http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/457321 When I grow older
I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom
Just like a waving flag

-K'Naan

I have just arrived back in Toronto after a wonderful, crazy, busy and mind stretching week at the 4th World Youth Congress in Quebec City.

I wanted to write as the thoughts are fresh in my mind. It's hard to sum into a few words what I want to say, as there are a flurry of emotions which are crowding my ability to describe clearly everything that I saw and experienced. All I know is that these youth conferences always leave me feeling revitalized, re-energized and positive about the changes which our youth want to make in the world. So often we are jaded by this ideal and desire to "change the world". People think that this is a naive way of thinking and it is reserved for the young minds who do not know better.

Well, you know what? If these thoughts to better our world are considered naive, then I am not ashamed to say that I am naive. I would rather be put into this category of so called youth who know no better, then to be jaded, conservative and take no action to at least TRY and achieve the unity and peace which the living beings in our world deserve.

I had the privilege to meet hundreds of youth from over 100 countries, including Ghana, Spain, Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, Brazil, the US, Canada, Kenya and Benin. The pool of talents, passion and drive which surrounded me for a week made me feel blessed to be where I am.

Thank you to all at the World Youth Congress who re-validated the view that changing the world is not naive, but indeed a reality which many others strive for.

live and love,
Mai]]> Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:39:00 EDT http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/457321 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/356001
Youth make up 50% of the world's population - so why shouldn't we have a place in this world? Why shouldn't we be leaders? You don't need to be a motivational speaker, a loud personality, or good looking. You simply need to be. Motivated.
Here are three workshops I attended which prove that youth are taking the steps to inspire, inform and involve themselves in their communities today.

March 28 - Canadian Association for Community Living
Workshop: Poverty and Intellectual Disability
1 in 5 people living in poverty have a disability. We aim to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, including reducing poverty. This cannot be achieved if we compartmentalize and segregate People Living with Disabilities as a separate entity. The creation of policies, strategies, and initiatives should include PWDs, as poverty and disability are undeniably correlated.

March 29 - Town Youth Partnerships Strategy
Workshop: ICTs for social change
Information, Communication and Technology can be used for social change. Youth spend on average 8 hours on the internet. At TYPS conference, over 200 youth from across Canada who participated, worked or ran youth centers came to St. George, ON. Their energy that youth were indeed involved and active in their communities was exciting. Representatives from Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Saskatchewan, BC and Nunavut were present.

April 9 - Project MADE
Networking and Capacity Building
Youth leadership - 7 youth came to the TIG office to learn more about TIG and CLC, and how partnerships and collaborations could happen to strengthen youth leadership within two communities: Toronto and Accra, Ghana. Muneeb and Aurora presented awesomely and we are excited for the May 8 TIG training session at the head office!]]> Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EDT http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/356001 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/335095 Population: 750 000
Ottawa is my hometown, so I approached it with an insider perspective. Ottawa itself faces judgments from its larger counterparts (e.g., Toronto). It’s a large city in some eyes, and a place with little to offer to others. I think the governmental focus of the city makes people wonder what the youth are up to.

Well, needless to say there is a lot of youth activism in the form of politics. All one has to do is look at Parliament, and there are always a large group of young people gathered demonstrating, working, or simply experiencing.

However, Ottawa is comprised of a lot of suburbs and young people in Suburbia land wonder where they can direct their energies because they face a dual dilemma. The dilemma is comprised of being from a city where youth cannot feel connected to one another like Thunder Bay because it’s big, and at the same still lacking the high youth activism which its Toronto counterpart offers.

I met with Nikki Allison, the Youth Engagement Coordinator and Kyle Simunovic, the Ontario Online Community Connector at Bridgehead (a fair-trade coffee shop) to discuss team communications. I also visited Ottawa’s NGOs such as the Canadian Climate Youth Coalition, UNESCO, CODE, Amnesty International, and a CLC advisor from Heritage Canada.

There is a lot of motivation to become more active in the community. Turn towards Parliament Hill and on the political front it is impressive. Turn towards individuals and there are a lot of young people saying, “yeah, we want to change the world … but how?” Turn towards the NGOs and there is a lot of mobilization and initiatives. Ottawa needs to be more effective in youth collaborations and partnerships, so that youth know where to go to feel a sense of community.

Montreal
Population: 1 000 000
I spent only a day in Montreal meeting with Ilyes El Ouarzadi, the Quebec Online Community Connector, Yassir El Ouarzadi, the Montreal Youth Engagement Coordinator, and Sessi Hankourin the Francophone Engagement Coordinator. Nikki Allison joined me, and we practiced our French in a meeting to discuss youth engagement. There were many interesting observations made by the team. A lot of French youth attracted to our site are from other countries, and there are very few French Canadians who use the TIG site. We had to examine the reasons for this, as well as the reality that French organizations are reluctant to partner with Anglophone organizations because resources in French are often not available. It was wonderful to meet with the Quebec team, and although TIG has improved on its French initiatives, there is a lot more work to do as an organization if we seriously want to engage French youth and address the language divide.

Timmins
Population: 42 000
I definitely found Timmins’ energy from its youth. I met the Timmins Team Youth Engagement Coordinators Staci Kentish, Lynne Lessard and Philip Fry. They are extremely active in their community on various engagement levels such as government. Lynne and Phil are involved in the Ontario Young Liberals, while Staci works for an MP from the NDP. Their connections have aided in the incredible youth engagement done in a short amount of time.

In one month, the team has done a Guide to Action workshop and are in the midst of organizing a Climate Change workshop for high school students, as well as an awareness booth at The Joker, a youth hang out and the Timmins Square Mall. I also had the chance to see the library where the March Break Change That Clicks program will take place for 5 days. Another exciting accomplishment is the partnership of Staci’s MP with a Guide to Action workshop. They aim to target Attawapiskat youth (a nearby reserve). In addition, there will be a largely publicized youth forum, supported by the MP in April.

Once more, I was revved by the small town as it is conducive to recruiting a lot of interest for youth activism in a limited amount of time. When there is initiative and leadership from the youth, the community provides little obstacles for success. The young people of Timmins offer their environment an incredible amount of revitalization and life, and they are enthusiastic about getting involved in their community.
]]> Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:17:00 EST http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/335095 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/324827
The entry itself comes from inspiration. The world of technology has taken me to new heights and allowed for me to grasp a new knowledege which can only be seen as revolutionary. Today's youth are taking up its arms in the form of cybermetal. When used correctly, the empowerment we feel through the creation of our own universe is mind boggling.

I joined Creating Local Connections (CLC) Canada (http://projects.takingitglobal.org/clccanada) nearly four months ago as Communications and Ontario Project Manager. It began as a job that fulfilled an ideal - the vast space of internet communication, though powerful, still could not give me the full grasp of our youth's motivational stories.

As a city girl from the Capital, I am ignorant of the rest of Canada. How do Canadians in smaller settings define or identify themselves with our nation? I remained ignorant of the inspiration which a small town could give me until I went to Thunder Bay.

Let me first say that I have travelled overseas, and I left home in order to come back and see it in a new light. This was my first trip in-country which left me with the same learned awe which I got when I experience something breathtaking in another country. Too often, I have been struck by the generosity and big hearts of those who live in foreign countries.

It is about time that I become struck with awe at the wonders Canadians can offer.

In short, Thunder Bay, 120 000 strong, gave birth to a community full of action. I spent a fair bit of time at the Regional Multi Cultural Youth Center, where Pauline the Youth Engagement Coordinator worked from. I befriended a 10 year old tech savvy boy named Nathan, who put a smile on my face with his Karaoke and desire to help all the time. I respected Mofat, a Zimbabwe Canadian who had been living there for 30 years, and who had dedicated his life to letting youth create a space for themselves. I was joyed by the Anishnawbe people whom I met. They contradicted any stereotype of the "drunken/suicidal Indian" which covered the news. I was moved by a community who rallied together to watch a film made by local Thunder Bay film makers(http://thunderstone.jcmultimedia.com/). The quote "Our ancestors strived to live ... so why do our youth long to die?" pushed my heart into overdrive, and suddenly I realized that in Thunder Bay I had experienced epiphany.

