1: GYA 2009 Yearbook: we are still seeking submissions for the GYA 2009 yearbook. This yearbook will collect your memories, your spoken word pieces, your music–anything relating to your experience at the GYA and put them together into an ebook format for a keepsake as well as showcasing how awesome Canadian and international youth can be when they get together to bring awareness to action!Send us your  favorites from the GYA 2009 and anything else that you wanted to share but didn’t get the chance- photos, poems, lyrics, messages, videos, and your most powerful moment from the GYA 2009.  Don’t forget to tell us about your project.  It could be THE project featured in this inspirational book.

2: Theme for 2011: The GYA is opening the floor to you! We have chosen the theme Active Citizenship for 2011 but want to hear your thoughts. Do you like this theme? What kind of guiding questions would you ask? Put your comments and thoughts in the comments section below!

3: New Branding: The GYA is undergoing a bit of a facelift! The University of Alberta’s Visual Communications department will be working with the GYA team to redesign the “face of GYA” and you could have your say on the final logo! Stay tuned for more information.

Finally–have a project but need some guidance getting it off the ground? We’re here to help! Fire an email off to info@youthassembly.ca and we’ll work with you to help you ignite change now!

So…it has been a week since the Global Youth Assembly and the GYAteam is just recovering and coming back to work after a well-deserved holiday.

A big thank you to everyone who came out and supported us in making the GYA a huge success. The feedback we received from delegates and speakers alike were overwhelmingly positive and we hope that all delegates were able to gain meaningful connections, make new friends and of course, be inspired to ignite change in their communities!

The Global Youth Assembly 2009 is over now but it’s not done yet. The Ignite Change Now! Program is kicking off in the fall in full force and this blog will be regularly updated with our activities, plans and action items as we move forward with planning Global Youth Assembly 2011.

Check out a few of these blogs for reviews, pictures and videos of the GYA

Daveberta

Alex on the Web

The Edmontonian

GetInvolved.ca

Speak up for Change

ReelYouth.ca

CPAC–Global Youth Assembly Coverage

Flickr–GYA2009

It’s the GYA!– YouTube video (sorry–for some reason, video won’t embed)

Next: The GYAteam recaps the Global Youth Assembly!

Be part of the movement and ignite change now!

For a long time I embraced the age old myth that young people are becoming increasingly apathetic to the world around them. As a young person who has been heavily involved in politics at a number of levels, I have been told that I am a rarity, but I have a hard time accepting that as a fact. Sure, voter turnout from citizens in the 18 to 30 age range has steadily declined over the past decade, but so has voter turnout in older age demographics. It’s true that young people aren’t rushing to get involved in political parties, but neither are many older citizens.

With the large exception of the widely pop culturized 1960s, I’m willing to bet that young people have always had lower involvement in traditional political institutions. Look outside of the traditional political arenas occupied by members of our parents and grandparents generations and you will find some impressively vibrant political communities that transcend demographic assumptions.

Locally, a community of active Edmontonians has used online social networks and social media like Blogs, Twitter, and Facebook to engage on important issues in our City. The recent debate about whether to close the Edmonton City Centre Airport is a fascinating example of how a group of engaged citizens used social media to spark ideas and conversations. Not satisfied with the status quo, many younger Edmontonians used social networks to engage the City Centre Airport issue and urge friends and followers to contact City Council.

While Airport debate was only one example of how the positive merger between social media and citizen engagement is evolving, there are other shining and nascent examples of emerging groups of active citizens such as ChangeCamp, CivicCamp, Better Calgary, and Better Edmonton who are taking to the internet as a strategy for promoting positive change.

While the organic nature of social networks allow for the kind of direct interaction and conversation that radio ads and giant billboards could never, our democratic institutions are lethargically struggling to keep pace, and being left in the dust.

It is easy to become cynical and disenchanted with traditional politics when there is so much focus on grandstanding politicians, old-style political parties, and dropping voter turnout, but I am constantly encouraged by the exciting citizen engagement and important debates that are spreading through online social networks.

We’ve ran into some luck!  Last minute we have received a funding opportunity to bring youth from throughout Canada to attend the Global Youth Assembly.  If you are interested in being part of this dynamic and creative social movement, get in touch with us today!!

What is the Global Youth Assembly?

