World Youth Movement for Democracy

January 2008 Newsletter

WYMD UPDATES 1) WMD Launches Website for the Fifth Assembly DEMOCRACY ALERTS/APPEALS from the World Movement for Democracy 1) Syria: Prisoners of Conscience 2) Kyrgyzstan: Democracy Activists Arrested at Peaceful Protest 3) Iran: Released Women Activists Create Fund to Support Female Prisoners 4) Kenya: Democracy Groups Condemn Violence HIGHLIGHTED ARTICLES, NEWS AND REPORTS FROM PARTICIPANTS 1) News: Borders Became Insuperable Again? (Russia) 2) Project: Lisboa Processus (France) 3) Report: European Youth Unites to Combat Organized Crime (Poland) 4) News: Goma Conference – Old Conflicts, New Developments (Congo DR) 5) Publication: Youth and Politics in Conflict Contexts (USA) 6) Project: Defending Civil Society in the Newly Independent States (NIS) HIGHLIGHTED NEWS FROM INTERNATIONAL PRESS 1) Georgia: Presidential Election Leaves Bitter Aftertaste (RadioFreeEurope / RadioLiberty) 2) Abuses in Pakistan, Kenya, China, Somalia: Democracy Charade Undermines Rights (Human Rights Watch) HIGHLIGHTED FORTHCOMING EVENTS 1) Conference "Learning Democracy by Doing", Toronto (Canada), October 16-18, 2008 2) Tenth Global Leadership Forum, Novosibirsk (Russia), June 18-23, 2008 3) Contact-Making Seminar on Youth Democracy Projects "Let's meet for Participation", Brussels (Belgium), March 11-16, 2008. 4) European International Model United Nations, Hague (Netherlands), July 15-21, 200 OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRANTS, FUNDING AND PARTICIPATION 1) Peace Child Offers Small Scale grants for Youth-led Projects (International) 2) Global Youth Service Day (International)

WYMD Updates

1) WMD Launches Website for the Fifth Assembly The World Movement for Democracy recently launched a Web site for its Fifth Assembly, which will take place in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 6-9, 2008. The Web site includes information on the Assembly agenda; workshops; local partner organization, the Europe XXI Foundation; the host country and city; and the venue. The Web site also offers a section with current news from Ukraine. Under the theme, "Making Democracy Work: From Principles to Performance", the Fifth Assembly will address the practical needs of democracy and human rights activists, practitioners, and scholars, and will provide an opportunity for the participants to initiate new strategies for democracy-promotion work. Please note that participation is by invitation only. WYMD plans to organize two workshops in the framework of the Assembly – a thematic one (dedicated to the issues of civil education) and a functional one (dedicated to WYMD's further development). Keep up-to-date through the Assembly site: www.wmd.org/fifth/Index.html.

