YES NEWSLETTER
May, 2007

PRESIDENT PONDERS

Youth Quake!

Poonam Ahluwalia, YES Inc. President speaks about the impending Youth Quake and how the newly set up YES Fund strives at creation of youth employment…

Dear YES Family,

On behalf of the newly formed YES Inc., I proudly present our first Newsletter! On January 1, 2007 , we branched out of Education Development Center (EDC) as an independent non-profit based in Boston . The feeling is very much 'youth like' emerging from the sheltered grace of EDC and stepping out into the 'brave new world', facing the challenges before us and exulting in our independence!.

Our biggest challenge is the escalating numbers over a billion youth around the world, 85 percent of them in developing countries alone. We are experiencing, what Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow for US Foreign Policy calls, a ‘Youth Quake’. She recently argued in her column in the Dallas Morning News that 'Without making deep structural reforms, Middle East governments will never be able to meet the employment needs of its increasingly disaffected youth - a stark fact that, left unaddressed, leaves an entire generation ripe for radicalization." Like the Middle East , all developing countries are facing a 'Youth Quake'.

Another stark truth is that there are not enough jobs in the private and public sectors to absorb this vast humanity of young people. The Governments alone cannot be expected to fill the growing gaps in the employment generation infrastructure, especially in developing countries, which are groaning under the weight of many challenges such as debt, civil strife, lack of governance structures, HIV/AIDS and educational reforms, among others. The global civil society needs to step in and work hand-in-glove with the governments and young people. The only way forward is through self employment and for that a unique structure needs to be generated from country to country, from village to village.

To make this possible, over the last eight years, the YES Campaign has inspired the development of over 80 home-grown infrastructures called the YES Country Networks, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. These Networks are multi-stakeholder coalitions focusing on developing programs and suggesting policies for promoting youth employment. The beauty of these Networks is that they are led by young people.

What is now needed is truly simple: Knowledge Centers that will help identify local opportunities; Capital that will seed enterprises; and an Innovation Marketplace where young people can offer their goods and services globally, as well as seek funding for their proposals

The stage is set. We now need your support for the Global Fund for Youth Entrepreneurship called the YES Fund.

Say 'YES' to youth!

In Solidarity,

Poonam Ahluwalia

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OUR INSPIRATION

Prof.Mahesh Sharma
President, Cambridge College

Prof. Mahesh Sharma, President and Professor of Mathematics Education at Cambridge College and currently serving on the YES Inc. Board of Directors, has been a true inspirational support behind YES . He has generously brought YES Inc. Headquarter into his fold and provided space and other support to continue the work of the past eight years without missing a beat and we deeply thank him and his team at Cambridge College , especially Dr. Joe Daisy.

Internationally known for his groundbreaking work in mathematics education, he is an author, teacher, trainer, researcher, advisor, guru all rolled into one. He is an author and Chief Editor of ‘ Focus on Learning Problems in Mathematics’ an international, interdisciplinary, research mathematics journal with readership in more than 70 countries, and the Editor of ‘The Math Notebook’, a practical source of information for parents and teachers devoted to improving teaching and learning for all children.

Professor Sharma's areas of interest and expertise include all areas of mathematics education, cognitive developmental psychology, problem solving, mathematics learning problems (particularly dyscalculia), and remediation. His pioneering work in the area of the psychology of learning mathematics, dyscalculia and mathematics learning problems, and mathematics learning personality has become an important way of looking at the diagnosis and remediation of learning problems in mathematics.

He is the founder and President of the Center for Teaching/ Learning of Mathematics, Inc., of Framingham and Wellesley , Massachusetts , as well as the President of Berkshire Mathematics in Reading , England . He is also the Co-host of The Learning Center, a Cable Network television program that brings information about learning, teaching, and education to the general public.

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FEATURE

YES Fund: Creating Markets, Unleashing Entrepreneurship
Global Fund for Youth Entrepreneurship Launched

Youth across the globe have yet another reason to celebrate. YES announced the Global Fund for Youth Entrepreneurship, a 2006 Clinton Global Initiative that strives at building a coalition of partners, creating markets and unleashing entrepreneurship. The pilot site was launched in India …

YES Inc. announced its signature initiative, the Global Fund for Youth Entrepreneurship (YES Fund), with the launch of the pilot site in India on 7 February 2007 . The pilot site, with support from Microsoft, is aimed at developing a replicable model for its project. Microsoft is one of the core partners committed to working with YES to raise USD 25 million over the next three years.

