually work together toward that end. And so I'm early in the process of pulling together some key leaders and others to work toward that end. But the focus of my next chapter will be largely around advocacy, and unlike IYF, which is programmatic in its nature, this next work for me will be much more focused on advocacy and will be complementary to the work of IYF.

2005-03-20T21:20:00.000-08:00

Calling all volunteers!

Do you love the ocean?
Are you interested in swimming with whale sharks?

Be a participant in a study of human-whale shark interactions in Donsol, Sorsogon from March 16-27!

The Whale Shark Ecotourism Compliance Study In collaboration with the Community-based Ecotourism and Coastal Resource Management Project of WWF-Philippines, KKP, this research project is part of a larger appraisal of the community-based ecotourism program in
Donsol, Sorsogon. Donsol is a small town in Sorsogon, less than a one-hour plane ride or an overnight bus from Manila and one hour from Legazpi City.

The goal of the study is to study tourists' behavior and to assess any impacts of tourists on whale sharks and corresponding whale shark behavior. To do this, volunteers will be observers on whale shark interaction boats. They will take observations from bancas while overlooking tourists that swim with whale sharks. Volunteers will also take observations in the water, swimming with the whale sharks and the tourists. A number of parameters of tourist and whale shark behavior will be measured during the study. Volunteers will also interview tourists to Donsol and members of the local community about their experiences with whale shark tourism.

Duties of Volunteers

Volunteers must be comfortable on boats for up to 9 hours a day and must be experienced snorkelers. Each volunteer will carry slates while snorkeling and take down observations of tourist and whale shark behavior. Volunteers must also bring their own mask, snorkel and fins, and bring a spare set of goggles or mask in case of malfunction.

Volunteers must be independent workers. Each volunteer will be an observer on whale shark interaction boats for a total of 10 observer days, not including one day of training and one day travel to Donsol. Volunteers with a science background are preferred. Accuracy of data
collection is important for this study of human-whale shark interactions. Communication in Tagalog or English is required, while Bikolano is a plus. Volunteers will spend one out of every 3-4 days in the Donsol Tourism Office, arranging with the tourists for permission to act as
observers on whale shark interaction boats. Experience with an underwater camera, and video camera is a plus. Preference will be given to students who have finished at least an undergraduate education or are in the middle of an undergraduate degree. Exceptions will be considered.

Life in Donsol

Volunteers will stay in a local resort for the duration of their service. Transportation, food and accommodation will be provided to all volunteers. No salary stipend will be given. Local resort is right on the beach, overlooking the Donsol Whale shark Sanctuary. Volunteers will have
the opportunity to interact with the local community and interview tourists that visit Donsol.

How to Apply

Please email Angela Quiros at: Angela.Quiros@yale.edu
Please include a letter of interest, your C.V. with contact
information, and assurance that you will be available for the March 16-27 study.

2005-03-14T23:56:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

Core++ Warns That an International Mindset and Local Customer Support is Crucial to .net Registry
Tuesday March 8, 6:31 am ET
- Domain Must Be Managed With Global Vision And Regional Expertise

BARCELONA, Spain, March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- CORE++, a leading global enterprise with expertise in Top Level Domain (TLD) registry management, has called for the interests of the international Internet community to be at the very heart of the .net bidding process.

CORE++ (www.core-plusplus.net) is the only company offering customer support in eight languages across three continents. It believes that the .net TLD registry must be made accessible and available to all registrars and users, not just those with English as a first language. Failure to do so would alienate the majority of .net customers based outside the English speaking world.

"English may be the lingua franca of the Internet but the vast majority of daily Internet transactions are done in native languages," explains Eva Frolich, Chief Coordinator at CORE++. "As the .net domain is critical to the running of the Internet's services, it must be managed to support the NICs and their customers. This means offering support and help in multiple languages and time zones."

Its unique global makeup means CORE++ has more than just the international mindset required to manage the .net registry; it has the people, resources and relationships in place to roll-out customer support and future services in local languages and time zones appropriate for domestic business hours.

"CORE++ must manage the .net TLD registry," says Jaeyoun Kim, Senior Technical Consultant of the NIDA Consortium in Korea, and leading TLD registrar. "Korean businesses are extremely active users of .net, and many Asian users prefer .net to .com. With so much critical information running across the domain in Asia, the need for local language support is crucial."

Jaeyoun cites the recent Panix.com domain hijacking as an example of where language was a key issue in the swift resolution of a serious problem.

"As a major North America ISP, Panix manages the e-mail for hundreds of thousands of users. The nature of the problem was complex involving the hijacking of a domain and its subsequent re-registration by an Australian registrar. Luckily all parties spoke the same language, but imagine if this had happened to an ISP based in Korea, Brazil, or China? Having a 24/7 help desk is pointless unless that help is available in your local language and during your working day."

"We see the same problem in Latin America," adds Hartmut Glaser, Executive Coordinator of NICBR (Brazil). "The .net registry must be managed in the interests of the entire Internet community."

CORE++ will provide support in English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese (Mandarin) and Japanese across three customer service centres in Europe, Asia and Latin America. This will ensure that almost any .net registrar, regardless of location, can speak to a CORE++ support representative in a language and at a time convenient to them.

The current registry agreement expires on 30th June 2005. A decision by ICANN is expected in March 2005.

2005-03-12T20:28:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

PAOLO BEDIONES
SUCCESS COMES..."FROM NOT LETTING PEOPLE TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T DO"
Interview by JobsDB.com Phils Editor Cora Llamas

The title of his show, "Extra Challenge!" is apropos for broadcast journalist, professional host, and all-around athlete Paolo Bediones. The man genuinely thrives on adrenaline, going where none has gone before, and climbing mountains that have not yet been reached. But no challenge has been as exacting and trying as Paolo's own rise in showbusiness. His success is hard-earned and he has the battle wounds to prove it. Only a few years ago, when "Extra Challenge" and "S-Files" were just an idea in the network's collective mind, Paolo almost turned his back on the dreamed that he loved and aimed for, after one discouraging rejection after another. But he didn't, and instead brushed the dust from himself, squared his shoulders, and moved on. Like the trying tasks that his guests perform on his shows, his life story is an exercise in heroism and should serve as an inspiration for many, especially those who have been failing but could not quite give up.

"Extra Challenge" is said to be the number one show on TV right now. Any opinions on why it became such a tremendous success?

I've been fortunate that all my shows have four elements: they entertain, educate, inform, and inspire. That makes for good TV. Of course, in "Extra Challenge," we have your real life drama once in a while, conflicts major or minor which makes for colorful TV, celebrities who are willing to undergo certain tasks that normally they wouldn't do in their lifetime. At the same time, we give the viewers a sneak peak into what their real personalities are. After a while, the celebrities forget about the cameras and their natural color comes out, which is often a pleasant color for the viewer; sometimes it can be a bit irritating for some, ghastly for others. Celebrities sometimes forget that TV can be a powerful medium. At the end, everything comes together and they change their personalities as soon as possible.

We maintain our ratings as high as they are because quality is never sacrificed. The kind of editing and the graphics that we do in post-production. TV is a visual medium. You can't just stay in a locked frame and bore the viewers. The cameras roll 24/7 but we know exactly what we to look for in a particular scene, what shot is more effective. When the emotions are flowing, a close-up is better; if it's a bitter rivalry, a wide shot shows the scope and then it's back to the close-up.

It's my show, and it's a show I'm very proud of having. It's a show that none of us thought would click. We just celebrated our anniversary last February.

Are there certain ingredients that can make a show successful?

The people you work with must have a passion to come up with the same quality programming as you. They have to love the job. Working relationships are of utter importance when it comes to TV because it's a group effort. If at any point in time, the common vision is not shared, then you have conflict. We all have to know what we want. We can change concepts and certain challenges and fine-tune certain ideas, but at the end of the day, the main focus should be coming out with better programs each and every time. The message that we convey should be a positive one.

I don't believe that for ratings' purposes, the celebrities should be put in a bad light, and the image they are taking care of compromised. At the most, we put them in embarrassing situations that they willingly place themselves in, where they'll feel helpless or naturally drained and exhausted. Like when they climb a mountain or jump off a plane. The physical and emotional stress is immense, but the rewards far exceed the physical discomfort and emotional trauma they may experience.

Safety is of utmost importance; we have an ambulance on stand-by. I let them know that it is a positive, safe challenge, and the degree of difficulty will be adjusted if I find it too hard. I am the perennial guinea pig; but that's the price I have to pay to keep the quality at a very high level. We give the celebrities a good time and they give us their time and personality so viewers may be endeared to them. It's a win-win situation.

What got you to where you are now?

The road that it took me to get to where I am was so difficult. [I started during] that time when people in TV had to be mestizo. At that time, there was only one Richard Gomez and he was the only one who could get away with his color. At that time, it was unheard of to be just a professional host. I started as a professional model, competent, but not excellent. When the Caucasians and Fil-Ams came in and stole my job because of my color, I decided to dabble in hosting, but not before I had many discouraging and depressing bouts. I totaled over 200 VTR auditions where I did not get any call back.

I could not accept the fact that no one would accept me for a commercial. I struggled as a model, from six jobs a month to one. I had bills to pay and moved out of the house, and that was my only income. I would be approved for a commercial and then on rehearsal day, just because I could not look lustfully at my co-star, I was replaced. It was a beer commercial - I was excited - but if it's not for you, it's not for you. It was very painful.

When an opportunity came for me to audition for a hosting job in "Game Plan" in 1996, I grabbed it. I remember my salary was P4,000 a month with tax. But I could not put a price tag on the lessons I learned there; I would have done it for free, looking back. But I made the mistake of not valuing my work then as I should have and ended up delinquent, skipping shoots because of other hosting jobs that paid the bills more. A year later, my contract was not renewed, and I was out of a job.

I auditioned for MTV Asia, got into the 27 finalists, and during the finals' night, everyone was telling me that it would beme. They announced the two winners; I was not one of them.

That was the worst Christmas ever: I was out of TV, I did not have a job, I didn't know what to do for the next year. I sent out all my resumes to the multi-nationals, but job openings were very scarce. At a point of desperation, I didn't know what to do, I was willing to accept rank and file and take anything that would keep me alive.

In February, I got a call from this independent producer of a fitness show in Channel 9. I did it, my salary was P10,000 a month, but the show lasted only for 3 episodes because of the lack of advertisers. I was even marketing the show myself. After that, I still wanted to try out TV and auditioned in each and every network except Channel 7, because I figured that they knew where to find me. I assumed that there was no intention of [GMA] getting me again.

I had people telling me that there was no way I was for TV, and that maybe I had a different calling. In one discouraging incident, they flat-out told me that there was no hope for me. I found myself crying in the car.

Just when I was about to hang up my gloves, I got a call from GMA and they said they were going to get me as one of the hosts for the Binibining Pilipinas. For me, it was an ultimate dream that I didn't know if I was gonna fulfill. Martin Nievera, and Eddie Mercado had hosted the Binibining Pilipinas. I told myself that if I could do that, I could die.

During rehearsals, I showed them what I could do; network execs stood up and came up to me and offered me "Mornings sa GMA." I accepted it; two months later, they gave me "S-Files." In August, MTV Asia asked me to audition again, I became one of their VJs from August to December with Donita Rose in Singapore. I was shuttling back and forth. In December, I was told I had to leave MTV and the morning show because they were giving me a news and public affairs shows, "Extra! Extra", which required a certain amount of credibility. I had two shows in 1999; sometime November, I was offered the "Digital LG Quiz". Since then, many good things have happened.

In September 1, 2003, the first episode of "Extra Challenge" was aired, and it's been a fantastic ride ever since.

How did you manage to hang on and not give up?

It's a matter of attitude. If I had allowed all the discouraging things to affect me and believed what people said about me, I would not be where I am now. You take the good and bad. How do you twist a negative experience and make it positive? How do you make something that outwardly looks bad and make it good? What kept me going was a true sincere desire, passion and love to be on TV, a dream that I wanted to fulfill on my own. Nothing good ever came easy. I paid my dues, and I'm working even harder now.

I'm not yet "there." When people said I've made it, that's the wrong way to look at it. If I look at it that way, what more do I have to achieve? I have so many more dreams that I want to fulfill.

I would want to help more people get into the industry, I've helped a couple. It really makes my heart fly when these people acknowledge me as their instrument of getting them into TV. I want to change the face of showbusiness TV.

I don't think character assassination is necessary [to achieve showbiz success]. It destroys a person's life---that should not be in your hands. It makes those who air the show look bad. Especially when you are talking about certain incidents that should not be aired on TV. We in TV have a great responsibility to people - old and young, to people with dreams and who are impressionable. You can't just carelessly show what you want just for the sake of ratings. You should have a conscience when you are on TV. I always think of the viewer first, and everything else follows.

You take care of your talent, the people who are in your show. You want the viewers inspired, educated, informed, entertained. The love and the passion follow because the viewers are the reasons why you are there.

How do you stay on the cutting-edge and remain competitive?

I'm a very competitive person, but I'm for healthy, and not cut-throat, competition. You keep on top by finding other ways and means of doing the job differently but with the same result. Variety is important in TV; it's a visual medium, people don't want to see the same thing over and over again. I've jumped 4,500 feet from a plane; try to top that if you want to make the viewer see something different---I'd say, "That is healthy competition; it's keeping us on our toes." Healthy competition happens when you better each other by playing fair. You top what the other guy is is gonna do, and you hope that he tops you. The viewers are entertained.

Who have been your professional influences?

I look up to a lot of people in the industry. I know their work ethic and what they stand for.

Eddie Mercado: that guy is a living, breathing example of passion, dedication and love for the profession of hosting. He continually inspires me. One talk with him lifted my spirits up so much. At the end of my career, I want to achieve ten percent of what he had.

Martin Nievera: boundless energy, passion, dedication, true love for the job. Unbelievable, and he's a great guy.

Boy Abunda: for his interviewing skills. You can tell there's a little Barbara Walters and a little Larry King in him. He gets what he wants in his interviews. And he is one who will never compromise certain principles. Being a talent manager and PR person himself, he knows what should be shown on TV. He does not cross the line, and I respect him for that and for maintaining decency on TV.

Che-Che Lazaro: trailblazer of the news magazine show. A wonderful person, both to work with and to talk to. She has a fantastic vision. Mam Che-Che taught me a lot of things that have become second nature to me. It's because of her training that I can eat anything and sleep anywhere.

Mel Tiangco, Mike Enriquez, these people are irreplaceable. I've worked with them and know what they stand for. Mike for his booming voice and classic delivery. Tita Mel for her unbelievable motherly instinct for doing some things. I really appreciate the fact that when she's delivering the news, it's like she's telling a story, and not everyone can do that. She's a fantastic person.

I love Sharon Cuneta. I told myself before that if I were to do one movie in my life, I'd do it with Sharon. I ended up doing a movie with Sharon and Richard.

What advice would you give young talents who would want to follow in your footsteps?

Have the mentality that you should be good at a particular job. We owe it to ourselves to keep our individual identities. It's ok to aspire to be like someone, but getting there has many paths that you can follow.

Do not let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do. Believe in yourself. You need a certain confidence. Work on it.

It's all a matter of attitude. Do not take rejection personally. If I did, I'd probably be depressed until now.

