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May 2007 Newsletter |
WYMD Updates
1) VOICE YOUR IDEAS - World Youth Movement for Democracy Essay Contest
2) Resources page to be revised and updated
3) Translators needed!!
DEMOCRACY ALERTS/APPEALS from the World Movement for Democracy (WMD)
1) Iran: Campaign for Sentenced Women Activists Sentenced in Iran
HIGHLIGHTED ARTICLES, NEWS AND REPORTS FROM PARTICIPANTS
1) Article: Burundi: La Démocratisation Manquée (Burundi: Missed Democracy)
2) Group - Youth For Change (Kenya)
3)
Azerbaijan Tafakkur (Thinking) Youth Association (ATYA) (Azerbaijan)
4)
Report: Maapsi Women's Study Circle (Bangladesh)
HIGHLIGHTED NEWS FROM INTERNATIONAL PRESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS
1) Nigeria: Ruling party named winner in disputed Nigerian election
2) Viet Nam: Silenced critics must be released
HIGHLIGHTED FORTHCOMING EVENTS
1)
2007 Civicus Youth Assembly (United Kingdom) May 22-27, 2007
2)
Commonwealth Open Forum (Uganda) June 17, 2007
3) 14th International Youth Leadership Conference (Czech Republic) July 22-27, 2007
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRANTS, FUNDING AND PARTICIPATION
1)
American Islamic Congress Internship (United States)
2)
Kurdish Human Rights Project Summer Internship (United Kingdom)
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1) VOICE YOUR IDEAS - World Youth Movement for Democracy Launches Essay Contest
The World Youth Movement for Democracy (WYMD)' s International Essay Contest is under way! The essay contest has been a great opportunity for young people to share their perspectives on democracy. Young activists,
students, and citizens from around the world submitted essays reflecting on their experiences with the ideals, the
realities, and the future of democracy in their communities and
countries. The results will be announced shortly, don't miss the opportunity to read the winning essays online on the WYMD website!
Learn more
2) Resources page to be revised and updated
The WYMD's resource page has been revised to make it easier to use and locate material - we are currently in the process of updating materials for this page. If you know of any great resources, or have a favourite toolkit to recommend, please let us know! You can email wymd@youthlink.org
- here
3) Translators needed
The WYMD is currently seeking volunteer translators for its Spanish, Portuguese and French pages, and to help create Spanish, Portuguese and French materials. If one of these is your native language, and you think you would be a suitable candidate, we would love to hear from you. We are looking for people who can work independently, from home, school or college, and who can provide accurate and clear translations from English into their native language. If you think you can help, please email us at: wymd@youthlink.org
contact us
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Democracy Alerts/Appeals (from the World Movement for Democracy) |
1) Iran: Campaign for Sentenced Women Activists Sentenced in Iran
The Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace (WLP) has issued an alert and begun a writing campaign to help four women's rights activists who were sentenced to prison last week for their role in organizing a peaceful protest demanding equal rights for women in Iran on June 12, 2006. Fariba Davoudi Mohajer and Sussan Tahmasebi were both sentenced to prison on April 18 for threatening 'national security' for organising the "One Million Signatures" campaign demanding an end to discriminatory laws against women. Fariba was sentenced to 4 years in prison, three of which are suspended and Sussan Tahmasebi received 2 years, of which one and a half years are suspended. Parvin Ardalan and Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani were also sentenced to 3 years, of which two and a half years are suspended. The women will be required to serve the suspended sentences if "found guilty of another crime" during the next five years. WLP claims the government is using the suspended sentences as a way to pressure activists into ceasing their activities. The prison sentences are the most recent events in an ongoing crackdown against women activists in Iran. On April 2, Mahboubeh Hossein Zadeh and Nahid Keshavarz were arrested while collecting signatures in support of a petition to change discriminatory laws against women. In March, Shadi Sadr and Mahboubeh Abasgholizade were charged with acting against national security and holding an illegal assembly. All activists were tried in absentia, because when they walked outside the courthouse to stop police from beating supporters and friends assembled to hear the outcome of their cases, they were arrested and prevented from returning to the courthouse to be present at their own trial.
Read the full Alert
Visit the Women's Learning Partnership site for more information
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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 also hope that participants reading this information will try to gather as much information as they can about these groups and current affairs.
1) Article: Burundi: La Démocratisation Manquée (Burundi: Missed Democracy) (by Jean de Dieu Dusabe)
This article discusses democracy in sub-Saharan Africa in general, and more specifically in the Great Lakes region. The article focusses on Burundi, while the author discusses the relationship between Burundi and Rwanda. The author also discusses the cultural, ethnic, and social similarities between Burundi and neighbouring countries, as well as political similarities. In the article, modern democracy in this area of Africa, and specifically in Burundi, is placed in the context of colonial models and legacies.
