Whale sanctuary seeks applicants for advisory council

NOAA’s Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is seeking to fill eight primary seats and eight alternate seats on its advisory council, including a youth member. According to Hawaii247.org, this would make the HIHWNMS one of the first sanctuaries in the country to include a youth member on its advisory council.

The council advises HIHWNMS management on resource protection, research, education and outreach programs. The all-volunteer council is made up of 17 voting members and 15 non-voting members. Members represent a variety of local user groups, the general public, and state and federal governmental jurisdictions.

The youth seat is being added to help the sanctuary appeal to younger community members. It is a non-voting position.

The application deadline is January 31, 2010. For further information visit the sanctuary website.

Whale sanctuary seeks applicants for advisory council

Youth Participation Digest for October 29, 2009

My posts have been somewhat infrequent recently, but youth participation does not stop! So rather than a post about a single event or opportunity, here's a digest of recent youth participation-related articles and posts I have come across.

Opportunities

Community development funding available for young leaders

Young Canadians interested in community development have an opportunity to receive up to $1,500 in funding to plan and carry out a community project. Grants are provided by the Society of Educational Visits and Exchanges Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage. Projects must be youth-led and associated with a town/municipal council. The application deadline is Nov. 19.

Youth participation - growing up?
The Children's Services Network, a program of the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU), will hold a seminar on youth participation in London on December 12. The session will examine the extent to which existing youth participation programs and policies are effective, for both young people and local authorities. The session will conclude with a reception at "Youth participation - growing up?," a report written by the LGiU's youth advocate, will be released.

News

Rt. Honorable Speaker addresses the 121st IPU Assembly
Nepal's Speaker of the Legislative Parliament and its Chief Whip of the Nepali Congress addressed the 121st Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva on October 22. The Chief Whip, Hon. Laxman Prasad Ghimire, told the Assembly, “Though youth participation in political and democratic process has increased in quantitative terms, they still lag behind in influencing the core decision making process of the national as well as the international polity.” Mr. Ghimire stressed that “only through acceptance of youth as a critical stakeholders and ensuring their meaningful participation in sustaining the democratic process can institutionalize democracy." Mr. Ghimire called for the formation of Youth Parliamentarians Caucuses in member Parliaments and a Caucus of Youth Parliamentarians in the IPU.

Nigeria: Vision 2020 - Integrating Youth Concerns Into Development Agenda
The Nigerian Ministry of Youth Development recently held a workshop in Lagos on youth mainstreaming for government youth development officers, teachers, journalists, representatives of civil society organizations and other stakeholders. Youth mainstreaming is the process of involving young people in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and programs that affect them. The aim of this workshop was to support integration of young people into national and economic development planning.

We're Building a Global Movement
This post from the It's Getting Hot In Here blog describes some recent successes of the international youth climate movement. One example is the recent establishment of YOUNGOs, or youth non-governmental organizations, as a recognized observer constituency within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This will facilitate communication between youth NGOs and the UN secretariat.

UNESCO to encourage member states to include youth in National Commissions

Pierre Sané, Assistant Director General of UNESCO’s Social and Human Science Sector, announced on October 1 that the General Conference will try to introduce a resolution that will commit member states to opening up their National Commissions to youth participation. According to Marcio Barbosa, Deputy Director General of UNESCO,

"If it’s adopted, the resolution will mean that National Commissions have to reach out to youth organizations and integrate their representatives in the work of the Commissions."

Barbosa and Sané to push resolution on youth participation through General Conference

USAID supports Youth Mobilization Committees in Nepal

In 2006 the American international aid agency USAID began a program designed to support the transition to peace and democracy in Nepal. Among other strategies, the program supported the formation of Youth Mobilization Committees (YMCs) in villages in the Terai region where young people were most likely to join armed groups. These committees worked with their communities to select community service projects and engaged other youth in the projects.

Projects included reconstruction of community libraries and early childhood development centers and rehabilitation of roads, health posts and schools. Some 125,000 youth participated, including 4,000 as YMC members.

The popularity of the YMCs and their projects led to both financial and labor contributions from local governments and the community. According to USAID, the development of budgets by the YMCs ensured transparency and led to pressure for greater accountability in local government budgets. In some communities the YMCs obtained additional funding from the local government for larger projects. In one village, for example, the local government was so pleased with the YMC's work that it planned to continue funding local projects through the existing YMCs.

Mobilising Nepali Youth for Community Service

USAID/OTI Nepal Quarterly Report, January - March 2009

Cameroon to establish national youth council

Elections will begin October 15 for a new Cameroon National Youth Council. Only members of organizations that have registered with the Ministry of Youth Affairs will be eligible to vote or stand for election. Candidates may run for election at the municipal, divisional, regional and national levels. Elections will run through the end of October.

Last January the government released the electoral code for the election of the Council's executive bureau. Concerns were raised at that time by youth organizations about the registration requirement and about a requirement that organizations intending to present candidates pay levies for the privilege of doing so. Fako Divisional Delegate of Youth Affairs Isaac Ikombe Mbua responded that the levies provide a way to discourage candidates who were not serious about standing for election. The fees run from FCFA 5,000 for an office at the local level to FCFA 50,000 for candidates running for President of the Executive Bureau.

The levies and registration requirement are a genuine concern as they will certainly limit the pool of candidates, and thus may lead to the election of a council that is not truly representative of the youth of Cameroon.

National Youth Council Set for Takeoff

Youth Counsellors Elections - Preparations Underway

Sri Lanka establishes National Children's Council to involve children in policy

In honor of Universal Children's Day 2009, Sri Lanka is establishing a National Children's Council to provide Sri Lankan children with a means to share their ideas and views on issues that concern children. Sarath Abeygunawardana, the government's Probation and Child Care Services Commissioner, promises that the council will have a significant impact on policymaking.

According to Abeygunawardana, what happens is adults taking all the decisions for children and making policies on behalf of them without consulting the children. Children's ideas should be given a space in all policies related to them. It is one of their rights. Children's Councils have already been set up at Divisional Secretariat division level and district level, he said.

Children in policy-making

Australian Youth Advisory Board guides government's Internet safety policy

Five members of the Australian government's Youth Advisory Group met today at Parliament House in Canberra with the government's minister in charge of broadband communications to offer suggestions on how the government can support cyber safety. The YAG members also met with the Consultative Working Group on Cyber-Safety.

The broadband minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, noted that since May of this year nearly 8,000 posts have been made to the advisory group's online forum, y@g Online. The Youth Advisory Group includes some 300 members.

Some examples of the advice received from advisory group members:

“We need an anonymous online chat facility up for kids to talk about their problems with a professional.”

“Really promote the website so kids just know where to go.”

“Help us to understand the differences between different social networking sites and help us to understand how to use them safely.”

Young Australians advise Government on cyber-safety