DEMOCRACY ALERTS/APPEALS from the World Movement for Democracy

1) Syria: Prisoners of Conscience Coalition Democratic Syria reports that on January 3, writer and peaceful reform advocate, Fayez Sarah was arrested and is now being held incommunicado without charge at the State Security branch in Damascus. His detention brings the number of recently arrested political activists currently being held by State Security to eight. Amnesty International considers these individuals to be possible prisoners of conscience, detained for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression and association. On December 1, 2007, Mr. Sarah participated in a meeting of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change (DDDNC), an unauthorized umbrella grouping comprising opposition and pro-democracy groups in Syria. Mr. Sarah is believed to have been arrested for defending the remaining DDDNC detainees and denouncing the Syrian authorities’ latest arrest campaign on January 1. More than 40 DDDNC members were arrested; 33 were released within a few days. The other seven possible prisoners of conscience, Walid al-Bunni, Yasser al-‘Eiti, Feda’a al-Horani, Akram al-Bunni, Ahmad To’meh, Jabr al-Shoufi , and ‘Ali al-‘Abdullah remain in detention. The Syrian authorities have given no reasons for their imprisonment and, reportedly, they do not have access to legal counsel or contact with their families. There is increasing concern that they could be subject to torture or other ill-treatment. Coalition Democratic Syria recommends that concerned individuals express concern about the arrest of Fayez Sarah and that Feda' al-Horani, Akram al-Bunni, Ahmad To’meh, Jabr al-Shoufi, ‘Ali al-‘Abdullah, Walid al-Bunni, Yasser al-‘Eiti and Fayez Sarah are being held incommunicado, apparently because of the peaceful exercise of their human rights; call on the authorities to guarantee that the eight will not be tortured or ill-treated and will be given immediate access to their relatives, lawyers and any medical treatment they may need; and call on the authorities to release them immediately and unconditionally if they are prisoners of conscience held solely for the peaceful expression of their opinions, or else to bring them to trial promptly and fairly on recognizably criminal charges. Appeals should be sent to: President His Excellency Bashar al-Assad Presidential Palace al-Rashid Street Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic Fax: (00963) 11 332 3410 Salutation: Your Excellency Minister of Defence His Excellency General Hassan Ali Turkmani Ministry of Defence Omayyad Square Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic Fax: (00963) 11 223 7842 Salutation: Your Excellency Minister of Justice His Excellency Muhammad al-Ghafari Ministry of Justice Al-Nasr Street, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic Fax: (00963) 11 666 2460 Salutation: Your Excellency Minister of Foreign Affairs His Excellency Walid Mu’allim Ministry of Foreign Affairs al-Rashid Street Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic Fax: (00963) 11 3327620 Salutation: Your Excellency For more information from Amnesty International, go to: www.amnesty.org/en/report/info/MDE24/002/2008   2) Kyrgyzstan: Democracy Activists Arrested at Peaceful Protest The Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace (WLP) strongly condemns the arrest of 20 young activists and civil society leaders, including Tolekan Ismailova, director of the Human Rights Center/Citizens Against Corruption and World Movement participant. The activists were arrested outside the Parliament on December 18 while peacefully protesting irregularities in the December 16 parliamentary elections. Following the arrests, militia members did not permit lawyers to see or speak to the arrested individuals, who were required to make written statements without the presence of lawyers. The activists were charged with violating the established order and holding assemblies, meetings, street processions, and demonstrations (under Article 392 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility). They were released, but a second wave of arrests took place on December 20 when 31 activists from youth and opposition movements continued their protests. Ms. Ismailova is one of the activists re-arrested and she remains detained. It is reported that a trial took place on December 20, behind closed doors, that lasted until midnight. Ms. Ismailova was sentenced to 7 days and 7 nights. An appeal was submitted after which, according to the law, detainees should be released until a decision is made on the appeal. However, authorities refused to release the activists. Go to: www.learningpartnership.org/en/advocacy/alerts/kyrgyz1207   3) Iran: Released Women Activists Create Fund to Support Female Prisoners On January 7, the Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace (WLP) reported that Maryam Hosseinkhah and Jelve Javaheri, Iranian women’s rights activists and members of the One Million Signatures campaign, were released from prison on January 2. Ms. Hosseinkhah spent six weeks in prison and Ms. Javaheri spent one month in prison due to their activities and writings in support of the campaign, which demands an end to discriminatory laws against women. While in prison, the two women’s rights activists set up a fund to support female prisoners and contributed 60 books to the women’s library in Evin prison. They also wrote about conditions in the female ward and the women who committed violent crimes because they had no other alternative. Go to: www.learningpartnership.org/advocacy/alerts/iranwomenarrests0307   4) Kenya: Democracy Groups Condemn Violence Democracy groups around the world, including World Movement participating organization, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, have raised concern over recent developments in Kenya. According to the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), human rights defender Anthony Njui, a former Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC) National Secretary was reportedly murdered in the ongoing tribal killings following President Mwai Kibaki’s re-election. Another human rights defender, Nahashon Gachihi, working with IMLU is now displaced, having been forced to move out of Huruma Estate under similar circumstances. The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network’s chairperson Hassan Shire Sheikh urges concerned parties to work together with diplomatic missions, human rights organizations, and international observers to find an immediate and lasting solution to the current political and humanitarian. Go to: www.yorku.ca/crs/AHRDP/index.html

