Youthmovements.org will launch later this year, providing young people and youth-serving organizations with a tool to effectively share information about their projects, to promote projects and initiatives collaboratively, and to help track and celebrate the collective progress being made worldwide to tackle the world’s most challenging issues.
“After a decade of serving young people making a difference in their communities through our network, we’re excited to facilitate the creation of an online hub of youth-led initiatives across the globe,” said Jennifer Corriero, Executive Director of TakingITGlobal. “YouthMovements.org will connect key organizations working to support young people in their efforts to improve the world, helping to amplify the support they provide and the lessons being learned through their engagement with youth.”
The need to meaningfully include young people in understanding and coordinating the global response to the challenges of our time has been established through efforts like the United Nations International Year of Youth, which concludes on August 12th. As the number of young people around the globe continues to grow, issues such as unemployment impact young people in increasing proportions. One need not look any further than the discontent and strife that set the stage for the Arab Spring to see the incredibly profound need and call for change delivered through a movement fuelled by people-power. Successful change – whether it is in the realm of politics, law, the environment or the academy – is a process that relies on effective collaboration.
“YouthMovements.org is a transformational idea that will strengthen and celebrate youth leadership around the world,” said Jeff Coates, Strategic Initiatives Associate for Knight Foundation. “The initiative will inform youth-friendly policies and make it easy to identify and support effective youth-led community projects in any area.”
The initiative will hold a meeting on the Future of Youth Movements, in Spring 2012, to bring together stakeholders across sectors to explore how Youth Movements can be made most effective.
Young people and youth-serving organizations interested in participating in this exciting new initiative can register online to receive more information at www.youthmovements.org
TakingITGlobal (www.tigweb.org) provides innovative global education programs that empower youth to understand and act on the world’s greatest challenges. Often described as a “social network for social good,” the award-winning www.tigweb.org is available in 13 languages and offers a diverse set of educational resources and action tools intended to inspire, inform and involve. Since being founded as a charity by two young Canadians in 2000, 30 million people have accessed the website to learn, grow and realize their potential.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation (www.knightfoundation.org) supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities, and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged.