Action Partner News

Read about the work of Action Partners around the world.

Sharing stories of work on the ground. Want to share your story?  Email it to Mary at  iypvoice@oxfam.org.au

Report back from the NEEDS-2 Consultative Forum

Oghenefego Isikwenu,  Action Partner 2007,  Nigeria.

 Action Partner Oghenefego Isikwenu discusses the events surrounding the lead up to the NEEDS-2 Consultative Forum held recently across six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Forums were held to enable the review of the National Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). The forums provided Nigerian youth with a chance to mobilise and examine how current policy impacts on young people. From this, each of the six zones created a position paper that outlined various concerns regarding current policy and its interaction with young people. Oghenefego was nominated by her zone to present their recommendations to the minister in charge of the National Planning Commission.

 The National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) is the response to the development challenges of Nigeria. It was a four year plan to achieve national development in various areas including employment generation, poverty reduction, improved health care, etc from 2003-2007.

 Although this document recognized youths as active and volatile, it did not acknowledge young people as important stakeholders capable of productivity if given the right environment. An opportunity came for this document to be reviewed and consultative meetings were held in the 6 geopolitical zones of the country for the development of NEEDS-2. The youths took hold of this opportunity by mobilizing young people in these zones to come up with position papers for youths in each zone stating the needs and policy recommendations as it affects young people in their zones.

 When it came to my zone, we had a well mobilised youth populace and we presented a position paper representing the voice of young people. I was nominated to make the presentation to the Minister in charge of the National Planning Commission. The key points we raised concerned:

• Basic education which should be free and compulsory for children;
• Skills acquisition training for young farmers;
• Making the micro-credit scheme youth-friendly, and
• Provision of farm storage facilities.

It was an exciting exercise because we all came from different states and tribes but had one voice. We left with high hopes because in the next document we believe youths will be recognized as stakeholders in development

 

story of the month

PERSONAL JOURNEYS AND REFLECTIONS 

 Action Partners from Vanuatu report back on their experiences from the First National Action Partners Conference in Port Vila. Hosted at Dumbea Hall, the conference gave Ni-Van Action Partners the opportunity to come together and share ideas and goals as they continued their preparations for Kaleidoscope. The conference also gave the participants an opportunity to reflect on their journey so far and some of these reflections are shared below. 

About the Vanuatu Action Partners

            “At last we have come to realize how important it is to approach and strengthen relationships, especially when we share the same goals and are recruited to play in the very same teams.”

The Vanuatu Action Partners are a combination of specific young people from all the six provinces that exist in Vanuatu.  With an overall tally of 14, 12 Action Partners attended the “First National Action Partners” Conference which was hosted at Dumbea Hall in Port Vila.

During the event participants spent the first couple of days preparing travel documents and logistics. Talks were given by existing NGO’s that were addressing similar issues such as the The Four Thematic Areas of essential services, peace and conflict, gender equity and economic justice.  Our presentations were quite difficult subjects but we managed to find our way with ease after every individual contributed fantastic ideas.  We rounded up with a terrific weekend camp at Creek Ai, an isolated spot located north of Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila – overlooking the lovely Havana Harbour and Lelepa Island.

It was so easy making friends; we fished and played, sang songs and shared jokes.  We were really shy at first but…we later on sat down and laughed at ourselves about how we reacted to each other during the ice breaking sessions on the very first days.

It was wonderful, we felt that the conference had taught us how to stick together and face challenges together. It also has built confidence within each of us.During the closing of our conference an executive was put in place, time was really short but we took the most out from it. 

We enjoyed the conference so much! We just can’t wait to attend Kaleidoscope and see for ourselves what we have been hearing all this time and to broaden our knowledge and skills targeting each of the thematic fields.

Andrew Williams (Tanna, Vanuatu) reflects on his participation:

“For me the best part of the national conference was getting to know the other action partners from different islands and hearing about their experiences and challenges and working together to try to make a change in our societies. 

 I learnt a lot during the conference, especially around the 4 thematic areas.  It was the first time that I came to understand how these 4 thematic areas link to each other and to other problems.  For example, people often talk about teenage pregnancy as a problem, so it was good to learn about how other problems can be the cause of this – like essential services and the availability of these…or gender justice.  I can now see how one problem can lead to other problems and how they are connected.  Gender is also a big thing in my community and it can cause a lot of arguments in communities.  It is hard to talk to people about gender, often it causes arguments.  People don’t want to hear about it.  But it helps if you can link it to other issues.

 The conference really helped me to think outside the box.  The other day I was speaking to someone in my community about setting up a youth organisation in my area.  So it was good to be able to talk about things like essential services and youth and to link issues.  After the conference I have decided to set-up a committee – like a workforce – so we can work together and get assistance from each other.

 I really think that it has opened new doors for me…to experience new things.  The issues in my community are more obvious now.  This experience has really empowered me and put something in my heart to do more work in my community.” 