Highlighted Contributions from Youth and Democracy Groups

News on projects, issues and experiences; articles and reports; news of events and information on groups and organizations, from people working on youth activism and democracy issues. Please remember, we do not monitor groups, and do not wish to censor material. We hope the information here is truthful, but we expect that participants reading this information will try to gather as much information as they can about these groups and current affairs. 1) News: Borders Became Insuperable Again? (Russia) On the night of December 15 to 16th, the "New Times" magazine correspondent Natalia Morar’ was not allowed to enter Russia after her return to Moscow from foreign assignment. In the Domodedovo airport the border guards blocked her way to the territory of the Russian Federation pleaded to the instruction from the Federal Service of Security. She had to pass the night in the room for deported persons and then take a plane to Chisinau (as she has a Moldavian citizenship) without receiving any official explanations of the reasons for her deportation. Natalia has been living in Moscow for six years, she graduated from the Moscow State University and worked as a journalist in Russia. She has submitted the papers to obtain the Russian citizenship. One of the versions explaining the actions of the Russian security forces is the reaction to her recent publication revealing scandalous facts of corruption inside the Kremlin. Regarding this situation, a statement was made by some Russian NGOs, such as the Interregional labor union of journalists and media workers, the International Youth Human Rights Movement and the Movement of civil actions "GROZA": "The government actions on deporting Natalia Morar’ contradict the official declarations of care about the so-called "former compatriots" without Russian citizenship after the collapse of the Soviet Union. We demand an explanation of the reasons for such a radical measure undertaken by the Russian officials. We also appeal to the officials to grant Natalia Morar’ Russian citizenship in order to correct the consequences of this situation".   2) Project: Lisboa Processus (France) After the Africa-Europe Youth Summit in Lisbon Association ADIF France decided to launch the initiative of a "virtual bridge" aiming at binding Europe to Africa through activities of youth intercultural exchanges and mobility. ADIF proposes to develop a program in this direction in partnership with all the Organizations present at the Summit of Lisbon. The base of this project would be the division of information on principal activities and experiments of the participating organisations, the creation of a databank facilitating research of partnership between various African and European associations, the facilitation of mobility of the young people and intercultural exchanges. The operation of the structure is supposed to be very light and will not have the ambition to federate the organizations. The initiators want simply to create the conditions of a frank and direct exchange between two youths which are condemned to work together. The objectives of the project can be summarized as: - search and publication for information on the organizations of European and African youth, - facilitation of contacts between young African and European, - division of experiments on the activities concerning young people and youth organizations, - publication of information on international events, - dissemination of a monthly magazine on the stakes of the policy of youth enters into EU and Africa. Thus ADIF asks youth organizations to send them information on their respective structures in order to better feed this database and to allow a broad dissemination of information. This information may relate to the programs, operation of the structure, major events and possible requests for partnership. For more information, please contact: Mr Idrissa Badji, adif.france@orange.fr   3) Report: European Youth Unites to Combat Organized Crime (Poland) On January 15-20 the second international meeting of the newly formed FLARE (Freedom, Legality and Rights in Europe) network was organized in Krakow (Poland). International Youth Human Rights Movement representatives took part in the meeting. FLARE unites NGOs from such countries as Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Italy, Romania, France, the Netherlands, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, etc. It was initiated last year by two Italian NGOs: "Libera" (Liberty) and "Terra del Focca" (Land of Flames) which deal with the organized crime problems in their country. It is supposed that the new network will act on all the Western part of Eurasia and deal with the issues of freedom of information, eco-crimes, arms trade, drugs and human trafficking. The peculiarity of FLARE is that it was initiated by the Italians who are traditionally oriented on combating the organized crime and have great experience in this field. The main motivation to form a network was that mafia all over the world is operating across borders and its force is multiplied as a result. Not a single national government is able to confront it, moreover, many of them are themselves corrupted. That is why the only way of resistance is a cross-border association of citizens and mutual support. During the meeting in Krakow the participants planned their future activities in thematic groups. Thus, in the "freedom of information" direction