Nothing beats hard work. Don't expect things to be given to you on a silver platter just because you know somebody. In this industry, talent does count. To know the sweet, you have to know the sour and the bitter; to know the good, you have to know the bad.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Be afraid when you refuse to try again and when you stop dreaming. Be afraidwhen you wake up one day complacent and you shouldn't be. Ambition is a great motivator that has to be channeled in the right direction.

Find out if you can develop a love for the job. If you don't' love the job, you won't last long. Don't get into it just for the money, because money will dictate your actions.

Have a set of principles that you will never compromise or be willing to sacrifice.

Be a consummate professional. Be on time. Know your script and lines. Practice.

If you want to be a good professional host here in the Philippines, learn how to write and speak in Tagalog. In corporate shows, you can do English. Learn how to ad-lib and not to go around in circles when you are in talking.

Pay attention to your appearance. Sadly, it is a society that puts a premium on appearance. Cut your hair. Sleep early.

What keeps me on my toes? There are 10,000 people who want to be in my shoes and are waiting for me to make a mistake. I can't afford to do that. I take care of my career as if it were my baby.

To those who want to make it in this industry, look me up, let's talk, and I'll tell you what you need to know. I'm willing to do that. If there's a group of students who want to know about hosting, I am willing to conduct a seminar. Give me 30 or 40 students and a venue. If there is one out of the 40 who genuinely want to be a broadcast journalist or TV host, then I will give my right arm and do whatever it takes to see that that person gets what he or she deserves: a job on TV.

Where do you go from here?

I'm not thinking of any new show yet because that would distract me from my duties and responsibilities from my current show. But I would want to produce a quiz show like before for the high school students so they have something to aspire for.

I'm taking care of this job like there's no tomorrow. Because even if I am more or less stable in the industry and proven something, it is not a permanent industry wherein you are assured for lifetime. As I mature, I have to work even harder because there will always be right behind me younger, better-looking, more athletic individuals who would like to get my job. Now, I'm working double time.

I love my work. Last night I hosted a pageant in Kalookan that ended at 3 a.m., then I have this meeting for an endorser at 10 a.m. then now I have this interview, then I'm off to a pictorial, then a voice-over and another meeting at night. Twenty-four hours in a day---so much time to do what you have to do.

Never ever say that you have no time. You make the time.

2005-03-02T04:49:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

WANTED KA: KATINIG REPORTER!!!

True to its commitment to give the youth a VOICE in issues that affect them, Voice of the Youth Network gives this opportunity to become a nationwide Youth Radio correspondent and reporter. This is your chance to be heard!

Be an official Voice of the Youth Network Katinig Radio Reporter!

If you are a College Student in NCR, especially in line with Journalism and Communication Arts, VOTY gives you a head start on a fruitful media career.

Grab the chance to become a nationwide radio reporter

Requirements?

You must have:
· A genuine heart for volunteerism and service for the youth!
· A knack for live and recorded reporting!
· Available minutes every Saturday!
· Activeness and involvement in school and community youth activities!

Benefits?

What to gain:
· Represent Your Campus!
· Official On-the-job Training opportunity!
· Free Workshop!
· Opportunity to be involved in bigger national and international youth affairs!
· Exposure on National Radio through LKTKR at DZME 1530 kHz!

Contact Us!
· votynet@gmail.com
· Telephone Numbers: 415 – 6050 / 09205603269
· Look for Emsie

2005-03-02T04:48:00.000-08:00

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.

2005-03-01T07:34:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

By Nicanor Perlas 26 February 2005
This week the Philippines celebrates EDSA 1, globally known as People Power, the spontaneous peaceful revolution in 1986 that toppled the Marcos dictatorship and restored some semblance of democracy in the country. EDSA 1 is also the precursor to 2001 People Power 2 that removed a corrupt Philippine President from office.

Both, however, missed the opportunity to launch a genuine peaceful societal revolution that could have radically transformed the festering economic, oppressive political, and regressive cultural conditions that characterizes significant aspects of Philippine society today. The gains of People Power ultimately dissipated and traditional politicians continued to steer the country towards further decline.

2005-03-01T07:29:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

*TINDOG KABATAAN!*
>
> Could a collective, conscious change of "cultural personality" or
> mindset divert the entire Philippines from a path of uncertainties?
> Not to patronize the "Pollyanna complex"", but a dose of positive
> realities every so often could be a prescription for one of our
> nation’s contagious ailment called cynicism. Or so this is the
> challenge that the first "Karangalan" Festival and Conference is
> willing to face.
>
> It was a privilege to attend the three – day celebration, held at the
> Cultural Center of the Philippines. As the alternative Nobel Awardee
> and "mastermind" Nicanor Perlas says, "Karangalan is the inauguration
> of a strategic change process, a movement that aims to turn the
> country around in five to ten years. Two years, if mainstream media
> would refrain from over-emphasizing on negative realities that
> destroys the sense of accomplishment and culture of the people".
>
> To describe that "inauguration" as worthy of pride is a true
> understatement. It is not so often when international awardees,
> brilliant minds, exemplary talents and truly effective government
> officials (yes, there still are) gather together for a sole purpose.
> That is to "mobilize excellence in creating a visionary Philippines".
> In a nutshell, the conference is a convergence and synergy of hopeful
> ideas, actions, achievements, and possibilities.
>
> True, youth attendance would not be comparable to a rock concert or a
> grand finals night for a talent search on TV. However, the
> inexhaustible energy of the artistic responses of the youngsters from
> the acclaimed Quezon City Performing Arts Center and Gaway Sigmahanon
> of Sigma Capiz proved more than a delightful youth representation.
> Through the funds donated by their communities and local government
> support, these young artists from Capiz were able to fulfill the
dream
> of performing at the historic CCP.
>
> George Bernard Shaw was probably oblivious to how young generations
> have repeatedly changed the course of history when the great writer
> immortalized the adage "Youth is wasted on the Young". This is how
the
> actress, indigenous culture advocate and environmentalist Chin Chin
> Gutierrez affirms her unfailing credence on the force that is the
> Filipino Youth. "After all, we come from a nation forged in the
> furnace of youthful idealism, of daring visionaries…" she says in a
> multi-faceted and passionate speech.
>
> Often the youth has been unjustly described as being indifferent to
> national issues besides the lack of patriotism and preoccupation with
> triviality. "The youth faces the challenge of seeking their identity,
> and at the same time, they are also looking for people who can
> transform institutions" Nicky says.
>
> For Chin Chin, that identity is finding the unique mission and
> visionary within us then we should dedicate our actions for the good
> of all.
>
> Being a host of a youth-advocacy radio program allowed me to
regularly
> show another reality about young Filipinos. These are the idealistic
> youth leaders, selfless volunteers and passionate individuals from
> diverse organizations that actualize the slogan of "making a
> difference". All it really takes is to find and gather all these
> uncorrupted minds so they may be able to inspire others in finding
> their own advocacy.
>
> The underlying goal for Karangalan is to create a "sustainable people
> power", to achieve and maintain what previous revolutions have
failed.
> And the Filipino Youth would be an integral force of this movement.
> Then we wouldn’t be skeptics to even rise and shout out, "Tindog
> Kabataan!"
>
> About the Author:
>
> Mariczar "Emsie" Reyes Lintag, is a 24 year old broadcaster and
writer
> of DZME 1530 kHz, Ang Radyo Uno, Host of Lakas-Kabataan,
> Tinig-Kabataan: RECHARGED! Saturdays 12 noon and is the director for
> Radio Broadcasting of Voice of the Youth Network
>
>
>
> *_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *
> *Emsie Reyes*
> VOTY Director for Radio
> writer/host
> 09205603269
> 4156050
> Lakas - Kabataan, Tinig Kabataan; RECHARGED!!!
> DZME 1530kHz AM Radio
> Saturdays, 12noon
> Power Up the Youth!!!
> Continue Inspiring, Informing, Involving and Empowering!
>

2005-03-01T07:24:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

Youth Power 05 Conference and Expo was amazingly and overwhelmingly successful. Hopefully we could tell you guys more how it went this coming days thru our posts.It was a dream realized that i'm sure would inspire everyone, leaders and movers alike, especially young people.

VOTY got enough volunteers to add those who came from other organizations and we couldn't have made it without their hard work, initiative and dedication. VOTY, aside from members and officers, got around 50 volunteers from different orgs like UP FLIPP and Red Cross Youth. Actually, the new volunteers got their assignments on the afternoon before the event. Some of them who came, either for a single day or the two-day event, got their task before the program started. It was quite spontaneous for the new volunteers but overall, it went well. They got free food and Youth Power T-shirt =). Committees were usherettes, marshalls, registration, food, production, program, media and documentation. Even the program hosts/emcees were volunteers. What's also amazing is that all the speakers such as Senators Manny Villar and Richard Gordon, Cong. Juan Miguel Zubiri, Businessman and Speaker Mr. Francis Kong, Arnold Clavio, NYC Commissioner Mark Castrodes and all the artists who performed, like Dennis Trillo, Jolina Magdangal and Slapshock were there as volunteers as well, for FREE. A million thanks to Ms. Maybelyn dela Cruz for making that possible. They truly supported the cause, the youth.

I am proud to be a volunteer alongside all of them. I even realized a potential of having a long term career in stage production =) . Suddenly i am assistant to the director. naks!

Overall, More than 6000 individuals came for the two day event, truly the biggest and the premier youth event of the year. I hope you were able to join us.

Thank you very much for your support. Youth Power 2005 is only the beginning of hopefully, a daily dedication and commitment for all of us.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Emsie Reyes
VOTY Director for Radio
writer/host
09205603269
4156050
Lakas - Kabataan, Tinig Kabataan; RECHARGED!!!
DZME 1530kHz AM Radio
Saturdays, 12noon
Power Up the Youth!!!
Continue Inspiring, Informing, Involving and Empowering!

2005-02-28T18:53:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

NYC OPENS SEARCH FOR YOUTH AMBASSADORS

The National Youth Commission opens the search for Philippine delegates to the 32 nd Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP).

SSEAYP is an annual program sponsored by the Cabinet Office of Japan and participated in by delegations from Japan and the ASEAN. The purpose of the program is to promote and strengthen friendship and mutual understanding among the young people of the participating ASEAN countries and Japan by providing them the opportunity to live together on board the luxury vessel M/S Nippon Maru, visit the participating countries and engage in various activities such as institutional visits and goodwill exchanges with local youth.

Participating youth should be: single Filipinos between 18 to 30 years old; of good moral character; residing for at least 2 years in the region to be represented; physically and mentally fit to travel; preferably a first-time international traveler and not a recipient of NYC or Japanese government funded international travel; with a strong background of Philippine history, geography, culture and the arts; knowledgeable of the current issues of the Philippines, Japan and ASEAN countries; and must have been serving the youth sector as an active officer/member of any youth or youth-serving organization for at least 2 years before the date of application.

5 copies of each of the indicated documents are required for the application: application letter; application for with passport-sized photo (white background); a 3-page resume; certificate of Good Moral Character from school/community/NGO/church where the applicant is connected to (must be enclosed in sealed envelope with signature of issuing authority); certificate of residency from the punong barangay; and police clearance or NBI clearance. Please include two self-addressed mailing envelopes with P20.00 worth of stamps and a copy of your personality and intelligence test results conducted by a government accredited institution (enclosed in a signed and sealed envelope). All application forms with attached requirements must be notarized.

Applicants for National Leader must be: government employees or officials with supervisory positions or elected/appointed officials whose terms will not expire this year; between 35 to 50 years old as of April 2005; of good moral character; physically and mentally fit to travel; experienced in handling/managing/supervising big groups; possesses excellent people skills; and has superior knowledge of ASEAN-Japan Affairs and other international concerns.

The requirements for application are 7 copies of the following: application letter; 3 pages resume (maximum) with passport size picture (white background); certificate of Good Moral Character issued by head of agency or authorized institution/organization where the applicant is employed/appointed/elected; certified true copy of appointment for elected or appointed official; barangay clearance

Interested applicants may get their forms from former SSEAYP delegates or from the NYC main office and Area Offices.

For further inquiries, you may contact the SSEAYP Secretariat at (02) 781-1406

2005-02-28T09:29:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

International Meeting on Environment and Disaster Management
The Foundation is planning to host an international meeting among young people on Environment and Disaster Management sometime in June 2005. I am pleased to inform that we are looking for inputs from young people who might have experience which they might want to share with us to have a more global input.

Also of particularly interest is the experience that young people might like to share when dealing with natural disasters like the recent tsunami that have taken 260,000 lives from 11 countries. Some of the issues that you could share could cover the following areas:

a) awareness and prevention programmes pertaining to Environment and Disaster Management;
b) problems and solution pertaining to relief and volunteer coordination;
c) the role of information technology in disaster management
d) climate change and environment conservation/management
e) key message for example of progress made or good programmes that highlight the role of young people in enviornment and disaster management.

The list above is not final, they are mere guidelines. We welcome young people from both Asia and Europe to share their inputs with us by that sending your comments/ideas/inputs to wyf@po.jaring.my. We will keep you informed of further development.

World Employment Report 2004-2005: Employment, Productivity and Poverty Reduction
Launched by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) last December 2004, the World Employment Report 2004-05 report focuses on the importance of decent employment to reaching the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals, particularly in halving the share of those in extreme poverty in the total population by 2015. Examining the
interrelationship between employment creation, productivity growth and poverty reduction, the report shows that while employment is central to poverty reduction, it is "decent and productive" employment that matters, not employment alone. The full report can be accessed online. Language: English and Spanish. E-mail: (to order a copy at the Bureau of Publications) pubvente@ilo.org, Fax: (41-22) 799-6938
Website: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/wer2004.htm

Youth Forum on Pregnancy Prevention in a Time of AIDS
Online March 15 - April 15, 2005
YouthNet invites you to participate in this new online forum, where you can share your experiences and lessons learned, along with guest experts from the United Nations and other international agencies. YouthNet is co-sponsoring this with the INFO Project, in conjunction with the Implementing Best Practices in Reproductive Health (IBP) Initiative, which is coordinated by the World Health Organization.To participate: Send an e-mail to info@ibpinitiative.org with "Youth Forum" in the subject line.In your e-mail, please include your name and the country in which you work. You will receive an e-mail response explaining how the forum will work.

World's Population Is Aging Rapidly
Half the world's population will live in cities in two years, the U.N. chief said, adding that the number of elderly people is rising rapidly, prompting a need for economic and social changes.
http://en.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=21476185&u=195442

World Population will increase to 9 billion by 2050
The world's population will reach 6.5 billion by July and, despite lower expected fertility rates, is likely to reach 9.1 billion by 2050, with most of the increase taking place in developing countries, the United Nations Population Division says in its revised report for 2004. "World Population Change 1950-2050, the 2004 Revision" is the first of three volumes by the Division on global population trends.

"The world has added nearly 500 million people since 1999 - just six years," Hania Zlotnik, the new head of the Division, told a press briefing. "The good news is that new estimates show that it will take a little longer to add the next half billion, reaching the 7 billion mark probably by 2013."

A summary of the report says, "Future population growth is highly dependent on the path that future fertility takes." Median fertility is expected decline from 2.6 children per woman today to slightly over 2 children per woman in 2050. If fertility were to remain about half a child above that level, world population would reach 10.6 billion by 2050, while fertility half a child below the median would lead to a population of 7.7 billion by mid-century. "At the world level, continued population growth until 2050 is inevitable, even if the decline of fertility accelerates," according to the report.