Read more
- here
2) Group: Youth For Change (Kenya)
Youth for Change is a registered youth led organization in Kenya which deals with issues pertaining to young people. Youth for Change has taken part in civic youth engagement and open youth work in the past among other advocacy programs. To try to help spread awareness of voter rights and elections issues, in this election year in Kenya, Youth for Change is trying to implement a project dubbed "My Leader" with a theme "our solidarity is our future" to sensitise young people about the democratic process and the bargaining power they have as well as the right to vet and elect their leaders who have an outlined youth agenda. Youth for Change is also seeking partners who can support this kind of project. Youth for Change is also currently implementing a youth resource/information centre.
If you would like to find out more about Youth for Change, please email wymd(at)youthlink.org. Support, comments and opinions are welcome.
3) Group:
Azerbaijan Tafakkur (Thinking) Youth Association (ATYA) (Azerbaijan)
ATYA is an organisation which focuses on local and community issues in Azerbaijan, such as human rights issues, civil participation, equality, volunteerism. ATYA is a broad, non-political and non-commercial organization.
The main purpose of ATYA is the education of young people from all social spheres of their civil responsibilities: the encouragement of the active participation of young people in the development of civil society; supporting disadvantaged young people to develop themselves and to gain necessary skills for employment; attempting to find solutions to the socio-economic problems of young people and protection of their rights; promotion of active relationships with international youth structures and other organizations abroad; development of intellectual and professional capacity of young people; involving young people in voluntary work in Azerbaijan; involving young people in regional social and ecological projects; increasing participation of youth in international events and developing collaboration between young people from Azerbaijan with their peers worldwide.
Azerbaijan's next Presidential elections will be held in 2008, and ATYA hopes to implement national and international projects concerning the enlightenment of young people on Human Rights Education, Promotion and its Classification, Election Rights, Gender Equality etc.
More information on ATYA - here
4) Report: Maapsi Women's Study Circle (Bangladesh)
On the 5th March in Dhaka, Motivation, Awareness, Advocacy Programme on Social Issues (MAAPSI) formed a Youth Women Study Circle on Democracy to promote good governance and democracy in Bangladesh. The objective of the circle was to create awareness among young women of issues of democracy and good governance and to disseminate information to grassroots level to promote democratic culture and values in society. YWSC discussed the role of young people in a democratic country like Bangladesh and made recommendations to foster the democratic process in Bangladesh. These group members will eventually make their own circles in their respective areas for the promotion of democracy especially among young female women voters. They will also discuss the role of young voters to promote democracy and governance.
Read the full report
- here
Check out WYMD's Resource Page
for toolkits, guides, and more articles.
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Highlighted News from the International Press and Human Rights Groups |
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1) Nigeria: Ruling party named winner in disputed Nigerian election (The Guardian)
April 24, 2007
On 24 April, Nigeria's ruling party presidential candidate, Umaru Yar'Adua, was declared the winner of Nigeria's recent fraud-tainted election, described by the European Union as "not credible" and by Washington as "deeply troubling". Olusegun Obasanjo, the outgoing president acknowledged fraud and other electoral "lapses" but said the result reflected opinion polls. Final results gave 24.6m votes to Mr Yar'Adua, the Muslim governor of northern Katsina state, while his nearest rival, Muhammadu Buhari, received just 6.6m votes. Opposition leaders called for an election rerun after monitors made claims of blatant ballot box stuffing, a shortage of voting papers in opposition areas and violence. Mr. Yar'Adua attributed his win to the hard work of his party, and God. However, it emerged that Mr Yar'Adua won key states thanks to an exceptionally large turnout that election monitors say they did not witness. Max van den Berg, the head of the EU's observer mission, said in a statement that he could not endorse the vote as legitimate. "These elections have not lived up to the hopes and expectations of the Nigerian people and the process cannot be considered to have been credible," he said. The US state department also criticised the elections, calling them flawed, "and in some cases deeply flawed", but will not be calling for a re-run. Much of the Nigerian press has strongly criticised the election calling it fraudulent and a "rape of democracy".