it was decided to launch a program of solidarity and urgent support of journalists and bloggers suffering from the pressure of authorities. FLARE already received support from a number of EU structures. The next meeting will be organized in Turin (Italy) in March. For more information on the results of the meeting and opportunities to join FLARE please visit the network site: http://www.flareprogramme.org.   4) News: Goma Conference – Old Conflicts, New Developments (Congo DR) Opened in Goma on January 6, 2008, the Conference for Peace, Security and Development in the North and South Kivu Provinces, which brought together local communities and other organs of society, raises concerns about the future of peace in that part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Organised by Congolese authorities as a way out from the inter-ethnic crisis that maintains local populations in an endless insecurity for nearly two decades, the conference appears as a shift toward dangerous tensions and heightened flashover in a region with an already precarious stability. Far from seeking common ground between the communities, this meeting awakens the divisionism whims from several communities and presages an intensification of inter-ethnic clashes in the two Kivu, which have already done so since 1993, more than a million victims killed and since late 2004, nearly a million displaced. While some delegates and their accompanying structures (tribal circles, militias ,...) call for the outright creation of mono-ethnic provinces and others claiming portions of Congolese territory, a number of indigenous leaders evoke the history of human settlements in these two provinces to demand the preservation of the country's territorial integrity and recall the obligations of recent immigrants and refugees in passing accused of abusing the hospitality accorded to dispose of portions of Congolese territory for their own profit. The youth organization ADECOP (Youth Action for Community Development and Peace) is very concerned by the dangerous turn this meeting is taking and denounces the passivity of the Congolese authorities face to the threat of serious complication of an already problematic national reconciliation process. It condemns in particular the selection of participants that backed away from the table of dialogue the key leaders of the intercommunity dynamics, preferring to them individuals with inflammatory speech and apparently unconcerned about the future of peace in the region. For more information, please contact Guelord Mbaenda: adecop2000@yahoo.com.   5) Publication: Youth and Politics in Conflict Contexts (USA) The Project on Leadership and Building State Capacity is pleased to announce the publication of "Youth and Politics in Conflict Contexts". This publication is the result of a conference held at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on May 16, 2007, hosted by the Leadership Project in collaboration with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. The conference examined the diverse ways in which youth contribute to sustainable peace through active involvement in politics. The publication features the contributions of experts and young policymakers and youth advocates from Kenya, Bosnia, and Liberia. The publication can be downloaded at http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1411&fuseaction=topics.publications&group_id=364681. All Leadership Project Publications can also be found visiting our website at www.wilsoncenter.org/leadership and following the "publications" link on the homepage.   6) Project: Defending Civil Society in the Newly Independent States (NIS) The program is aimed at supporting civil society institutions and individual civil activists (mainly – human rights activists) in the NIS countries (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Central Asia, South Caucasus and Baltic countries). The program supposes the creation of informational resources, monitoring and analysis of the situation in NIS countries (first of all – in the sphere of fundamental human rights and the development of independent civil structures), as well as direct technical, organizational and methodical support of civil organizations and activists in those countries. It also supposes the creation of control mechanisms on the national and international levels, as well as forming of the wide solidarity movement of organizations from the region and beyond – first of all, within CIS, Council of Europe and OSCE. The main directions of the program are as follows: 1. Constant analysis of the situation with civil society and observance of Human Rights, necessary for the free development of civil institutions. 2. Informational support for the Civil Society Institutions (CSI). 3. Resource support for the Civil Society Institutions. 4. Systematic support. 5. Network support. The Program is initiated and conducted by the group of the civil, youth and Human Rights organizations from the NIS-countries: Youth Human Rights Movement-Ukraine, Moscow Helsinki Group, the Center for Civil Freedoms, Youth Human Rights Group – Kharkov, etc. The Program "Defending Civil Society in the NIS" is open for those interested in its development: civil groups, organizations, individual activists, etc. For additional information on the actions within the program and opportunities of participation contact the workgroup: DCS.NIS@gmail.com.   Check out WYMD's Resource Page for toolkits, guides, and more articles.