Our Canadian youth rock.

To all of you who are jaded out there, let me tell you. The youth of this nation are moving mountains. I am so proud to be Canadian. I am so proud to be here, in this community, where among all the political and social injustices there is a movement stirring.

Listen. Carefully. you don't want to miss the rhythm of your own community. It's moving. I promise.]]> Mon, 21 Jan 2008 00:02:00 EST http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/324827 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/297967
This morning I attended the World AIDS Day breakfast, held by Oxfam in support of two organizations: Voices of Positive Women, Blueprint for Action on Women and Girls in HIV/AIDS.

Toronto Mayor David Miller, Co-Founder of Blueprint Louise Binder (a trained lawyer living with HIV/AIDS) and Vancouverite author Wayson Choy spoke at the event. It was lovely to see so many people in Toronto who care about AIDS as a global pandemic, and there is a lot of activism which serves as motivation going on here.

I realized that the city cares, but there still is a lot of awareness and activist work to be done in other places which are not exposed to the wonderful resources we have here. On a sidenote, I am also the proud new bearer of a black and red beaded ribbon made by women in Zambia!]]> Fri, 30 Nov 2007 10:37:00 EST http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/297967 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/287717
It proved to be a fruitful meeting and collaboration among a variety of non for profit organizations in Toronto. Canadian Red Cross, World Literacy Canada, CLC TIG, Oxfam, were among some of the organizations present. I find the Ontario Council for International Cooperation is useful because it recognizes the need for NGOs with similar values and missions to work together. We are more effective in larger numbers, right?

So we planned a postcard project which involves sending out kits to 10 schools in Ontario. This arts based initiative aims to educate youth on the Millenium Development Goals, and OCIC wants display the postcards on TIG's global online gallery, as well as promote it in a French school through one of our CLC coordinators (either Timmons or Montreal). In addition, the meeting was a great opportunity to network with other organizations and share ideas.]]> Wed, 21 Nov 2007 12:01:00 EST http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/287717 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/287715
In response to your blog on 'Operation Mentorship', I wanted to share a few of my thoughts with you. I believe a mentor can be both informal and formal. If we think about new social movements (women's movement, gay rights movement, etc.), a lot of what has become formal education stemmed from informal education. The learner's experience, the informal process of soaking up information through one's life stories, propels the roots of action. An individual experiences racism, sexism, prejudice, injustice - and through those informal experiences is the basis of popular education. Mothers, for example, can be popular educators .. and they are quite "informal" mentors aren't they? However I do feel there is a need for formal mentors - we need to process and organize our thoughts and actions, and manipulate them in ways which can be understood by all parties including those in structured power.
There is no clear answer, only room for discussion and critical analysis - and I think besides my long ramble, that we need to keep in mind the importance of constant questioning when it comes to improving our system. ]]> Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:55:00 EST http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/287715 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/268583
I promoted TIG by emphasizing with those I met how our website could be a great platform and meeting point for these committees. At this point, one meeting point does not exist for the committees. Some have used TIG in the past, but I believe more technical suport from our end is required, as TIG can be intimidating for non web-savvy users or those not familiar with online communities. In addition, I emphasized CLC and its role in giving support to students wanting to take action. They seemed really enthusiastic about the collaboration of potential workshops with our coordinators. I will follow up with the local committees because I would like to form a more solidifed partnership.

I spoke with WUSC's executive director, Paul Davidson, who seemed quite impressed with TIG's work and he also stated an interest in strengthening the partnership and capacity building between WUSC and TIG.

Finally, I met a wonderful Sudanese, now Toronto based, former refugee student named Ruth Mathiang. She is an amazing vocalist with a talented band. I think she would be great for attracting new crowds at open forums.

Live and Love,
Mai]]> Sun, 14 Oct 2007 23:16:00 EDT http://Mango1982.tigblog.org/post/268583 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667