Youth unemployment has today reached a crisis situation with over a billion youth, 85 percent in developing countries alone with minimal infrastructure to support education and employment preparation. Soon another 1.5 billion children are waiting to flood unprepared labor markets. With little job creation expected in the public and private sectors, there is a desperate need to partner with youth, harness their creativity and drive, and provide them with the basic resources they need to create their own employment opportunities. And YES Fund is the only solution.

YES Fund is a 2006 Clinton Global Initiative aimed at ’building a coalition of partners across the world to work on creating markets and unleashing entrepreneurship’. This goal would be largely achieved by orchestrating a global training and development program that supports young people to identify business opportunities and participate in a global competition for 'at risk' capital and business development services. 

The key objectives of this initiative are to: create an entrepreneurial culture in developing countries; build in-country capacity to provide business development services and access to credit to young people; identify entrepreneurs; develop linkages with buyers; and provide an online marketplace.

These objectives are in sync with the overall ideology of YES, focusing on building partnerships and developing capacity of youth to lead in-country youth employment initiatives, and build coalitions for addressing youth unemployment. YES offers a powerful youth led platform in over 80 countries to engage their peers in their nation’s development efforts through leadership and entrepreneurship.

Addressing the over 100 participants present at the launch of YES Fund pilot site in India, Ms Poonam Ahluwalia , President YES Inc., and Dr. Akhtar Badshah , Senior Director (Community Affairs) Microsoft, jointly made an appeal for generating true partnerships. Poonam stressed the need for working together, sharing that no single organization is capable of handling the huge and complex task of generating employment opportunities. She expressed her delight at the prospect of India hosting the YES Fund since "India has shown the world how to face challenges and move forward purposefully by building local infrastructure and this knowledge has to be transferred all over the world”.

The Honorable Minister for Youth Affairs with Government of India, Mani Shankar Aiyer, presided over the launch function and wholeheartedly welcomed the YES Fund to India . He commended YES for rightfully placing its focus on rural youth enterprise development. He stressed on creating linkages with the local government bodies (Panchayats) -- adding this as the fourth critical dimension to the ‘public-private partnership’ and referring to it as ‘P-4’, in order to enhance marketable skills among rural youth; identify viable entrepreneurial opportunities; and nurture youth enterprises in the rural India. The bottom line is that “the youth are not to be looked as objects of charity but as partners.”

Mr. Gratian Vas, Executive Director Indo Global Social Service Society (IGSSS), Mr. P. Rajendran, Chief Operating Officer NIIT Ltd., Dr. Partha Ghosh, President Boston Pledge, His Excellency Pradyot Deb Barman, Head of the Royal House of Tripura, the YES Country Network (YCN) Coordinators representing Afghanistan, Bhutan, and India as well as the YCN State Coordinators all addressed the gathering.

If the launch is any indication, then it can be comfortably said that YES Fund has support from all quarters. The unanimous verdict by the house was that the Global Fund for Youth Entrepreneurship is a bold initiative, long overdue. Success of the Fund however would rest on building strong partnerships on the ground, involving all the relevant stakeholders.

(Interested in partnering with YES Fund, visit www.yesweb.org/fund to find how.)

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YES AROUND THE WORLD

Moving Forward With, For and From YES!

Dacil Acevedo Riquelme, YES Inc. Global Networks Coordinator, shares the accomplishments from the previous year and some of the plans for this year.

Since the YES Kenya Summit in September 2006, we have taken huge strides in terms of outreach and engagement, governance, strategy, structure and sustainability, at all levels, global, regional and national. This could be made possible only with the support of a committed YES community that we have been able to build. Thanks to each one of you for your commitment and dedication.

The Year 2006 has been very crucial for the YES Campaign, with lot of activities including the 3rd Global Summit in Kenya; release of the ‘State of YES Campaign’ Report; announcement of the YES Fund as one of the Clinton Global Initiatives; triggering of the transition process towards achieving autonomy finally leading to setting up of an independent entity, the YES Inc. in January 2007. There have been several other ‘firsts’ the first election among the YES Country Coordinators to have their representative on the newly constituted Board of Directors; and the first YES Newsletter done solely at the initiative of YES team.

Year 2007 is full of challenges for the YES community. YES Inc. is already a tangible reality with world class level board members. I had the opportunity to participate in the first Board meeting held on March 19 at the Cambridge College , Boston , USA . It was very exciting to share and be with a group of extremely committed people, holding high levels of concern for YES and its reputation, evolution and sustainability, and willing to extend their whole hearted support. And following the dream of our colleague and friend, Haythem from Egypt we will now have the opportunity to hold a mid-campaign meeting with the YES leaders in the Biblioteca of Alexandria the same place where the YES Campaign was launched in September 2002. It will be a memorable moment for us all to be there; to reflect back; to set the guidance for the coming years; and most important, prepare the YES Networks for the future challenges by focusing on capacity building.

The YES Networks worldwide are a community of practices around youth employment where we are continuously learning from the best practices. Taking on from the priorities that we defined for ourselves at Kenya during the YES Coordinators Workshop, YES Inc. would support Country Networks in areas of: 1) Capacity Building; 2) Institutionalization; and 3) Funding and Fund-Raising. Since we recognize that the YES Networks are at different stages of their development, the support would be individualized keeping in view the specific needs and the level of progress of each network. The idea is to provide each one with the tools to strengthen local capacity and making them self-sustainable.

From April on, we will deliver the final version of the “YES Networks Guidelines 2007-2008” and will start the certification process of the YES Country Representatives, the national host agencies and regional representative institutions in regions where we do not have one. A monitoring and evaluation process will be instituted to allow us to evaluate the needs of each of the YES Networks and deliver appropriate tools. An election policy will also be framed sometime during the year to guide the process of electing YES Regional Coordinator and YES Country Representative on the YES Inc. Board. The YES Networks Action Plans, country activities and accomplishments will be highlighted through the quarterly newsletter as well as on the yesWEB web site. Finally, a YES Youth Advisory Board would be constituted from among the YES close friends (old ones and new ones) in order to empower our youth vision, voices and actions as well as promote a stronger cooperation and synergy with other youth initiatives.

As you can read, this new momentum of YES requires renewal of your commitment and engagement to meet the challenges ahead. Thanks in advance for your permanent support and contributions.

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Honduras training young people for a better life
by Vanessa Saliezar, YES Honduras Coordinator

“Being a part of this project was a novel experience for me. I greatly benefited from this vibrant initiative since it offered me a chance to understand the minds of our young people — their craving to learn, to feel useful, to reflect back and the tendency to move on. I am not sure if they would achieve it all, but to see the positive energy is satisfying indeed. It’s all in our hands…”

When the three major stalwarts -- the Levi Strauss Foundation, YES Inc. and the Fundación E ( Mexico ) join hands, the result has to be prolific. For YES Honduras, led by Vanessa Saliezar, this meant an opportunity to implement a project on employability and entrepreneurship, making inroads into developing partnerships with public institutions, local governments, business councils, educational institutions and specialists.

As Vanessa describes it, the initiative taken up between September 2006 and January 2007 involved months of rigorous training, reflecting and forging strategic alliances, making possible the implementation of “Guideline for Generation of Sustainable Ways of Life’. The guideline, developed by Fundación E, has been adapted to the Honduran reality. Vanessa was lucky that Samuel González, the Executive President of this Mexican institute, gave her a freehand to make the necessary changes.

The project, with the ultimate goal of employment generation, had two key objectives: first, to enable the participating youth seize employment opportunities and; second, to kindle the entrepreneurship spirit among them…a big challenge!

In total, 487 youth, between 18-25 years, a significant part of which were women, participated in the training workshops organized in the industrial town of Choloma, and in La Ceiba, the third most important city in Honduras. Involvement of enterprises and educational institutions added further value.

The outcomes of the project are equally satisfying. These can be briefly summarized as below:

• The project kindled the entrepreneurship spirit among the participating youth;
• After the training, they got added to the database maintained by Employment Directorate, This would enable them avail the services offered;
• Guidelines for Sustainable Ways of Life, an important outcome of the Project is a useful, easy to understand tool adapted to the needs of people seeking employment or planning to set up their own enterprise;
• Persons already in jobs have reported continuing application of lessons learnt during the training.

Some statistics:

-- 191 (or 39 percent) participants have found jobs after undergoing the training. A majority of them reported better comprehension and management of the interview process and an enhanced confidence to apply for jobs.

-- 19 (or 4 percent) young people decided to start their own enterprise. A few came to the training with vague ideas on what they wish to do. The training helped translate these into concrete, executable business plans.

- 217 (or 42 percent) participants that reported unemployed were primarily for reasons that they decided to either pursue their studies or simply the fact that at the time of the evaluation, they had just finished the training and were waiting to avail the services of the government.

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Costa Rica Promotes Sustainable Ways of Life
by Bernardo Lopez, YES Costa Rica Coordinator  

YES Costa Rica reached out to the workers rendered jobless. With support from Levi Strauss Foundation and Fundación E, YES Costa Rica trained 277 workers, giving them a new ray of hope for a sustainable future…

With support from the Levi Strauss Foundation and Fundación E, YES Costa Rica, under the leadership of Bernardo Lopez, in September 2006 took up the big challenge of brining a positive change in the lives of the several workers rendered jobless due to shifting of maquilas installed in Costa Rica to other countries.  

Following the visit by Samuel González, the Executive President of Fundación E, Bernardo had the tough challenge of organizing a workshop on “ Sustainable Ways of Life” for the 277 workers left jobless. It was surely and uphill task since it required foremost, locating these workers and more important, to coordinate the actions with the enterprise that was responsible for discharging these workers.  

Workers were approached on one-to-one basis and managed to secure their support resulting in a good participation during the workshops, which made an extensive use of motivational videos.

Initially laying the target at 277 persons, the activities ended up covering 298 persons. Gender equity was maintained with around 44 percent of the participants being women. The average age of the participants was between 17 and 35 years.  

The learning process that the participants went through have enabled them prepare their own applications while searching for jobs. Some even expressed interest in setting their own enterprise.  

Besides these various outcomes, this initiative rightfully demonstrates the importance of working in synergy with other institutions. The success of this activity can be credited to the various organizations that partnered, including the National Institute of Learning, Employment Resource Center , Associations of Integral Development, and the Specialized Attention Centre on Young Adults, among others.

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YES Ghana sets up a Career Resource Centre
UNPD supports the initiative
by Emmanuel Edudzie, YES Ghana Coordinator

“Poonam Ahluwalia, is the dreamer who started it all”, were the words of Emmanuel, when the Career Resource Centre was established to serve as a one-stop shop for information and advisory services for the youth. UNDP made this dream a reality…

Career Resource Centre has been set up by YES Ghana, with support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which gave USD 20,000 under its Annual Work Plan for Civil Society in the last quarter of 2006. The Resource Centre serves as a one-stop-shop for information and advisory services on career development for the youth. Apart from providing one-on-one career guidance and counseling for young people, the Centre also provides access to online resources and reading materials relevant to youth development and career choices, including accessing start-up capital, nursing a business idea, business partnerships etc. It also hosts an updated database of job vacancies, business opportunities and funding prospects.

In 2007, an additional funding of USD 30,000 has been secured from the UNDP to upgrade the Centre to a state-of-the-art facility, with an expanded thematic scope ‘beyond careers’ to become Ghana ’s first and only Development Resource Centre for youth. With this upgrade, the Centre now stocks over a hundred books and countless online resources on career development, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), and other national and international development information.

The Development Resource Centre now has six high-capacity computers, fully networked and internet-enabled. Enhanced client services such as SMS-based job/ business enquiries, and toll free telephone counseling are scheduled to start by the end of April 2007.

The Center’s services will be linked to UNDP’s Community Information Centers (CIC) in the regions to enable wider access. It will be backstopping training activities of other civil society projects and will also be linked to the new UNDP Civil Society Centre for online/internet presence and support. These innovations are likely to ensure sustainability and improved services.

ES Ghana wishes to place on record special thanks to the UNDP Country Director, Mr. Daouda Taure, and his entire team for extending their unconditional support to YES Ghana in its various ventures.

