Future Leaders Programme 2015

Do you want to participate in Europe’s largest forum on development? Do you want to have a say in the debates that shape development policy? Apply to our Future Leaders Programme to be selected to come to European Development Days 2015 in Brussels!

A call to all young leaders

Are you playing an active role in the fight against poverty? Have you been involved in innovative projects to address global challenges in your community? Do you want to share your vision of the future with global leaders?

If yes, then you should apply for the Future Leaders Programme and win an invitation to the 2015 edition of European Development Days (EDD15), to speak about issues you are passionate about, alongside world leaders!

Can I apply?

We are looking for 12 extraordinary young people ages 21-26 from around the world who can represent the powerful impact that youth are having in the development field. The finalists will be ‘movers and shakers’ in their communities who are able to speak at a high-level about a topic they are passionate about, outlined in the EDD programme.

Share your vision with other global leaders

The 12 finalists will be invited to speak alongside key political leaders at EDD15 in Brussels on 3 & 4 June, all expenses paid. During your visit to Brussels, you will have the opportunity to visit the European Institutions and participate in debates with leading thinkers about development policy, as well as share your story.

Don’t wait! Read more information about the application process here or click here to start your application.

The deadline for applications is 18 March 2015.

Сontact: youth@eudevdays.eu

Merit Next Leadership Development Program

This unique program will support 120 young people to develop and to use their talent in the spheres of Entrepreneurship, Business, Science & Technology, Media, Culture and Politics & Public Service through mentoring with professionals and networking with peers. It is year-long leadership development program for people of merit from around the world selected after completing a series of global challenges designed to showcase their commitment to making a positive impact in their community.

In June 2014, the Merit Next Fellows will convene in the U.K. (London & Liverpool) for two weeks of inspiration, aspiration assessment, and team building. Before departing for their home countries, the participants will be divided into 10 teams and assigned a project to find an innovative and sustainable market-driven solution to a pressing global concern (e.g., environmental sustainability, access to health care and education, childhood hunger, and youth unemployment). 

For the next 11 months, the Fellows will engage virtually in weekly project collaborations, online training and education, and one-on-one mentoring designed to support personal and professional life plans. In June 2015, the group will reconvene in the U.S. (NYC & Washington, DC) to present their final reports to a panel of entrepreneurs, executives and venture capitalists; the winning project will be highlighted in the Merit Next global media campaign.

Who Can Apply? 
Those who are complacent need not apply. At World Merit, they focus on helping emerging leaders – young people with the drive and willpower to make a difference.
This program is open to young leaders from every country and any background, based on merit.

Application
The deadline to apply is 30 April 2014.

Send your questions to usa@worldmerit.org or uk@worldmerit.org.

More information can be found HERE

International Youth Meeting in Georgia

All interested and qualified persons are invited to apply for the International Youth Meeting “Fighting Against Racism and Intolerance: Shared Agenda for Shared Future” to be organised on 20-26 April, 2010 in Georgia by Union “21 Century”.

The central focus of the meeting will be around the current needs and challenges which young people face nowadays in terms of the intolerance and racial discrimination and the perspectives lead by/for young people in this field. The meeting will give the space for a wide exchange of different visions, approaches, experiences, intercultural backgrounds and the meeting will try to come out with concrete outcomes, joint actions and shared vision on what has to be done for addressing the racism and discrimination at different levels.

The meeting will bring together 25 young people representing the Council of Europe member states. Young people will represent organisations and/or religious communities. They must have experience in the field of hate motivated violence, anti-racism and anti-discrimination activities, etc.

The requirements for participation are:
• Working experience on human rights issues, priority will be given those working on the problem of hate crimes, anti-racism and anti-discrimination projects.
• Be active at their local/national and/or international level;
• Be highly motivated to participate and contribute to the meeting and be prepared to represent the activities
and the work of their representing organisations/structures/ communities to the participants of this meeting;
• Aged between 18 and 30 (exceptions could be made based on justification). There will be 25 participants coming from the different CoE member countries;
• Be available and committed fully to attend the meeting;
• Good level of English is requested in order to participate actively in the meeting;

Application procedure and technical information:
- In order to apply candidates must complete and send back the application form
- The deadline to send the completed form to the Union “21 Century” is 10 March 2010

Selected candidates will be contacted by the 15 of March, 2010 and they will receive the convention information packs.

Working language: English is working language of the meeting.

Accommodation: Board and lodging will be provided by the Union “21 Century” for the whole duration of the meeting in Georgia.

Venue: Bakuriani, Georgia (Exact location will be shared with acceptance and invitation letters)

Dates: Arrival day will be Thursday – 20 April 2010. Departure day will be Monday – 26 April 2010.

Travel expenses and cost for visas: Upon presentation of the relevant receipts. Be aware that the organization gives a reimbursement of the cheapest travel costs, agreed before with the organisation. Travel expenses are reimbursed up to 70% of the total cost and visa costs are fully reimbursed (upon presentation of the relevant receipts) according to the rules of the Council of Europe. Only participants who attend more than 80% of the convention will be reimbursed. 

There is no enrolment fee for the participation in this event.

To obtain application form, please contact: internationalyouthmeeting@gmail.com. 

Oxfam International Youth Partnership

Are you a young person who cares about what is happening in your community? Are you committed to working with others to overcome injustices? Do you want to learn from other young people working with their communities all around the world? If you answered YES to these questions, would you consider applying to be a member of the OIYP?

The Oxfam International Youth Partnership (OIYP), “a global network of young people who share a vision of a just world and are committed to working for peaceful, equitable and sustainable social change with their communities” is inviting applications for its 2010-2013 program.

OIYP is open to young people from 18 to 25 years old speaking fluent English or Spanish, of all nationalities, indigenous and ethnic groups. It is open to young people with any level of education and who live in rural or urban areas. We aim to recruit equal numbers of young men and women. We have a strong focus on the participation of Indigenous young people and those marginalized in their communities.

Between 2010 and 2013, you will have opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and understanding and to talk and exchange with other young people from around the world. You will be able to use these opportunities to support your work with your community. This will be launched with 8-day Kaleidoscope event to be held in New Delhi, India in November 2010 where young people from different parts of the world will be able to interact with each other. Selected candidates for the program should ensure that they are available to attend this event.

You can apply by sending your application form with your letter(s) of support from community members or organisations before February 12th 2010 by email, fax or mail.

Your participation in OIYP will start in March 2010. If selected, you must be available to attend an event in November 2010 in New Delhi, India.

E-mail: oiyp2010applications@oxfam.org.au.

Read more here.

Youth Forum 2010 – Young Adults 4 New Results

Climate change is a global challenge that concerns young people as much as it concerns the older generation. Climate change already has an impact on the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, destroying livelihoods, exacerbating conflict and claiming lives. Nowadays, we can no longer solve the climate challenge separately from each other, be it across nations, across religions, across sectors or across generations. It is of the utmost importance that we as the young generation have a real say in the climate debate and take action!

On 28 June – 1 July 2010 the Global Humanitarian Forum (GHF), a Geneva based international organization personally led by Kofi Annan, will host its second annual Youth Forum entitled Youth Forum 2010 – Young Adults 4 New Results. Youth Forum 2010 will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, and the overarching title of the event will be “Generations Taking on the Climate Challenge”.

Youth Forum 2010 will be held simultaneously and interlinked with the GHF’s high-level centerpiece event, the 2010 Forum. Consequently, attendees of Youth Forum 2010 will engage in dialogue and interact with GHF’s high-level participants.

During the four days of Youth Forum 2010, you will have a chance to:

- Share your expertise, experience and knowledge with interesting young adults from all over the world

- Engage in true intergenerational dialogue with high-level personalities from across global society

- Participate in discussion rounds, plenary debates, workshops and brainstorming sessions

- Listen to leading young guest speakers from various sectors

- Develop new and action-oriented initiatives with the help of a high-tech idea development tool

- Enjoy Geneva and its environment through our various social activities… and legendary parties!

150 committed and active international young adults between the ages of 18-30 will be selected as participants through an entry-competition that opened on 1 February 2010. The deadline to submit your application is 1 March 2010.

We are looking for young people from many different backgrounds! It does not matter if you are a scientist, a musician, a politician or a cook, a young professional or a student. If you are interested in the overarching topic of the event, then we are looking for you!

 

To join the entry-competition for Youth Forum 2010 - Young Adults 4 New Results, please answer ONE of the following questions with the media you prefer: a text, a video, an audio file, the website you created, photos… Your choice!

• Climate – Energy – Human Security: How are you engaged in one or more of these key words?
• What impact has climate change had on you, your family or your community?
• What is your practical and/or innovative solution to tackle the climate challenge?
• How are you active in the field of climate change?

There will be no participation fee for the Youth Forum 2010. The GHF’s Youth Forum does not sponsor participants with regards to any additional costs related to the attendance to Youth Forum 2010. However, the GHF’s Youth Forum reserves the right to sponsor some participants on a case by case basis.

To learn more and apply for Youth Forum 2010, check out the website http://www.ghfyouthforum.org/, read the conditions and fill out the online application form.

Economic Talk 2010

Students from G4 countries - Chinese, German, Japanese and US students plus participants from other countries have the opportunity to participate in a 6-day workshop with well-known representatives from the car industry, within the program "Economic Talk 2010", from 22 to 27 March in Tokyo, Japan. 

Participants: About 60 students from China, Germany, Japan and the US, basically between 18 and 30 years of age. Students from other countries may be included as representatives of their country. Representatives from car industry (Daimler, Honda, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Volkswagen, etc.).

Goals of the event:

1. To understand not only the present situation but also the future
2. To identify economic issues and needs for action for the future

3. To create economic opportunities for our future

4. To develop our responsibility for the future

5. To provide students with a milestone for their future

6. To enable students whose major is not relevant to develop economic sense.

Participants will need to create their future both personally and professionally. First, they need to understand the present (2009/2010) and the future (2020) through 1-year and 10-year forecasts, respectively. Second, economic issues and needs for action will be identified through ET topics and subsequent discussion. Third, participants create career or business opportunities for our future by talking about industries (2010: workshop on car industry). Fourth, participants develop personal and professional sense for responsibility through the discussions, talks and presentations in the program. Fifth, through the program experience including real and virtual networking among participants, students are provided with a milestone for their future both personally and professionally. Sixth, student participants irrespective of major will be enabled to develop economic sense.

Working language: English.

Participation fee: 30000 Yen (about 330 USD). Reimbursement of travel costs may be provided if organizers obtain program funding.

Apply online on "first come, first selected" basis until 14 February 2010 at http://www.iuventum.org/.

Any questions? Just email to application@iuventum.org!

World Urban Forum, Brazil

UN-HABITAT is looking for young people aged 15–32, from all over the world, to help capture the youth perspective on issues of urbanization at the upcoming World Urban Youth Assembly and World Urban Forum in Brazil, March 19-20, and March 22-26, 2010.

You must be highly literate in English, with outstanding writing skills and the capacity to absorb, analyze and organize large quantities of information from diverse perspectives, and to prepare coherent and informative reports. You must be actively engaged in youth-led development activities focused on sustainable urbanization, and have a commitment to being an active part of crafting solutions to the many challenges posed by urbanization, especially those impacting youth.

How to Apply:

Prepare your responses to the following four questions, respecting the word limits indicated for each question. Your responses will be judged on coherence and organization of thought, relevance of content, and accuracy (including spelling and formatting). Your answers must be typewritten and in MS Word or PDF format, and emailed to the contact person indicated below.

