MIRROR

WORLD POPULATION DAY: “FAMILY PLANNING IS A HUMAN RIGHT”

2018-07-12T11:15:00.000+01:00

WORLD ASSEMBLY OF YOUTH

PRESS RELEASE

WORLD POPULATION DAY: “FAMILY PLANNING IS A HUMAN RIGHT”

Globally, the population has doubled since 1968 and grown by almost 40 percent since reaching 5 billion in 1987, an event that led to the first World Population Day. Growth will continue at least until mid-century despite dramatic declines in the average number of children per woman, according to UN population division.

World Population Day, which seeks to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues, was established by the then-governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989, an outgrowth of the interest generated by the Day of Five Billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

The theme for World Population Day 2018 is “Family Planning is a Human Right”. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1968 International Conference on Human Rights, where family planning was, for the first time, globally affirmed to be a human right. The conference’s outcome document, known as the Teheran Proclamation, stated unequivocally: “Parents have a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children.”

Embedded in this legislative language was a game-changing realization: Women and girls have the right to avoid the exhaustion, depletion, and danger of too many pregnancies, too close together. Men and women have the right to choose when and how often to embrace parenthood if at all. Every individual has the human right to determine the direction and scope of his or her future in this fundamental way.

We, at World Assembly of Youth (WAY), are fully aware that over population growth is occurring all over the world but the growth often multiplies mostly in less developed countries. We believe that as more and more individuals share our planet, new challenges arise daily. Thus, it rests on individual decisions and actions to control global population growth particularly those from young people considering them as the largest portion of the world population. Therefore, taking into account the urgency to solve the current population challenges, we urge young people to educate others including their peers especially those living in less developed countries on effective family planning, sex education amongst adolescents and the importance of using a contraceptive.

Thus, at this point, we cannot know with certainty when or if world population can feasibly be stabilized, nor can we state with assurance the limits of the world's ecological "carrying capability", but we can be certain of the desired direction of change that we seek which is to ensure reproductive health through the channel of education.

NGO PUSH FOR INCREASE ACCESS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO HEALTH SERVICES

2018-03-03T14:50:00.000+01:00

Action Health Incorporated (AHI) has made a call for more Youth Friendly Health Service (YFHS) centers to be made available for young people in Lagos State. This call was made during the project dissemination on the integration of YFHS in two Primary Health Care centers, Ashogbon and Iwaya in Lagos State; a project supported by Champions for Change Nigeria.

According to the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Primary Healthcare Board (LSPHCB), Dr. Iyabo Are, Adolescent and Youth Friendly services are an integral part of the Primary Health Care System. As a social service, the state considers the provision of Youth Friendly Services of paramount importance and as a cost-effective strategy in disease prevention and health promotion amongst youths and adolescents.

Findings and lessons learnt from the one-year intervention were disseminated to stakeholders comprising representatives from the Lagos State Primary Healthcare Board, Lagos State Ministries of Health, Lagos State Ministry of Youth & Social Development, Community members, Civil Society and young people from the targeted communities. Funso Bukoye, the Project Coordinator, asserted that many young people engaged in risky sexual behaviour due to lack of information on sexual and reproductive health.

According to Ms. Bukoye, the judgmental attitudes of healthcare service providers, socio-cultural norms, adolescents’ own fear and shame, disapproval from parents and community gate-keeping contribute to adolescents’ inability to access health information and services.

Furthermore, she explained that an endline survey conducted among 500 young people in the intervention communities; Iwaya Yaba and Ilaje-Bariga showed that there was increase in numbers of young people accessing services at the PHCs from 18% to 34.6% and Involvement in multiple sexual partnerships declined from 56.1% to 48.5%. A total of 3,658 young people were reached with clinical services at the 2 facilities out of which 48% accessed general health services, 31% accessed health education and 21% accessed sexual and reproductive health services. Also, over 5,000 young people were reached with sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information. Thus, she called for the project to be scaled up across all other PHCs in Lagos State to reach young people including those in remote areas.

The Executive Director of AHI, Mrs. Adenike Esiet, also advised that there should be capacity building and on-the-job training for healthcare providers to effectively deliver youth-friendly healthcare services. According to her, the world is changing, and many young people are exposed to so much information and peer pressure; and there is need for professionals that will educate these young ones without criticism.

Dr Adefunke Adesina, who represented the Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Health Care, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga, said that the government was committed to healthy development of the youth and more youth-friendly health centers would be provided in the state. This was further affirmed by Dr. Are who said that the State Government is also looking at increasing human resource and public health facilities to improve service delivery with ongoing renovations.

In a related development, the outcomes of the intervention were also shared at the 8th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights (ACSHR), held in Johannesburg, South Africa from February 12 to February 16, 2018.

EVENT PICTURES

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF NON-VIOLENCE

2014-10-07T12:28:00.001+01:00

“Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong.”

~Mahatma Gandhi

In recent years, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of people around the world who have taken part in nonviolent supporting action. It is clear, however, that there is considerable debate about the precise meaning of nonviolence.

Nonviolence is an undeniable force that works in the social field that brings people together, often by courageously resisting prejudice and refusing to inflict suffering.

International Day of Non-Violence is held annually to promote the ways to stop violence through education and public awareness. The 2^nd of October was selected to coincide with prominent Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday. This day is recognized in India as Gandhi Jayanti.

Gandhi was born in India on the 2^nd of October 1869 and was assassinated on January 30, 1948. He is remembered, for his contributions towards India’s freedom and for sharing with the world a doctrine for dealing with injustice and dissonance. He taught people the philosophy of Ahimsa which encourages the use of non-violence as a tool for the peaceful resolution of differences. Throughout his life, Gandhi remained committed to his belief in non-violence even under oppressive conditions and in the face of seemingly impossible challenge.

The World Assembly of Youth (WAY) sturdily stands by the principle of non-violence and continues to aim for its identification and achievement in the societies. It advocates for the youth to exploit their minds as a weapon against all the injustices and promote non-violence in their communities. At WAY, it is believed that all young people are not naturally born to be ferocious. Violence is learnt and, thus, avoidable. Proper education and productive utilisation of the leisure time are the two substantial keys in preventing the occurrence of delinquencies behaviours among young people.

Thus, all young people are urged to place their responsibilities above their enjoyment and prioritize their education over rebellious activities.

Let us celebrate the lasting work of the great futurist, Mahatma Gandhi and ensure that his teachings remain in our hearts with peace and harmony.

Happy International Day of Non- Violence!

Five Myths About Young People and Social Media

2014-09-25T15:25:00.000+01:00

Teenagers have always been attracted to public spaces where they can hang out with friends, find new friends, and talk endlessly with peers about matters that concern them, away from parents and other authority figures. Such gatherings are crucial to human development; they are how teenagers expand their social horizons, share views on issues that matter to them, experiment with different versions of their personality, and develop the sense of independence from parents and other adults that they must in order to become adults themselves.