  

July Feature

 

0707: Keeping the Promise

 Kaetlyn Roberts discusses the history behind the United Nations Millennium Declaration and examines how much progress has been made since its creation in 2000. The declaration identifies eight key development goals to be achieved by the year 2015. Action Partner Selene Biffi from Italy reflects on her experiences and thoughts about the Millennium Declaration thus far, and discusses what her organization, Youth Action for Change (YAC), is doing to help meet the 2015 target.

In September 2000 world leaders together adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration and agreed to a set of eight development goals to be achieved by the fifteenth year of the New Millennium. The eight goals aim to: 

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality 
4. Reduce child  mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

This year marks the half way point to the 2015 target date of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  Recently the United Nations published The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007 which assessed the progress which has been made at the half way point. The overall tone of the report was that while there has been some progress, much more needs to be done if the goals are to be achieved by the target date.

 Action Partner Selene Biffi from Italy is working on MDG related programs and gives an update on how these programs are contributing towards achieving the MDGs.

 Selene Biffi, 2004 Action Partner, Italy As a young person myself, I have always believed in the power of young people to create positive change around the world. However, despite the fact that young people account for over half of the world's population, they are still the most untapped resource to date. As I do believe that change happens bottom-up, rather than the other way round, I decided I would try my best to empower young people to tackle the issues affecting their communities and the world at large, and once I heard about the MDGs, I just thought that would be a great opportunity to get young people even more involved.

 When I first heard about the MDGs, I also thought that, as an individual, little was left to me to do to actually accomplish them. However, pondering about ways to actually make a difference, I also thought that, no matter how small, any effort could contribute to the achievement of the MDGs. And, after all, many small efforts around the world could as well have an unmatched impact, a positive one.

 As such, at Youth Action for Change (YAC) we started focusing even more on the issues the MDGs deal with, and as we strive to inspire and empower young people to be active change makers in their own communities, we preferred to give them a broader view on MDGs by offering them free online activities and courses on different issues (Gender, Sustainable Development, Education and many more), so that they could take whatever they need and ploughed it back into their communities, regardless of their backgrounds (with any course, we offer skills that can be adapted to different contexts and issues, including Project Management, Campaigning and much more). We also encouraged all of our participants to reach out to their own peers and communities, especially those who do not have access to ICTs - yes, the digital divide is still big out there.

 At the same time, YAC started considering carrying out programs on the ground, as not everything can be accomplished online. As such, we are now considering partnerships with TakingITGlobal to deliver workshops in Italy. We created a scholarship fund for destitute children in Kenya and will be launching activities to train young change makers in the Pacific Rim, among many others.

 To date, YAC has reached out to thousands of young people worldwide in some 120 countries, and many of them have now created their own organisations and programs, In Pakistan, someone successfully lobbied to have a regional youth policy drafted and implemented, in Kenya a youth group biked around to spread information about HIV, and in the Philippines, young people trained local indigenous groups to use cameras to document Human Rights abuses.

 As I said, many small efforts lead to change, and eventually, to a better, more equitable and fairer world. Each and every one of us has the power and the responsibility to make this happen.

 www.youthactionforchange.org

Resources

Millennium Development Goal Web Resources

 Name: Taking it Global

Address: http://www.takingitglobal.org/themes/mdg/

Summary: This site is all about

“Inspiring, informing and involving young people to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals is one of the key program areas of Taking IT Global and the Global Youth Action Network in 2005.”

 

The site contains:

- Action Blogs

- MDG Game

- Youth in Policy section

- Gallery

- Campaign kit

 

Name: Millennium Campaign

Address:http://www.millenniumcampaign.org/site/pp.asp?c=grKVL2NLE&b=138312

Summary: This site has information about the millennium development goals, regional reports, and examines who is doing what to achieve the goals. It also has different campaign activities and ways to get involved or show support.

 

Name: Global Youth Action Network

Address: http://www.youthlink.org/gyanv5/index.htm

Summary: GYAN is a youth-led organization that unites the efforts of young people working to improve our world. The Network connects many thousands of organizations in over 190 countries and a growing membership is now helping to shape the future direction of GYAN.

The site contains:

- Available in English, Spanish or French

- Program information and links to other youth organisations.

- Useful resource documents: Read GYAN's MDG Strategy :: Read the Youth & MDG's Report :: Check out the MDG Youth Portal :: Check out MDG Youth Campaign Kit

 

 Name: United Nations Development Group: MDG Toolkit

Address:  http://mdgtoolkit.undg.org/

Summary: The MDG Toolkit “is a collection of training materials on the Millennium Development Goals. The emphasis is on explaining and applying the concepts, building skills, and encouraging attitudes that support collaboration among development partners. You do not have to be a UN staff member to use these materials. It is designed to provide development practitioners with materials that they can customize to create training events that best fits their needs and are tuned to the local context.

- Site is available in English, Spanish and French

 

 UN 2007 Development Goals Progress Chart

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/mdg2007-progress.pdf