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Hello and Happy International Year of Youth!
This is the 10th UN-HABITAT and Youth e-newsletter since its inception in 2006. The e-newsletter is now reaching over 22,000 people worldwide who are interested in youth and cities!
This enewsletter is meant to get the news out to you, the reader, on the interesting work that UN-HABITAT has been doing. Clearly, there has been lots going on, from the development of youth training in entrepreneurship, evaluation, asset mapping and peacebuilding through to further roll out of Moonbeam training centre, and the relaunch of the Messengers of Truth.
Most importantly, this newsletter gives you information on two important things - how to apply to the UN-HABITAT Urban Youth Fund (formerly known as the Opportunities Fund for Urban Youth Led Development) which launched February 15th; and more information on the upcoming World Urban Forum and World Urban Youth Assembly in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Other important issues with this issue are a story on UN-HABITAT's Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka winning of the Göteborg Award for sustainable development (big congrats!), a story on the newly funded Jovens Lideranças Ambientais Urbanas project in Brazil, a report back on HABITAT Day in Washington D.C, and a listing of places you can get more information on youth led development.
As well, if you read to the bottom of the newsletter, you will find out the winner of the Youth Led Development Survey Win an IPOD contest. Congrats! This is an ongoing survey initiated at the beginning of each round of the Youth Fund, so If you haven't filled out the survey and want to get a chance to win an IPOD please click here to win.
Have a great 2010!!
Doug Ragan
Editor
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UN-HABITAT Launches Second Round of Urban Youth Fund!
The UN-HABITAT Urban Youth Fund has awarded almost $1 million dollars in grants from youth groups from around the world.The first beneficiaries of the Opfund were drawn from a pool of over 1000 appicants from 86 countries. Kenya, India, Pakistan and Cameroon generated the greatest number of successful applicants under the programme. The winning projects were from 33 countries and focused on alleviating poverty, improving employment prospects, education, the environment, health and safety.
Of some 1 billion slum dwellers in the world today, it is estimated that more than 70 percent are under 30. These young people have few resources available to improve their own living environments.
Among the recipients are a Kenyan environmental group recycling plastic waste, a Nigerian HIV/AIDS counseling project for young mothers and sex workers, a Palestinian group dedicated to computer and media training as a platform showcasing human rights, and a Pakistani literacy, job and lifestyle skills development programme. Another is a Brazilian youth organization which trains young people as environmental leaders. For a list of the fund beneficiaries click here. Training for Opfund participants is now underway, with roll out of programs happening soon after.
The Urban Youth Fund will again provide one million dollars to projects led by youth who are piloting innovative approaches to employment, good governance, shelter and secure tenure. Small development initiatives are eligible for grants of up to $5,000 USD, while larger projects may be able to secure up to $25,000 USD.
Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, UN-HABITAT’s Executive Director, believes that young people are uniquely placed to solve the problems faced by their communities. She created the fund to provide direct financial support to youth-led initiatives, with the intention of helping combat the challenges of urban poverty, while at the same time creating more sustainable and inclusive cities and towns.
The UN-HABITAT is now calling for young people based in cities or towns from the developing world to apply for grants from the fund. The deadline for applications is April 15th 2010. Details are now available at www.unhabitat.org/youthfund. If you know of anyone who you think should apply, please forward them this newsletter by clicking on this Send to a Friend link.
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WORLD URBAN YOUTH ASSEMBLY, RIO DE JANEIRO, 2010
Youth Speak Out on Urban Issues
The World Urban Youth Assembly runs from March 19 - 20, 2010 and comes at a key time for both urban youth and the global urban population. Cities have become the primary and fastest growing human settlements with over half of humanity living in cities and more notably, one out of every three city dwellers living in a slum. The majority of these urban inhabitants are youth. With the world is facing an economic, environmental and social crisis not seen in almost a century, the World Urban Youth Assembly is ideally placed to engage youth in meaningful discussion and determine key actions and policies on such issues as the increased in urban poverty, growth of slums, unemployment, economic and natural disasters and climate change.
The World Urban Youth Assembly in Rio de Janeiro will continue the momentum brought about by UN-HABITAT and its partners' work in the area of youth led development. UN-HABITAT has had great success both at the normative and programmatic level in regards to youth, with the successful establishment of the One Stop Youth Resource and We are the Future Centre model pilot projects, and the launch of the multi-year Opportunities Fund for Urban Youth-Led Development. These projects have improved the lives of the youth involved as well as given local authorities, national governments and Habitat agenda partners tested models of urban youth development.
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Urban Youth Fund Profile
Jovens Lideranças Ambientais Urbanas, Santo André
Youth from the Prestes Maia Social Housing complex of Santo André will be engaged through the Jovens Lideranças Ambientais Urbanas a project of the Alma Ambiental, a youth led organization from Santo Andre, Brazil, that promotes art education focused on urban environmental issues. The project will encourage initiatives led by youth of the community through training in environmental education, leadership and project development, in order to improve the management of waste and contribute to the implementation of green areas. After implementing the projects, young people will continue their training and contribute to the city as interns in partner organizations working on environment and social inclusion.
"Our housing complex is a community of people who came from different corners of the city, largely through projects of slum upgrading," Edinilson Ferreira dos Santos, 29 years, Assistant Project Coordinator, "We always seek to strengthen ties between people through community events. We want to harness the dynamism and creativity that young people have to further strengthen this community. "
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Obama calls for renewed partnerships, congratulates UN HABITAT for their work.
President Barrack Obama said in his World Habitat Day message on Monday that his administration was looking towards stronger partnerships with other organizations in addressing the challenges facing people globally.
"World Habitat Day is a good chance to look into the problem of people without housing and how to help them," he said in a video-taped message to participants marking the one-day occasion at a colourful ceremony at the National Building Museum in Washington.
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Donates prize winnings to youth programs
The Göteborg Award now celebrating its tenth year, conferred its jubilee prize of one million Swedish Kroner (USD 126,775) to be shared equally between Mrs. Tibaijuka, the former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, and the 2008 Time Magazine Hero of the Environment.
"Looking ahead, a cornerstone of our strategy is to engage young people at every level. In Nanjing we launched the UN-HABITAT Urban Youth Fund." stated Mrs. Tibaijuka, "And so I wish to state in expressing my gratitude for the great honour you have bestowed on me here that the monies coming from this award are going straight into UN-HABITAT’s youth fund. The fund is intended to help those getting the grants become pathfinders for others in this rapidly urbanizing world."
The award was established to bridge a perceived gap left by non recognition of landmark environment and development initiatives by other international awards. Last year’s winners included former US Vice-President Al Gore.
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UN-HABITAT is committed to supporting youth led development through researching and promoting best practices and policies. The Youth Led Development Survey is one mechanism through whcih to do this. This survey will be ongoing throughout the life of the Urban Youth Fund.
If you are a youth group that has, or is planning to, submit to the Urban Youth Fund, you can fill out this survey and have a chance to win an IPOD! An IPOD will be given out to the randomly chosen group that has filled out the survey at the beginning of each Urban Youth Fund round.
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Resources and How to Keep in Touch !!!
Are you on Facebook? Twitter?
If so then follow what is happening at the fund on facebook at:
and join us on twitter at:
Looking forward to chatting with you!!
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Youth Led Resource list
Please find below a list of resources on urban youth development. Please send us anything more you may have!!
UN-HABITAT and Youth in the News
Urban Youth Development Articles (click on title)
Stay tuned for the State of Urban Youth Report, coming next issue!
Websites
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