A 4 day conference in Edmonton from July 30^th – August 2^nd that will connect you and hundreds of other Canadian and international youth together to talk about saving the world—and then actually doing it. Rock out to Nomadic Massive at the Concert and Dialogue featuring the Governor General; learn about ethical purchasing at the Shop4Change Fashion show; experience films that are making an impact. Along the way, hear inspiring keynotes of people who have done some pretty amazing things and attend the workshops to get some ideas on the kinds of tools you can use to make a difference and Ignite Change NOW!

Visit www.youthassembly.ca for more details today – it’s an event you won’t want to miss!

What does the funding include?

Funding includes air travel to attend the Global Youth Assembly. Accommodations are not covered, however room rates at Grant MacEwan are only $35 per night!  Registration fees are also not covered but with this offer, we are willing to offer a 50% reduction of the rate to make it $99 which includes four days of food and amazing programming!

How to apply?

Contact Savanna or Chelsea as soon as you can at: savanna@jhcentre.org or Chelsea@jhcentre.org.

This will be done on a first come, first serve basis! Once in touch, we will work with you to organize travel arrangements.

We look forward to seeing you in Edmonton at the GYA!!

We’re about 1 week away from the GYA and lots of exciting things have been happening. If you haven’t already heard, we are pleased to announce that Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Governor General of Canada, will be hosting her Youth Dialogues and Concert at the GYA! This is in partnership with Apathy is Boring (which we’ve featured extensively on this blog) and of course, the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights.

That’s right! We got the freakin’ Governor General of Canada to come out to this great event! It doesn’t get any more exciting then that! She will be hosting her Youth Dialogue along with a panel group to discuss ways in which youth can get involved with becoming active citizens. The headliner for the concert portion is Nomadic Massive, a Montreal-based hip-hop group and will feature other Edmonton hip-hop artists like People’s Poets and Blueprint 4 Life.

This event, by the way, is open to the public free of charge. So if you’re in Edmonton and have nothing to do on a Friday night, why not come check out Canada’s Leading Lady and hear what she has to say? All you have to do is send an email to rsvpedmonton@gg.ca to get on the list and you’re set.

For all of you still not registered for the GYA, now would be a good time to take advantage of the promotion we’re running in honor of the Governor General’s appearance. Register now and receive 10% off the regular fee of $199! Just enter the promo code SPGG and you’re set.

And as always…

Be part of the movement and ignite change now!

Leave a comment and we’ll take your suggestions into consideration. Comments are moderated.

The struggle for peace in our world is continual…we see violence within our local communities through acts of bullying or even through poverty…we see it on the global scale with the testing of nuclear weapons and civil conflicts in countries such as Somalia and Sudan.

Do you want to play a role in building peace? Do you want to network and engage with youth from around the world to learn and build strategies that advance peace and human rights?

If so, Project Ploughshares would like to invite you to participate in a contest to tell us your story:

• What does it mean to have a peaceful world?
• What does peace look like or mean to you?
• What can we as a community or as individuals do to promote peace?

We encourage you to express and show us your story of peace though either an essay submission or a video project. Essays should be no more than two full pages (750 words max) and video projects should be no longer than five minutes.

The winner of this contest will receive sponsorship to attend the Global Youth Assembly (GYA) to be held in Edmonton from July 30-August 2nd.

Project Ploughshares is a non-government organizations focused on educating for peace and justice, and ultimately to building new solutions to building peace and preventing war.

Please submit your projects to us c/o the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights at:
Email: info [at] jhcentre[dot]org (to prevent spammers…please insert the appropriate symbols)

Mail to: 7723-85 Street, Edmonton AB T6C 3B4

DEADLINE: June 30, 2009

Are you a twenty-something young professional with big ideas, big hopes and a vision for a more equitable and just world? Have you ever been called a leader of tomorrow, today? Well, as clichéd as might sound, it’s true. Gen Y is a demographic of citizens that seems to fall into two rather distinct categories: the hyper-engaged and the apathetic.

Apathy is Boring…

Apathy is a very serious problem within a democratic society. Democracy is only as strong as a healthy engaged citizenry and when youths don’t bother learning about the issues, participating in civil society and making their voices heard. When the citizenry is apathetic, a government will begin to believe that it alone knows what is best for us and make our decisions for us without our consent.