Almost all of the increase will take place in the less developed countries, whose populations is expected to reach 7.8 billion in 2050 from 6.5 billion now, while the population of the more developed countries will remain around 1.2 billion, it says. Between 2005 and 2050, eight countries - India, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Bangladesh, Uganda, the United States, Ethiopia and China - are likely to contribute half of the world's population increase, while the population would at least triple in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Congo, the DRC, Timor-Leste, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger and Uganda. To read more click on to http://www.unfpa.org/

2nd International Forum on Partnerships for Sustainable Development:
Advancing Implementation on Water and Energy
(21-23 March 2005, Marrakesh, Morocco)
The Forum is being organized by the Moroccan Ministery of Territory Planning, Water and Environment (MATEE) in cooperation with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA). (Limited Funding is available to enable participants from developing countries to attend) . The deadline for registration is MONDAY 7 MARCH 2005.All details on : http://www.moroccoforum.org/
How does change happen?
The 10th AWID International Forum on Women's Rights and Development
will take place from October 27-30, 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand. To learn more about the AWID forum: http://www.awid.org/forum/about_the_forum.htm. For more information: awidforum@awid.org.
Gender & Southeast Asia Conference - Mar 18-19 2005 - Bangkok, Thailand
The conference will aim to combine academics and activism, providing a forum to share knowledge and experience, build a network of support, and develop joint strategies. This year's focus will be on issues of justice and rights in Southeast Asia.
http://www.comminit.com/training2005/2005-events/events-2884.html
Contact wari9@yahoo.com or concourse02@yahoo.com

Foundations in Developmental Practice - Apr 18-22 2005 - Cape Town, South Africa
This 5-day training course will aim to explore some of the core concepts and competencies of a developmental field-practice, providing a process for participants to understand where key work of facilitating development lies.
http://www.comminit.com/events_calendar/2005-events/events-3245.html
Contact pauline@cdra.org.za

3rd IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment
This conference will cover all aspects of HIV/AIDS basic and clinical sciences; the program will be developed in close collaboration between International AIDS Society (IAS), the local hosts and an international scientific committee.
http://en.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=21476185&u=195453
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

2005-02-28T09:13:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

Youth Participation in Parliamentarian Workshop:

The Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) will organize the Asia-Pacific Workshop of Academic Parliamentarians from 8-9 March 2005 in Krabi, Thailand.

The main objective of the workshop is discuss interlinking education with population and sustainable development. Other issues included are young people and the need for sexual and reproductive health education and counseling, cultural and religious factors, HIV/AIDS, role of media, and the impact of ICT. Around 60 members of parliament with academic background and youth from the field, are expected to attend.

The Youth from Asia Pacific, under 24 will be invited for the workshop. The fund to support the travel and lodging boarding will be provided to selected youth. Interested youth may contact ICYO secretariat with full detail of their work and detail of organizations where they are involved.

=-=-=-=-=

Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO)
194-A, Arjun Nagar, Safdarjung Enclave
New Delhi 110029
Phone 11 26183978 / 9811729093
Email: icyo@hathway.com / icyo@icyo-india.org

2005-02-22T20:29:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

Lessons in Advocacy Leadership
Advocacy.org -
The Advocacy Institute Newsletter
February 2005

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In This Issue:
* Leadership for a Changing World: Leadership Lessons
* Because of Your Feedback: Advocacy Workshops
* David Cohen: Giving Voice to Your Mission
* Resource Spotlight: MissionFish
* Next Issue: Strategy Planning Brought To Life

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How do we learn what works?

At the Advocacy Institute, we turn to successful
social justice advocates to show us what's working
about their own approaches and campaigns. Our
lessons come from the leadership we find in our
community.

In this issue of Advocacy.org, we focus on
what's most effective in the work of some of the
most dynamic community-based social justice groups
in the U.S.: the awardees of our Leadership for a
Changing World program. Interestingly, what works
for them is also what's worked for us: recognizing the
community as a source of strength.

We hope you find Advocacy.org useful to
you in your work; if you do, pass this issue on to a
friend! If you're not already a subscriber, use the
box below our Quick Links section to subscribe. You
can also use our Quick Links to "Tell Us What You Think," (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=qriv96aab.0.9svnj8n6.qqwhpzn6.12722&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.advocacy.org%2Fabout%2Ffeedback.htm) or email your
feedback to newsletter@advocacy.org. We'd love to
hear from you.

Our work exists only because of yours. Thank you
for everything you do to make a difference in the
world.

With best wishes,

Jennifer Donaldson

Editor, Advocacy.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leadership for a Changing World: Leadership Lessons

Over the past five years, our Leadership for a
Changing World Awardees and their colleagues have
taught us some key lessons about leadership.

When planning a campaign, assessing current
progress and looking to next steps, or even just
pausing and asking "where do we go from here?",
social justice advocates can strengthen the
leadership in their campaigns by

* Turning to the community as a source of
strength

* Linking their issues to a wider context

* Choosing short-term goals that also add to long-
term change

For our awardees, "Leadership Is":

* Of the Community - Most Leadership for
a Changing World Awardees come from the
communities they're serving, so it's a working-from-
within/inreach model vs. a working "on" or outreach
model.

[If they're outsiders, they're listeners.
They've become part of the community through a
deep respect of community voices and have become
authentic members of the community by
demonstrating that respect and commitment over
time.]

* Sourced by Authentic Voices - Awardees
engage in activities that grow voice among the
people they're organizing/working with. There is a
belief in the centrality of story to making change.

* Comprehensive - Leadership creates
change on two fronts, all the time.

1) The Daily work - do the thing in front of
you. Save a life -- house, feed, empower or support
someone.

2) The Big work - tear it down. Do the
systems/movement work that changes the whole
picture.

We invite you to add to our list by sharing your own
observations about characteristics of effective
leadership in your community. Send us your thoughts
and you will be entered into a drawing to win a free
copy of Advocacy for Social Justice: A Global
Action and Reflection Guide. We will also share
some reader observations in an upcoming issue of
Advocacy.org.

Read more leadership lessons and share your own - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=qriv96aab.0.slil96aab.qqwhpzn6.12722&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.advocacy.org%2Fleadership%2Flcw_lessons.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Because of Your Feedback: Advocacy Workshops

In line with the results of our recent survey, where
Advocacy.org readers indicated their interest
in workshops, the Advocacy Institute then
announced its Washington, DC-based
workshop, "Policy Advocacy: Time-Tested Tools and
Strategies." We held this workshop on February 10
and 11, and as always, we found that the 16
attendees from around the country were the greatest
assets in the room.

Drawing on prep work the participants had completed
before the workshop, facilitators presented tools and
concepts by referring to participants' own advocacy
campaigns and challenges. In this way, participants
saw new ideas side by side with their own existing
expertise in policy advocacy, and were able to focus
follow-up discussions in directions that were
immediately useful and relevant.

Program participants also drew upon one another's
experience for help with questions. (One participant
wondered how to quickly summarize her issue in a
lobbying situation; another participant who was
herself giving a lobbying workshop the next day
provided a quick response.)

"I appreciate the emphasis on interaction that AI
specializes in," wrote workshop participant Donald
Chamberlain. "I like hearing the wisdom of my
colleagues and the 'official' presenters, and the
opportunity to problem-solve in others' arenas. Plus,
everyone at AI is so warm and welcoming. It's
affirming just to come here! I always leave uplifted."

The Advocacy Institute is planning another
policy-related workshop on April 14th and 15th. The
anticipated facilitators are Sharvell Becton, David
Cohen, and Theresa Gardella.

Sign up to find out about this workshop or future workshops - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=qriv96aab.0.ulil96aab.qqwhpzn6.12722&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.advocacy.org%2Fabout%2Fworkshops.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David Cohen: Giving Voice to Your Mission

In 2004, David Cohen, Co-Founder of the Advocacy
Institute, was selected by the Midwest Center for
Nonprofit Leadership as their Edward A. Smith
Distinguished Lecturer. This yearly lecture for
nonprofit and community leaders is described by the
Midwest Center as "a thought-provoking presentation
by a cutting-edge leader who will challenge us to see
our community and its opportunities in new ways."

A summary of David's lecture, "Giving Voice to Your
Mission: The Secrets of Building Will and Shaping
Public Policy," is now available online.

Read about giving voice to your mission - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=qriv96aab.0.wlil96aab.qqwhpzn6.12722&p=http%3A%2F%2Fbsbpa.umkc.edu%2Fmwcnl%2FSmith%2520Awards%2F2004.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Resource Spotlight: MissionFish

MissionFish is creating innovative technology-based
solutions that help nonprofits find efficient, new
sources of unrestricted funding. MissionFish lets
sellers on the auction site eBay designate a portion
of their proceeds to their favorite charity. Nonprofits
can also list their own goods and services on eBay
and receive 100% of the proceeds.

The Advocacy Institute has signed up with
MissionFish. To learn more about how you can help
support the Advocacy Institute through MissionFish,
please visit our website (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=qriv96aab.0.xlil96aab.qqwhpzn6.12722&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.advocacy.org%2Fabout%2Fsupport.htm%23). To sign up your own organization
with MissionFish, please visit
www.missionfish.org (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=qriv96aab.0.ylil96aab.qqwhpzn6.12722&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.missionfish.org).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next Issue: Strategy Planning Brought To Life

The next issue of Advocacy.org will illustrate
the lessons of strategy planning with examples from
actual advocacy campaigns.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the Advocacy Institute

The Advocacy Institute was founded in 1985 to
develop leadership and networking in social justice.
We have conducted hundreds of personalized
capacity-building workshops and training programs for
social justice leaders in the U.S., Latin America,
Africa, Europe, and Southeast Asia.

Our facilitation staff is composed of experienced
advocates who elicit an exchange of knowledge
among program participants, guest speakers, and
themselves.

The outcome is often transformative, creating time
and space for reflection and strengthening broader
communities of advocates within and across issue
sectors.

Learn more about us - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=qriv96aab.0.xsvnj8n6.qqwhpzn6.12722&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.advocacy.org%2Fabout%2Fprograms.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quick Links...
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Tell Us What You Think - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=qriv96aab.0.9svnj8n6.qqwhpzn6.12722&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.advocacy.org%2Fabout%2Ffeedback.htm
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Advocacy Institute | 1629 K Street NW, Suite 200 | Washington | DC | 20006

2005-02-22T09:32:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

Small Grants Program

The Small Grants Program for Fiscal Year 2005 (July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005) is now accepting Proposals that focus on vulnerable and marginalized youth.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The Small Grants Program (SmGP) was created in 1983 to promote dialogue and dissemination of information about development in forums outside the World Bank’s regular operations. In fiscal year 1998, management and administration of the SmGP was decentralized to the Bank’s country offices, including the World Bank Office Manila (WBOM).

WHO CAN APPLY

Any institution concerned about development can apply for an SmGP grant. However, the SmGP gives priority to non-profit, non-governmental, non-academic organizations or coalitions. Province-based applicant-organizations are also given priority.

Applicant-organizations may include cooperatives, cooperative federations, NGOs, foundations and people's organizations that are based in the Philippines and managed by Filipinos. The organization should be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or any accrediting institution of the Philippine Government.

WHAT ACTIVITIES ARE SUPPORTED

The Small Grants Program supports civic engagement activities that are aimed at the empowerment of marginalized and vulnerable groups. Civic engagement is defined as the initiative of citizens, whether as individuals or organized as groups, to interact with the public sector to influence policies and processes that affect their lives.

Proposed activities should facilitate better engagement of marginalized and vulnerable groups and strengthen the capacity of local leaders to address significant issues and problems. These activities may include, but are not limited to, workshops, seminars, publication or production of audio-visual materials, information dissemination, dialogue and other innovative networking efforts.

A thematic focus is adopted each year to complement the Bank program in the Philippines. For FY 2005, the theme is support for civil society initiatives that address the needs of specific youth groups who have experienced and/or are vulnerable to discrimination, exploitation and abuse, specifically the youth in indigenous communities, abused and exploited youth, youth with disabilities, youth in conflict with the law; abandoned and street youth; and, youth-victims of natural and human-made tragedies.

WHICH GRANT ACTIVITIES ARE NOT SUPPORTED

* Operational projects
* Research programs
* Formal academic training programs
* Ongoing institutional support
* Scholarships, fellowships or study programs
* Individuals applying on their own behalf, including travel and studies
* Relief, welfare and emergency assistance

WHAT SIZE OF GRANTS ARE AWARDED?

Small requests are preferred, but larger grants (of up to US$10,000) have been provided in the past for highly meritorious projects. In 2004, the SmGP funded 4 proposals from among the winners of the Philippine Development Innovation marketplace. SmGP grants should fund only a portion of the costs associated with an approved project. A cash or in-kind counterpart from the applicant organization of at least 25% of total cost is required and should be reflected in the proposed budget. Contributions from other donors or sources are highly encouraged.

HOW ARE GRANTS AWARDED?

Applications are screened, reviewed and evaluated by a Committee composed of the World Bank Office Manila Staff and a technical expert from outside the Bank. Short-listed proposals are recommended to the Country Director who makes the final decision. Applicant organizations with approved proposals are informed by mail of the Bank’s decision.

HOW ARE APPLICATIONSEVALUATED? The SmGP committee uses the questions on the right column in their evaluation of proposals.

* Will the grant be used for civic engagement activities aimed at the empowerment of marginalized and vulnerable groups?
* Will the grant be used for activities that promote networking, dialogue and dissemination of information?
* Will the proposed activity strengthen the capacity of local leaders to address significant issues and problems?
* Will the proposed activity promote and reinforce partnership among different stakeholders, including women, children, youth and people with disabilities, by facilitating useful dialogues and/or dissemination of information?
* Does the proposal have clearly defined objectives, activities, outputs and mechanisms for sustainability?
* Is the grant intended for a specific activity?
* Will the proposed activity be completed within one year from the date the grant is awarded?
* Is the proposed activity to be supported by other donors and sources?
* Were previous grants (from the Bank or other donors) to the proponent organization well used?
* Does the proponent have demonstrated capability or track record to manage and implement the proposed activity?
* Has there been a recent grant from the Small Grants Program to the proponent? (Organizations are not eligible for more than three grants from the Small Grants Program within a five-year period.)

HOW TO APPLY FOR A GRANT

Applications should be received not later than February 28, 2005. Competition for grants is intense, and with a limited budget, the Program cannot support all of the many worthwhile activities for which applications are received. Applications should be brief, concise and no more than four (4) pages. Only proposals with complete attachments are reviewed.

Applications should be sent by mail or fax to:

Ms. Gia Mendoza, Team Assistant
Environment and Social Development Sector
World Bank Office Manila
23/F The Taipan Place
Emerald Ave., Ortigas Center, Pasig City
Tel.: 637-5855 to 64 / 917-3085
Fax: 6375870
E-mail: gmendoza@worldbank.org

Microsoft Word Icon Guidelines and Application form (MS Word, 57KB)

More information:
Small Grants Website
Archive of Small Grants Program Recipients (1998 - 2003)

2005-02-22T09:22:00.000-08:00

CARTOON NETWORK AND VOTY

Cartoon Network honors 6 young
achievers with awards of excellence

By Jonathan M. Hicap

A math whiz. A thorough editor. An outstanding musician. A concert pianist. A chess champion. A tae kwon do black-belter.

While these six individuals are all accomplished, do not mistake them for grownups. They are actually a group of young Filipino students who recently shared the limelight as winners of the Cartoon Network Awards of Excellence 2004. This is an annual search held by the children’s cable TV channel, to acknowledge achievers between the ages of 10 to 16 years old.

“The best of the very best,” was how Sunny Saha, vice president for regional ad and licensing sales of Turner Entertainment Network Asia, described them.

After a five-month tedious selection process where the judges carefully weighed the nominees’ achievements, Kevin Yambao and Dyane Blythe Uy were recognized for Excellence in Leadership; Jacob Gabriel Sarreal and Regina Montesclaros for Excellence in the Arts; and Antoni Angelo Seloterio and Pauline Therese Angeles for Excellence in Sports.

“The number and quality of nominations we received this year was just astounding. We are overwhelmed by the accomplishment, discipline and passion of young Filipino students. Kevin, Dyane, Jacob, Regina, Antoni and Pauline should all be proud of themselves for coming out on top,” said Ian Diamond, senior vice president and general manager of Turner Entertainment Networks Asia Inc.

Since the search (formerly known as the Cartoon Network Mayors’ Awards of Excellence) was mounted three years ago, Cartoon Network has successfully put the limelight on the Filipino youth. And this year’s awardees are just as brilliant as the previous batches, who have shown that age does not matter when it comes to achieving dreams.

The math whiz

Kevin Yambao is an 11-year-old genius. A grade 6 student of Pateros Elementary School, he is consistently an honor student.

A math whiz, he is also a consistent winner in the Metrobank-MTAP competition. He was first honor in the 1st National Metrobank MTAP-DECS-Math Challenge, where he emerged as top scorer in the 2004 contest.

Kevin was the Philippine delegate and participant in the 2nd India Mathematics International Contest in Lucknow, India, where he bagged a bronze medal in both individual and team competitions. He also garnered a silver pin (for students with scores from 90 percent to 97 percent) in the Math Olympiad for Elementary Students.

When he is not into tinkering with numbers, Kevin plays the flute and piano.

The thorough editor

Fifteen-year-old Dyanne Blythe Uy is a fourth year student at Chiang Kai Shek College where she is a consistent honor student. Dyanne has also made the country proud in local and international math competitions.

She was part of the winning team at the Chemical Engineering Math and Science Quiz Bee. She is also a consistent winner in Metrobank MTAP DepEd Math Challenge.

Dyanne shone in the USA Math Olympiad for Elementary and Middle School by winning the gold pin Award.

Besides math, she also excels in writing. She won second place the essay writing contests of the Overseas Chine Association and China’s Department of Education. For the past four years, she has served as the Chinese editor of her school paper, Scout Monitor.

The outstanding musician

Jacob Gabriel Sarreal’s passion for the saxophone began when he was only five years old. Now at age 15, the fourth year high-school student of San Beda College has already reaped numerous honors in the arts. His first public performance was at the United Nations Day at Museo Pambata. He then joined the National Music Competitions for Youth Artists (NAMCYA) and won second prize.

In 1999 Jacob was the recipient of the Dr. Jose Rizal Gintong Kabataan Award for Arts and Culture from the Parangal ng Bayan Foundation. Besides saxophone, he also plays the clarinet.

The concert pianist

On the same day that Cartoon Network’s awards were given, 11-year-old Ma. Regina Monteclaros also won first place in the NAMCYA piano category.

In the past few years, Regina has shown that she is indeed a gifted pianist. In June she bagged the first prize in the Third Rosario Picazo Competition.

She was only five years old when she began taking piano lessons from Professor Cecile Basilio Roxas of Santa Isabel College. Her first recital was at the MCO Foundation at the Antonio Moline Hall, Equitable PCI Bank.

In 2001 she joined the NAMCYA and won second prize. From there, she continued to perform in numerous solo programs, including the Friends of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and at the Centro Escolar University.

She was a two-time featured artist in the NAMCYA Arts Festival at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Besides being an artist, Regina is a consistent honor student at the Colegio San Agustin where she is now in Grade 5.

The chess champion

Antoni Angelo dG. Seloterio is a master chess player. This 11-year-old student of Grade 5 at the Paref-Northfield started playing chess two years ago, and has since won numerous chess competitions.

He bagged the bronze medal in the 4th Asean Age-Group Championships in Brunei last year and the bronze medal in the National Chess Federation of the Philippines.

Antoni Angelo is a member of the Metropolitan Chess Club and US Chess Federation.

This month, he will compete in the 2004 Asian Youth Chess Championships in Singapore.

Besides chess, he is a consistent honor student and a member of the Robotics Club and Serviam. He is also a fielder of the school’s varsity team and holds a yellow belt in tae kwon do.

The tae kwon do blackbelter

Pauline Therese Angeles is only 15 but at her age, she holds an advanced degree of 2nd Dan Blackbelt.

She started training in tae kwon do when she was nine. She is the team captain of the Saint Scholastica College tae kwon do team.

A member of the Philippine Tae kwon do Association, Pauline has won numerous medals including silvers in the 2004 World Tae kwon do Festival and the 6th International Tae kwon do Open Championship.

Incidentally, Pauline’s brother, Paulo, was also last year’s Cartoon Network awardee in sports.

Winners all

The six winners each received P15,000 worth of scholarship funds, a P5,000 cash prize for their schools, Jollibee gift certificates, a one-year supply of Ovaltine Power, a Metrobank Fun Savers Club account, Cartoon Network goodies, and special gifts from Raion Trading.

“They are so talented,” Ranjita Menon, Turner public relations director, repeatedly told the Sunday Times, as she gushed over the achievements of the six winners.

The search was inspired by the popular animation series, The Powerpuff Girls, where three young characters work with the mayor to protect their city and teach citizens the value of working for the common good.

The 2004 search is particularly inspired by Codename: Kids Next Door, which features five extraordinary 10 year olds who fight for the rights of children.

This year’s judges were Solvie Nubia, senior project officer of the Ateneo-Pathways for Higher Education Program; Pocholo Gonzales, founding president of the Voice of the Youth Network; Pastor Eric Maliwat, station manager of the Far East Broadcasting Co. and 702 DZAS radio station; Dr Luis Gatmaitan, multiawarded children’s book writer; Dr. Noemie Bellosillo, chief education supervisor of physical education and school sports of the DepEd-NCR; and Anthony Lozada, national training director of the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association.

Learn more about the winners of the 2004 Cartoon Network Awards on the cable channel, where their specially produced individual on-air spots are running until December 31.

2005-02-20T04:45:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

The Bayer Young Environmental Envoy Program started in Thailand in
1995 and was adopted by the Asia Pacific Regional Office of the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In 2001, Bayer
Philippines and Bayer Singapore decided to adapt the same project in
their respective countries.

Program Objectives:

To train youth leaders in exploring solutions to environmental
problems
To facilitate networking and the exchange of environmental views
among the youth in both host and participating countries
To provide an opportunity for the observation of environmentally
sound technologies, practices and ways of life

Envoy's Roles:

Share their learning for the benefit of their community
Implement their personal action plan and take an active part in
environmental activities, specially on occasions like Earth Day
Join The Young Environmental Envoy Club which meets every year
About Bayer:

Bayer is one of the leaders of the worldwide initiative called
Responsible Care, the chemical industry's contribution to
sustainable development.

At Bayer, environmental awareness started as early as 1901 with the
establishment of the "Wastewater Commission" at Bayer's headquarters
in Leverkusen, Germany.

Bayer Philippines, consistent with Bayer's thrust all over the
world, is committed to conserving natural resources, operating its
facilities safely and minimizing the environmental impact of its
activities. Apart from its own commitment regarding its facilities,
it has also through the years pursued actively programs that
encourage environmental protection.

Eligibility Details
Are you involved in any environmental project? Or do have practical
ideas that address the issues of sustainable development? If you
have a passion for the environment, are currently enrolled in any
recognized tertiary institution (college, university or
polytechnic), and not more than 24 years old, you can become a
Bayer Young Environmental Envoy OR the Philippine representative
to the Eco-Minds Forum.

The top five Bayer Young Environmental Envoys will get an all-
expense paid trip to Germany to observe best environmental
practices, while three of the brightest young minds from the country
will be chosen as the Philippine representatives to the Eco-Minds
Forum, the first to be held in Manila. The Bayer Young Environmental
Envoy and the Eco-Minds are two programs under the partnership of
Bayer and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Bayer Young Environmental Envoy

Five of the finest students from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao meet
other "green-minded" envoys from 12 countries for a weeklong study
tour in Germany in November 2005 to learn a broad spectrum of
environmental protection measures adopted by government and
industries of highly developed countries.

Eco-Minds Forum

Eco-Minds is a new program that will debut in the Philippines at the
end of October 2005. The program seeks to challenge the youth to
think of creative and practical applications of science and
technology in an interdisciplinary way to address issues on
Sustainable Development. Three students from the fields of natural
sciences, engineering/technology, and social sciences/management
will take part in an all-expense paid forum to be attended by
delegates from nine Asia Pacific countries.

Selection of Semi-Finalists

Entries will be screened based on the eligibility and completeness
of submission. Qualified entries will be evaluated on the basis of
the following: 60% for essay, 40% for resume.

Prior to selecting the Envoys for the Germany trip and the Delegates
to the Eco-Minds Forum, there is a regional search in Luzon, Visayas
and Mindanao, where shortlisted candidates are interviewed by a
panel of judges to determine their intelligence, environmental
involvement, communication, leadership and people skills.

Qualified finalists automatically become members of the elite Bayer
Young Environmental Envoy Club. They will be invited to attend an
eco-camp on May 21 to 25, 2005 to give them the opportunity to gain
insights on what various sectors of Philippine society are doing for
the environment.

To qualify for both programs, interested students need to accomplish
the prescribed Application Form and enclose relevant information on
the activities, studies and projects they have carried out related
to the environment, highlighting their role in these activities.
Applicants have to write an essay of no more that 1,000 words on how
they can contribute to the solution of one of the following
environmental challenges that the United Nations has identified in
its Millenium Development Goals:

Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country
policies and programmes; reverse loss of environmental resources.
Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access
to safe drinking water.
Achieve significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million
slum dwellers by 2020.
The closing date for all applications is March 27, 2005.

www.bayeryoungenvoy.com

2005-02-08T02:36:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

-Welcome to the VOTY Dispatch!

-500,000 Members strong

-A Chat with a VOTY Chair

-50 Things About VOTY

-New Events and Opportunities:

Youth Power 2005

Convergence2005

TAYO

-Oriental Mindoro Youth action Forum: A step in making a difference

VOTY DISPATCH 2.1

Welcome to the VOTY Dispatch!!

2005 marked another year in the Philippines, a brand new start. Such was a momentous year for all of us, another year to face. It was more likely to be regarded as another chapter in our lives. We will be taking our first steps to situation adjustments.

Various memorable events had happened last year, not only here in the Philippines but in the whole world that changed the lives of many people. Those horrifying calamities, innumerable deaths and scandalous controversies created fears to many. But are you there to help? Are you there to make a difference? To change the world? Or are you one of those who lose hope?

This year is different from the past but it should have something to give us. There are many opportunities that lie ahead. We can do something if we set aside our fears and inhibitions. We are free to continue and make our dream a reality.

Facing a new year, a bright new start would mean a new dream, a vision, and a mission. If you want a new world, a better one, then start with yourself.

2005 is a challenge. 2005 is hope. 2005 is for VOTY. VOTY is YOU!!# (Racquel G. Garcia)

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500,000 Members Strong!

This month, we celebrate the occasion of having reached 500,000+
members in our community! Armed with a diverse and youthful staff at
our Manila headquarters and nationwide, we are determined to enhance
the usability of the site as we expand our online network.

We thank you for joining us on our ongoing journey, and look forward
to engaging many more members with your help. Read on, and stay
connected!

Remember, you can help to promote VOTY by:

Telling your friends: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/voty/
Linking to VOTY: www.voty.org

~ by forwarding this dispatch to everyone in your mailboxes
~ by submitting announcements, stories, how-to's, pictures, or
anything related to youth issues and events to emails: info@voty.org
~ by registering a Filipino Youth
~ by sending all the email addresses that you have to info@voty.org
~ by applying and becoming a VOTY Network Official School or
University Coordinator
~ by registering your organization so you can submit
~ by inspiring, informing and involving other Filipino Youth!

50 Things About VOTY:

1. Youth organization

2. Hears the voice of the youth

3. inspires people

4. involves the youth

5. informs young people

6. empowers the hopeless

7. gives opportunities

8. founded by Pocholo Gonzales

9. has 500,000 members

10. scopes 78 provinces

11. friendster member

12. helps the needy

13. has a website: www.voty.org

14. no political inclination

15. multi-awarded organization

16. internationally recognized

17. organization in action

18. not financially solvent

19. compassionate

20. competitive members

21. two years in action

22. environmental-friendly

23. talented advocates

24. has 18 directors all over the country

25. gives chance to the deserving youth

26. National Youth Parliament member

27. International Youth Parliament Member

28. has successful activities

29. Trendsetter

30. computer geniuses

31. condemns dirty politics

32. social conscious

33. TV personalities

34. determined to move the world

35. optimism is our guideline

36. has nine regional coordinators and volunteers

37. VOTY people are flexible

38. has nineteen area coordinators

39. VOTY people are interactive

40. has three intelligent advisers

41. the only youth org with youth-oriented radio program

42. if you cannot reach VOTY, VOTY will reach you

43. has an office located at Pansol, Quezon City

44. a member of G7

45. connecting people

46. breaks traditional events, offers innovative affairs

47. VOTY people are hardworking

48. simply amazing

49. responds to urgent challenges of our times

50. VOTY IS YOU!!!

A CHAT WITH THE VOTY CHAIR

I was very fortunate to have an opportunity to talk with the noble founder of VOTY-Oriental Mindoro Chapter, none other than Emilson A. Goco. Here our interview goes…

RGG: Good Morning Emil! It seems like you are very busy today. Thank you in advance for sparing your time for this interview

EAG: Not a problem.

RGG: Ok, let’s start when you began to think to establish a chapter of VOTY in Oriental Mindoro. Can you tell us the whole story?

EAG: It was October 2004 when I was looking for a connection where I can attend an International forum or congress. In the search link, I found Pocholo Gonzales’ name. I texted him immediately, expressing my interest to be a part of the Voice of The Youth Network. He responded and told me to fill up the coordinators’ form and the website of the organization. One of the challenges I had experienced is thet, he told me that if I really want to be a coordinator, I should prove that I can make a chapter here. Barely three weeks after (November 19, 2004), the chapter of the org was formed. And the rest were written in history.

RGG: Whoa! That was amazing.. so you are really determined huh?!

EAG: Well, it’s nice to be challenged!

RGG: Did you do this for your benefit or for something else?

EAG: Yes and No.

RGG: What do you mean by that?

EAG: Yes because, before I joined the organization, I was looking for an international youth-related opportunity. No, because I think if you serve and empower the youth, not expecting anything in return, all opportunities will follow.

RGG: We all know that you have a job, isn’t it a hindrance to implement and attend your projects and VOTY’s programs?

EAG: Not at all.

RGG: Knowing your busy schedule, how come you still have time to organize and continue the mission of this organization?

EAG: It’s about time management. And the good thing is, it is inclined with my work as I am in the Research, Planning and External Affairs Office.

RGG: That’s nice! Anyway, how do you deal with the VOTY people?

EAG: I treat them as fellow youth advocates with the mission, that is to empower the youth.

RGG: Don’t you find it hard to do these things, knowing that you are in the province, and the main office of VOTY is in Manila?

EAG: Well, it is hard. Really hard. But thanks to the advancement of technology. We are still updated with what is happening in the National Office.

RGG: There are many youth organizations in the Philippines, why did you choose VOTY?

EAG: Upon exposing myself to the vision, goals and activities of the org, I saw that the org sees the youth affairs as very holistic. Although it is opening all kinds of opportunities and activities, where the youth will benefit and empowered!

RGG: Have you experienced great opportunities with VOTY?

EAG: It is coming.

RGG: Uh! I am intrigued!! What is it?

EAG: I don’t want to preempt that opportunity. With God’s help, it’s on its way..

RGG: I am excited.. Hahaha!! Ok, Last question, How long do you think you will serve your fellow youth?

EAG: It is an infinite question, with an infinite answer. As long as I feel that I am a youth which is not bounded by time, I will be here. After all, I don’t want to leave the organization only by myself. What matters is the impact and the development the chapter is doing for the empowerment of the youth after I founded the organization.

RGG: Thank you very much Emil! I hope you serve as an inspiration and a model for every youth. I really had a great time talking with you..

Well, talking with him is really fun and I can’t deny the fact that I was inspired by his words. I just hope many of our youth today has a determination like him. Unfortunately girls, this good-looking man is already taken!! (Racquel G. Garcia)

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New Events and Opportunities:

JOIN Youth Power 2005!!

Dear friends,

Warm Greetings!

In response to the challenges that the Filipino youth are facing today, the Next Step Events Planner in partnership with the Philippine Youth Sphere Group of Networks is holding the Premier Youth Event of the Year dubbed as YOUTH POWER 2005 Conference and Expo. This is happening on February 4-5 at the World Trade Center.

The event highlights plenary sessions that will talk about the Value
of Education, Leadership, Community Development, ICT and Digital
Opportunities, Politics and Governance, Entrepreneurship, Career in
Media. Also in the conference are different academic tilt that include
interpretative song and dance competitions, essay writing
contest, modern-cultural dance Fest, debate and barkada challenge.

For the expo, we are expecting more than 20,000 visitors and at least
50 donors to exhibit. This will be a strategic venue for the youth to
directly interact with corporate personnel of different companies and
a place to get closer to employers.

Pre-registration is required. So plese download the application form
at www.youthpower.tk and send it back to us via email
youthpower2005@gmail.com

Should you have any questions, please call us at 8130148 or via fax
8939996.

Let everyone know about this event. Please pass the message to as many
people as you know. Its high time that we realize our vital role in
nation building. Let us establish a connection now...

Since registration is for FREE, we expect you to see you there!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

VISITOR’S PROFILE

• Filipino Youth

• College and High School students ages 13-25 years old

CONFERENCE AND WORKSHOP ATTENDEES

• Youth Leaders, Govt. and Non-Govt. Org. Leaders, Educators and Professionals ages 17-30 years old.

THE CONFERENCE: "Face the Challenges of Tomorrow"

In any given society, the youth are destined to be the hope of the Motherland. Simply, it is because of their potentials and their ability to revolutionize things. Ironically though, such sector is seldom recognized and worse, they are seen as "problems" rather than solution to the problems.

The challenge now is simply to showcase what the sector can really offer and how far can they go about making a difference. Regardless of social status, initiative, participation and cooperation now become the name of the game.

With more than 2,500 youth of diverse walks of life coming from different schools, Colleges, Universities, communities and youth organizations in the country joined by other young people from the International Communities, the conference serves as a venue to rediscover the best in the Filipino youth and redefine their commitment in nation building.

A premier youth event, it is highlighted by plenary session, satellite workshops, simultaneous lectures, open forum and presentation of a common youth agenda graced by outstanding resource speakers coming from different field of discipline whose success in life has inspired their community and touched the hearts of young people.

Youth Power 2005 responds to this urgent challenge of our time helping the youth to face the challenges of tomorrow.

THE EXHIBITION: Reach Over 20,000 visitors

Confused but potential, powerful but vulnerable, the best-untapped resources, market and missing link in nation building; the force that can change the course of history of today's generation. This is the Filipino youth.

With different identities and given clash of classes of the sector from the "haves" to the "have nots" come different approaches. The more they become sophisticated, the more they open their minds to breakthroughs and changes; the more they experience comfort and development, the more they challenge production, and the more they feel in need, all the more they need you.

Think you are here talking to them. Say that you are guiding and reaching them out. Imagine you are in the Exhibition.

Unlike others, YOUTH POWER EXPO portrays non-traditional exhibition crating an interactive venue for the participants, exhibitors and visitors where programs and youthful activities happen simultaneously.

A ground-breaking-trend-setter event, it bares mini-orientation seminars, fun games, launching of youth-oriented magazine talks from the experts in the industry, open forum, on-site public lectures, dance competitions, interactive booths and other surprise numbers.

Make their learning fun. Help them. Win them

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CONVERGENCE 2005

2nd National Campus Journalism Conference
Theme: “Reach Each One in Bringing Developmental Journalism on Page One”

By Lloyd A. Luna

Network of Campus Journalists of the Philippines

Rationale

Year 2004 has been another year of division for the Filipino nation—GMA versus FPJ, the pullout of Filipino troops in Iraq, the solution to fiscal crisis among others. Sad enough, division meant a further hurdle that brings the Filipino people to confusion rather than united eye of the solutions; misconception rather than appreciation; apathy rather than sympathy; skepticism rather than trust and confidence and; vulnerability and desperation rather than hope.

On the other end, media that is often referred to as the fourth state has always been part of these struggles. As the supposed mirror of the society’s concerns and interest, their credibility didn’t escape, too, from scrutiny of the people. They must have something to do and some more to say.

And for young people, confusion meant hopelessness. Knowing not who is saying what, they feel being left behind, neglected and set aside. The largest untapped resource of any nation, according to the studies of Untied Nations, inability of the State to fully recognize their potentials makes the sector feel worthless. They really can’t do much. They don’t care about the country’s leadership and they see no hope at all.

The same is true with young people and truer with campus journalists. They are the most precious underutilized, if not unutilized wealth of institutions of higher learning that is repeatedly judged as problems rather than solution to the problems.

These and many other predicaments including weak support of the State, misunderstanding with school administration, insufficient grassroots journalism trainings, lack of leadership courses, absence of network and proactive organizations and inability to recognize their skills, talents and potentials as future media practitioners in the country make campus journalists chase different directions with far various values and ethical standards.

This is the birth of CONVERGENCE 2005.

Background

As 2004 marked its offing, year 2005 presents challenges as well as opportunities for campus journalists are foreseen. Question “Are campus journalists capable to deliver positive results and impact to the society?” is no longer a matter of argument but a resounding statement that needs to reaffirm.

Thus, the Network of Campus Journalists of the Philippines (NCJP), Commission on Higher Education (Ched) and the Ugnayan of Adamson University partnered to organize CONVERGENCE 2005.

Goals and Objectives

Convergence 2005 is the Philippine national Campus Journalism Conference aimed at gathering campus journalists around the country and providing them an interactive venue to:

· Review the history of campus journalism in the Philippines

· Identify its present situation and rediscover their values and attitudes as leaders

· Redefine its vital role in nation building and commitment to ethical standard

· Revive the spirit of volunteerism and service above self and

· Espouse the proliferation of developmental journalism

Specifically, the conference aims to:

· Provide student-journalists a venue to share their sentiments and views on issues affecting their performances

· Build camaraderie and establish strong network among themselves

· Understand diverse culture of student publications

· Craft Manila Declaration on Sustainable Development of Campus Journalism and Commitment to Ethical Standard

· Come up with a resolution requesting the President of the Republic of the Philippines to declare Campus Journalism Month

· Create strategic local action plans, programs and projects

· Promote the essential role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in providing equal opportunities for young journalists

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3rd TAYO Search

Has your organization done a great project this year, one you really are proud about?

Do you hear a lot of the people around you (friends, program beneficiaries, teachers, etc.) telling you that you and your organization has accomplished something great?

Was your organization's project relatively easy to do, and you could actually see it being implemented in other areas with similar problems?

If you answered "yes" to all or any of the questions above, I strongly encourage you to join the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations this year.

A grand prize of P50,000 awaits the lucky organizations chosen. You will also have the chance to interact and share your stories with the representatives of the top 20 youth organizations in the country.

- Accomplished Entry Form
- Certification from School or Community head attesting the existence of the organization and the veracity of the information submitted
- Letter of Recommendation from an upstanding member of the community
- Profile of the organization (not more than 3 pages, short bond paper size, containing a brief description of the organization, background, programs and track record)
- Profile of the project entry (not more than 1 page short bond paper size, containing project description, site, timetable, resources used and level of community involvement)
- Photo documentation (not more than 3 pages short bond paper size)
- Registration to the Youth Organization Registration Program or YORP (YORP and TAYO documents may be processed at the same time)

Deadline for submission is 31 January 2005.

We hope that you take the chance and see if your organization has what it takes to be part of TAYO.

TAYO na!

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Rotary Youth Leadership Awards

Only Open for youth in provinces of Rotary District 3860 includes Cebu, Bohol, Samar, Leyte, Davao, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental and Siquijor

Rotary's training program for young leaders, emphasizes leadership, citizenship, and personal growth.

RYLA aims to:

· Demonstrate Rotary's respect and concern for youth;

· Provide an effective training experience for selected youth and potential leaders;

· Encourage leadership of youth by youth; and

· Recognize publicly young people who are rendering service to their communities.

Each year, thousands of young people take part in the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) program worldwide. Young people ages 18 - 25 chosen for their leadership potential attend an all-expenses-paid seminar, camp, or workshop to discuss leadership skills and to learn those skills through practice. Rotary clubs and districts select participants and facilitate the event's curriculum. Join us

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

 Bona Fide student of any university

 Ages 18-25 years old

 Officer/member of any youth organizations

 Non-member of any rotary/rotaract club

Be among the delegates to represent dumaguete city in the two-day leadership camp on February 2005 at Cebu City, only one will be chosen as the most outstanding rotary youth leadership (RYLA) awardee for District 3860*. Prizes await the winner.

Email for more information: mayetbriones@stadi-cebu.com

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Oriental Mindoro Youth Action Forum: A Step in Making a Difference

Inspire. Involve. Inform.

Three ‘incredible’ men stepped in the island of Oriental Mindoro to establish a chapter of Voice of the Youth (VOTY) Network and Network of Campus Journalists of the Philippines (NCJP) at the Divine Word College of Calapan Gym, Calapan City, November 18, 2004.

The event was dubbed “Oriental Mindoro Youth Action Forum.”

Youth serving youth. Voice of the Youth Network (VOTY) is an organization aiming to empower the Filipino youth and tell the world that the youth has a voice that should be heard.

Emilson A. Goco, Regional Task Force Convenor of the National Youth Commission-National Youth Parliament-MIMAROPA, was inspired by the organizations’ goals and principles. With the help of technology, he invited the noble founder of VOTY, Pocholo “Choy” Gonzales to establish a chapter in Oriental Mindoro.

Together with Rommel Brillantes, Provincial Chairman of VOTY Quirino Province Chapter and Al Ian Barcelona, one of VOTY Directors, they selflessly accepted the invitation without expecting for fee and extravagant accommodation. They did not mind the bad weather, instead struggled the typhoon Unding just to reach Calapan City.

Being hospitable hosts, the organizers of the forum, Ruel D. Quinzon, Provincial Youth Development Council Chairman; Rene M. Colocar, DWCC Research, Planning and External Affairs Coordinator, Kathlene Cyrele Cuyas, Or. Mindoro SK Federation President; Emilson A. Goco, NYP Regional Convenor; Larsie Mañibo, Polytechnic College of Calapan Student Council President; Leiffrey Z. Gargullo, The DWCC Gazette Editor-in-Chief; Racquel G. Garcia, The DWCC Gazette Associate Editor and Harvey Pinohermoso of DeMolay, welcomed the three in a casual and simple party.

They enlivened the night with their inspiring yet humorous stories and jokes. Choy, Ian and Rommel said that they are also ordinary young people who enjoy parties and recreations. What made them extraordinary was their genuine intention of serving the youth.

Mission Accomplished. Two hundred fifty (250) Mindoreño youth filled the DWCC Gymnasium on the next day, November 19. They came from different secondary and tertiary schools in Oriental Mindoro but gathered for a cause…for a mission.

“The world is small and life is short. Touch your fellow youth’s heart and feel the spirit within you,” says the noble founder of VOTY, Choy.

He also said that VOTY was created for the youth and to serve the youth because he believes that the meaningful youth participation is about recognizing and nurturing the strengths, interests and abilities of young people by providing them with real opportunities to become involved in decisions that offers young people a chance to develop important decision-making and problem-solving skills, develop meaningful relationships and bolster self-esteem.

Rommel, on the other hand, inspired the participants more by sharing his unforgettable memories and the grandiose opportunities he experienced in VOTY.

In addition, Ian gave emphasis to the present situation of the youth, how they deal with the deteriorated society and their involvement to some unwanted activities. But youth organizations such as VOTY and NCJP can make a difference though they cannot totally stop the youngsters from doing such awful things.

He also introduced the Network of Campus Journalists of the Philippines (NCJP) which is founded by an awarded young journalist, Lloyd Luna. He stressed the organization’s goals and objectives and its activities.

Ian and Choy tickled the audience with their talents as they imitated past presidents such as FVR, Erap and GMA and also famous personalities like FPJ and Miriam Defensor Santiago that undoubtedly spiced up the event more.

The event was highlighted by the election of officers of the Chapter. Emilson A. Goco was appointed as the VOTY Chairman while Leiffrey Z. Gargullo was elected as the NCJP Chairman.

The forum aims not only to establish network in Oriental Mindoro but also to promote awareness of the present situation of the society, which the youth currently faces, that needs to be saved and changed.

The success of the affair could be seen in the faces of the participants as they walked out the gymnasium.

The sparks in their eyes say that they were inspired.

The smile on their lips says that they were informed.

The wave of their hands as they bid goodbye to the speakers and organizers says that they were involved.

The experience was really memorable especially for the speakers (Choy, Ian and Rommel). They were trapped in the island because of the typhoon and they were not able to go on the day of the scheduled departure.

Works were pending.

Meetings were postponed.

And angry girlfriend. (Right Kuya Choy?)

But still, these did not matter. The mission was accomplished anyway! Definitely, that was an unforgettable trip.

Beginning the action. The establishment of the chapter of the two organizations in Oriental Mindoro is just a beginning. After the successful yet tiring forum, the group talked about their plans and projects for the future. This is not just a beginning but the intensity of the flame burning inside their hearts will keep on growing and nothing can stop them.

What make these two organizations different from the others is its non-political inclination and the sincere heart for the youth. The enumerable awards they received here and abroad proved that the two youth groups really act.

We can always make a difference.

Whoever you are.

No matter how far you came from.

The threat of the dreaded society is scary and the world needs you.

Let your voice be heard.

Keep inspiring, informing, empowering and involving the Filipino youth.

VOTY-NCJP-ORIENTAL MINDORO CHAPTER

2005-02-07T07:39:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

Mga nangyari sa YOUTH POWER 05
Message: Youth Power 2005 was simply amazing because it
made great things possible. I hope I could you
guys more of the details but this space for
bulletin isn't enough to do so... Hope I could
follow it up the next post...

To tell you guys, you missed a big part of your
youth life if you weren't there. If i could
describe it in one word, it would be INSPIRING.
But a word isn't enough to describe it so i made
it into two words, OVERWHELMINGLY INSPIRING.