Read the report
2) Viet Nam: Silenced critics must be released (Amnesty International )
April 24, 2007
A continuing crackdown by the Vietnamese government against those expressing their opinions has resulted in the detention or imprisonment of lawyers, trade unionists, religious leaders and Internet dissidents in increasing numbers. For 30 April, Vietnamese "Liberation Day", Amnesty International called on the authorities to release all those arrested, detained and imprisoned solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights. On 30 March 2007, Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly, aged 60, was sentenced to eight years in prison for "conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam". Four co-defendants facing the same charges were also found guilty and given prison sentences or suspended prison sentences. The first of a wave of arrests took place around the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in November when four leading members of the newly formed United Workers-Farmers Organisation (UWFO) - which advocates for the right to form and join independent trade and labour unions, which are banned under Vietnamese law - were taken in by security officials. Novelist and journalist Tran Khai Thanh Thuy was arrested on 21 April for "distorting the social, political and economic situation of Vietnam, denouncing Vietnam for human rights violations, putting the articles on the internet or sending them overseas to exile reactionary organisations," according to state controlled media.
Read
the full report |
Highlighted Forthcoming
Events |
1) 2007 Civicus Youth Assembly (United Kingdom) May 22-27, 2007
The 2007 Civicus Youth Assembly will bring 150 of the world’s most engaged, dynamic young activists in the field of Social and Civic Justice to Scotland from 90 different countries worldwide. The Youth Assembly will offer a unique opportunity to meet and work with other young women and men who are really making changes to things that matter. It will also give young people a program and a space to develop and commit to action internationally. Youth delegates will attend, as full delegates the Civicus World Assembly where they will have a voice and opportunity to meet and influence some of the world’s leading NGOs, groups and individuals who are committed to the creation of a more just and equitable world. Delegates will also meet a number of Young Scots who are involved nationwide in the Roars not Whispers project and these opportunities will help build the global linkages of the project and offer young Scots the opportunity to understand issues from a more global perspective. The Civicus Youth Assembly and Civicus World Assembly will be held at the SECC in Glasgow 22-27 May 2007 2) Commonwealth Open Forum (Uganda) June 17, 2007
This year the Commonwealth heads of government meeting is to take place in Uganda. The Open Forum gives young people an opportunity to discuss and present to these leaders the issues that affect them. The organisers of the Open Forum hope the Forum will help the world leaders and governments to recognise that youth want development regardless of their religious, political and educational backgrounds, through the presentation of pertinent issues both for Ugandan young people, and for young people representing the other commonwealth countries.
Visit TakingITGlobal
3) 14th International Youth Leadership Conference (Czech Republic)
July 22-27, 2007
The 14th International Youth Leadership Conference is a week-long youth forum on world politics, international relations and international law. The most recent conferences welcomed 150 students from an average of 50 different countries worldwide, with a strong emphasis on cross-cultural, international youth empowerment, and an open-minded exchange of different perspectives on global issues. Participants play active roles in simulations of important world organizations: UN Security Council Crisis Meeting; International Criminal Court Trial; Model European Parliament Proceeding. Other conference activities include visits to foreign embassies, Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Senate, group debates, banquet dinners, and free time to explore the beautiful streets of Prague. The theme of the conference: "A cross-cultural exchange of ideas concerning the future of world leadership."
Deadline for applications: May 10
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Opportunities
for Grants, Funding and Participation |
1)
American Islamic Congress Internship (United States)
AIC seeks to fill two Civil Rights Associate internships in their Boston, Massachusetts office. The complexity of tasks assigned will be appropriate to the skill level of the selected intern. All internships are unpaid. Deadlines are rolling but summer internships tend to fill up quickly. Duties and Responsibilities: The Civil Rights intern will provide program and administrative support for AIC’s various programs such as international development issues, women’s empowerment, education, democracy-training for emerging democracies; draft and edit content for electronic publishing; and work on specific programs to be determined based on AIC’s needs and the intern’s interests. Qualifications: Excellent written and oral communication skills; strong organizational skills; knowledge of current affairs with particular emphasis on the Middle East and larger Islamic world. Strong computer skills, including those needed for internet-based research, are required. Candidates must have initiative and be able to work with little direct supervision. Junior or senior class rank preferred, though in exceptional cases sophomores will be accepted into the AIC intern program. Educational and/or employment background should demonstrate interest in development issues, human rights or current international events. While not requisite, knowledge of or proficiency in Arabic or any language of the Islamic world will be helpful.
Deadline: Rolling deadline
2)
Kurdish Human Rights Project Summer Internship (United Kingdom)
KHRP is an independent, non-political human rights organisation dedicated to promoting and protecting the human rights of all persons in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and the Caucasus. Founded in London in 1992, its supporters include both Kurds and non-Kurds. KHRP is currently seeking interns for the following positions: Development Internship; Legal Internship; Research Internship; Resources and Communications Internship.
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