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YES Kenya 2006: The Domino Effect
by Emmanuel Dennis, YES Kenya Coordinator

During the third global summit in Kenya in 2006, members of YES Kenya had an opportunity to meet and interact with the world leaders. This has simply set the momentum for the change process, which even months later rolls on and shows no sign of slowing down…

The third Global Summit in Kenya in 2006 saw over 2000 delegates representing over 100 countries. This was a great opportunity, bringing together the world leaders on the same platform as the ‘leaders in making’ the YES Country Coordinators. The obvious outcome of this exchange is a fusion of ideas and inspiration that has set the momentum for the change process in the country as well as the region.

Here we share some of the initiatives that have been set in motion, and many more in the pipeline.

Governance and Justice Program
YES Kenya is working closely with Youth Agenda (YAA) to bring together a caucus of civil society organizations in Kenya working on the Youth Development agenda to spearhead a joint youth leadership initiative, geared to promoting the potential of youth to become leaders in various sectors. March 2007 saw the organizing of a Caravan to encourage youth to take up leadership roles and also register as voters to influence political leadership.

Capacity Building Program
The membership recruitment base for YES Kenya has reached 8,400 members. Hundreds of these members have undergone the “Reach up” training program initiated through the partnership with Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT). Launching of this program nationwide would make it possible other members to also benefit from it. (For details visit: http://kenya.globalnetcorps.org)

Additionally, YES Kenya in partnership with World Corps Kenya (WCK) that provides a secretariat for all its operations, sometime end May will launch the Work Camps Program. WCK being an associate member of Coordinating Committee for the International Voluntary Service (CCIVS) has access to its members in other coun tries. The work camp would involve volunteers from Europe , Asia and America who will join the community in working on a community based projects for two weeks. YES Kenya will coordinate the placement of volunteers at various sites in the Western Region of Kenya.

Entrepreneurship Program
YES Kenya has partnered with Kenya Kountry Business Incubator (KEKOBI-E) and is in the process of printing 10,000 copies of “Do it Yourself Business Manual” on “How to Start a Business.” This booklet targets youth planning to start businesses in the communities. Copies of the book will be available at a discounted rate and can be used all over the world. Highlights of the booklet would be available on the YES web site.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs will soon disburse the Youth Enterprise Development Fund among the first batch of youth groups across the country. YES Kenya plans to work closely with the Ministry on the key outcome of the 2006 Summit to maximize the employability of youth in readiness for the 2008 summit in Azerbaijan .

dditionally, YES Kenya is currently seeking to build long term strategic partnership with organizations on any of its core programs. It could range from technical assistance; mentorship; donations and funds; or personnel/ volunteer time, among others.

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YES Rwanda : Actions Speak Louder than Words
By Frank T. Mukama, YES Rwanda Coordinator

“Youth Employment is probably the most pressing challenge facing the country. To significantly deal with it many stakeholders have to be brought on Board”- YES Rwanda Report, March 2007

While Rwanda continues to reel under the memory of its 1994 genocide, the future of its youth stays undecided and the biggest challenge facing them is to lead the country towards sustainable development.

The conflict in Rwanda killed a million and left another million displaced. For thousands of young people in the country reconstruction of their economy is the prime task. It was under such circumstances that YES Rwanda was initiated, funded by Trocaire and other partners namely the Norwegian People’s Aid, UNECA and EDC, to address the unemployment challenge and to build a firm institution that would be an authority and a leader in that field. It has however not been a smooth sail with some difficult times facing them.

To achieve this and its other goals, YES Rwanda works with a management vision focusing on its operational plan (SOP), institutionalization, advocacy, policies issues, follow up progress, partnership, and fundraising programs. SNV Rwanda is assisting YES Rwanda to implement its SOP.

YES Rwanda seeks to be a high impact organization. This may be a tough call under the given circumstances but with its grit it has stood firm. It duly acknowledges that no single actor can alone transform the livelihoods of thousands of young people facing the brunt of unemployment and underemployment. It has successfully lobbied with the Government, Ministry of Labor and Public Service (MIFOTRA) to make youth employment a top priority and work towards creation of decent and productive.