Voice of the Youth (VOTY) got a lot of volunteers
coming from different parts of the country and
different youth organizations. We have delegations
from as far as Cagayan Valley in the north, and
Tawi-tawi and Jolo, Sulu in the south. It's a
convergence. Hardwork, initiative and dedication
were all among the volunteers. They did that
in the name of youth service and advocacy to bring
positive change to the youth.

What's also amazing is that all the speakers such
as Senators Manny Villar and Richard Gordon,
Cong. Juan Miguel Zubiri, Businessman and Public
Speaker Mr. Francis Kong, PLDT Exec VP, Butch
Jimenez, GMA7's Arnold Clavio, NYC Commissioner Mark
Castrodes and all the Kapuso artists who
performed, like Dennis Trillo, Karylle, Jolina
Magdangal, Sherwin Ordonez and Biboy Ramirez, XY
Kids and Ghost 13 and Slapshock were there as
volunteers as well, for FREE. As what Emsie said,
a million thanks to Ms. Maybeline Dela Cruz for
making that possible. She's a VOTY member too.
They truly supported the cause, the youth.

More than 6,000 individuals came for the two day
event, truly the biggest and the premier youth
event of the year. Youth Power 2005 is only the
beginning of hopefully, a daily dedication and
commitment for all of us. See you in Youth Power
2006.

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It all started with a dream of Pocholo Gonzales
with Ian Barcelona and Lloyd Luna as well. And
this coming into reality was made possible in
partnership with Ms. Anna Bacani-Lacsamana's Next
Step Events Planner... It is really a dream come
true...

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Lionel C. Gonzaga
President and CIO, PAGEPORT, Inc.
Homepage: www.lionelgonzaga.com
MSN: lion_me@hotmail.com
YM: lgtech09
ICQ: 245-461-299
Mobile: +639167212361
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Voice Of The Youth Network
ICT - Web Development Group
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Contributor, YEHEY.COM

2005-02-07T07:25:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

Youth Power 05 was amazingly and
overwhelmingly successful. Hopefully we could tell
you guys more how it went this coming days thru
our posts.It was a dream realized that i'm sure
would inspire everyone, leaders and movers alike,
especially young people.

VOTY got enough volunteers to add those who
came from other organizations and we couldn't
have made it without their hard work, initiative and
dedication. VOTY, aside from members and
officers, got around 50 volunteers from different
orgs like UP FLIPP and Red Cross Youth.
Actually, the new volunteers got their assignments
on the afternoon before the event. Some of them
who came, either for a single day or the two-day
event, got their task before the program started. It
was quite spontaneous for the new volunteers but
overall, it went well. They got free food and Youth
Power T-shirt =). Committees were usherettes,
marshalls, registration, food, production, program,
media and documentation. Even the program
hosts/emcees were volunteers. What's also
amazing is that all the speakers such as Senators
Manny Villar and Richard Gordon, Cong. Juan
Miguel Zubiri, Businessman and Speaker Mr.
Francis Kong, Arnold Clavio, NYC Commissioner
Mark Castrodes and all the artists who performed,
like Jolina Magdangal and Slapshock
were there as volunteers as well, for FREE. A
million thanks to Ms. Maybelyn dela Cruz for
making that possible. They truly supported the
cause, the youth.

Overall, More than 6000 individuals came for the
two day event, truly the biggest and the premier
youth event of the year. I hope you were able to
join us.

Thank you very much for your support. Youth
Power 2005 is only the beginning of hopefully, a
daily dedication and commitment for all of us.

----------
Reposted from Emsie
----------

2005-01-13T19:08:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK

Successful audio stories most often contain these elements -
Audio Elements
* 3-5 interviews that represent the breadth of your subject
· Recorded Narration that introduces you and your subject
· Five or more sounds that emphasize your subject
· Music – due to copyright laws we discourage the use of
pre-recorded commercial music. It is possible to use it for free
for educational purposes, but only in small doses. Rather, if you
want some background music for your program find some local musicians
to record. Make sure the music complements your story.

the CREATIVE PROCESS
For audio production the basic process can be outlined by working
through the question – What am I responding to?
That discussion leads us to then ISOLATE – EMPHASIZE – RECORD – and
then PRESENT the answer.

In AUDIO RECORDING we respond to the question by saying or thinking-
· I really want to hear that person's stories
· I have this idea I want to develop using interviews
· What a great natural or man-made sound. I want to save it.

The art of audio sound recording and radio production is one of
listening. The world is full of wonderful sound, including that of
the human voice as it tells a story or describes a thought. As you
listen for recording it is important to think in layers, remembering
that each sound, recorded separately, can later be layered with other
sounds and voices to create a sound collage. Narration, interviews,
music and sound effects are all recorded and gathered separately to be
assembled in the studio.

We ISOLATE in audio through microphone technique, getting as close as
we can to the source of sound. When possible various kinds of
microphones can be employed for specific purposes.
(audio process, cont'd)

We EMPHASIZE in audio when we produce the final edited program. A
sound will stand out when no other sounds surround it and a sound will
be de-emphasized if other sounds are layered with it or if its level
(recording volume) is reduced.

We RECORD in audio by proper use of the audio recorder and microphone.
To get a good recording it's important to eliminate all extraneous
sounds. When in someone's house or office that means to listen for
potential interference and to –
· unplug the phone, especially cell phones
· turn off all appliances including the TV in distant rooms
· close doors, curtains, and windows
· ask family or office personnel to remain quiet or leave!
· make sure that the microphone and mic cords are still, as their
movement creates
sound. In the wild or outdoors sound gathering often means waiting
for distracting
sounds to cease or pass.

Finally, we PRESENT by making a radio program that is shared via radio
broadcast, distributed to individuals or heard at an exhibit via a
listening station.
In Audio Recording we seek to create a smorgasbord of creative choices
through knowledge of and control over technical and compositional
elements so that we can all feast at the table of sound.

Audio Function
Success in audio recording comes from being comfortable with the
equipment, understanding how sound is recorded and produced, and by
always monitoring sound quality. Sound recording can enrich your
experience in the world because it will focus your hearing on the many
sounds that compose any given moment of a day. Be prepared to record
by –
· becoming familiar with the recorder and it's controls
· listening for sounds that DISTRACT (the fridge, TV, etc)
· writing down some important questions for your interview
Before venturing off into the field it is good to –
· check the battery level and take extras
· load your first disc and take extras
· make sure you have headphones (and that little jack) and microphone/with cord
· also have a notepad with your questions and release forms

Sound Composition

the Interview
Interviews are the most important element in our radio production and
their success is based on two things: 1)having good initial questions
to ask, and 2) listening, so that you can elicit more stories from
the interviewee. An interview is really a portrait of a person made
with their words. The most important skill in interviewing is to
listen while showing interest. A person who knows they are really
being listened to will be more comfortable telling stories and will
tell more. As interviewer your job is to ask initial questions, then
listen, then ask follow-up questions or through gesture elicit more
talking – all while keeping track of your recording quality.

Preparing to Interview
Upon entering a home or office to conduct an interview there are 4
procedures to follow.
1) Scan the room for distracting sounds that either need eliminated or reduced.
(TV, fridge, some forms of lights, pets, family, outdoor noises,
appliances, phone)

2) Find a suitable and comfortable place to conduct the interview. A
room with furniture and some drapes will create better sound than one
with plain hard walls.

3) While doing both of the above maintain a conversation with the
person you are interviewing. Let them listen through the headphones
as you turn sounds off. Be professional as you set up and you will
find that interviewees will take more ownership in your project. As
you set up explain what you are doing with the equipment and how the
project is coming together.

4) Place the recorder so you can see the recording level and your
notes. Put your ears (headphones) on. Place or hold the microphone
off to the side, ideally about 6-12 inches away from the person's
mouth. Handholding a microphone and doing this may put you too close
to them physically for personal comfort. Make sure the microphone is
aimed at the person's mouth. Do a sound check by having the person
say something and checking the Recording level.

Conducting an Interview
The most important part of conducting an interview, once your
equipment is set up is to keep the conversation moving by requesting
stories instead of one word or short phrase answers. Here are a few
other pointers.
· Keep the microphone on the person you are interviewing. Your
question will be heard
but since it's not part of the final production it is not
important, or even good technique,
to keep turning it towards you. Besides, it might make too much noise.

· Keep your voice off the other person's voice. Be careful NOT to
talk too soon after the
person has finished or to start talking before they are done. You
need a few seconds of
no sound before and after each answer so that you can edit the
tape. We normally
acknowledge another's comments by saying "yeah," "OK," "uh-huh," or
something like
that. For radio it is good technique to acknowledge what a person
is saying via a nod of
the head, a smile or something else that is nonverbal. Hand
gestures can indicate that
you want the person to tell you more.

· Record 30 seconds of ambient sound (room noise) after each interview.

Interview Questions
One of the more challenging and interesting parts of conducting an
interview is selecting and arranging a plan of questioning. It is
usually a good idea to start out with general questions and move to
the specific. It is also good to ask the person you are interviewing
to rephrase your question as part of their answer. Questions should
elicit story answers.

Here are a few questions to get an interview started –
· Please introduce yourself by stating your name and telling how you
came to live here.
· What is your role/job/position (in the community) and what are your
responsibilities?
· Describe how you came to be interested in this kind of work.
· What do you like about your kind of work?
· What do you like about our/your community? What makes it a good
place to live?
(name the community in your question and in their answer)
· Please describe an event or experience that relates to your work
that is particularly
interesting, intriguing or even funny.

For people with specific jobs (fireman, canal operator, etc)
· What special training is needed to do what you do?
· Please describe and define any special terms that apply to your work?
· Please describe a basic day at work.
· What is the relationship of your work to the community as a whole?
How does your
work fit into the makeup of the community?

For folk or fine artists.
· How did you get interested in your form of art? Who inspired you?
Did you have to
study, and if so, where?
· Please describe your creative process? When do you work? How do
ideas come to
you? Why do you choose to use the materials that you do? How do
you know when
you are done?
· How does the local landscape and community inspire your work?
· What are you trying to say or express in your work?

If you are gathering opinions on a particular topic or subject you
should be, first, a little familiar with the subject, and second, you
should hold off on your personal opinions.

The key to getting "good tape" as they say in the industry, is to
conduct your interview in a way that elicits stories and elongated
answers. Use the "talkwith" approach where you elicit stories by
saying "tell me about…….what's the story of….." etc.
The final big point is to NOT ask questions in such a way that you get
only a yes/no answer. Such as "do you like…..?"

Going Further
Inside of each question you have prepared are more stories and
questions. Listen to the answer and they will come out. Inside of
each question are more stories and interesting information. Listen.
Allow the current story/answer to end and then you can say something
like "That was interesting. Could tell me more about_______."
You are collecting important stories and history. Conduct an
interview that extends on beyond the goal of your project. Tape is
cheap. Stories are priceless. When done, ask if there's anything
else they want to add, say thanks and get the permission on tape for
you to use their recording. You can do this by asking, "May I have
your permission to use this recording for my project?"

Gathering Sound Effects
Sound effects serve to enrich a radio production. They help paint an
aural and visual image of your subject. When placed at the end of an
important comment a well chosen sound effect acts like an exclamation
mark. What are the sounds of your subject? What sounds do you hear
in the words of your interviews? What sounds are natural? Which do
you need to create? Listen to your interviews and your own idea for
good sound.

Example: Your interviewee says, "I remember growing up on our farm
hearing the rooster crow in the morning and the sound of bacon frying
for breakfast. Later in the morning we'd go milk the cows and come
evening we'd sit on the porch and listen to the distant birds as
grandpa told stories as he rocked back and forth in his creaking old
chair."
Imbedded in each and every story are wonderful sounds that, when
layered into the production can give life to the story. In this
example one could gather and use many sounds (highlighted).

Some sounds occur naturally on their own time. These include birds,
water, animals, rain on the roof. Others can be created or
controlled. These include a car starting, a door closing, someone
walking in dry leaves. Both require the same technique. Think of
sound effects as another interview. To interview a lake, river, door
or waterfall you must
· Listen for any distracting sounds and WAIT for them to pass or cease.
· Place your microphone close to the sound source.
· Check your recorder controls and audio levels
· Keep the microphone still
· Record several seconds of no sound before and after sound effect.
· It is also good practice to give a voice cue….."waterfall take 1"
for each sound effect.
This will make it easier to find when editing.

2005-01-13T17:46:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

Introduction

"We can convince all the youth around us that we have to be heard so new ideas can come out … and we have to show the children what their rights are, so if any violations happen, they will know." Participant from Sudan, Voices of Youth online chat, November 2002

Effective communication is essential to bringing about change, and communication with and between young people has a special part to play.

There are several reasons for this. Firstly, young people tend to be more willing than older people to change their behaviour. Secondly, changes in the behaviour of young people are likely to make the most difference in the future, because young people have the most future! Last but not least, young people are the best communicators with other young people.

There are many different ways of getting your message across, and the best approach depends on what you are trying to achieve. These pages provide an introduction to different communication methods, explain the special characteristics and advantages of each and offer a practical guide to using them.

Letters

Letters are a good way of asking for information and telling decision-makers and other influential people what you think.

Nowadays most of the people you may want to write to will have an e-mail address. But e-mails are very easy to ignore, so it is probably still best to make at least the first approach with a formal letter.

This page contains a few tips for writing letters as well as some examples of different sorts of letters you may find useful.
General tips

Here are some tips that will apply to all your letters.

* Type your letter if you can. If this is not possible, write it out neatly.
* Include the full name, title and address of the recipient. Try to identify an individual to write to — you may be able to do this via a website or by phoning an organization's main public enquiry number.
* Include the date, and a full address for a reply, as well as a phone number and e-mail address if you have them.
* Keep the content brief and focused. It is normally a good idea to stick to one issue per letter — you are unlikely to get a useful response if you write an essay on all the world's problems, however brilliant your analysis may be!
* Always be polite and respectful, and use the standard polite forms of address and signing off in your country, or the country of the recipient if different from your own.
* Ask someone to check your spelling and grammar.
* Keep a copy of all your letters (write out another copy if necessary) so you have a record of whom you have contacted, when, and exactly what you said.

Letter template

You could base your letters on the following template:

(Your group's name)
Your full address
Your phone number
Your e-mail address

Date

Recipient's name
Recipient's organization
Recipient's full address

Dear Sir or Madam (or preferably Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms./or the appropriate form of address for that country. Name, if you know the name.)

My name is ________ and I am __ years old.

(If applicable) I belong to / My friends and I have set up the _______ group, which aims to ________ (include your mission statement or otherwise sum up your overall goals here. We have already _________. (Keep this brief, but mention any former projects to encourage the recipient to take you seriously. For example, an AIDS Awareness Club might say something like: "We have already held a series of school-based discussion groups on protecting yourself from HIV." You could also include an important background fact in this paragraph, for example, on the subject of education, "We are driven by the knowledge that more than 121 million children of primary-school age are not in school, including _____ in our region.")

I am writing to you because (see below for tips on the content of various types of letters) _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to consider my/our letter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Sign your name

Print or type your name

For a template, print out this Word document.

Content

Asking for information or resources: If you are looking for general information, ask organizations if they have an information pack for young people. Otherwise, try to be as precise as you can about the information you want. For example:

I am writing to you because I/we are researching the subject of child labour in ________ (country/community). I/we would like to know if you have information about how many children below the age of 12 are involved in any economic activity, and how many other children are involved in work that may interfere with their education? Also, could you tell us exactly what our country's laws are on child labour?

