The International Association for National Youth Service 9th Global Conference is fast approaching and registration closes in just one month on 25 September 2010. Register now to make sure you don’t miss the opportunity to hear from exciting speakers and network with youth civic participation professionals worldwide. Hosted by Innovations in Civic Participation, in collaboration with the Gerhart Center at the American University in Cairo and Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Global Conference on National Youth Service will be held from 25-27 October 2010 at the Library of Alexandria in Egypt. It will take place over the course of three days and the agenda is continuously being updated with exciting new speakers and sessions. See the preliminary agenda here.
Special Track on Youth Civic Engagement and Employability
In many countries worldwide, young people represent the largest cohort in society yet experience some of the lowest employment rates. Lack of access to education and skill-building experience means that a growing number of jobs are out of reach for young people trying to enter the workforce. In addition, an increasing number of countries throughout the world simply lack jobs. It is crucial to address the growing rates of youth unemployment not just for immediate employment outcomes, but also for the long-term negative effects of unemployment early in a young person’s career and participation in society. As such, the conference will include a special multi-session track on the connection between youth service and employability.
Civic engagement programs can engage energetic young people in addressing critical needs such as environmental sustainability, public health and education, while also providing a mechanism for young people to build crucial workforce skills such as leadership, responsibility, decision-making, self-management, team-building and cooperation. Instead of feeling disempowered and alienated, young people engaged in service projects achieve a sense of purpose and accomplishment that counteracts pressures to get involved in unhealthy behaviors and sets them on the right track to participate in a productive and industrious workforce and in society overall.
The conference will provide multiple outlets for participants to examine this concept and the various programs associated with it. Clayton Peters, IANYS Global Council member and Head of Division for National Youth Service and Skills Development for the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) in South Africa, will chair a plenary session introducing this theme, and breakout sessions in the employability track will discuss topics such as skill-building through civic engagement programs, transitions to employment and social entrepreneurship.
Dialogue on Critical Issues with Expert Speakers through Informative and Interactive Sessions
The conference will also incorporate a track for policymakers and others interested in National Youth Service policy development. Specific breakout sessions will explore other theoretical and practical themes of service, such as service and peace building and post-conflict reconstruction, how technology facilitates service opportunities and connects youth, impact evaluation, private sector funding for youth service, and more.
One keynote speaker is Esther Benjamin, the Associate Director for Global Operations at the Peace Corps.Before joining Peace Corps, Ms. Benjamin served on Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team focusing on foreign assistance following the November 2008 presidential elections. She has also held high-level positions at the International Youth Foundation (IYF) and the International Partnership for Microbicides, and in 1999 President Bill Clinton named her a White House Fellow, one of the nation’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service. (Read Ms. Benjamin’s full biography here.) Ms. Benjamin will discuss how Peace Corps is supporting youth civic engagement around the world and highlight the vision for the future of Peace Corps.
Additionally, the Education Development Center (EDC) will be providing a two-part workshop, sponsored by the USAID EQUIP 3 Program, on developing guidelines for best practices for Service Learning Programs in developing countries. Part one of the workshop will discuss program design and implementation, specifically best practices in the application of service learning principles and methodology, the design of program strategy, activities and outcomes, youth recruitment and selection processes, program management. Part two of the workshop will cover monitoring and evaluation and budgeting sustainability. This segment will specifically discuss M&E indicators, methods for assessing impact; tracking studies; development of cost estimates, fundraising strategies, approaches to capacity-building of implementing institutions and program sustainability. Facilitators of this workshop will be Ron Israel, Vice President of EDC, and Sarah Nogueira Sanca, International Program Manager of EDC.
You will not want to miss this unparalleled opportunity to dialogue and network with expert speakers and youth civic engagement professionals from around the world. Be sure to register before 25 September 2010 and we hope to see you in Alexandria!
