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In this section you will find the achievements of YES Country Networks and Alexandria Summit Delegates since the launch of the YES Campaign on September 11, 2002. YES Country Networks - What are they? | Alexandria Summit Delegates |
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ANGOLA ARGENTINA AUSTRALIA YES Australia lead agency, the International Young Professionals Foundation, and local partner Y-Biz Hothouse, announce a series of seven regional workshops in April, 2003. The National Workshop and Case Study Series will take place in seven Australian cities to coincide with Global Youth Service Day and Australia's National Youth Week, April 7-13, 2003. The workshops will:
On December 5 2002, a delegation of Australian youth leaders, including YES Australia Coordinator Cameron Neil and Australian YES delegate Juan Walker, met with Australia's Minister for Children and Youth, Mr Larry Anthony, and Mr Joe Hockey, Minister for Small Business and Tourism. The four-person delegation included two of the Australian delegates to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs Forum on the Development of Business with Social Responsibility (Mexico, 9-13 September 2002). The delegation presented recommendations to
the Ministers and engaged them on what role the APEC and YES networks
can play in delivering improved outcomes for young people in Australia.
Visit the YES Australia web page to read the recommendations and
a summary of the meeting's outcomes.
Read about these and other YES-Australia developments: http://projects.yesweb.org/YES-Australia or contact Cameron Neil: cameronneil@iypf.org for more information. AZERBAIJAN BENIN BHUTAN
CHILE COLOMBIA ECUADOR The Network launched the Knowledge Cafe in August 2002 in Alexandria, a technology center offering employment advisory services and internet communications. Knowing that engaging the private sector is critical to achieving the YES Campaign goals, YES Egypt in partnership with Virgitech Corps is sponsoring over 2,000 computer scholarships for underprivileged youth. Also, all thematic papers developed for the Alexandria Summit are translated into Arabic, enabling the YES Campaign to communicate with the entire Arab world. Network members in Alexandria worked tirelessly to build national public interest for the Alexandria Summit and provided a pool of volunteers to ensure the smooth running of the event. A group of more than 50 dedicated volunteers worked for months on all aspects of the Summit's preparation. The Alexandria Summit, which attracted over 700 Egyptian delegates, was a heavily over-subscribed event, a tribute to the dedication of Egyptian youth. Since September 2002 YES Egypt has expanded its membership from many other cities and towns in Egypt, and a wide range of activities are underway. Network member, the Orouba Youth Center, Cairo, Egypt, held a nine-day conference on youth employment in Cairo with Euro Commission funding from November 25 - December 2, 2002. The six countries represented at the conference (UK, Spain, Italy, Jordan, Turkey and Egypt) participated in workshops on a large range of topics. The YES Egypt Network announces it has successfully registered itself as a legal entity. Its registered name is the Association of Sustainable Development, based in Alexandria, Egypt. YES Coordinator, Mr. Abdallah Sobeih expressed satisfaction and excitement after winning official registration. "This is wonderful news for the YES Egypt Network. It wasn't easy to be registered, but after six months of intense lobbying efforts with the Ministry of Social Affairs we are now able to present project proposals and organize national dialogues on a legally recognized platform. I'm very excited about the future." Mr. Sobeih joined the YES Campaign Secretariat team in February, 2003 as the YES Regional Coordinator for North Africa and the Middle East. YES Egypt is the second YES Network to declare its official status, joining YES Pakistan as the second local NGO to emerge from the YES Campaign. Visit the YES Egypt website to learn more: http://projects.yesweb.org/YES-Egypt or contact Abdallah Sobeih:abdallah@yesweb.org EL SALVADOR GEORGIA In May 2003 more than 100 organizations from the Black Sea region participated in a national consultation and identified that the lack of youth employment services was the most serious issue confronting them, proposing to create a center.
Network member Levan Kobakhidzeof is one of the winners of the Renewable Energy Fellows competition funded by the Global Environment Facility and the World Bank. A Georgian, Mr. Nugzar Meladze is managing the five-country Renewable Energy Fellowship Program project for YES.