When governments make generalizations like, “This is supported by the silent majority”, this is when red flags should go up. Arguably, there is no such thing as a silent majority but even if there was, there is no basis for consent to be had especially when there is a particularly vocal opposition. Argumentum ex silentio (argument from silence) cannot be taken for a form of consent in a democratic society—at least not when the proper procedures are followed and debate and consultations are allowed to take place.

However, it’s not entirely unreasonable that a government might come to the conclusion that argument from silence is perfectly acceptable in lieu of actual consent when the citizenship doesn’t participate. So…what to do about that?

Action is Hot!

One of our partners, Apathy is Boring, promotes democratic participation in today’s citizen by promoting the fact that democracy is sexy.

By engaging youth who are disengaged, Apathy Is Boring aims to be the entry point for young people into lifelong active citizenry. Our aim is to really communicate with youth using a mix of creative, content-driven projects that engage, motivate and educate. With this site, we aim to create an online resource and a community in which young people can connect with each other — because apathy is boring, and democracy is sexy.

–Apathy is Boring (Overview)

We are very pleased to say that Apathy is Boring will be coming out to the GYA to host a panel entitled Action is Hot, Apathy is Not: Politics and Building Community that will discuss this featuring young politicians and activists from across Canada.

Be a Leader Today. Ignite change now!

The Inconvenience of Change

by Matt Cheuvront

You can’t do everything, but you can do a lot

Change. What does it mean? Why, as a generation, as a society, as humans – are we so obsessed with the idea of change? And if we’re so obsessed with bringing about change, why are so few of us actually doing anything? Has it lost its meaning? Has it become something sexy to write and talk about in order to spark discussion that ultimately leads to nothing?

When we talk about change – we look at the big picture: We want to save the environment, we want to end world hunger, we want to bring world peace. This, ultimately, is the inherent flaw in our thought process. We’re thinking too big. We all want to change the world by ourselves – but I’ll let you in on a secret…it’s impossible. There is no way that you or I can take it on alone. One person can not and will not ever do everything, but one person can do something, one person can do a lot, one person can set a spark that stares a wildfire of change throughout their community.

Be the change you want to see in the world

Think about it – the world doesn’t need to be changed, we need to change ourselves. We talk about ‘going green’ in order to save the environment – but the environment doesn’t need saving except for our own benefit. The environment is only at the point of needing to be saved because we have been slowly killing Mother Nature for thousands of years, she would be much better off if none of us existed and we would just leave her alone.

The point I’m illustrating is that change comes from within, and it’s OK to be selfish, it’s OK to change for yourself. No one can tell you to change; no one can make you believe something. You have to want to, the intent has to be there far before realizing if you have the ability – and you have to be willing to step outside of your comfort zone, try new things, and become a selfless human being. All of these are much easier said than done. Changing the world is bigger than us, and when we’re facing such a monumental task, it’s easy to doubt the impact one person can have.

Social Media – making change a little more convenient

If we’re going to change, if we’re going to break away from routine, think outside the box, and inconvenience ourselves, we’re going to want to see results. One of the biggest challenges we have as individuals is going out on a limb for something that we won’t be recognized for, that may not give us direct satisfaction. It’s difficult to be passionate about something that you aren’t connected to, a cause that you aren’t really involved in.

Social media and the web enable people from all over the world, from all walks of life to interconnect, network, and form friendships. I was a huge skeptic of Twitter up until the day I joined back in February – but what I’ve realized is that something so simple, something that goes so far as to LIMIT how much you can say, has become one of the most powerful and innovative advocacy awareness and communication outlets ever. In the past several months, I have put together an amazing community over on my blog, met some fascinating and passionate people, and have brought together people to embark with me on a month long CHANGE revolution!

From in here to out there

Social networking gets your ideas, the things you’re passionate about, causes, beliefs, and ideals, out there to the masses. And you would be amazed by the number of people out there who are open and willing to stand by your side and help in raising awareness for the things you believe in.

Change is scary for most of us, we fear the unknown. It’s never easy and it always involves work. That work, the effort involved in making a difference, THAT’S the part that stops most people. Don’t let it anymore. Today is the day you stop TELLING yourself “I’m going to change”. Today is the day that you actually start doing it. Get involved in discussion – question others – challenge yourself - raise doubt – face your fears. Be the change you want to see in the world!