I am writing to you because I/we are planning a series of community activities to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS and wondered if you have information fact sheets or booklets that we can distribute.

Writing to officials: If you are writing to a public official to give your views on a given issue it is important to show you have a good understanding of the subject, but as always, keep it brief and make sure you get your facts right. Do not be afraid to say why you care about this issue or to include personal experience if it is relevant. You should also include any suggestions you have for solutions to the problem — but do so respectfully. Ask the official about their own views and what action they are planning.

For example:

I am writing to you because I am very worried about the commercial sexual exploitation of children. I have read about this subject on UNICEF's website and in the press and I have also personally met a girl aged 15 who was offered a 'job' that turned out to involve sex.

It is terrible to think of people my own age whose lives are being ruined in this way. I know that young people have a right to be protected from abuse both under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and under the laws of our own country.

May I respectfully suggest two possible steps that might help with this problem? Firstly, to take more action to work with street children to find a solution, and secondly to set up a special force to track down the people who are behind the exploitation?

I would be very grateful if you would let me know your thoughts and proposals on this issue.

Writing to the media: writing to a newspaper, magazine, radio station or other media outlet can be a good way of expressing your views and raising awareness (see also Using the Media). Most local and national newspapers publish relevant letters from readers, and radio stations may have a programme dedicated to airing listeners' views. But there is a lot of competition for such outlets, so do not be disappointed if your letter is not chosen the first time you write. Contact details for readers' or listeners' letters are normally given on the relevant letters pages or at the beginning of a publication, at the beginning or end of a programme, and/or on the outlet’s website. Address your letter 'To the editor' or 'To the producer' and then give the name of the publication or programme (in this case, it is not usual to use the person's name even if you know it).

If you are responding to a particular article or programme (and this will make it more likely that your letter will be used), give the date of the article or programme and the headline or title. As always, keep your letter brief and to the point, get your facts right, and express yourself as well as you can — it is always a good idea to ask someone else with good writing skills to read over what you have written, even if you are a good writer yourself. Include personal experiences and opinions, or try to find some other original approach to the subject.

For example:

I am writing in response to your article "Schools face funding cuts" on ________ (give exact date).

This is bad news for all students, but I wonder if you and your readers have considered the special implications for girls. Among 'developing' countries, including our own, 62.9 million girls are recorded as being out of school, as compared to 54.4 million boys. My friends and I conducted a survey that showed that nearly --% of girls in our local area are not regularly attending school. Any cut in resources is bound to make this situation worse.

I believe that giving all children an education should be a top priority. Until girls and women take their place as educated and valued members of our communities, our country will not only be denying a fundamental human right, but wasting a vital resource. No real success or development can be achieved with only half the population participating and contributing.

Remember to use the correct form for all your letters (see the Letter template).

Public speaking

Public speaking is a good way of getting your views and message across at meetings, special events and other gatherings.

It can be difficult to stand up and speak in front of other people. But this is an important skill if you want to get your message across.
Preparation

If you are going to deliver a set speech at an event or meeting, you should have time to prepare it word for word. Make sure you do the necessary research, and keep it fairly brief so you do not bore your audience (20 minutes should generally be quite long enough). You should also make sure to take into consideration who your audience is and what their interests are. Then use the following tips on structure and content.

In the introduction:

* If it is your event, thank people for coming.
* Introduce yourself (give your name, age, group name and school if applicable).
* Introduce the issue that you are going to discuss.
* Try to grab your audience's attention straight away with a dramatic fact, statistic or a real life story.
* Give a very brief outline of what your speech will cover and why the issue is important to you.

In the main body of the speech:

* Make your content as concise and lively as you can, including examples involving real people. You could include an interesting or funny story that you have read about, or about something that has happened to you or someone you know. But beware trying to be funny about a sad subject or trying to make jokes if you are not comfortable with it. Try ideas out on other people first.
* Always bear your audience in mind. For example, you can be more informal if you are talking only to other young people than if your audience includes teachers, officials or other adults.
* Include vital facts from your research illustrating your main points.
* Say what you think should be done about the issue and what you and/or your group are trying to do.
* Say what you think the impact of these actions will be – and what the consequences are of not taking action.

In the conclusion:

* Sum up your main points.
* Explain how members of the audience can get involved.
* Say you will try to answer questions from members of the audience afterwards (if applicable).
* Thank people for listening.

Delivery

* Here are a few tips on delivering a speech successfully:
* Always memorize your speech! This will make it seem more spontaneous and allow you to make eye contact. Make a list of your main points to help you if you get stuck.
* Try to relax and not fidget.
* Speak slowly, loudly and clearly.
* Look at your audience.
* Do not be afraid of showing that you feel deeply about the issue. Your enthusiasm and commitment will inspire others.
* Practise giving your speech in front of a mirror to see how you look and how it sounds.

Contributing to a discussion

Many of the tips on delivering a speech are also relevant to taking part in a discussion at a meeting or other event. If you know what the subject of the discussion is in advance, you can prepare exactly what you want to say, although the content should be much briefer. If you decide to make a spontaneous contribution during the course of a meeting or event, you can still try to work out what you will say in your head while someone else is speaking.

Events

"We have to work from within and not wait for other people to do everything." Youth from Peru

You can take advantage of special events at school or in the community to spread your message. Ask for permission to display posters, distribute fact sheets and pamphlets, and perhaps even have a stall with games and prizes. You can also use events as an opportunity to engage people in discussion and pass on information in person.

Organizing your own event may be even more effective, but it will involve a lot of effort and organization: see Planning Projects.

Here are just a few ideas for events at which you can raise awareness and communicate information, whether or not you organize them yourself:

* Rallies and fairs: these are (you hope!) large gatherings with lots of stalls, activities and games.
* Walks and marches: organized walks and marches are another good way of attracting attention. You can carry posters or banners and hand out information leaflets. You could also arrange a sponsored walk to raise funds.
* Concerts: stage your own or ask for permission to hand out material at public concerts.
* Sports events: many successful groups use sports as a focal point for activities
* Theatrical events: short dramas, comedy sketches and puppet shows are a good way of communicating information without boring people!

Posters and leaflets
Poster for the Take Control initiative, Namibia
Posters

Posters are a simple but effective way of publicizing events and communicating important messages to the public at large. They can be displayed at special events and at school or in the community.

Larger organizations involved in the issue you have chosen may have posters that you can use for public information. If you decide to create your own, try to make them attractive and easy to read, with appropriate pictures or graphics and one simple, memorable message in large lettering that will attract attention. You can also include more detailed information in smaller lettering, as in the HIV-awareness poster featured here. If you are making your own information posters, get them checked by someone who has expertise in the subject — someone who works or volunteers in a non-governmental organization or public office, for example, or a teacher. Remember to include contact information for your group.

Think carefully about where you will put up your posters — try to find a location where lots of people will pass by but where they will not get lost in the crowd.
Flyers

Flyers — simple leaflets that you hand out to announce events — are also simple, direct and effective. Make sure you include all the necessary information and do not make mistakes. (It is a good idea to ask more than one person to check any written material intended for distribution.)

To be effective, flyers need to be distributed widely. You can hand out flyers in the street, distribute them door to door or leave piles of them in suitable locations, for example in a community hall.

Take a look at Voices of Youth's flyer in either Word or PDF.

Fact sheets and pamphlets

Information fact sheets and pamphlets are a good way of communicating detailed information, but they can be expensive to produce, and you need to make absolutely sure you get your facts right and express the information clearly. Again, larger organizations may well have developed suitable printed material that you can use. If you decide you want to develop your own, as with posters, you should consult suitable non-governmental organizations or public offices for advice, and try to find someone who is qualified to act as a consultant.

2005-01-13T17:41:00.000-08:00

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Introduction

"My suggestion is to become a doer instead of just a hearer. And things can be done. A doer hears and accepts the need for action, working towards the common goal of the people and their concerns."

The state of the world is such that there are an awful lot of things to be done. There are also many different approaches.

If you would like to become a doer, this section aims to help you take the first steps:

* to identify the issues that matter to you most;
* to inform yourself about those issues;
* to think about the sort of action you want to take and the level at which you want to be involved — local, national, global, or a combination.

hoosing your issue

"We are the world’s children.We are the victims of exploitation and abuse. We are street children.We are the children of war. We are the victims and orphans of HIV/AIDS. We are denied good-quality education and health care. We are victims of political, economic, cultural, religious and environmental discrimination. We are children whose voices are not being heard: it is time we are taken into account. From the Children's Forum at the UN Special Session on Children

Being affected by a particular issue, or feeling strongly about it, is usually the reason why people want to take action. So you may not need help with finding a 'cause'.

On the other hand, action needs a sharp focus to be effective, so the first thing you may want to do is assess your priorities (figure out what is most important to you). For example, it is hard to take effective action on an issue as broad as global poverty. There are so many causes and so many consequences. It is better to concentrate on a specific issue connected to poverty, such as child labour, education, homelessness, right to play, emergencies and HIV and AIDS. Then you could select a particular aspect of one of these issues. Just to give a few examples:

Education: discrimination against girls in education

Homelessness: children living on city streets

Child labour: children working long hours in your country

Right to play: children not having a space to play sport

Emergencies: children needing support and care during an emergency

HIV: lack of information about the virus and how to keep yourself safe

Doing your research is an essential step in deciding exactly what you want to work on and what specific action you will take.

Doing your research

"If we gain a greater understanding of what we face, we can face it better. 'Know your enemy' and all that!" Youth from Canada, Voices of Youth message board
Children walk past housing shelters
© UNICEF/HQ99-0324/Horner
Members of the Children’s Movement for Peace in Colombia walk past shelters housing people made homeless by an earthquake.

Research is a crucial part of deciding on which issue you want to take action. And once you have made your decision, you will probably want to investigate the subject in more depth. The more you know about your issue, the more effective your action is likely to be. Here are some of the questions you should think about:

* Who is affected, directly and indirectly?
o Is there a particular group that is vulnerable, for example girls, or a particular age-group?
o How does the issue or problem affect the wider community?
* Where do the people who are affected live?
o Is this a global, regional, national, or local problem, or a combination?
* How are people affected?
o Which rights are being violated?
o How does this issue change/impact people's lives? Negatively and positively.
o Does anyone, or any group, benefit from the situation as it is?
* Why are people affected?
o What is the underlying cause of the problem? In other words, what other factors — such as poverty, lack of school books, unemployment, or lack of access to clean water, to give just a few examples — may be partly responsible?
o What are the reasons why this group or groups of people are affected more than others?
* What can be done?
o What solutions have been suggested or tried?
o What seems to work best, or what do you think might work best?
o Who is in a position to make decisions to bring about change?
o Who is preventing change?
o What is the most effective action that you could take to improve the situation?

There is a lot of information out there, and much of it is readily available, especially if you have access to the Internet — which you clearly do! But in some cases, and particularly if you are concerned with what is happening locally, you may need to do some more active detective work. Here are some ideas about where you can look for information and how you can try to make sure that information can be trusted.

Non-governmental organizations, schools and universities, governments, local institutions and businesses all have a wide range of published information that could be useful. Sources include:

Printed material: newspapers, books, magazines and journals. If you have access to a library or youth centre, where many of these resources should be available for free, use it!

Websites: these days there are online versions of vast quantities of material that were traditionally only available in print, as well as a huge range of information specially created for the World Wide Web.

Other media: news programmes, documentaries and even dramatizations on radio or television, or at the cinema or on video, can all be useful.

As well as using information that is publicly available, you could contact people and organizations and ask questions directly. This can be very helpful, because you can focus on specific questions. For example, you could try:

* contacting corporations and local businesses;
* contacting national and local government representatives;
* talking to teachers, parent/guardians and other relations, and community leaders;
* talking to other young people;
* carrying out your own surveys and interviews;
* contacting local organizations, groups and religious institutions.

Remember that locally based research may be the most useful for practical action in your community. For example, although it is a good idea to inform yourself about the global situation concerning such issues as HIV and AIDS, education, or access to clean water, it may be more practical and helpful to know that local families affected by HIV need help with chores, or that young children need supervision on the journey to school, or that there is a load of rotting rubbish near your water supply!
Assessing information sources

Unfortunately, you cannot believe everything you read, hear or see. Organizations, institutions and individuals tend to have goals and beliefs that affect what information they choose to present and how they present it. Even sources that aim to give all sides of an argument may distort the truth because of such factors as limited resources (so they may not know all the facts), editorial values (for example, the desire to make a story exciting or relevant to a local audience) or unconscious bias, or because they simply made mistakes!

This does not mean that research is pointless and that it cannot help you get closer to the truth. But it does mean that you should:

* use a variety of sources to cross-check facts and conclusions, and to give you all sides of the argument;
* always bear in mind who is providing information. In particular, ask yourself:
o Who is financing or sponsoring this source?
o What qualifications do the authors have? Have you heard of them?
o Who is the information aimed at?
o Do the authors and sponsors have specific interests/goals/beliefs/experiences that might influence the way in which they present information?
o Where do the authors get their facts and how reliable are the sources of those facts?
o How up-to-date is the information?

The numbers game

Statistics are often used to support an argument or position. But judging their reliability is itself difficult. Statistics can be chosen and interpreted to support particular points of view. To some extent you can judge the reliability of facts by the reputation of the source and the breadth of the investigation. A large-scale survey by a top university, for example, would carry more weight than a small survey carried out by the supporters of a specific campaign. If you can find out how and from whom the statistics were collected, this will also help you determine how reliable they are. For example, a survey that only interviews men will yield very different results to one that interviews both men and women.

If you want specific local figures and you find they are not available, you could conduct your own survey.
The wild web

The Internet has made a vast amount of information instantly available to anyone with access to the World Wide Web. However, for the very reason that there is such a variety of information online, and because it is so easy for anyone to set up a website, you need to be especially careful when you are assessing Internet sources. All the questions in Assessing Information above are relevant, but it is particularly important that you ask yourself who is really behind the information on the website. Is it just an individual or a small campaigning group? Who backs or funds the site? If the status of the information providers is not clear and easy to check, beware!

Doing your research

"If we gain a greater understanding of what we face, we can face it better. 'Know your enemy' and all that!"

Research is a crucial part of deciding on which issue you want to take action. And once you have made your decision, you will probably want to investigate the subject in more depth. The more you know about your issue, the more effective your action is likely to be. Here are some of the questions you should think about:

* Who is affected, directly and indirectly?
o Is there a particular group that is vulnerable, for example girls, or a particular age-group?
o How does the issue or problem affect the wider community?
* Where do the people who are affected live?
o Is this a global, regional, national, or local problem, or a combination?
* How are people affected?
o Which rights are being violated?
o How does this issue change/impact people's lives? Negatively and positively.
o Does anyone, or any group, benefit from the situation as it is?
* Why are people affected?
o What is the underlying cause of the problem? In other words, what other factors — such as poverty, lack of school books, unemployment, or lack of access to clean water, to give just a few examples — may be partly responsible?
o What are the reasons why this group or groups of people are affected more than others?
* What can be done?
o What solutions have been suggested or tried?
o What seems to work best, or what do you think might work best?
o Who is in a position to make decisions to bring about change?
o Who is preventing change?
o What is the most effective action that you could take to improve the situation?