Until rather recently, the places where teens would find one another were physical, geographical spaces, but today they are more often located in cyberspace. Many adults are puzzled, and some are apppalled, by the amount of time teens spend online and by what they seem to do there. A terrific new book by danah boyd (who spells her name without capitals), entitled It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, helps us make sense of it.

The book, published this month by Yale University Press, is the product of an extensive program of research. From 2005 to 2012, boyd traveled back and forth across the United States meeting with and talking with teenagers, and also with parents, teachers, librarians, youth ministers, and others who work with teens. She also spent “countless hours” studying teens through the traces they left online, on their social network sites, blogs, and other social media. In addition, she and her collaborator Alice Marwick conducted formal, semi-structured interviews of 166 teens about their social media habits.

As the title of her book (It’s Complicated) suggests, the results of boyd’s study can’t be summarized with a few simple statements. The book debunks some of the simplistic myths about teens and technology that we often find in the popular media or hear in conversations among adults. Here are five of those myths, and some of what boyd has to tell us that is relevant to each:

Myth #1: Technology creates social isolation.

A teenager at a computer or smartphone may look socially isolated, but, more often than not, the teen is using that device to overcome social isolation—isolation that we adults have imposed. Boyd says that she often heard parents complain that their teens preferred computers to “real people,” but the teens’ perspective was quite different. Teens, throughout the country, and across ethnic groups, told her repeatedly that they would much rather get together with friends in person, but had little opportunity to do so. They communicated with their friends through social media, because that was often the only way they could reach them.

In generations past, teenagers, and even preteens and younger children, socialized with one another as they walked to school and back every day. At school they could socialize during lunch hour and other breaks in the day. After school and on weekends, they could walk, bicycle, take public transit, or (in the case of older teens) drive to find one another at parks, fields, street corners, vacant lots, secret clubhouses, diners, malls, or other regular meeting places. Today’s teens don’t have such freedom. Many aren’t allowed to walk to school. "Lunch hour" is no longer even close to an hour, and other breaks in the school day have been largely removed. Many parents restrict their teens from venturing out without an adult, and even when parents do allow it, other forces work against it. As boyd points out, policy makers have implemented curfews and anti-loitering laws aimed at teens, in the mistaken belief that this curbs juvenile crime (she cites evidence that it does not); and many commercial venues that once welcomed or at least tolerated teens now ban them, especially when they appear in groups. Even when an individual teen is free to leave the house and has a place to go, the chance that his or her friends will also have that freedom is small.

Boyd found that the parents she talked with often believed they were providing their teens with opportunities to socialize when they enrolled them in and drove them to adult-directed after-school activities, but the teens disagreed. They told boyd that these activities provided little opportunity for the kind of socializing they craved, precisely because of the adult structure and continuous adult surveillance.

As boyd (p 106-107) puts it, “Authority figures simultaneously view teens as nuisances who must be managed and innocent children who must be protected. Teens are both public menaces and vulnerable targets. Society is afraid of them and for them.” Because of this, we have more or less banned teens from physical public places; so, being humans and needing social networks, they have figured out how to get together online.

Myth #2: Teens are addicted to technology and social media.

In a previous essay on this blog (on video game “addiction”), I described our tendency to apply the term addiction to almost any kind of activity that people enjoy and engage in frequently. Used more conservatively and usefully, the term refers to an activity that (a) is compulsive in the sense that the person hasn’t been able to stop doing it, even with great effort, and (b) is clearly more harmful than helpful to the person engaged in that behavior.

Boyd found that some teens indeed do spend more time with social media than they say they would like. They acknowledged being drawn into it and enjoying it so much that they lose track of time, and said it does cause some harm by subtracting from the time they can spend on other activities, including those that adults are encouraging them to do, such as schoolwork. But it is not clear that the harm outweighs the gains. And, even if it does, boyd suggests, the language of addiction is not helpful here. It sensationalizes the problem. It implies pathology rather than a time management problem of the sort that all of us have to varying degrees.

Boyd (p 92) points out that if we use the term addiction to refer to any activity that people enjoy and to which they devote great amounts of time, then “Being ‘addicted’ to information and to people is part of the human condition: it arises from a healthy desire to be aware of surroundings and to connect to society.” It’s not the technology itself that draws young people in; it’s the chance to communicate with peers and learn about their world. The computer is just a tool, like the telephone used to be.

When adults see that children and teens are using computers and smart phones rather than playing outdoors or socializing in physical space, they find it easier to blame the computer and its supposed “addictive” qualities than to blame themselves and the social conditions that have deprived young people of the freedom to congregate in physical places, away from interfering adults.

Myth #3: Teens these days have no appreciation of privacy.

Adults are often appalled by the tendency of teens to put information into the Internet that “should be private.” In contrast, teens regularly told boyd that they used social media in order to achieve privacy. The difference seems to be one of concern about privacy from whom. Parents worry about the prying eyes of strangers, whereas teens are more concerned about the prying eyes and ears of adults who know them well. In boyd’s words: “When teens—and, for that matter, most adults—seek privacy, they do so in relation to those who hold power over them. Unlike privacy advocates and more politically conscious adults, teens aren’t typically concerned with governments and corporations. Instead, they’re trying to avoid surveillance from parents, teachers, and other immediate authority figures in their lives. They want the right to be ignored by the people they see as being ‘in their business.’ …They wish to avoid paternalistic adults who use safety and protection as an excuse to monitor their everyday sociality.”

Sometimes teens who are physically near one another will text or use social media rather than talk, precisely so parents or others who are physically present won’t know what they’re saying. Teens quite rightly get annoyed when their parents go online and read what was intended for peers, not parents. It’s little different, to them, from reading private mail, or bugging their bedroom, or reading their diary. Boyd (p 59) writes, further, “In 2012, when I asked teens who were early adopters of Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram why they prefer these services to Facebook, I heard a near-uniform response: ‘Because my parents don’t know about it.”

It is true, however, that many teens ignore or are unaware of the long-lasting traces they may leave when they communicate through social media and the harmful effects that can occur, for example, if read by a potential future employer. Boyd found that despite the common perception that all teens are Internet savvy, many of them are not. They often don’t know how to use the privacy settings on social media and are often unaware or forgetful of the extent to which audiences other then the intended ones could access what they are saying. Boyd suggests that we, as individual adults and as a society, could do more than we currently do to help teens understand better the social media they are using. Instead of warning them not to use it, or forbidding them from using it, we might help them find ways to use it more intelligently.

Myth #4: Social media put teens at great risk from sexual predators.

