In this Issue of ICYO-Youth Information:

Ø      Report on Asia Regional Workshop on Youth & Peace Building held

Ø      Asia-Pacific Countries Set Out Course of Action for Disaster Management

Up-coming Events:

q       UNESCO Asian Youth Forum

q       International Study Programme: Global Challenges for Youth with Disabilities - In Pursuing Rights

q       UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women Issues Annual Call for Proposals

q       International Youth Forum by WAY

q       World Creative Youth Forum 2009

q       Global Youth Forum

q       Int. Children’s Conference on the Environment

q       Global Youth Assembly 2009

q       Global Model UN Conference

q       UNESCO - Goi Peace Foundation Int. Essay Contest 2009

q       Asia-Pacific Countries Set Out Course of Action for Disaster Management

 

No. 2009/13

Asia Regional Workshop by Commonwealth Youth Centre

on

Youth & Peace Building held

 

If we study the society today, we can find lots of differences. We can easily find out that it is not the same society, which it used to be. There is lots of conflicts and violence in the society that was never before. As most of the countries of Asia have multi- cultural society, it is necessary to maintain unity in diversity.

• What is this conflict?
• What causes the violence?
• How can peace be built in the society?
• How youth can play an active role in peace building?

 

To find out the answers of these questions, youths got together in Chandigarh, India. It was Commonwealth Youth Programme and Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, who organized this workshop on YOUTH AND PEACE BUILDING from 9^th to 13^th February 2009. The place was the Chandigarh and the venue was Asia Centre of Commonwealth Youth Programme. The selected youth from Asian Countries attended the Workshop. Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO) nominated Ms Ms Lipi Joshi to attend the event.

 

The workshop started on 9^th evening. The workshop was inaugurated Commonwealth Secretary General, Mr. Kamlesh Sharma. In inaugural function Mr. Raj K. Mishra welcomed participants. Dr. Anneth Methews from Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) delivered her speech. The vote of thanks presented by Mr. Aminul Islam Khan. Programme Manager. Later in evening the culture programme was organized.

Dr. Pramod Kumar spoke on Meaning, Factors contributing to and Relevance of Peace building in Today’s Context. He said that PEACE IS ACTION AND IT IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF VIOLENCE. According to him three types of violence: 1) Structured violence, 2) Privileged Violence and 3) Underprivileged Violence. He said that the youth can play their role on different level Before violence, During Violence & After Violence. He also talked about cultural violence.

 

Dr. Priyankar Upadhyay from Banaras Hindu University has two presentations 1) Genesis of Conflict: An Analysis and 2) Instruments/ Methodologies of Conflict Management/Resolution.

 

Dr. S.N. Subba Rao, Director National Youth Project and Chairman Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO) delivered his speech on Role of Youth in Conflict Management/ Resolution.

 

Dr Subba Rao started with JAI JAGAT, a beautiful song. He told that there are about 1652 dialects in India and therefore it is very essential to maintain UNITY IN DIVERSITY. He called conflict, the restlessness of man. He quoted “War begins in the minds of men and hence the defense of peace must be constructed in the minds of men.”

 

He also encouraged participants by giving some examples from his camps. He advised the participants for betterment saying “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

 

He suggested three remedies for peace building 1) Faith in the goodness of human being, 2) Service to mankind and 3) Prayer. He asked all the participants to close the eyes for five minutes and be relaxed. All did it and all found it very refreshing. It was really a nice session.

 

The groups discussed various issues including 1) what do you mean by conflict and how you do define conflict fro political, social, economic and ethnic point of view. 2) Is conflict intrinsic in human society? 3) How to manage/ resolve conflict- your role as a young person. 4) What strategies for peace building do you wish to propose?  The discussion was very thought provoking and various innovative ideas came-up during the discussion.

 

The each country made the presentation on Day three. One behalf of Indian participants Paridhi David and Parag made the presentation. 

 

Dr. Ronky Ram spoke on Youth Engagement in Dialogue, Mediation and Negotiation while Dr. Renuka Dagar presented her view on Post Conflict Peace Building: Role of Youth in Rehabilitation and Reintegration. Her presentation followed by group exercise.

 

Day four started with the talk of Mr. Rajasekeran, Director RGNIYD. He shared his experience as an IAS officer when he was District Magistrate and how he settled a dispute. Because it was a real example, it gave great inspiration to all.