Finding information

There is a lot of information out there, and much of it is readily available, especially if you have access to the Internet — which you clearly do! But in some cases, and particularly if you are concerned with what is happening locally, you may need to do some more active detective work. Here are some ideas about where you can look for information and how you can try to make sure that information can be trusted.

Non-governmental organizations, schools and universities, governments, local institutions and businesses all have a wide range of published information that could be useful. Sources include:

Printed material: newspapers, books, magazines and journals. If you have access to a library or youth centre, where many of these resources should be available for free, use it!

Websites: these days there are online versions of vast quantities of material that were traditionally only available in print, as well as a huge range of information specially created for the World Wide Web.

Other media: news programmes, documentaries and even dramatizations on radio or television, or at the cinema or on video, can all be useful.

As well as using information that is publicly available, you could contact people and organizations and ask questions directly. This can be very helpful, because you can focus on specific questions. For example, you could try:

* contacting corporations and local businesses;
* contacting national and local government representatives;
* talking to teachers, parent/guardians and other relations, and community leaders;
* talking to other young people;
* carrying out your own surveys and interviews;
* contacting local organizations, groups and religious institutions.

Remember that locally based research may be the most useful for practical action in your community. For example, although it is a good idea to inform yourself about the global situation concerning such issues as HIV and AIDS, education, or access to clean water, it may be more practical and helpful to know that local families affected by HIV need help with chores, or that young children need supervision on the journey to school, or that there is a load of rotting rubbish near your water supply!
Assessing information sources

Unfortunately, you cannot believe everything you read, hear or see. Organizations, institutions and individuals tend to have goals and beliefs that affect what information they choose to present and how they present it. Even sources that aim to give all sides of an argument may distort the truth because of such factors as limited resources (so they may not know all the facts), editorial values (for example, the desire to make a story exciting or relevant to a local audience) or unconscious bias, or because they simply made mistakes!

This does not mean that research is pointless and that it cannot help you get closer to the truth. But it does mean that you should:

* use a variety of sources to cross-check facts and conclusions, and to give you all sides of the argument;
* always bear in mind who is providing information. In particular, ask yourself:
o Who is financing or sponsoring this source?
o What qualifications do the authors have? Have you heard of them?
o Who is the information aimed at?
o Do the authors and sponsors have specific interests/goals/beliefs/experiences that might influence the way in which they present information?
o Where do the authors get their facts and how reliable are the sources of those facts?
o How up-to-date is the information?

The numbers game

Statistics are often used to support an argument or position. But judging their reliability is itself difficult. Statistics can be chosen and interpreted to support particular points of view. To some extent you can judge the reliability of facts by the reputation of the source and the breadth of the investigation. A large-scale survey by a top university, for example, would carry more weight than a small survey carried out by the supporters of a specific campaign. If you can find out how and from whom the statistics were collected, this will also help you determine how reliable they are. For example, a survey that only interviews men will yield very different results to one that interviews both men and women.

If you want specific local figures and you find they are not available, you could conduct your own survey.
The wild web

The Internet has made a vast amount of information instantly available to anyone with access to the World Wide Web. However, for the very reason that there is such a variety of information online, and because it is so easy for anyone to set up a website, you need to be especially careful when you are assessing Internet sources. All the questions in Assessing Information above are relevant, but it is particularly important that you ask yourself who is really behind the information on the website. Is it just an individual or a small campaigning group? Who backs or funds the site? If the status of the information providers is not clear and easy to check, beware!

Sample survey
The School Attendance Survey

Our group, Kids in School, is carrying out a survey about school attendance in our local area. Please take a few moments to answer the questions. We hope the information will help our campaign to make sure all children get an education, which is their right under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

All information will be anonymous.

Thank you for taking part in our survey!

Please circle the answers you choose clearly.

1. What is your gender?
Male / Female

2. What is your age?
under 10 / 10-13 / 14-16 / 17-19 / over 19

3. Are you in full-time education?
Yes / No

4. Are you in part-time education?
Yes / No

5. Do you sometimes have to miss school because of other commitments?
No, never / Very occasionally / Occasionally / Quite frequently / Frequently

6. If you are of school age but you are not in school, or you sometimes have to miss school, what is/are the main reason/s? (circle more than one option if appropriate)
Cost of school / Problems getting to school / Helping at home / Doing other work / Marriage / Parents do not think school is worth while

7. Do you think all boys should be at school?
Yes / No / Depends on the circumstances

8. Do you think all girls should be at school?
Yes / No / Depends on the circumstances

9. Would you be interested in supporting our campaign to get more girls and boys into school?
Yes / No / Maybe

Return to:
Address
Choosing your approach

"Society has to change. The change must come from people, not just governments." Sandra, 15, Mexico, speaking at the Children's Forum of the United Nations Special Session on Children, May 2002

Once you have chosen your issue and done some research, the next step is to decide what sort of approach you want to take. This page outlines some options. But remember that you do not necessarily have to choose between them. A combination of approaches may also be possible.
Individual or group?

Firstly, you need to decide whether you want to act as an individual or as part of a group.

Be a role model: Large-scale change involves individuals changing the way they behave. So making sure your own behaviour is in line with your aims and beliefs is a good starting-point. If you show the strength of your beliefs in the way you live, you can become a role-model: your commitment and confidence will influence and inspire others.

Help others in your community: Another good starting-point for individual action is simply to help out where you can in your family and community. As an individual you could also plan your own project or campaign. Or you could concentrate on spreading the word by talking to young people and other members of the community, or using any of the approaches to raising awareness and making your views known described in Communication. Passing on important information is one of the most effective forms of action.

Come together: Much can be done as an individual. But there is undoubtedly strength in numbers. If you want to join forces with other like-minded people, one option is to support or join an existing national or international organization. Such organizations may have programmes or campaigns involving young people, such as peer-education programmes (in which young people receive training to pass on information to others in their age-group).

Alternatively, if there is one, you could join a school, community or other local group working in your chosen field.

If there is not an existing group, you could form your own group or club to take action. This would give you and other members more control over the aims of the group and how it carries them out, but bear in mind that this option requires a lot of work and a long-term commitment.
Local, national, or international?

Whether or not you are acting as an individual or as part of a group, action can be taken on many different levels: local, national and international. UNICEF, for example, works on all three levels:

* internationally, as a forum for decision-making and setting goals for protecting children's rights;
* nationally, on country-wide campaigns and programmes in cooperation with governments and non-governmental organizations;
* locally, with local government, community and other voluntary groups, on specific projects aiming to make a difference to people's – and children’s – daily lives.

Similarly, an individual or small local group can try to help influence policy and action at the national and even international levels, or they can focus on a specific local problem.

Whatever the direction you choose, working out your goals and exactly how you will try to reach them is crucial. So the next step is Getting organized.

2005-01-11T00:58:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

2 0 2 0
s h a r e
y o u r
v i s
i o
n

200 youth from all over the Philippines

5 exciting workshops on sustainable development

3 intensive days of dialogue and interaction with leaders in business,
government, academe and civil society

ATENEO-HARVARD PROJECT for ASIAN and IINTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (HPAIR) UNION

Vision 2020: On the Path to a Sustainable Future National Conference
for Youth 2005

January 14-16, 2005; Ateneo de Manila University Campus

HPAIR is an official international student organization from Harvard
University formed in 1992 with the primary mission of fostering
international exchange and dialogue on political, economic and social
issues that impact the Asia-Pacific region. To date, HPAIR has
organized thirteen (13) annual conferences to bring together top
university students, professors, business leaders, and renowed
statesmen to dialogue on global issues. Past speakers at our
conferences include South Korean President Kim Young Sam, Governor
General of Australia Peter Hollingworth, Singapore President S.R.
Nathan and
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

As the world's first HPAIR network club, the Ateneo-HPAIR Union prides
itself in being part of a diverse network of HPAIR clubs in Germany,
France, Japan, South Korea, etc.
The Ateneo HPAIR Union provides a national avenue for intellectual and
cross-cultural exchange primarily in the form of national conferences
to harness Filipino youth leadership in sustainable development.
Last year, the first Ateneo-HPAIR National Conference brought
together 100 top students for Vision 2020: Designing the Blueprint to
Philippine Sustainable Development.
The national conference was successful in providing a venue for youth
to interact with renowned trailblazers such as business leaders like
Johnip Cua, President of Proctor and Gamble, Emily Abrera from McCann
Erickson, political thinkers such as Senator Leticia Ramos Shahani,
grassroots development workers, environmentalists such as Dr. Sixto
Roxas, government officials and academicians from top research tanks.

The organization intends to continue its mission, raise the level of
discussion and prestige of the National HPAIR Conference for
Philippine Sustainable Development, and envision it to be in the
Philippines what the Annual Global HPAIR Conference is to Asia: a
gathering of the best ideas on development and democratic thought
among the youth.

Our 5 simultaneous workshops will focus on 5 exciting and cutting-edge
topics on a different perspectives to sustainability, with 3 executive
sessions and 1 plenary each:

Politics - Good Governance and Reform: Shaping Change for a Better Future

Society â€“ Social Transformation: Fostering the Empowerment of Civil Society

Economics â€“ Integrating Social and Economic Development: The Key to
Poverty Eradication

Business â€“ Corporate Social Responsibility: Investments for a Sustainable Future

Environment, Science & Technology â€“ Nurturing Human & Environmental
Health: Improving Technology, Lifestyles & Access

Application form, program and schedule attached.
Rolling applications prioritize early

applicants. Extended deadline for application due to requests on
January 5, 2005.

Application forms will be forwarded to corporate partners for
job recruitment

o opportunities after VISION 2020.

For inquiries, contact 09175412292 or e-mail
hpairnatl@yahoo.com

2005-01-11T00:51:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

2nd NOTICE ON THE SELECTION
OF ORGANIZATION FOR THE
NAPC YOUTH AND STUDENTS
SECTORAL ASSEMBLY

Dear Fellow Youth Leaders:

Greetings of Peace and Solidarity!

Pursuant to the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 8425: The
Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act, we would like to inform
you that we are now in the process of reconstituting the membership
of the NAPC Youth and Student Sector through the 2nd Sectoral
Assembly scheduled later this year.

The Sectoral Assembly is currently being organized to facilitate the
formation of the Sectoral Council composed of 15 to 25 sectoral
leaders for the term 2005-2008 and will be responsible for coming up
with a consensus on anti-poverty programs and policies affecting the
Youth and Student Sector.

Since the Sectoral Assembly seeks to achieve the broadest
representation and participation of the Youth and Student Sector in
the government's anti-poverty efforts, we are conducting a selection
process for the membership of organization to the Sectoral Assembly.

The present Sectoral Council, acting as Preparatory Committee, based
on the following criteria, shall determine the membership of
organization to the Sectoral Assembly:

1. Nature of Organization. Must come from independent
organization, coalition, federation, alliance or network.

2. Base of Operation. Operating either at the national,
regional, provincial, city or municipal level or community and school-
based organizations involved in poverty related programs and projects.

3. Track Record.

Has at least 2 to 3 years track record, duly recognized and
registered with SEC, CDA and other accrediting bodies of National
Government Agencies (NGAs) and/or recognized by credible and
established Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), People's
Organization and/or Religious Institutions working for the Basic
Sector.

Has an Active Participation in advocating and lobbying for the
legislative/executive and/or program agenda of the basic sector and
with concrete achievement in terms of sectoral gains.

Preferably with a strong sectoral and/or cross-sectoral agenda and
with awards/recognition received for their significant participation
and work for the benefit of the basic sector.

4. Representing different perspectives and persuasions as well
as inculcate gender concerns in the organization.

If your organization is qualified base on the said criteria, we urge
you to apply in the 2nd NAPC Youth and Student Sectoral Assembly by
submitting the following requirements:

1. Letter of Intent to Participate in the 2nd NAPC Youth and
Student Sectoral Assembly signed by Head of the organization or it's
authorized officer;

2. Certificate of Registration coming from recognized National
Government Agencies and/or endorsement from established Non-
Government Organization, People's Organization or Religious
Institution stating that your organization has been existing for the
last two (2) to three (3) years and has been active in social reform
and poverty alleviation work.

Endorsement from NGO-PO and/or Religious Institution must be printed
in the official letterhead and must reflect complete contact details.

3. Accomplished Application Form for the 2nd NAPC Youth and
Student Sector Assembly;

4. Other requirements deemed necessary by NAPC Youth and Student
Sectoral Council.

Application for the 2nd NAPC Youth and Student Sectoral Assembly must
be submitted on or before 25 JANUARY 2005 at the following address:

NAPC Youth and Student Sector
Department of Interior and Local Government
3/F Francisco Gold Building, Mapagmahal Street
cor. EDSA, Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City, 1100

National Anti-Poverty Commission
Youth and Student Sector
3/F ATI Building,Department of Agriculture
Elliptical Road, Quezon City, 1100

For more information, you can contact any members of the NAPC Youth
and Student Sectoral Council in your respective regions or e-mail the
undersigned at gari.lazaro@lycos.com.

In solidarity,

GARRY R. LAZARO
Sectoral Representative
Youth and Student Sector

=======

2005-01-11T00:46:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE YOUTH NETWORK BLOGGER

Fil-Am youth program
accepting applications
By INQ7.net

INTERESTED parties have until Jan. 14 to submit their applications to the Filipino American Youth Leaders Fellowship Program, which will be held from June 24-Aug. 19, 2005. This is an eight-week summer work program for Filipino-Americans who want to contribute to social development in the Philippines through firsthand exposure, experience and action.

Fifteen to 20 fellows will be chosen to participate in the program in the Philippines, which will include:

· A series of workshops on Filipino culture and history, with visits to selected sites of historical and cultural interest
· A meaningful, relevant work program with a host educational institution, a non-government organization, or a government agency. Fellows will be housed with a Filipino host family in their areas of assignment.
· Documentation by the fellow to enable him/her to impart the experience to other Fil-Ams in the US
· Fellows, upon their return to the US, are expected to extend their fellowship by engaging in activities benefiting the program and the host organizations.

Program cost

The total cost for the program is $1,200, excluding airfare and related expenses. Full and partial scholarships will be available for a selected number of deserving applicants.

Timeline

Application Deadline January 14, 2005
Selection Interviews February 7 to March 7, 2005
Notification of Fellows March 31, 2005
Program Dates June 24 to August 19, 2005

Application information

The fellowship program seeks bright, self-motivated individuals of Filipino heritage, who are proven and emerging leaders committed to ethical and effective leadership.

· Preferably 18 to 25 years of age
· Strong academic performance
· Good communication and interpersonal skills
· Strong personal initiative and motivation
· Desire to make an active contribution to the social development of the Philippines
· Evidence of leadership experience or potential, and meaningful involvement in their community
· Ability to work well independently and within a diverse group
· Willingness to do fellow work anywhere in the Philippines for an eight-week term.
· Willingness to participate in all of the program activities for the specified eight-week term.
· Commitment to post fellow program activities

The application form may be downloaded from the AF-USA website at www.ayalafoundation.org or requested
from tricia@teamlbc.com. Applications must be mailed to the secretariat office by Jan. 14, 2005.

For more information please contact the secretariat office:

Tricia Garcia c/o LBC Foundation
362 East Grand Avenue, South San Francisco, CA 94080
1-800-338-5424 extension 3024
tricia@teamlbc.com

Or visit the program website at www.ayalafdnusa.org.

This program is sponsored by LBC Foundation and Ayala Foundation USA, with support from Chevron Texaco.