Its tireless efforts and dedication has begun to bear fruits. Rwanda is rated by the Youth Employment Network (YEN) as one of the rapidly progressing and best performing countries in terms of the NAP (National Action Plan on Youth Employment). The NAP was passed in a Cabinet Meeting on 14 March 2007 and a National Steering Committee (NSC) has been established. YES Rwanda along with other members of the Committee has been asked to study the possibilities of mapping youth employment initiatives across the country. This will guide the Terms of Reference for the Youth Employment Coordination Unit in MIFOTRA.

At YES Kenya 2006, YES Rwanda was cited by Regina Monticone, YEN´s Secretary, as a perfect example for collaboration between YEN and YES Campaign to achieve desirable goals. YES Rwanda also managed to garner support from the Kenyan Government to support youth employment in Rwanda . They received a $20,000 grant from UN agency to support participation of 10 delegates to attend YES Kenya 2006 as well as support follow-up activities and the implementation of resolutions.

Entrepreneurship forms the basis of the network. It hopes to raise funds from companies and individuals while allowing them to witness the change that their funds have made. ASPIRE, is a small pilot initiative that YES Rwanda is helping to get funded and would go to young (girls) fruit vendors. The time saved from selling fruits /vegetables would be used for acquisition of life skills. ICT is another focus area. Computer Point, a local computer company, donated a computer to YES Rwanda and a cash of Frw 200,000 which has gone towards setting up the Youth Information Resource Center (YIRC) Project. YES Rwanda also figures among the select four countries where the YES Fund activities would be piloted.

YES Rwanda is grateful to UN agencies and international cooperation such as DfID, Embassy of South Africa and GTZ, among others, for their support.

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YES Iraq Undeterred through Trying Times
by Dhikra . A. Alhmadane, YES Iraq Coordinator

The conditions in Iraq are no big secret. Violence, unrest, anti social activities, is the order of the day, leaving the young vulnerable. Under such conditions, YES Iraq emerges as a silver lining, all set to lead the youth of the country to a better, brighter future…

The Iraqi youth represents an important section, maybe even more important than in many other countries. With the worsening condition in the country, the avenues for employment have also deteriorated, leaving its youth unemployed and without any source of income. Additionally, they are faced with problems such as lack of access to health facilities, poor environment, inadequate nutrition, lack of drinking water, poor infrastructure and lack of knowledge on communication technology, among others. Under such difficult circumstances, YES Iraq has emerged as the sole option among youth, to improve their lives and the future. This process started at YES Kenya Summit in 2006.

YES Iraq represents one of the important networks in the Iraqi Commission for Civil Society Network that works for youth development and ending poverty. It has been holding meetings with Iraqi official on issues concerning youth. In addition, it has also been participating in international workshops and trainings with the idea of building its capacity to spearhead the movement. From 27 29 March, young members in the media sector were trained in a workshop organized by the Arab Council of Childhood in Egypt . YES Iraq also assisted with rebuilding of Iraqi Council with the cooperation of the International expiations company ( England ).

YES Iraq is aware that a lot desires to be done to make any impact on the lives of youth in the country. Among its various other plans, is the proposal to set up Center for Youth Leadership and Development. Through this initiative, it hopes to find work opportunities to reduce unemployment and provide investment support to the youth, and enhance cooperation and coordination among the civil society organizations and the state institutions. “For this we require international support”, says Dhikra . A. Alhmadane, the YES Iraq Coordinator.

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MEDIA MIRROR…

Poonam Ahluwalia Globally Employs Affirmative Thinking

It’s not often that one finds social leaders being featured on the cover of prominent newspapers. This is the power of the YES Campaign and the force behind it, Poonam Ahluwalia, who recently got featured on Boston Women Business. Here are some excerpts from the story by Helen Graves of Boston Women Business.

 March 1, 2007 : If you take away anything from her story, Poonam Ahluwalia hopes it is this: that everyone, personally, can make a difference. “We don’t have to wait”, she says. “We can take things into our own hands.”

It’s on this very philosophy that Ahluwalia has built her global, decade-long YES (Youth Employment Summit) Campaign in order to increase youth employment country by country and thereby help eradicate poverty.

With no time to lose, she began with a global agenda of mobilizing leaders from 120 out of the world’s 198 countries through the first YES summit, which took place in 2002 in Alexandria , Egypt .