GHANA HONDURAS In March, the initial baseline study will be done as well as several
occupational workshops where participants will learn how to make
cards out of recycled paper, as well as products such as scented
candles. Profits made from the sales of these products will benefit
youth living with HIV/AIDS and their families. USAID is providing
70% of these funds and CEPROSAF the remaining 30%. For more information, visit http://projects.yesweb.org/YES-Honduras
or contact YES-Honduras Coordinator Norma Elvira Carías via
email, normae@psinet.hn Launched a US$80,000 project funded by the USAID in February 2003. This 18 month project will give youth technical and vocational training to help them in building productive and sustainable livelihoods.
YES India successfully lobbied with the State Government of Andhra Pradesh to host the first YES Regional Forum in Hyderabad, India. In preparation for the YES Regional Forum, YES India has successfully launched YES Hyderabad Network in January 2003. Since its inception YES Hyderabad is working tirelessly to gain the support of key leaders, engage the private sector organizations like Tulip Hotels, and to promote the YES Campaign activities in the remote areas of the State by establishing district level committees of multi stakeholder groups.
In September 2003, will organize a YES Regional Conference. This conference for Middle East and North Africa will focus on actions that can be taken to address youth unemployment within the framework of the YES Campaign. The event is being held in partnership of Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the National Youth Organization and several Non Governmental Organizations. In late 2002, the YES Network negotiated a grant from the Islamic Development Bank to launch an entrepreneurship training scheme for youth in a provincial area in western Iran, implemented by a local NGO. Also, all of the thematic papers commissioned for the Alexandria Summit are now translated into Farsi, a huge accomplishment.
Network member and YES 2002 Young Innovator Award Winner, Ms Becky Wachera reports Ecosandals has invested the prize money awarded in Alexandria in a new machine to increase production. "We're glad to be able to utilize the money for the expansion of the production and operations of the sandal enterprise. Once again, we would like to thank the organizers of the Youth Employment Summit for such an enormous effort that saw us recognized as part of the YES Innovators Award winners.
Representatives from GTZ Kenya, the Nation Newspaper and other key institutions and organizations were present for the meeting that lasted throughout the day. Dumisani Nyoni reports that "the energy, passion and commitment of YES Kenya is contagious. After spending some time working with the Network on programmatic details and putting together a workable approach to promoting youth employment in Kenya, including a strategy to partner with the new government, I am very excited about the possibilities that exist and I’m looking forward to interesting results over the coming year." Dumisani was in Kenya to participate in the Governing Council session of the United Nations Environment Programme and the UNEP Youth Retreat. For updates on YES Kenya, visit http://projects.yesweb.org/YES-Kenya or contact YES Kenya Coordinator Gathecha Kamau: yeskenya@37.com MALAWI Sponsored a bill to support Youth Employment in Malawi National Assembly Sponsored and lobbied for a bill to support youth employment be placed before the Malawi National Assembly (Parliament) currently being debated. The bill was presented to Parliament by a youth MP the Honorable Roy Commsy, aged 24. MalawiIn Malawi, YES Coordinator Kondwani Munthali reports Malawi’s Speaker of the National Assembly, the Right Honorable Mr. Sam Mpasu has accepted the honorary post of Co-Chairperson of the YES Campaign in Malawi. In addition, three senior Members of the National Assembly, one cabinet minister and a deputy Minister have also accepted in principal to work with the campaign team to develop Youth Employment initiatives. YES-Malawi's Strategy a Model For Others, October 2002 YES Malawi’s strategy document points to multi-sectoral input and the need for domestic labor research in this African country as keys to advancing the needs of the 500,000 young Malawians entering the labor market each year. Visit the YES-Malawi website to learn more: http://projects.yesweb.org/YES-Malawi MAURITIUS YES-Mauritius has embarked on a community-based program where out-of-school youth are provided with literacy and computer courses every week. Held consultation with local NGO's to place youth employment on their agendas and in their activities. MEXICO YES Mexico and Government of Mexico hosting Mexico Summit, 2004 YES Mexico and the Government of Mexico are jointly hosting the Mexico Summit in 2004, a global milestone event to assess the achievements of the first two years of the YES Campaign and to chart its future course. The Monterrey Tech and E Foundation are co-hosting the Secretariat for this Summit at the Business School based in Mexico City. YES Mexico has won the support of the Private Sector to support their youth employment initiatives and Mr. Jorge Vergara, President of Grupo Omnilife (www.omnilife.com.mx) and other national leaders have agreed to support the Summit and to contribute towards its success. MOLDOVA Moldova's Future Business Leaders Association has launched two new youth employment projects in the month of October 2002. The first, a Career Planning Program, aims to provide training and skills for young professional to aid their transition to the labor market. The second, the Young Women's Employment Center, intends to create a consultative, supportive and assisting infrastructure for young women from Balti district of Moldova. Moldova's Future Business Leaders Association has launched two new youth employment projects in the month of October 2002. The first, a Career Planning Program, aims to provide training and skills for young professional to aid their transition to the labor market. The second, the Young Women's Employment Center, intends to create a consultative, supportive and assisting infrastructure for young women from Balti district of Moldova. Read a
report about these programs. MOZAMBIQUE Action Plan presented to Minister of Youth Presented an Action Plan to promote youth employment to the Minister of Youth, who adopted it as part of their policy framework and invited the YES Network to function in an advisory capacity. NAMIBIA Africa Youth ICT and NEPAD Conference Organized an Africa Youth ICT and NEPAD Conference with the National Youth Council of Namibia and World Assembly of Youth in August 2003. This conference will raise awareness of best practices in the use of ICT in Africa; lobby for technical and financial support for the provision of ICT resources to youth and youth organisations in Africa. PAKISTAN On August 13, 2003, about 100 YES Volunteers, 15-29 years old dedicated one year to community service and to demonstrating their capacity for involvement in societal change and development. This was done as part of the ceremony to launch the Pakistani National Youth Service (PNYS) in Lahore. This youth volunteerism program will later be launched in three other provinces. In April 2003, YES Pakistan joined a consortium of organizations working to addressing the plight of street children. YES Pakistan will lead the activities of this consortium in Lahore. YES Pakistan, in partnership with the Punjab University's Social Work Department, is midway through a primary research project aimed at eliciting the employment realities facing Pakistani youth in an urban environment. The sample group is 100 households in a poor neighborhood of Lahore. YES Coordinator Mr. Ali Raza Khan reports the data collection stage is complete and the project is now in the data processing and analysis stage. Mr. Khan believes the analysis from the research will be of great
value. To read more about this project, please contact Mr. Ali Raza Khan, aliaccessed@hotmail.com,
Read more about YES Pakistan's institutional structure and National Action Plan on the YES Pakistan website: http://projects.yesweb.org/YES-Pakistan PARAGUAY Organized a workshop in October 2002 to focus on "Actions and Strategies for Youth Employability and Entrepreneurship” with the support of UNDP. In December 2002, organized a working breakfast on “Youth: Strategies for the Design of Policies and Programs for Employability in Paraguay." In attendance were the Minister of Work and Justice, representatives of various political parties, presidents of youth committees, media companies and representatives of various NGOs. On December 17 2002, YES Paraguay held a breakfast meeting with the Minister of Justice and Labor of the Republic of Paraguay, representatives of political parties and of international aid agencies in Paraguay. The purpose of the meeting was to focus on the progress of the YES Campaign in Paraguay for 2003. Then on February 13, 2003 YES Paraguay hosted a workshop on "Exclusion and Youth Employment" together with the World Bank and UNDP offices in Paraguay. YES Paraguay is also organizing a workshop in April with the candidates for the presidential election in Paraguay to place the theme of youth employment on the national agenda of the two main parties. For more information, write to the YES Coordinator in Paraguay,
Ms. Mirian Nunez: miriannu@hotmail.com
or Rodolfo Moran: upejpy@RIEDER.NET.PY.