Highlighted News from the International Press and Human Rights Groups

1) Georgia: Presidential Election Leaves Bitter Aftertaste (RadioFreeEurope / RadioLiberty) January 10, 2008 The preterm Georgian presidential election on January 5, intended to provide a ringing endorsement of incumbent Mikheil Saakashvili's track record, has instead underscored the extent to which his support has plummeted since his election in January 2004. In that respect, Saakashvili's decision to call a preterm election may have been a major strategic error. Moreover, Saakashvili's moralizing tone during the election campaign and the handling of controversial exit polls have further alienated the opposition and fuelled suspicions that the authorities rigged the outcome of the ballot to preclude a second round runoff between Saakashvili and his closest rival, businessman Levan Gachechiladze, representing the nine-party opposition National Council. In short, at every stage of the election campaign, Saakashvili has acted in such a way as to compound the opposition's fears that his team was out to secure his reelection at all cost. In the weeks preceding the ballot, the opposition repeatedly complained that Saakashvili was unfairly using state resources to promote his candidacy. Ambassador Dieter Boden, who headed the OSCE long-term monitoring mission, admitted in mid- December that some of the opposition's complaints were justified, and the OSCE's initial assessment of the election released late on January 6 made the point that "the implementation of social-welfare programs was frequently combined with campaigning for the former President." The actual voting on January 5 was marred by procedural violations and allegations of flagrant malpractice. Tina Khidasheli of the opposition Republican Party, one of the members of the National Council, claimed that Saakashvili supporters were being transported in buses from one polling station to another to enable them to vote more than once, as did Labor Party candidate Shalva Natelashvili's campaign manager Giorgi Gugava. A spokesman for Saakashvili's United National Movement admitted the party hired buses to transport voters to polling stations. Despite a formal pledge on January 5 to make available preliminary returns from all polling stations by 9 p.m. local time on January 6, 24 hours after the polls closed, the Central Election Commission was still processing protocols from the remaining 500 polling stations early on January 8. That delay in making public preliminary results recalled the protracted efforts in November 2003 to finagle the results of the parliamentary elections to secure a victory for then President Eduard Shevardnadze's For a New Georgia bloc. Interim returns consistently showed Saakashvili with marginally over the 50 percent plus one vote needed to preclude a second round. In those circumstances, assurances by international monitors that there were "no major violations" miss the point: if Saakashvili's true share of the vote was 48-49 percent (Gachechiladze on January 6 claimed Saakashvili polled 44 percent), it would not have taken "major violations" to adjust Saakashvili's share of the vote by just a few percentage points to preclude a run-off, as Gachechiladze's supporters have alleged on the basis of documentation suggesting glaring discrepancies between protocols signed by individual precinct commission heads and the results subsequently posted on the Central Election Commission's website (http://www.cec.gov.ge). Read the full article: http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/01/b21cbb41-0cbb-4b58-81e2-c53908ad3af5.html Visit RFE/RL website: http://www.rferl.org   2) Abuses in Pakistan, Kenya, China, Somalia: Democracy Charade Undermines Rights (Human Rights Watch) January 31, 2008 The established democracies are accepting flawed and unfair elections for political expediency, Human