 Then, banking on the personally-making-a-difference ripple effect, Ahluwalia offered the tools for the grassroots foundation that typically precedes a global effort in her upside-down pyramid approach to building momentum.

Her hurry is that, by 2012, she plans for YES to have run its course. In its place should be the national coalitions necessary to support the heretofore underserved underpinnings of poverty relief — the next generation.

 At the heart of poverty lies the lack of employment,” Ahluwalia says. “If we can get our young people, who are 50 percent of the world’s population, into productive livelihoods, they will contribute to the older and younger generations.” Accomplishments now that YES is midway through the 10-year plan include:

• Two more summits, 2004 in Mexico and 2006 in Kenya , with a forum planned for August in the Dominican Republic ;
• Nearly one million youth served;
• Nearly $1 million fundraised;
• Networks in 84 countries;
• Four hundred projects in countries like Serbia , Peru , Pakistan , India and the Dominican Republic ; and
• A YES event taking place every other day somewhere around the world, totally independent of the mother organization.

The young, Ahluwalia says, didn’t find relevance in programs based on past practices. “Youth aren’t looking in the past. They’re always directed toward the future. I came back and said, “Let’s look at this whole issue of youth employment”. What she found was that countries were not addressing employment in their national youth efforts but instead were typically focusing on culture and sports and then came the even greater epiphany. While working on developing a youth employment project for South Africa , Ahluwalia realized: “With one billion youth, ages 14 to 24, 850 million in poor countries, what was my one project really going to do?”

So began the global effort in 1998. “People scoffed, telling me, ‘You’ve been home with your kids. You have no idea of the global structures,’ ” Ahluwalia relates. “I was not convinced. I said, ‘If we don’t try, we will just be living in the same paradigm — promoting resignation.’ ”…

Read full feature at: http://business.bostonherald.com/womensBusiness/view.bg?articleid=185078

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.......................hat I was attending, I felt a tap on my shoulder… I turned and found myself standing face-to-face with PK Joseph, the YES Asia Regional Coordinator…Was I plain lucky to find the person who I have been trying to contact all this while? How great it felt to find him without even opening my mailbox! He informed me that February 7 is the launch of the YES Fund at the same place where we were standing…

I realized that the newly set up YES office in India was just a hand distance from where I was…As soon as I got, I dropped by at the YES office a small room, equipped with desks, phones, and computers…There I met KP Johnson with a big smile and a warm welcome. I met him the first time in Nairobi during the Kenya Summit in 2006. Till that moment I did not realize that there were two people working at the YES India office, with their names just reversed to each other -- PK and KP -- a fine discovery! …Being at the YES office felt as if I was home…

On February 7, I was all set to be at the Launch function of the Yes Fund…As soon as I stepped into the hall, I saw Praveen, the YES India Country Coordinator, sitting at a distance…we waved to each other. As my eyes roved across the hall, I saw many more identifiable faces…my YES folks.

The speakers were sharing ideas on the Fund and raising issues of concern for the young entrepreneurs. There were the YES country coordinators from select South Asian countries and State Coordinators from across India participating in the launch.   

There were over 100 attendees from all walks of life from India and abroad…and a distinguished panel, including Pradyot Deb Burman, Maharaja of Tripura…

The addresses by these leaders and entrepreneurs were very stimulating. I really thought that speech delivered by the Minister of Youth Affairs, Government of India was simply remarkable. I found the Honorable Mani Shankar to be a charming and charismatic person with good sense of humor.

In between the two meetings, I managed some touristy stuff…I did Agra and Jaipur, the two cities together with Delhi makes the Golden Triangle…Taj Mahal is a marvel to watch, a symbol of love dedicated by Shah Jahan (literary means King of the World) to his wife…Jaipur is equally interesting…

t was a great experience…an opportunity to share, revive links, and meet with friends…An experience that leaves you rejuvenated…and highly charged!!!

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NEW PARTNERSHIPS…

YES Finds a New Home in Cambridge College

The great news is that, Cambridge College, Harvard Sq, the most sought after address in Massachusetts , now houses the YES Inc. Headquarters within its campus and offers it administrative and emotional support as YES strives to stand on its own feet.