In a nationwide survey, boyd and her colleagues found that 93 percent of parents were concerned that their child might meet a stranger online who would hurt them, while only one percent of them indicated that any of their own children had ever had such an experience. By far the biggest fear expressed by parents was of “sexual predators,” “child molesters,” “pedophiles,” and “sex offenders” who might contact their child through their online participation. This mirrors the fears, revealed in other national and international surveys, that underlie many parents’ decisions to restrict their children from venturing away from home, outdoors, without adult protection. Surprisingly, the respondents to boyd’s survey expressed as much fear for their sons as for their daughters.

As I and others (e.g. Lenore Skenazy in her book Free Range Kids) have reported elsewhere, the “stranger danger” fears that afflict so many parents are greatly overblown. In fact, harm of any kind to children or teens from adult strangers is very rare, and there is little or no evidence that technology or social media has increased such danger. As boyd (p 110) puts it: “Internet-initiated sexual assaults are rare—and the overall number of sex crimes against minors has been steadily declining since 1992—which suggests that the internet has not created a new plague.” Of course, teens and children should all be cautioned about such possibilities, and we should discuss common-sense ways of preventing it with them, but the danger is so small that it is irrational to ban our children from social media because of it.

The fact is, child molestation is far more likely to be perpetrated by people who are well known to the child, such as relatives, trusted family friends, priests, and teachers, than by strangers. Again, in boyd’s (p 110) words: “Although lawmakers are happy to propose interventions that limit youth’s rights to access online spaces, they have not proposed laws to outlaw children’s access to religious institutions, schools, or homes, even though these are statistically more common sites of victimization.”

Myth #5: Bullying through social media is a huge national problem.

Bullying, real bullying, is, of course, a serious problem wherever it occurs; and, indeed, there are some well-documented cases of cyberbullying (online bullying) that have ended in tragedy. But how often do such cases occur? Is such bullying common enough and serious enough that we should ban teens from social media?

As is the case for addiction, part of the problem with the term bullying lies in how people define or identify it. Boyd notes that she met parents who saw every act of teasing as bullying, even when their children, including those who were targets, did not. I have met such parents, too, and some are unshakeable in their convictions. Overextension also occurs when the term bullying is applied to serious, two-way disputes between people of equal power. Boyd found that teens themselves generally had a more conservative—and more meaningful—way of identifying bullying: Bullying exists when there is an imbalance of power between two individuals or groups and the more powerful one repeatedly attacks the less powerful one in ways that hurt the latter.

By this definition, according to boyd and the teens she interviewed, cyberbullying is much less common than parents believe it is. There is lots of teasing on line, lots of crude language, and lots of what teens call drama and pranking, but not a great deal of noxious bullying. Indeed, boyd (p 133) found that teens consistently reported greater distress from bullying at school, in person, than from bullying online.

Boyd spends a number of paragraphs helping us adults understand the rather common online phenomenon that teens, mostly girls, refer to as drama, which she defines as “performative, interpersonal conflict that takes place in front of an active, engaged audience, often on social media.” Drama, according to boyd, is a two-way activity with no clear power differential. It is also not necessarily hurtful. Indeed, many of the teens boyd interviewed seemed to enjoy taking part in drama; it was, among other things, a way of drawing attention to themselves and rallying the support of their friends. About 9 percent of the teens boyd interviewed even admitted that they would sometimes generate false drama by posting anonymous, mean comments about themselves and responding to those comments as if they had come from another person. Boys engage in similar activities, but are more likely to call it pranking (or, more coarsely, punking), a term that refers explicitly to the teasing nature of the activity. For many teens, it is a matter of pride to respond cleverly to such jabs without breaking down or losing their temper. This may, in part, be how young people develop a thick skin. Such exchanges have always been part of teenage experiences, more so among some groups than others, and their appearance online does not change their nature.

Concluding thoughts

I like the main title of boyd’s book, It’s Complicated. I can well imagine these words prefacing many of the responses that teens gave to the questions she asked in interviews. An overriding message of the book is that the assumptions about teens and technology expressed by the media, politicians, parents, educators, and even by child psychiatrists and other such “experts” are often overly simplistic if not dead wrong. Whenever we see behavior among teens that seems strange to us, or hear of case examples of real atrocities, we tend to rush to judgment, and altogether too often the direction in which we rush is to add yet another restriction to the already highly restricted lives of today’s young people.

Aside from the very serious problems of poverty and inequality, our nation’s biggest offense against teenagers, and against younger children. too, is lack of trust. Every time we snoop on them, every time we ban another activity “for their own good,” every time we pass another law limiting their access to public places, we send the message, “we don’t trust you.”

Trust promotes trustworthiness, and lack of trust can promote the opposite. Teens are neither angels nor devils—they never were and never will be—any more than you and I are. Teens are not completely mature; they make mistakes. They may even be less mature and more prone to mistakes than you and I are. But they must be allowed to make mistakes, for that is how they grow up. They can’t learn to take control of their own lives if we don’t allow them to take that control. They can’t learn to trust themselves if we don’t allow them to practice such trust. Boyd’s research and book are great achievements, because she took teens seriously and listened to them.

----------

What do you think? What have been your experiences and observations concerning teenagers, technology, and social media? Do you agree or disagree with the analyses presented here? This blog is a forum for discussion, and your stories, comments, and questions are valued and treated with respect by me and other readers. As always, I prefer if you post your thoughts and questions here rather than send them to me by private email. By putting them here, you share with other readers, not just with me. I read all comments and try to respond to all serious questions, if I feel I have something useful to say. Of course, if you have something to say that truly applies only to you and me, then send me an email.

Culled from Psychology Today: Here to Help

International Youth Day- Mental Health, Lets Act

2014-08-12T09:42:00.002+01:00

“The youth is the hope of our future.” ~Jose Rizal

Youth is the time of life when one is young, but often means the time between childhood and adulthood (maturity). The specific age range that constitutes youth varies from one region to another.

International Youth Day (IYD) is an awareness day selected by the United Nations and observed worldwide on 12^th August every year. The purpose of this day is to draw attention to a given set of cultural and legal issues surrounding youth. Youth day is one of the many extensive efforts of the United Nations to help member states reach out to their youth and understand all challenges faced by them. Besides, it aims to promote ways to actively engage youth in making positive contributions to their communities.

IYD is also an annual celebration of the role of young people as the essential partners in change. Along with ensuring their rights, an equally important goal of IYD is to shape the youth not just as a passive beneficiary of development efforts, but as a force for positive social change.

IYD focuses on the rights of young people to have full access to education, adequate healthcare, employment opportunities, financial services and full participation in public life. In a climate of economic uncertainty, it is important for countries to invest in opportunities for their youth to learn, earn and grow so that the common future lies in good hands. During IYD, concerts, workshops, cultural events, and meetings involving national and local government officials as well as youth organizations take place around the world.

The theme of International Youth Day 2014 is ‘Mental Health Matters’ in which special focus will be given on the stigma and discrimination attached to the theme. Youth with mental health conditions often experience stigma and discrimination which can lead to exclusion and discourage them from seeking help due to the fear of being negatively ‘labeled’. Efforts are needed to overcome this stigma to ensure that young people with mental health conditions are able to enjoy full and healthy lives free of isolation.