Rights Watch said in releasing its World Report 2008 on January 31. By allowing autocrats to pose as democrats, without demanding they uphold the civil and political rights that make democracy meaningful, the United States, the European Union and other influential democracies risk undermining human rights worldwide. States claiming the mantle of democracy, including Kenya and Pakistan, should guarantee the human rights that are central to it, including the rights to free expression, assembly and association, as well as free and fair elections. But in 2007 too many governments, including Bahrain, Jordan, Nigeria, Russia and Thailand, acted as if simply holding a vote is enough to prove a nation "democratic," and Washington, Brussels and European capitals played along, Human Rights Watch said. The Bush administration has spoken of its commitment to democracy abroad but often kept silent about the need for all governments to respect human rights. "It’s now too easy for autocrats to get away with mounting a sham democracy," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "That’s because too many Western governments insist on elections and leave it at that. They don’t press governments on the key human rights issues that make democracy function – a free press, peaceful assembly, and a functioning civil society that can really challenge power." In its World Report 2008, Human Rights Watch surveys the human rights situation in more than 75 countries. Human Rights Watch identified many human rights challenges in need of attention, including atrocities in Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia’s Ogaden region, Iraq, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Sudan’s Darfur region, as well as closed societies or severe repression in Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Libya, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. Abuses in the "war on terror" featured in France, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, among others. Grave human rights abuses are fueling the worsening humanitarian crisis in Somalia and the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia. Human Rights Watch said sustained international pressure around the 2008 Olympic Games could push Chinese leaders to better respect human rights in China. But Human Rights Watch warned that the staging of the Olympics is exacerbating problems of forced evictions, migrant labor rights abuses, and the use of house arrests to silence dissidents. The Chinese government is cracking down on lawyers and human rights activists. Human Rights Watch has documented a number of elections manipulated through: outright fraud (Chad, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Uzbekistan); control of electoral machinery (Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Malaysia, Thailand, Zimbabwe); blocking or discouraging opposition candidates (Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Libya, Turkmenistan, Uganda); political violence (Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Lebanon); stifling the media and civil society (Russia, Tunisia); and undermining the rule of law (China, Pakistan). Human Rights Watch said the United States and the European Union should insist governments do more than hold a vote, and demand they uphold rights guaranteed by international law, including a free media, freedom of assembly, and a secret ballot. The World Report 2008 includes essays on China’s foreign policy; how activists helped create the Yogyakarta Principles for gay rights; the scourge of violence against children at school, in the home, on the streets and in institutions; and the British government’s erosion of the torture ban through "diplomatic assurances" against ill-treatment. Read the full article: http://hrw.org/englishwr2k8/docs/2008/01/31/usint17940.htm Visit Human Rights Watch website: http://hrw.org