Short Essay Questions:

1. What is your motivation for applying to be a Youth Rapporteur for UN-HABITAT at the Fifth Session of the World Urban Forum? (max. 150 words)

2. What specific experience and skills do you have that makes you well qualified for this role? (Do not simply copy your CV here; your answer must give concrete examples that are relevant to the requirements of this role.) (max. 200 words)

3. The theme of this year’s World Urban Forum is “Right to the City: Bridging the Urban Divide”. What does this mean to you? Why is it relevant to youth specifically? What are some of the challenges faced by youth in today’s cities? What are some possible solutions to these challenges and why would they be effective if adopted? (max. 750 words)

4. What are some of the strategies you will use to ensure that you will successfully manage the role and responsibilities of being a Youth Rapporteur? (max. 150 words)

Please send your answers, along with your up to date Curriculum Vitae, which should clearly show how your skills and experience match those needed, to wuyarapp@unhabitat.org by 10 February 2010.

If selected, you will be expected to source funding to cover your travel to and accommodation at the Youth Assembly and Forum. You will also be required to dedicate time to prepare prior to the conference, estimated to be five hours per week beginning mid-February 2010. You will need to remain in regular contact with the UN-HABITAT World Urban Youth Assembly planning committee through a designated point person.

Please note that the deadline for submissions is 10 February 2010. Selected applicants will be notified no later than 20 February 2010.

International Novruz Festival

AEGEE-Baki – European Students' Forum Baku Public Union - invites you to apply for the International Novruz Festival, which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on March 15-22, 2010. 

Novruz is the most favourable Holiday in Azerbaijan which is dedicated to the early spring. International Novruz Festival in Azerbaijan (INFA) is the annual celebration of Novruz with the guests from all around the world. 

This project will give you a unique chance to experience different parts of Novruz holiday, such as jumping over bonfires and running through the streets, banging on pots and pans with spoons and knocking on doors with your hats and bags to ask for little presents (sweets and candies) and tasting national cookeries, such as shekerbura, pakhlava, goghal that you have never had before! Another essential part of this festival is a chance to visit the capital of Azerbaijan Baku – the city of centuries – old history, ancient traditions and modern reality became known as “Paris of the East”. And this is not all; lots of surprises are waiting for you...

Aims:

- To create a culturally diverse and open environment where all of the participants will be able to express their own culture and appreciate the others, discuss different global issues (e.g. 'tolerance', 'local traditions and globalization', 'culture in the modern world', 'music as a way of expression' etc.).
- Gain mutual respect for the different cultures in the world and promote peace in our big home - Earth.

- To explore ancient traditions and habits of Azerbaijan culture, to celebrate the antique holiday of Novruz - the beginning of spring in Azerbaijan.

Working language: English.

Profile of participants: this event aims to bring together 60 motivated participants in the age of 18-30, who are interested in culture and ancient traditions.

Financial conditions: there is a participation fee of 50 Euros. This fee covers the following costs:

- Accommodation and food throughout the whole week;
- Local transportation;

- Free entrance to the parties and other events.

Travel expenses: participants will be required to cover their travel expenses by themselves. Only limited funds are available to provide reimbursement of the travel expenses of some qualified participants. The financial assistance requests for travel expenses will be considered individually.

Deadline for the application: 15 February 2010.

For further information please visit: http://www.aegee-infa.com/ 

In case you have any questions, feel free to contact at: aegeeinfa@gmail.com.   

Generation’89 Project

Were you born in 1989? Are you a citizen of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania or the UK? Meet people from your generation! Join the “Generation ’89” project!

With the support of the “Citizenship” Programme of the European Union, the “Generation 89” project proposes to commemorate the fall of the communist systems in the European countries, through the lens of the young people born in 1989. The young people from Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, Belgium, UK, Germany, Hungary, Austria and Bulgaria have had different historical context in which they lived their lives, and one of the objectives of this project is to bring together these youngsters and to offer a space where they can share experiences and expectations for the future.