Together with this year’s theme, World Assembly of youth encourage both Member States and the general public to understand the needs of young people, to implement policies to help them overcome the challenges they face, as well as to support young people and their contribution in the decision-making process. This is also to bring youth issues to the attention of the international community and realize the potential of youth as partners of betterment in today’s global society. Recognizing Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we believe in an equal opportunity to be given to all young people regardless their limitation. Thus, in line with this year’s International Youth Day, all stakeholders are urge to work from grassroots level in calling to the end all kind of discrimination and stigma addressed to young people with mental health conditions.

Happy International Youth Day!

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE: ‘BRIDGING THE GAP: IMPLEMENTING THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’

2014-08-08T08:39:00.000+01:00

I support the indigenous people anywhere in the planet ~Edward James Olmos

Indigenous People are a significant and important portion of humanity. Their heritage, their ways of life, their stewardship of this planet, and their cosmological insights are an invaluable treasure for society. Indigenous live in every region of the world and in all varieties of climates ranging from Arctic cold to Amazon heat. They often claim a deep connection to their lands and natural environments. Thus, many indigenous people value the natural world as a source of food, health, spirituality and identity.

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is commemorated annually on 9^th of August to promote, protect and endorse the rights enshrined in the United Nations Declaration particularly on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). This day also presents an opportunity to honour diverse indigenous cultures and recognize the achievements and valuable contributions of an estimated 370 million indigenous people all around the world.

This year’s theme which is on ‘Bridging the Gap: Implementing the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ aims to highlight the importance of implementing the rights of indigenous people through policies and programmes at both the national and international level by working together with Governments, the United Nations and other stakeholders with the aim of bridging the gap between indigenous people and our society.

World Assembly of Youth (WAY) in observing the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, will work to support national governance systems to be more effective in addressing discrimination and structural inequalities that can disproportionately affect indigenous peoples. WAY believe that by guaranteeing access to opportunities and supporting as well as enabling environment where indigenous peoples are empowered, they will be able to develop their full potential to lead dignified lives in harmony with their world vision and traditional values.WAY always insists on making indigenous youth a priority by having all necessary recommendations flowing from the permanent forum to promote better integration and coordination of their issues, including youth issues, across the globe.

Today, as the world is celebrating International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, WAY will continue to support robust engagement and collaboration and further build alliances between different partners to put the end to exclusion and discrimination as well as to enable indigenous people to exercise their full rights in free and diverse societies.

Happy International Day of the World’s Indigenous People!

2014-WORLD POPULATION DAY: Investing in Young People

2014-07-11T13:01:00.000+01:00

“A finite world can support only a finite population; therefore, population growth must eventually equal zero”.~ Garrett Hardin~

Population is still technically growing and according to the United Nation Population Division’s numbers, that growth is slowing dramatically. World population day is a global awareness operation that is celebrated all over the world by bringing a population revolution internationally and seeking to raise understanding of global population issues.

In 1968, world leaders proclaimed that individuals had a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and timing of their children. Since that day, 11^th July is continued to be observed to reiterate the significance of human right to plan for a family by encouraging activities and disseminating the right information to help make this right veracity.

However, realization of the right to plan a family encounters many challenges including the fact that many modern contraception remains out of reach for millions of women, men and young people. Regardless, the growth of population will continue to increase despite the dramatic declines in the average number of children per woman.

Acknowledging on the threats possessed by the world population growth, the UN authorized this day as a vehicle to build an awareness of population issues and the impact they have on development as well as the environment. Each year a theme is selected to highlight a priority area of concern pertaining to population issues.

World Assembly of Youth (WAY) is fully aware that over population growth is occurring all over the world but the growth often multiplies mostly in less developed countries. We believe that as more and more individuals share our planet, new challenges arise daily. Thus, it rests on individual decisions and actions to control global population growth particularly those from young people considering them as the largest portion of world population. Therefore, taking into account the urgency to solve the current population challenges, we urge young people to educate others including their peers especially those living in less developed countries on effective family planning, sex education amongst adolescents and the importance of using contraceptive.

Thus, at this point, we cannot know with certainty when or if world population can feasibly be stabilized, nor can we state with assurance the limits of the world's ecological "carrying capability", but we can be certain of the desirable direction of change that we seek which is to ensure reproductive health through the channel of education.

Happy World Population Day!

World Assembly Of Youth

INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY

2014-02-21T10:25:00.001+01:00

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, it goes to his head

If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart” ~ Nelson Mandela

Language is an essential aspect of our everyday lives; we tour the world through language. It facilitates communication, builds our collective interests and to date, remains the oldest known form of preserving our culture and tradition. It is what we stand for, it is our identity.

Today, we observe the International Mother Language Day, a day through which we promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity. This day represents the year 1952 where the students of Dhaka University in Pakistan were shot and killed by the police. Their only crime was in protesting for the recognition of their language Bengali, in modern day Bangladesh, which at the said time was part of and ruled by Pakistan. Since February 2000, the lives of these students have been commemorated in honor of their sacrifice while fighting to establish a rightful place for their language in society.

World Assembly of Youth (WAY), hope to bring more awareness to this issue and implore society to embrace mother languages worldwide. Youth today should work towards preserving this priceless gift from our ancestors, and promote respect for linguistic and cultural diversity.

We should appreciate the beauty and splendor of mother language, it is what makes us unique. It is a symbol of our cultural diversity, broadens youth capacity to imagine, explore and experience one another’s cultures.

Let us make this day, a day where the beauty of mother language blooms in all the hearts of young people.

HALF A LOAF & BAKERY

2014-01-09T22:34:00.001+01:00

Dear Friends, Jennifer Ehidiamen (Journalist and Poet) and Funso Bukoye (communicator) authored a new book: Half a Loaf & a Bakery (learning by doing before graduation), which is targeted at out of school youths and undergraduates, where they featured excellent youth leaders such as Oghenefego V. Ofili, Toyosi Akerele, Toluleke Obadimu, Sa'adu Yahyah and Gossy Ukanwoke.

The book is now available. It is official! You can now download a free copy of "Half a Loaf & a Bakery" via OkadaBooks on your Android device or buy copies at these listed bookstores:
1. Rise Bookstore, 10A, Olaniji Street, Juli Estate, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos.
Order online @ www.risebookstore.com
2. Media Store, Silverbird Galleria, Abuja, Nigeria
3. Florence & Lambard Publisher and Booksellers 202-204 Ikorodu road, Palm Grove bus stop, Lagos, Nigeria.
Or download FREE e-book online@ Google playstore or @ Okadabooks
For more Information, please contact: info@clickweavers.com.
Google playstore: Okadabooks:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.okadabooks
Volunteerism. Education. Entrepreneurship & more!
Book: Half a Loaf & A Bakery
ISBN: 978-978-936-307-0
Publisher: Click Weavers Communication (CWC) Limited, Nigeria.
Author: Jennifer Ehidiamen
Interviewer (co-author): ‘Funso Bukoye
Foreword: Mrs Oby Ezekwesili
Published date: December 2013
The reviewer: Mr. Lekan Otufodunrin, Managing Editor, Online, The Nation.
Thank you.

INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS DAY

2013-12-18T15:16:00.001+01:00

"As budgets tighten, we are seeing austerity measures that discriminate against migrant workers, xenophobic rhetoric that encourages violence against irregular migrants, and proposed immigration laws that allow the police to profile migrants with impunity. During economic downturns, it is worth remembering that whole sectors of the economy depend on migrant workers and migrant entrepreneurs help to create jobs." /Ban Ki-moon/

18^th of December was proclaimed as the International Migrants Day in the year 2000. This day aims to recognize the efforts, contributions and rights of migrants. It is undeniable the weight the day carries, hence United Nations (UN) called upon the whole world to commemorate this day by sharing information on human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrants.

Figures show that throughout the years, migration has amplified in numbers, with 2013 recording 232 million migrants worldwide compared with 175 million in 2000 and 154 million in 1990. The increase between the year 2000 and 2013 shows that as we advance in time so does the movement of people across the globe. The top three most migrated places are the United States of America which hosts the largest number of 45.8 million, followed by the Russian Federation with 11 million, and Germany harboring 9.8 million migrants.

Young people are the most affected by migration and they make up the largest migrant group that accounts to 35 million of the total 232 million migrants worldwide. It has been observed that among this 35 million, there are more males than females.

At the 13th Melaka International Youth Dialogue (MIYD), there was a focus on prioritizing the right to freedom of movement for/ among youth, as one of their fundamental rights. During the dialogue, key stakeholders shared their ideas and thoughts towards agreeing in efforts of educating, promoting and raising awareness regarding youth migration, at different levels of society.

It is upon all of us to undertake action to ensure the protection of migrants. Happy International Migrants Day!

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY: “20 YEARS: WORKING FOR YOUR RIGHTS”

2013-12-10T09:01:00.001+01:00

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.― United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

What would become of the world without humanity? The results would be shattering and beyond comprehension. This year we celebrate 20 years since the inauguration of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). In December 1993 the United Nations General Assembly formulated the mandate of High Commissioner to safeguard and promote all human rights. It is today that we emphasize on informing our communities on their rights and privileges and the prominence of maintaining them.

Special focus should be made most on the most vulnerable sectors of our societies. The OHCHR has been a thriving in its efforts to benefit vulnerable groups worldwide over the past 20 years. It did a tremendous job working to advocate women rights, migrant rights, the rights of indigenous people and minorities, and the rights of children. Through the implementation of treaties, individual complaints and promotion of freedom expression the OHCHR has managed to bring human rights issues to the forefront in development matters.

World Assembly of Youth (WAY) recognize the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the basis of action and services. It is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights. WAY ensures that young people understand that whatever their place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status, they are all equally entitled to human rights without discrimination.

Let us continue in our efforts to create more awareness by allocating more academic programs for human rights and let us encourage the participation of more international non- governmental organizations on matters related to human rights.Happy Human Rights Day!

INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERS DAY FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: “YOUNG. GLOBAL. ACTIVE”

2013-12-05T15:09:00.001+01:00

‘Volunteers are not paid – not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.Sherry Anderson

Volunteerism remains the backbone to progress within society. The efforts and endeavors of young volunteers today, are fundamental to attaining the aspirations to a better tomorrow.The 5th of December was particularly chosen to show appreciation to the voluntary deeds of many, and encourage acts of benevolence within society in pursuit of a world free of opportunism and rich in compassion, selflessness and generosity.

This year in accordance to the theme, young people are celebrated as agents of change within their communities and globally.

World Assembly of Youth (WAY) joins the many other organizations in celebrating WAY Volunteers as well as the masses of young people engaging in selfless acts worldwide. Volunteers deserve all the praise and acclaim due, for it is not easy to find people willing to give their own time, to the greater benefit of another. WAY aspires to nurture youth volunteerism, by encouraging young people to partake in communal service and promote the principles of charity. They have inaugurated a volunteers program with which we seek to foster a dedicated group of young minds, willing to assist in WAY programmes and initiatives around the world. In so many ways we wouldn’t have succeeded in our events and activities without our dedicated volunteers who offered their time, skills, and resources when called upon. WAY appreciates volunteerism, the world appreciates volunteerism.

Happy International Volunteers Day!

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES: "BREAK BARRIERS, OPEN DOORS: FOR AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY AND DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL "

2013-12-03T15:43:00.001+01:00

"A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your Strengths; feels your fears but Fortifies your faith; sees your Anxieties but frees your spirit; Recognizes your disabilities but Emphasizes your possibilities - William Arthur Ward "

The 3rd of December has been picked out by the United Nations to celebrate over one Billion people who live with some form of disability. This day has been commemorated since 1992. The theme for this year, "Break Barriers, Open Doors: An Inclusive Society For Development And For All "addresses how persons with disabilities face physical, social, Economic and Attitudinal barriers That exempt them from taking part fully and Effectively as equal members of society worldwide.

Many people living with disabilities around the world, Remain Marginalized and Lack equal access to basic necessities, color: such as education, employment, healthcare and social and legal support systems. They suffer from higher rates of mortality and most of them live below the poverty line due to being subject to exclusion and Lack of Opportunities.

In spite of this situation, disability has remained Largely invisible in the mainstream development agenda and itsprocesses. World Assembly of Youth stand for equality for all regardless of who they are.That is why it is essentials to Emphasize the Importance of Including young disabled people in society alldevelopmental plans.

We believe Opportunities Should be given to all without being biased. We hope that today will pave way for further Awareness of disability to be raised and for accessibility to be put in place. We have to Ensure That all types of barriers are removed, and to Emphasize the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in society and shape the future of development for all. Let us use this global observance to reflect on the theme and what we Ought to do so that we see a difference tomorrow.

WORLD AIDS DAY: "GETTING TO ZERO: ZERO NEW HIV INFECTIONS. ZERODISCRIMINATION. ZERO AIDS-RELATED DEATHS"

2013-12-02T06:30:00.001+01:00

“We live in a completely interdependent world, which simply means we cannot escape each other. How we respond to AIDS depends, in part, on whether we understand this interdependence. It is not someone else’s problem. This is everybody’s problem.” /Bill Clinton/

Of all the age groups young people are the most affected by the AIDS pandemic especially girls in the Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2012 alone an estimate of 35.3 million people were living with HIV with Sub-Saharan Africa being the most affected with 69% of the people in the area living with HIV.

