April News /

Dear YES Family,

YES! It is now confirmed that Kenya will host YES 2006, in the capital city of Nairobi. Led by the efforts of YES Kenya, the Ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services, the Ministry of Labor and UN HABITAT, the Government of Kenya has agreed to host the next YES global summit in the second half of 2006. YES is looking forward to holding its third global summit and expects its largest attendance to date. In the coming months, the YES Campaign will release more information regarding registration and other logistics information - so watch this space closely.

We have now hosted two international summits (Egypt and Mexico) and one regional summit (India) in a space of three years. 

1) Alexandria witnessed the great launch—a coming together of diverse stakeholders on one of the most compelling issues facing the world today. We identified core themes for the Campaign,published nearly 30 publications on youth employment, and held a series of workshops on capacity building. 

2) Hyderabad focused on ideas for employment generation in various sectors: Renewable Energy, Water and Sanitation, Information and Communication Technologies, Rural Development and HIV/AIDS. YES also founded the YES Academy as an international hub for youth employment at the Hyderabad Regional Forum.

3) In Mexico, we examined "what works.” YES Networks presented model  programs and policies and engaged in discussions with expert institutions and NGOS outside of YES. Throughout the Summit, we focused on helping the Networks build infrastructure to implement these programs.

4) For Kenya, we plan to focus on identifying and creating markets and building purchasing power by looking at Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) models. In addition, YES Kenya will address the need to craft a youth employment agenda in the human settlements arena.

Please share your ideas on possible topics for the Kenya Summit. It is your summit.

The summits have been remarkable in raising awareness of the dimensions and challenges of youth employment, bringing together diverse stakeholders, exploring effective practices and creating networking opportunities and fostering action. The summits alone, however, do not tell the story of the YES Campaign. Our real work occurs between the summits, in the launching of new Networks, new initiatives, and new employment opportunities for young people. Over the last 2 and a half years of the Campaign, more than 44 projects have been launched in different parts of the world. In addition, the summit in Veracruz, Mexico highlighted the breadth and depth of youth employment activities that our YES Country Networks are involved in – from program implementation to policy dialogue.  The YES Campaign at a global level has conducted some cutting edge research and produced quality publications on various themes around youth employment.  We have added considerable knowledge to the youth employment field with a particular focus on “what works” and the need for working together.  The YES Campaign has facilitated and participated in various global forums bringing a strong youth employment perspective to the global development challenges.   In addition we have  just completed several pilot projects in renewable energy and entrepreneurship development.  We will now be working to take these projects to scale in various regions of the world.

I want to thank all of you who have engaged and contributed to the YES Campaign. Without you nothing would be possible. I want to invite those of you who have not yet worked with us to join us as we take the actions needed to promote youth employment all over the world.

In solidarity,