Highlighted Forthcoming Events

1) Conference "Learning Democracy by Doing", Toronto (Canada), October 16-18, 2008 The international conference "Learning Democracy by Doing. Alternative Practices in Citizenship Learning and Participatory Democracy" is organized by the Transformative Learning Centre (TLC) at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (OISE/UT). The organizers are interested in attracting presentations that examine past or present innovative and progressive practices of transformative citizenship learning and participatory democracy in different settings including formal and non-formal educational institutions, civil society organizations, municipal governments and workplaces. They encourage presentations that pay attention to the strengths as well as to the weaknesses of those initiatives, placing them in their particular social and historical contexts. This conference, which celebrates the 15th anniversary of the Transformative Learning Centre at OISE/UT, will provide a space for mutual learning and critical reflection about innovative and inspiring international initiatives. Presenters are asked to submit a short abstract of their presentation (up to 300 words) by Monday, March 2, 2008. To help participants make an educated choice about which presentation to attend, sessions will be designated in four categories: workshops, dramatic presentations, paper/project presentations, and roundtables. Presenters who would like their papers to be considered for inclusion in a post-conference publication are asked to send their paper before July 31, 2008. Papers should not exceed 3,500 words (excluding references). For more information, or to apply, please contact Nelson Rosales, TLC 2008 conference coordinator, tlc2008@oise.utoronto.ca.   2) Tenth Global Leadership Forum, Novosibirsk (Russia), June 18-23, 2008 The Global Leadership Forum emphasizes an inclusive approach to leadership in the public policy arena, the private sector, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, and citizen’s associations. It seeks to promote Value Leadership by emphasizing the interconnectedness of peace, democracy and development, on the one hand, and the relationship between the human development and leadership in whatever field, on the other hand. The Forum is open to nongovernmental organizations, youth organizations, and educational institutions. The Tenth Global Leadership Forum will be held in Novosibirsk, Russia, on June 18-23, 2008. This year’s keynote speaker will be Steve Mosely, president of the Academy for Educational Development. For more information, please see: http://www.glforum.org.   3) Contact-Making Seminar on Youth Democracy Projects "Let's meet for Participation", Brussels (Belgium), March 11-16, 2008. This Contact-Making Seminar is organized by BIJ, the French speaking Belgian National Agency of the Youth in Action programme in cooperation with SALTO-YOUTH Participation. The objectives of this seminar are: to share experiences and get to know each other ; to discuss the concepts of participation, democracy and partnership ; to learn about sub action 1.3 "Youth Democracy Projects" of the European Youth in Action programme; to facilitate partner finding. Young people, youth leaders, youth workers, representatives of associations, student councils, youth councils and public officers with a minimum knowledge of the European Youth in Action programme, especially sub action 1.3 and ready to find international partners for implementing a Youth democracy Project after the seminar, are invited to participate. The participants may come from any of the Youth in Action programme countries (27 EU countries + Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Turkey). All the costs (travel costs, insurance, accommodation, food, programme activities, local transport, etc.) will be covered by the National Agencies. Deadline for submission: February 15, 2008. For more information, please see: http://www.salto-youth.net/Participationcourses/.   4) European International Model United Nations, Hague (Netherlands), July 15-21, 2008 The European International Model United Nations is a seven day conference which will be held for the 21st time and which will take place between the 15th and 21st of July in The Hague. The general theme of this year’s conference is "Striving for sustainable Globalization". During this conference 220 students from all over the world will participate in one of six councils. They will debate on several topics and tackle global issues. The conference gives students the opportunity to experience the working and decision-making process of the United Nations and NATO through role-playing in one of the simulated organs. It helps participants to gain a multilateral view of world affairs and to develop public speaking and debating skills. The conference fee is 150 euros. This fee does not include costs for hotels, visas, dinner or any other cost you might have. Participants outside from Western Europe, the USA or Australia may apply for financial aid. For more information, please see: http://www.teimun.org/

Opportunities for Grants, Funding and Participation

1) Peace Child Offers Small Scale grants for Youth-led Projects (International) Peace Child International empowers young people to take responsibility for peace, human rights and the environment through education, leadership development and direct participation in the events that shape our world community. "Be the Change!" is a youth-led sustainable development Action Programme which aims to empower young people around the world to "be the change they want to see in the world." (Mahatma Gandhi) Peace Child offers financial support and advice to the young people to create and complete a variety of different projects serving the needs of their community. The next application deadline for funding projects is March 31, 2008. For more information, please see: http://www.peacechild.org/www/pci/?id=121.   2) Global Youth Service Day (International) Global Youth Service Day is the largest annual celebration of young volunteers, where millions of young people in countries everywhere highlight and carry out thousands of community improvement projects. GYSD offers a way for local, national, and international organizations to: - BUILD the capacity of an international network of organizations that promotes youth participation, service, and learning; - EDUCATE the public, the media, and policy-makers about the year-round contributions of young people as community leaders around the world; - MOBILIZE youth and adults to meet the needs of their communities through volunteering; and - LEARN and share effective practices in youth service, youth voice, and civic engagement in the world today. The 9th Annual GYSD will be held April 25-27, 2008. For more information, please see: http://www.gysd.org.

Your voice

Contribute to WYMD's Newsletter! We would love to hear more from WYMD members, and develop this newsletter as a forum for you to share stories, experiences, news of events etc. So please, if you have any stories to share, know of any events that might be of interest (international or national), or just want to share an experience of activism or participation, please send us an update so we can share this information with the other members! Please send any news, articles etc to wymd[at]youthlink.org or using our online feedback form.