The 1st of December has been selected to commemorate World AIDS Day yearly since 1988. The theme for this year’s World AIDS Day continues to be "Getting to zero: zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths” a theme that speaks not only to the progress that has been made in the worldwide effort to eliminate HIV/AIDS, but also the work we must continue to do to achieve our “zero” goals. This theme seeks all stakeholders to work together as one and share responsibility towards the fight against HIV/AIDS. Halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS is a key Millennium Development Goal and a challenge that the World Assembly of Youth (WAY) has given principal priority in all its development activities.

Adopting a multi-sectorial approach that solicits committed participation of all stakeholders in the fight against HIV /AIDS has been and remains a high priority for action throughout all our work from both behind the office desks to the field. It is the time to work hand in hand and build defenses to save our future generations and to protect the people infected and affected by the epidemic. Let all acknowledge this challenge and commit to respond with renewable responsibility, sensitivity and vigor.We should not let all our past efforts to combat this disease go to waste; it is only a matter of time for us to achieve our goal.

Like President Barrack Obama said, “An AIDS-free generation is within our reach”, we need not despair.

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: ‘ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: UNITED ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS!’

2013-11-25T10:02:00.001+01:00

"One in three women may suffer from abuse and violence in her lifetime. This is an appalling human rights violation, yet it remains one of the invisible and under-recognized pandemics of our time.” –Nicole Kidman

Stop and observe your surroundings; your neighbors, your friends or your relatives! You will be surprised to find out that the closest females around you might be victims of violence. Violence against women is blind-folded; it victimizes without discrimination regardless of their geographical, economic, cultural, social or even educational boundaries. This violence is done in all kinds of ways from sexual harassment, rape, genital mutilation, domestic violence, forced marriage to any type of human rights violation that denies both women’s basic freedoms and rights.

The widespread of violence against women appears to be uncontrollable causing it to be brought up as a major concern of most nations. Globally, up to 70 percent of women are subject to one kind of violence. Simplifying that statistical number, every 7 out of 10 women worldwide are exposed to the risks of being raped, abused, beaten or mutilated. For the case of genital mutilation itself, approximation of 100-140 million girls and women are victims of this inhumane practice.

Realizing these devastating phenomena, United Nations has specially marked 25th November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Commemorating it annually, United Nations aims to raise public awareness regarding the corrosive consequences of violence against women by encouraging governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and societies to contribute in activities that have a single purpose of eliminating violence against women through projects that can help women to escape from violence-behavior or simply educational campaigns.

For further exploitation of the motive for halting violence against women, 25thNovember also marks the start of ’16 Days of Activism’ ending on December 10 which is also celebrated every year as Human Rights Day.

World Assembly of Youth (WAY), have been holding tight on two main missions which are, eliminating gender-inequality and ending violence against women. At the 9thMelaka International Youth Dialogue (MIYD), ‘Youth and Gender Equality’ was one of the successful activities aimed at promoting gender equality of opportunities and eliminating unlawful discrimination as well as gender-based harassments .

It is believed that women empowerment is the key to call gender-based violence to halt .Governments should provide more opportunities for women in terms of political, economic, social and even educational aspects to ensure that equality in opportunities is achieved. Laws, policies and any regulations should be reviewed and reconstructed by repealing any section that pose as a threat to discriminate against women. In fact, the support toward women-empowerment could be started at the smallest colony of societies, the family.

Conducive environment in the family is equally substantial to build up the confidence and breaking down the ‘invisible gender-boundaries’ amongst family-members. By empowering women and girls, they will not be misjudged as subdued targets; instead their status will be upheld by society. Through unity we can stop violence against Women.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN!

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR PREVENTING THE EXPLOITATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN WAR AND ARMED CONFLICT: ‘ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE’

2013-11-06T11:47:00.001+01:00

What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Our earth, with all of its beauty and sumptuousness, has been a home for human beings and other living creatures for over a billion years.Known as the most remarkable planet because of its rich resources, Earth never fails to provide and sustain the lives within it.Unfortunately, as said by Mahatma Gandhi, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed”, we humans remain known for our siphoning of natural resources without considering environmental sustainability.

According to history, the depletion and damage of our earth and its environment have been highly related to events of war and armed conflict. The environment and natural resources alike have been both the reason, and victim of war and armed conflict. A study conducted by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), found that at least 40 percent of conflicts have been driven by the exploitation of natural resources such as gold, oil, and even spices. Forests and crops are normally burned down, water-sources are polluted, soils are poisoned and animals are killed for the sake of gaining military advantage.Understanding the correlation between environmental exploitation and armed conflict, 6th November was declared as the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict which serves a purpose of educating and bringing awareness to the damaging effects of war and armed conflict.

World Assembly of Youth (WAY),supports this year theme of ‘Environmental Governance’ and believe it is one of the solutions towards preventing further depletion of our natural resources as well as promoting both peace keeping and building strategies.Going forward, an insufficiency of natural resources poses a detrimental threat to the human-civilization and its sustainability. A global understanding on the matter is thus instrumental to achieving environmental sustainability and ensuring the longevity of the human population. The implementation of Environmental Governance especially at international level, equipped with cooperation from all countries and preservation of natural resources can be achieved.Distributive management of resources should be followed to control functions of every country’s access. Peace building should be established and every country must respect mutual relations as both producers and consumers of natural resources.

Niger Holds World’sHighest ChildhoodPregnancy Rate, Says UN

2013-11-01T17:40:00.001+01:00

20,000 girls below the age of 18 who give birth every day in developing- countries make them and the countries they live in to face economic disadvantages, a UN report said on Wednesday. The report said that it made them face much higher health risks than older mothers. Every year, 7.3 million children become mothers in developing countries, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), said in its annual report that was launched in several cities, including Geneva.

Some 70,000 mothers between 15 and 19 die from complications after birth each year. Having children at a young age prevents girls from entering the workforce. If girls waited until the age of 20 before having babies, the gross annual income would be boosted by more than 7.7 billion dollars in India and 3.5 billion dollars in Brazil, the report found.

At the same time UNFPA Chief- Babatunde Osotimehin stressed that poverty was an important cause of childhood pregnancies,along with- discrimination against women. “Too often, society blames only the girl for getting pregnant,’’ he said.“The reality is that adolescent pregnancy is most often not the result of a deliberate choice, but rather the absence of choices, and of circumstances beyond a girl’s control.”