Cambridge College is known to provide academically excellent, time-efficient, and cost-effective higher education for a diverse population of working adults for whom those opportunities may have been limited or denied. It strives to be a leader in educating working adults diverse in age, gender, race, ethnicity, professional and educational experiences and geographical backgrounds, nationally and internationally. Over the next five years, the College will seek to ensure growth with quality and to impact and transform communities through partnerships.

he partnership between YES and Cambridge College will give direct access to Cambridge College ’s expertise in integrating work, learning, and technology.

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YES Fund, a Clinton Global Initiative launches a pilot site in India - incubated by IGSSS and funded by Microsoft

 Indo Global Social Service Society (IGSSS)has a long history of 45 years as a development support organization in India . Recently, sharing a common vision with YES Inc., IGSSS has entered into a partnership with YES and agreed to develop the YES Fund in India . Based on the understanding, IGSSS is providing the infrastructure and administrative support to the YES team based at its premise in New Delhi , India . IGSSS also takes care of the fiscal and legal needs of YES Inc. for its operations in India and adds value to the YES programs by making available its core competencies in areas such as: efficient and timely systems and processes, program perspectives, community ownership and community participation, expertise in program monitoring and evaluation and setting up needed management information systems.  IGSSS and YES Inc. will work together to build a youth-led movement in India , under the banner of 'YES India Networks'.

Currently, IGSSS manages around 1000 projects all over India , with an annual budget of (2004-2005) INR 250 million. It has field offices in 21 states almost one in every major state of the country. The thematic focus areas of IGSSS are: Empowerment, Youth Development, Sustainable Livelihood, Governance, Human Rights, Health and Disaster Mitigation.  It targets socially and economically disadvantaged people specifically women and youth.  

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UPCOMING EVENT…

YES Coordinators Forum
Alexandria , Egypt ; August 27-31, 2007

 YES Coordinators Forum will take place in Alexandria , Egypt from August 27-31, 2007. Planned as a mid-campaign event, the Forum (an invitations only event) will focus on building the capacity of the YES Coordinators to participate in the YES Fund - Global Fund for Youth Entrepreneurship, a 2006 Clinton Global Initiative.

 YES Coordinators Forum will take place in Alexandria , Egypt from August 27-31, 2007 . Planned as a mid-campaign event, the Forum, with over 150 participants from across the world, will focus on the YES Fund - Global Fund for Youth Entrepreneurship, a 2006 Clinton Global Initiative.

YES Alexandria is primarily being organized as a capacity building event. The deliberations and activities at the Forum would centre around three identified sectors namely, Information and Communications Technologies (ICT); Integrated rural businesses; and Youth employment in infrastructure development through Public Private Partnerships.

The primary goal of the Forum is to build the capacity of YES Networks to participate in the YES Fund initiative. Not only will it make available the right platform to share the strategic goals of YES, but also train and develop capacities of youth leaders in the three strategic areas and develop viable proposals for entrepreneurship development through conducting intensive track workshops.

The Forum would help strengthen the YES Networks by building leadership of the YES Coordinators to work with policy makers in their respective countries towards the larger goal of the YES Campaign. It would also build and strengthen the institutional capacity by fostering linkages and synergies between the countries and the YES Inc.

For further information, please visit www.yesweb.org.

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USEFUL RESOURCES…

YES Campaign has, over the years, generated a rich resource base. Here is a list of some of the publications that you may find useful in your work. We welcome your feedback.

 Joining Forces with Young People: A Practical Guide to Collaboration for Youth Employment (Public Draft) (English; pdf)

A YEN publication

 State of the YES Campaign 2006 (English; pdf)

Stories about how the YES Campaign is unfolding in different parts of the world.

Creating Markets: Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment in Five Major Development Sectors (English; pdf)

Renewable Energy, Water & Sanitation, Rp fight poverty. People from all over the world are being encouraged to submit a business proposal for the creation of a small or medium enterprise (SME) in a developing country. The contest answers to ‘the missing middle’, a financing gap that obstructs the SME sector in developing countries to flourish. The objective of the BiD Challenge is to contribute to sustainable economic development by stimulating entrepreneurship in developing countries.

For more information visit www.bidnetwork.org

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