You can also visit the YES-Paraguay website: PERU In 2002/3 YES Peru has organized a wide range of seminars throughout Peru. In September 2003 the YES Peru Network is organizing a national event in Lima, "The Reality of Youth Employment in Rural/Urban Areas". Peru Coordinator Ms. Ursula Carrascal Vizarreta is one of five YES Renewable Energy Fellows that are developing business plans to start small enterprises in the renewable energy sector PHILLIPINES YES Philippines organized the Philippine National Convention on Youth Employment from May 31 to June 03, 2003 bringing together almost one hundred community based youth organizations and youth leaders. This convention was organized in partnership with the UN Youth Employment Network and Youth Business International. YES-Philippines, known as the Philippine Youth Employment Network locally, announces it has finalized a partnership with the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Special Concerns to host a National Convention on Youth Employment, April 23-26, 2003, ECOTECH Conference Center, Cebu City. YES-Philippines, a youth-led and youth-serving network, includes the following multi-stakeholder partners:
and many other groups. Visit the YES-Philippines website - an excellent source of planning
and analytical documents: ROMANIA Launched a pilot Youth Employment Center that offers office skills training, career guidance, peer mentoring, job search support, internships with local businesses. It targets out-of-school youth, especially those without a high school diploma. YES Network member, the Children for Peace Foundation, is excited to announce it has won a sizable grant from the European Union to create and operate two new Youth Employment Centers in Northwest Romania. YES Network Coordinator, Ms. Rodica Pop, will head the project. Read the status report on YES-Romania's web page: http://projects.yesweb.org/YES-Romania RWANDA Youth Information Center Established Established a Youth Information Center to offer employment advisory services to youth through a $20,000 grant from the Artemisia Foundation. SERBIA & MONTENEGRO Center Established - grant from BCYF Established a Center that will advocate and push towards greater involvement of youth in the creation of national youth employment policies and new jobs for youth. This was funded by a grant from the Balkan Children and Youth Foundation (BCYF). SIERRA LEONE Series of awareness generating activities launched Launched a series of awareness generating activities promoting the YES Campaign and bringing more youth to be involved in the YES Network. SOMALIA Workshops Organized to unify goals and mission Galvanized the efforts of scattered youth groups in Somalia to build their credibility in the community. Organized workshops to get youth groups to unify their goals and mission, and strengthen their role in social development. The workshops also looked at ways members of YES Somalia could continue to empower youth, share resources, coordinate advocacy and raise funds. SWAZILAND Swaziland Post and Telecommunications sponsoring YES Swaziland project The Swaziland Post and Telecommunications Corporation is sponsoring YES Swaziland project. This project consists of the creation of a center equipped with 40 computers with Internet access, which opened in a rural Swaziland town in May 2003. TANZANIA President Benjamin Mkapa emphasizes on the need to focus on 6Es In March 2003, the lobbying efforts of YES Tanzania yielded results when President Benjamin Mkapa in his opening address to a Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Labor Ministers meeting spoke about the need to focus on the 6Es of the YES Campaign. YES Tanzania has long been involved in lobbying the government on the importance of youth employment and this is a clear sign of the results of their persistence. In the same month, there were two symposia organized by the YES Network held at higher institutions: one at the Institute for Finance Management and the other at the University of Dar es Salaam. They were designed to inform young intellectuals about the Summit and to encourage them to become involved in the campaign for youth employment. TOGO National Seminar to be held in 2003 Held a series of meetings geared at developing a national strategy on youth employment. A national seminar will be held in November 2003. UGANDA HIV/AIDS and Human Rights counselling center launched Through the efforts of YES Uganda, an HIV/AIDS and Human Rights counselling center was launched by Marijke Mooij, HIVOS Programme Officer for East Africa. In January 2003, a Community Technology Centre (CTC) was also opened - as of March 2003, 48 youth have been trained in computer and office skills. URUGUAY YES Uruguay launched Launched in May 2003 with the support of YES Argentina. ZIMBABWE Hosted a large exchange with the YES Swaziland Network in October 2003, focusing on livelihood opportunities in cultural fields. Earlier in 2003, the network organized a series of skills workshops for budding entrepreneurs in collaboration with the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises. Workshops have led to the establishment of concrete youth enterprises such as a youth-led ‘phone shop’ that was created in Lupane. Alexandria Summit Delegates
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