The report said Niger had the world’s highest childhood pregnancy rate, with 51 per cent of women in their 20s reporting that they gave birth before turning 18. In Asia, Bangladesh has the highest rate at 40 per cent. In other regions Nicaragua holds the record in Latin America at 28 per cent and Yemen in the Middle East at 25 per cent. The U.S. accounts for half of the annual 680,000 teenage pregnancies in industrialized countries, the UNFPA said.(NAN)

UNITED NATIONS DAY: PARTNERSHIPS FOR GLOBAL PROGRESS

2013-10-24T08:11:00.001+01:00

“More than ever before in human history, we share a common destiny. We can master it only if we face it together. And that, my friends, is why we have the United Nations.”/Kofi Annan/

Picture a world void of the United Nations (UN); a global community possibly characterised by heightened international conflict, chaos and turmoil. Without the intervention of the United Nations, one might argue that the principles of Freedom, Human Rights, Democracy and Justice, might be perceived as less significant over the individualistic ideologies of many.

Founded in 1945, post-World War II, the UN has worked continuously towards defending and protecting the sovereignty of all nations, large and small. Instigated in 1948, 24th October was then declared the anniversary of the founding of UN’s charter and remains to be known as United Nations Day.It is a day devoted to making known the work, role and achievements of the UN and its family of specialized agencies. These have been spectacular, particularly in the fields of human rights, support in areas of famine, eradication of disease, promotion of health and settlement of refugees.Today, we live in societies where justice, equality in human rights and peace are highly sought and advocated for.

This indeed, may be seen as a direct result of the UN’s hard work, but more importantly, the contribution of the citizens of the world who choose to observe and support them. As told by former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, “In the 21st century, I believe the mission of the United Nations will be defined by a new, more profound awareness of the sanctity and dignity of every human life, regardless of race or religion.

World Assembly of Youth believe that global partnerships remain key to the vitality and continuity of the global community. In line with the 68th anniversary of UN Day, we urge you all, to continue thriving towards actualizing the missions set by the UN, within your own communities and on a national level, to the benefit of the global community.For the valiant and determined young people out there, we urge you to continue spreading the spirit of volunteerism and collaboration helping out where you may and urging your peers to do the same. Let us today, transform ourselves into the extended hand of the UN, reaching out to those in need and thriving for the future they deserve.

HAPPY UNITED NATIONS DAY!

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DISASTER REDUCTION: Living with Disability and Disaster

2013-10-14T11:43:00.001+01:00

Today was selected by the United Nations General Assembly to raise awareness on the importance of Disaster Risk Reduction and to encourage every citizen and government to take part in building more disaster-resilient communities and nations. This year the theme focuses on a vulnerable population of the society, persons living with disability.

Estimated at 15%, people living with disability make up a large portion of the world population. In an event of a disaster, persons with disabilities are often the ones affected the most due to neglect of their special needs. Disaster does not see the ability or disability among the people and when it strikes it does so without discriminating. Even though the risk of disaster is equal among all people, able people can cope with the disaster better than disabled people.

People living with disabilities have a plight that they are not reached out to in the event of a disaster. In the case of a sudden disaster alert, only 20% of disabled people can escape without any problem, 74% need a little assistance and the remaining 6% cannot escape at all unless they are fully aided.

However, if there was ample communication before hand, the statistics of those who can escape without difficulty almost doubles.

World Assembly of Youth (WAY) believes that communication is the key to solving this issue. There is a need for awareness among societies on how to handle disabled people when disaster occurs. Young volunteers can be utilized during this time to help those in need. We urge the youth to be on the forefront in giving aid all the way from the communication stage, they should be the voice and ears for the disabled at all times.

We urge governments and responsible bodies to ensure that warnings reach all members of the community regardless of any mobility or communication challenges. They need to include persons with disabilities in disaster resilience initiatives and policy planning.

People with disabilities are resourceful agents of change.Happy International Day For Disaster Reduction!

NYSC BAGS UN AWARD

2013-10-10T06:52:00.001+01:00

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme has bagged a UN award for its active participation in a recent offline survey conducted by the international body. Alhaji Abdulwahab Obomeile, the Director, Community Development Service and Special Projects Department of the corps,made the disclosure on Monday in Abuja at the award ceremony. He said that the award; ``My World: A Global Survey For Citizens’’, was an initiative from the UN, which is an options survey carried out through creative Online and Offlinemethods. ``It allows people across the world to tell the UN in particular and the Secretary-General’s High Level Panel, the most important issues they would like the Post-2015 agenda to address after the expiration of MDGs agenda,’’ he said.

He added that the NYSC in Nigeria, using the Corps Volunteers of NYSC MDGs Advocacy Programme, was actively engaged in the offline survey, which took place across the country in March. ``We partnered with the UN Millennium Campaign Nigeria, OSSAP-MDGs and CISLAC, and engaged over 1,000 youth corps members as field volunteers to administer the questionnaires in the 774 local government areas in Nigeria,’’ he added. He said the survey was structured to capture two persons per 100 households in each of the 774 local government areas.

``The total number of the votes came to 145,672 citizens, 67.2 percent of which were rural dwellers, 45.5 percent were youths and 46.5 werefemale. ``It is worthy of note that some of these areas face security challenges and cultural barriers where women are not allowed to express themselves, but the Field Volunteers worked around these situations,’’ he said.

Obomeile saluted the resilience and hard work of the corps members who remained committed and resolute in carrying out the exercise within five days. Also speaking, Hilary Ogbonna, the National Coordinator, UN Millennium Campaign, Nigeria,said the MDGs had made a huge impact on the lives of many Nigerians.``But there is still much more to be done to address extreme poverty,diseases and environmental crises among many others,’’ he said.

Responding, the NYSC Director General, Brig.-Gen. Nnamdi Okore-Affia, said he was most excited to receive the award on behalf of the NYSC. ``I am dedicating this award to Mr President, the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, NYSC Staff and the entire corps members nationwide, who worked assiduously to merit this award,’’ he said.

Source-NANS

Nigeria To Regulate Social Media Use

2013-09-27T08:35:00.001+01:00

The Bureau of Public Enterprises has said it’s preparing to roll out a lawful framework for the regulation of the social media in Nigeria.

Director General of the privatization agency, Mr. Benjamin Dikki frowned at the unregulated publishing of just what he called offending materials on the numerous social networking
sites.

According to Dikki, this strategy was in line with BPE’s reform mandate to start essential policies and the legal framework for the regulation of the social networks in the country. “As it now obtains, all manner of things are uploaded on the various platforms of the social media without recourse to age and sensibilities of the users. This is not good enough” he said.

Social media laws are strictly adhered to in developed countries, with offenders facing sanctions or even jail terms, but it is uncertain if
there are any laws guiding what happen on social media in Nigeria, and if there are, they are hardly enforced.

http://www.informationng.com/2013/09/nigeria-to-regulate-social-media-use.html

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE

2013-09-21T14:22:00.001+01:00

Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war - Maria Montessori (1870 - 1952)

We live in a world where selfishness, thirst for power and conflicts emerge on a daily basis and peace is a universal dream we all hope to achieve one day.

Various stakeholders have come up with many possible solutions and ways to bring the world together and to establish peace among nations, and among people.

