Opportunities For Youth

UN-HABITAT is now inviting nomination for the 2010-2012 Youth Advisory Board. The Board will serve a two year term and comprises 12 advisors. One male and one female candidate will be picked from each of the following regions: Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, North America and West Asia.

Additionally, the board includes one observer representing young people with disabilities and two observer members appointed by UN-HABITAT; one representative from informal settlements and one external advisor.

The Youth Advisory Board advises UN-HABITAT on strategies to engage young people in sustainable urbanization and urban development, and seeks to strengthen youth participation and advocacy in youth-led initiatives. Given the important and unique mission of UN-HABITAT, we are especially interested in nomination of young people who meet the following requirements;

Candidates should be between 18 and 32 years old at the time of the elections.
Candidates must be members of youth-led or youth-servicing organizations and have access to youth networks within their regions.
For communication purposes, candidates must have good oral and written skills in English. Fluency in other United Nations languages is an asset.
Candidates should have access to and be reasonably proficient in using the internet and email.
Candidates must be available and accessible for conference calls with the rest of the members, UN-HABITAT representatives, and be able to avail themselves for Board activities.
Candidates are eligible for nomination from a region where they have proven residency of at least five years.
It is also expected that the Youth Advisory Board members shall avail themselves to attend youth focused meetings as required by UN-HABITAT, and provide quarterly reports to UN-HABITAT detailing activities and impact at local, national and global levels.

If you have the profile to take on this important role, please complete the online nomination form by 3 March 2010.

An initial assessment of candidates will be carried out by UN-HABITAT. Youth will then be invited to vote for their candidates from the list of screened candidates. The final Board Members will be selected based on the number of votes they receive and will be announced at the World Urban Youth Assembly in Rio de Janeiro.

The Roosevelt Summer Academy combines a full-time internship with a training curriculum and weekly networking events as part of an integrated program of leadership development. Our objective is to bring new, diverse, and progressive voices into the political process. The program runs for ten weeks, from June 3rd to August 12th, 2010.

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS FEBRUARY 26th, 2010.

To apply to the Academy, click here.

During the summer of 2009, Roosevelt ran two concurrent programs: The Washington Academy and The Chicago Academy. Placements included: People for the American Way, Center for Community Change, Economic Policy Institute, The National Security Network, Progressive Caucus Policy Foundation and many others. The Chicago Academy will place ten students with different Chicago City Agencies to work on energy and environmental policy in an urban setting. Last year’s placements included: Buisness Affairs and Consumer Protection, Aviation (Green Airport Initiative), Public Building Commission and Community Development.
Read more…

Theme “Right to the City: Bridging the Urban Divide”

Introduction

The world urban population has grown at very high rates over the past two decades. According to the UN-HABITAT State of the World Cities Report 2008/2009, it is estimated that by the middle of the 21st century, half of the world’s population will be living in urban areas.

While the urban population in developed countries will remain unchanged in the next two decades, the urban populations in the developing world will more than double. The majority of city inhabitants in the developing world are overwhelmingly young people, and are the most affected by issues of poverty, exclusion, and unemployment, access to housing, water and sanitation.

The theme for this year’s UN-HABITAT World Urban Forum which is being held in Rio de Janeiro from 22 to 26 March, “The right to the City– bridging the urban divide” seeks to engage practitioners and policy makers to rethink the urban utopia and identifying the best practices and actions in every city, creating a better world where everyone can live with dignity, respect and citizenship.

Young people living in urban areas can play a significant role in addressing the challenges facing decision and policy makers planning for and managing cities. Young people from around the world participating in the World Urban Youth Assembly on 19 and 20 March will have an opportunity to deliberate and make recommendations to better inform the urban agenda.

UN-HABITAT invites youth from around the globe to participate in the World Urban Youth Assembly International Essay Competition to generate ideas and solutions to address youth challenges in cities.
Read more…

Deadline: 15 February 2010

fos – Social Solidarity is a Belgian NGO. Our regional office in Johannesburg and country office in Maputo provide support to organisations working on decent work and the right to health in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. We are seeking to fill the following vacancies:
1. Office Manager / Regional Programme Officer Decent Work: Maputo, Mozambique
2. Regional Programme Officer Health: Johannesburg, South Africa
3. Regional Programme Officer Decent Work (Agricultural Labour Rights): Johannesburg, South Africa

Interested applicants should obtain detailed job descriptions from http://www.fos-socsol.be/cntnt/vacatures/vacatures.php or from fos-sa@telkomsa.net Candidates should submit a motivated letter, comprehensive CV and three contactable references to fos Southern Africa on fos-sa@telkomsa.net
________________________________________

Deadline: 18 June 2010

Within the framework of its strategy for building comparative knowledge on Africa produced from within the African continent, the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) invites proposals from researchers based in African universities and centres of research for the constitution of Comparative Research Networks (CRNs) to undertake studies on or around any of the themes identified as priority research themes within the framework of the CODESRIA strategic plan for the period 2007 – 2011. Find out more

The U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem is pleased to announce the annual competition of FY 2010 NESA Undergraduate Exchange Program that will provide fully sponsored scholarships for one full academic year (approximately 10 months) of non-degree undergraduate study at accredited two and four-year institutions. The goal of the program is to provide a substantive exchange experience at a U.S. college or university to a diverse group of emerging student leaders from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. All academic fields of study are eligible.

Eligibility: Applicants should be highly motivated undergraduate students from colleges, universities and other institutions of higher education who demonstrate leadership through academic work, community involvement and extracurricular activities, with little or no prior experience in the United States or elsewhere outside of their home country. Their major fields of study will be varied, and will include the sciences, social sciences, humanities, education and business. Other application requirements:
Student must be a citizen, national or permanent resident qualified to hold a valid passport issued by the country from which applicant is applying;
Student must have completed final year of secondary school or first- second- or third-year full-time undergraduate study by August 2009;
Personal statement in English, 350-500 words, typed (English);
Copy of the data/photo pages of your passport; Two passport-size photos;
Official academic transcripts for years of university study (English);
Official results of the national general secondary school leaving exam;
Three letters of recommendation from teachers/professors, including one from the candidate’s secondary level institution (English);
TOEFL or ITP score report of a minimum of 500 paper based.

Deadline: January 15, 2010.

Applications will be posted after December 14th, 2010.

Please submit a complete and signed application to exchanges@state.gov

Inquiries:

West Bank/East Jerusalem residents:

Tel: (02) 622-7172 or 0545-420953, or by email to exchanges@state.gov

Gaza Residents:

Tel: 08-2864-623 or Mobile: 059-9677-317, or by email to emattar@palnet.com

http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov/

Deadline: 1 November 2009

The UNDP is now calling for Good Practice cases on the achievement of MD/MDGs, in conjunction with the preparation for the MDG Good Practice book to be published early next year as part of the preparation for the 2010 MDG Review.

They are particularly looking for government interventions in which a specific challenge or/and bottleneck has been identified and effectively addressed to contribute to the achievement of a particular Goal. Good practices may include those that have been executed by the government. These may also include those supported by civil society and/or the UN agencies, funds and programmes.

To download the template, click here.