 

Prof. S. L. Sharma spoke about Rights Based Approaches to Peace Building. He spoke about the value of democracy and social development and how they are inter-linked. He related the Peace with Human Rights and Democracy. According to him Peace is the state of social harmony. He added that justice is a primary condition for Peace.

 

Dr. Manjeet Singh spoke on Social Justice and Inclusion. He included peace and suppression and social system and the condition of marginalized people.

 

Mr. Aminul Islam Khan made the presentation on Respect and Understanding- the Mandate, Context and Rationale – on the Commission’s Report “Civil Paths to Peace”. The panel discussion on Inequality, grievance and history and Participation, Media and Education and Young People was held and panelists included Prof. Akhtarul Wassey, Mr. Raj K. Mishra and Lucy from CHRI.

 

Then was the time for the Valedictory Function. The Chief Guest of valedictory function was Mr. Preedip Mehra, Advisor to Administrator, Chandigarh. In his valedictory address he praise the youth power by saying “Youth are the agents of change. History is witness to the fact that they have always played an important role in any revolution that has come about in society”.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Raj K Mishra, Regional Director, CYP Asia Centre said: “Judging by the level of enthusiasm of the participants, the objective with which the workshop was organized seems to have been fulfilled. We feel confident that these young men and women will go back and work effectively towards peace building in their respective countries.”

(Report by Ms Lipi Joshi)

 

Asia-Pacific Countries Set Out Course of Action for Disaster Management

The three day meeting, which ended 27^th March 2009 in Bangkok organized at UN ESCAP, brought together more than 200 delegates from governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector from Asia and the Pacific countries. This was the first meeting of the Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction (CDRR) which was established by the 62 member governments of the United Nations ESCAP last year.

 

The committee agreed to take a series of measures to improve their cooperation in sharing information and experiences in disaster risk reduction – a key issue to be tackled in this most disaster-prone region in the world.

 

Participants pointed out that while the Asia-Pacific region accounts for 42 per cent of the world’s natural disasters and a disproportionate 65 per cent of their victims, knowledge on disaster risk reduction is usually dispersed and out of reach of those who need to make decisions and take action.

 

Up-coming Events:

UNESCO Asian Youth Forum

 

The 3^rd UNESCO Asian Youth Forum will be held from July 2-7, 2009 in Gwangju, Republic of Korea. The theme of this year Forum is “Reshaping our Future: In Search of Asian Alternatives”.

 

More detail in next issue of YI.

 

SAYEN: Consultation for preparatory UN CSD Policy Session

 

The 17^th Policy session of Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) will focus on Agriculture, Rural development, Land, Drought, Desertification and Africa in this year meeting.

 

To give the inputs of the CBOs and NGOs for finalizing the country position on the above, in partnership with Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), a consultation workshop is being organized on 7th April 2009 at CEE, Ahmedabad.

 

The SAYEN invites the Youth for participation in the Consultation Workshop to discuss Country Brief/ Position for CSD 17 Policy Session. For more detail log on www.sayen.org

 

International Study Programme: Global Challenges for

Youth with Disabilities - In Pursuing Rights

 

 The Korean Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities KSRPD) will conduct an international study programme to empower young persons with disabilities.

 

The objective of the study is to provide youth with disabilities with opportunities to build their capacity, so that they can full-fill their lives, and contribute to the national and global community in the future; bridge the gab between disability experts and persons with disability, and the gab between people with disabilities and without, through working together as a team, and raise public awareness of ‘Ability’ of young persons with disabilities.

 

This 10 day programme will be held mid August in Seoul, Korea.

 

The Young people with disabilities, aged between 18~30 years, those having skill of English both for speaking and writing an article for the programme will be invited for this study. The cost to attend the programme of selected participants will take care by organizer.  For more detail log on http://rikorea.freeget.net

 

UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women Issues Annual Call for Proposals

The United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) has launched a global annual call for proposals to support country-level efforts to end violence against women and girls. Civil society organizations, governments, and UN Country Teams in partnership with governments and civil society are invited to submit applications for a minimum of US$100,000 to a maximum of US$1 million for a duration of up to three years. The deadline for application is 17 April 2009. For detail information and application log on:

http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/violence_against_women/trust_fund_guidelines.php

 

International Youth Forum by WAY

The World Assembly of Youth and the National Youth Organization of Libyan Youth (NOLY) will jointly organizing the International Youth Forum (IYF) and will be held from April 13 to 15, 2009 at Tripoli, Libya.