United Nations in its devotion to achieve World Peace, created International Day of Peace which is celebrated on 21st September annually to commemorate and spread the ideals of peace among all nations and people. As an organization that worked for decades in support of a peaceful world for the young generation, World Assembly of Youth (WAY) has been contributing by defending youth rights.

In light with that, the theme for this International Day of Peace,Education for Peace has drawn a lot of attention from WAY because we believe education is a key to a bright future and can open many doors for young people. Through education, the concepts of solidarity, mutual respect and tolerance can be embroidered in the hearts of youth and with these qualities, a ground for peace can easily be set.

In addition, we also believe that instillation of peace-based values should start from an early age. It is believed that through children, peace can be attained. Albert Einstein shares these same sentiments as he once stated,we must begin to inoculate our children against militarism by educating them...I would rather teach peace than war, love rather than hate.

WAY would like to embrace the International Day of Peace by reiterating our mission of implanting the peace-culture amongst our youth. We believe it is necessary to include peace-education in formal academic-curriculum; it can also be initiated as early as possible from the home front. Parents are advised to construct a sound atmosphere where children can clearly feel and learn the value of tolerance and mutual respects not only towards family-members but also to the general members of society. Parents should also be their children's role models by embracing and practicing a peace-culture in their daily lives.

We encourage young people to show their contribution by setting examples for their peers on how to properly apply the values of tolerance and mutual respect in creating the perfect peace that our world and its population are craving for. We believe that one's single smile is capable of turning others entire day brighter; now, imagine what respect and tolerance can do for our world!

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE!

http://www.way.org.my/

THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DEMOCRACY: ‘STRENGTHENING VOICES FOR DEMOCRACY: TO UNDERSTAND, TO EMBRACE AND TO INFLUENCE’

2013-09-19T11:18:00.001+01:00

“Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal.” – Aristotle

According to preamble of resolution of International Day of Democracy, Democracy is defined as ‘a universal value based on the freely-expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems, and their full participation in all aspects of life’. In other words, Democracy simply is from people, by people and for people; People are its only possible spark and drive!

After the meaning of Democracy has been well understood, one has to embrace it in his or her heart because the heart is the greatest root and motivation of man’s actions. This concept is also in line with what has been taught by Mahatma Gandhi, ‘the spirit of democracy is not a mechanical thing to be adjusted by abolition of forms. It requires change of heart’. Once, Democracy is embraced in the heart, it is then possible for one to effectively influence others to believe in the value of Democracy and desire to its existence in their daily lives.

It is undeniable that every citizen dreams to live in a country where equally free opportunities are not only a vision but a factual realization. In order to realize these opportunities, there is a need for responsibility and mutual respect among one another. Democracy offers elements of freedom opportunities, responsibilities and respect. The ability of each individual to voice out how they prefer to be governed is the central principle of democracy.

In light of this year theme of ‘Strengthening Voices for Democracy’ which aims to emphasize the importance of people’s voices in today’s political, economic, social, environmental, technological and developmental matters, WAY(World Assembly of Youth), feel inspired to combine and integrate the concept of ‘To understand, To embrace and To influence’ as a stimulant in strengthening voices for democracy, especially if it involves young generation.

INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY: ‘LITERACIES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

2013-09-09T07:50:00.001+01:00

Approximately, more than 774 million of the world's adults (nearly two-thirds of whom are women) do not know how to read or write, and roughly 123 million children lack those same skills, and are often denied any access to education. Put simply, one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women.

60.7 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out.The 8th of September every year is set aside by the United Nations to recognize International Literacy Day.

Since 1966, UNESCO has celebrated the day as a reminder to the world that literacy is a basic human right and even more essential to social and economic development. This year’s theme is “Literacies for the 21st Century”, which aims to highlight the importance of literacy in the century of globalization, and the lack there of in many a country.

In order to promote the importance of literacy within society, several
initiatives have been put in place
including; the United Nations Literacy Decade and the LIFE initiative, both of which offer a framework for UNESCO to advocate for literacy. However, addressing the global literacy challenge remains difficult. As such, we at the World Assembly of Youth, call upon you, the youth, to be the instigators of change and the leaders of this battle against illiteracy within society. Many young people and refugees migrate thousands of miles in pursuit of the opportunity to receive a decent education. We urge you to be the facilitators of this
opportunity and the architects of a
future free of illiteracy, and with
strong grounds for literacy as a basic right.

At the coming 13th annual Melaka
International Youth Dialogue (MIYD) programme themed “Youth Migration: A Step from Haven”. One of the key issues being addressed at this dialogue is youth migration in search of better education and the duty of key stakeholders to address the causal factors of this form of migration as well as promoting basic standards for education and
educational facilities in every country.

The struggle for literacy as a basic
human right and necessity, is not
something that can be achieved in a
single day. It is an initiative that requires all citizens of the world to
play a significant role and contribution. That contribution begins with you, and remains your
responsibility to ensure that action is being taken within your community, to promote literacy.

Happy International Literacy Day

Still on Microsoft Windows XP?

2013-08-24T01:06:00.001+01:00

While Windows XP is no longer the most used operating system on the planet – Windows 7 surpassed it last year – the upcoming April 2014 deadline to receive support for older Windows XP devices raises the question for many businesses of what to do with their older technology as they look to protect valuable IP and customer information. Business and personal technology has dramatically changed over the last decade. PC desktops are now commonly found side by side with laptops, and newer form factors like Ultrabooks, All in Ones, and tablets. Writeable CDs are today replaced by cloud-based storage solutions like SkyDrive. Connectivity and accessibility once limited to offices is now possible at home, in the car or even on a beach. The newest version of Windows that Microsoft released this fall, Windows 8, reflects this evolution. As businesses evaluate their migration path from Windows XP, there are a few key questions to consider:

What does support look like for the software applications you need for work? As Windows XP goes off into the sunset, many of the applications that were originally written for it will cost extra in support costs –especially as independent software vendors increasingly stop supporting their newer apps running on Windows XP. This is one of the reasons why firms like IDC predict the longer businesses wait to move to Windows XP to Windows 7 or Windows 8, the pricier custom support for Windows XP gets. ·

What kinds of form factors do your employees need to be successful? With an ever-increasing lineup of Windows 8 form factors to choose from – from notebooks, tablets and All in Ones that use touch – you can replace older hardware with a newer Windows device that reflects the unique needs of your employees and how they prefer to work today.

How do you want to manage devices running on your corporate network? Businesses in particular are feeling the most pressure to stay up-to-date, with an increasing need to protect their data and manage all their devices, all while ensuring security and compliance. Companies such as BT PLC, Emirates Airlines, Seton Hall University and Toyota Racing Development moved from XP to Windows 7 and are now deploying Windows 8 because of how it reflects their needs today. Not sure what’s the right solution for you? Microsoft is offering a variety of resources to help businesses, including deals through sites like www.Get2Modern.com.