In order to attain this objective, 4 international meetings will be organised in Prague, Bucharest, Warsaw, and Brussels, where for two days the participants will have a various programme focused on two themes: national past and European future.

The programme will comprise of: movie screenings and debates on the events from their parents’ generation of 1989, an informational session regarding the EU policies in the matter of youth and young professionals, workshops focused on drafting a Declaration upon how they perceive their future in EU, a visit to a local organisation in the field of communist systems studies, sightseeing and international night.

A second meeting in Brussels attended by a delegation of the young representatives will be organised with the EU representatives, in order to present the Declaration “Generation 89” and the young people opinion on the future of Europe and their future as citizens of EU. 

Application deadline: 31 January 2010 (10 February for Brussels and Warsaw). To submit your online application, go to: www.generation89.eu. 

European Youth Media Convention

Apply now for the European Youth Media Convention, which will be held in Berlin, at the European congress Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation, from 14 until 17 April 2010!

Extended application deadline: January 31, 2010.

Financial assistance: all participation costs are covered.

Eligibility: young journalists and media activists.

Would you like to be part of an European media project? Have you ever imagined becoming an EU correspondent? Are you generally interested in Europe and its media landscapes? Then you should apply for the European Youth Media Convention!

The German Youth Press and European Youth Press would like to invite you to come together with 40 other young European media makers to take part of this wonderful opportunity.

As you will be a representative of your country, you will help report about local problems of minorities. In that way the congress offers you to get connected with young media makers from all across Europe.

As a participant at the convention you will talk about “Minorities in Europe” and deal with topics like homophobia or intolerance against ethnical minorities.

You will get the opportunity to listen to presentations of experts and moreover to discuss and exchange different viewpoints with them. Throughout four workshops you will create and present media products. Depending on your skills and interests you will be able to choose between print, radio, TV and photography.

The European Youth Media Convention will take part from the 14th until the 17th of April 2010. There is no participation fee. Accommodations and catering will be taken care by the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation Berlin. The travel costs will not be covered.

Applications for this event have recently been extended to the 31st of January 2010, so turn in your applications soon! You need to send a short letter of motivation including your CV (with your experiences in media and project work) to eymc2010@jugendpresse.de.

5th World Youth Congress

5th World Youth Congress in Istanbul, Turkey, 31 July - 13 August 2010

Financial aid: participation is free (accomodation and board provided), limited travel gratns are available
Deadline for applications: 31 January 2010
Open to: youth activists, young journalists, young educators, young artists, young entrepreneurs

The 5th in the great series of World Youth Congresses on Youth and Development will be held in Istanbul, Turkiye in 2010!

Turkey will welcome 1000 young people from around the world to meet during Istanbul's year as the European Capital of Culture. You will have the chance to learn a lot about Turkish culture, about Turkish people, and the history of one of the oldest civilizations of the world - which is now the 2nd fastest growing modern economy in the world after China.

The congress will bring together youth led development activists, young journalists, young educators, young artists, young entrepreneurs and virtual delegates. The delegates will have the chance to meet many development experts, academics, politicians, artists and diplomats in the discussions, workshops, plenaries and opening and closing ceremonies. Moreover, many young people who do not have the opportunity to attend the congress onsite, will have the chance to participate through the virtual congress as virtual delegates.

The main aim of WYC is to gather together young people from different nationalities and to inspire  them take action on issues such as poverty, climate change, peace, democracy and human rights. However, this event will also enable you to find out more about Turkey, Turkish society and Turkish culture, and especially the old Turkish solidarity system, “imece”.

There is no participation fee to be a part of this great event. 

Your accomodation and food expenses during the Congress will be covered by organization.

For more details or to apply please visit the website: http://www.turkiye2010.org/