The theme selected for IYF 2009 is “The Role of Youth on Poverty Eradication”. 

 

The participation is open for the representatives of International Youth Organizations, Regional Youth Organizations, and National Youth Councils

 

World Creative Youth Forum 2009

World Creative Youth Forum (WCYF) 2009 will be held form May 5-10, 2009 in Philippines.  The theme of the Forum is "Education for Sustainable Development" and will focus on Peace and Human Rights, Climate Change, Sustainable Lifestyle, Entrepreneurship, Education and Technology, and Advocacy for Sustainable Development. For more information log on www.worldcreativeyouthforum.net

 

Global Youth Forum

The Global Youth Forum will be held from June 9-14, 2009 in Mangolia and organized by organized by OYUNLAL-UILS. The Forum aims to encourage dialogue among young people to develop mutual understanding and cooperation in addressing global problems. Issues covered at the Forum will include environmental protection & climate change, poverty, decent work and unemployment, public health policy and HIV/AIDS, and gender equality. For more information log on www.oyunlaguils.mn/index.php?ID=7

 

Int. Children’s Conference on the Environment

The Tunza Conference will be held from August 17-21,,2009 in Daejeon, South Korea and organized by UNEP in cooperation with UNEP National Committee for the Republic of Korea. The theme for this year will be : "Climate Change: Our Challenge”. The conference is open for children aged 10 to 14. For more information log on

www.unep.org/Tunza/Children/Events/icc_2009/ 

 

Global Youth Assembly 2009

The second Ignite Change Now! Global Youth Assembly will be held from July 30th-August 2nd, 2009 in Canada and organized by John Humphrey Centre.

 

The Assembly is for 1000 youth under the age of 16-28 year of age. For more information log on  www.youthassembly.ca

 

Global Model UN Conference

The UN Department of Public Information will be organizing the first annual Global Model UN Conference in Geneva, Switzerland from 5-7 August 2009. The event will bring together the best university-level students from Model UN programmes currently organized around the world.  The theme for the first conference will be "The Millennium Developments Goals -- Lifting the bottom billion out of poverty".

 

UNESCO - Goi Peace Foundation Int. Essay Contest 2009

Through the annual essay competitions, UNESCO and the Goi Peace Foundation encourage young people to share their vision for the future. The theme for this year's contest is "The role of science in building a better world". Scientific progress has brought many benefits to humanity, while some applications of science have had adverse impacts. Through the competition young people will answer questions such as "What kind of science and technology do you think is needed for realizing a more equitable, prosperous and sustainable world for all? 

 

The last date for entry is 30 June 2009. For complete information log on http://www.goipeace.or.jp/english/activities/programs/0901.html

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Youth Information is published by

Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO)

194-A, Arjun Nagar, Safdarjang Enclave

New Delhi 110029, India

Phone: 91 9811729093  / 91 11 26183978 Fax 91 11 26198423

Email: icyoindia@... / icyo@...

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Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO) is a registered non-profit, non-governmental network organization, committed in developing areas of mutual cooperation and understanding among different youth voluntary agencies, youth groups, clubs and individuals working in the field of youth welfare in India. 

ICYO functions as an umbrella organization of youth NGOs in India. It's family consists of
over 356 organizations spread in 122 districts of 22 states from different corners of India.

Our goal:
To improve and extend the youth work and services through Youth Organizations;
To enhance and demonstrate youth work in the society;
To promote effective youth programmmes;
To organize network of civil society organizations working towards the development of youth work;
To organize seminars, conferences, workshops, trainings;
To maintain international relation with organizations promoting young people in their programmes and activities

Affiliation: 

Consultative (Roster) Status with ECOSOC, United Nations;
Consultative Status with Commission on Sustainable Development;
Full Member of World Assembly of Youth (WAY); Asian Youth Council (AYC);
 CRIN, South Asia Youth Environment Network (SAYEN),

Affiliate group of ECPAT International, Thailand;
ATSECE-DELHI, Indian Partner of AIDS Care Watch Campaign;
Steering Committee member of World Bank's YDP Network;
Working relation with Indian Association of Parliamentarians (IAPPD);
International Medical Parliamentarians Organizations (IMPO);
Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD);
World Youth Foundation, Malaysia.