World Summit Youth Awards 2012

Registration is now open for World Summit Youth Awards 2012 that are open to young people (under the age of 30 years from any of the UN member states) that have developed any sort of innovative project or product using information technology aimed at helping their community.

The applicant may be a developer of website or mobile apps, e-content writer, journalists or writer, application designer, technologist or anyone contributing to address poverty, protecting the environment, sharing knowledge and empowering young people.

Award Highlights

The Youth Award is not a cash award. The reward for winners is to be recognized on a world stage, to be invited to the winners’ events, to be able to connect with each other and discuss with renowned experts in the field of ICT for Development. Last year, winner’s events took place in New York, USA.

The WSYA selects and promotes best practice in e-Content. It demonstrates young people’s potential to create outstanding digital contents and serves as a platform for people from all UN member states to work together in the efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

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Rising Voices Call for Proposals for Citizen Media Outreach

A major part of Rising Voices’ mission to support and nurture underrepresented communities so that they can begin to take full advantage of participatory digital media tools. Since 2007 microgrants for citizen media outreach projects have provides an opportunity for individuals, grassroots groups, networks, and other organizations without significant access to larger funding to be able to pass along knowledge by teaching others in their community in the use of these tools, as well as to provide ongoing support.

Rising Voices has announced the 2012 open call for microgrant proposals, and are currently accepting project proposals for funding up to $4,000 USD for global projects.

Who is Eligible to Apply?

This funding opportunity is open to private individuals, groups, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Partnerships between individuals and organisations are encouraged. For example, if an NGO does not have experienced citizen media trainers on staff, it would be extremely important that it seeks collaboration with the local blogging community to find the right trainer(s) with the necessary skills. Individual applicants might also find it highly beneficial to partner with organizations from the communities they plan to serve in order to strengthen the project’s impact and to have access to potential project participants.

There is no requirement for an organization to be legally registered, but we do require selected projects to have access to a bank account that is able to receive international bank transfers.

Learn more  >>>

Public Library Innovation Programme – Call for Proposals

Grants available to innovative libraries in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda

Please apply if you wish to use information and communication technologies to spark new services that change and improve lives and livelihoods in your community.

Grant maximum: US$15,000
Implementation period: 12 months
Application deadline: January 31st 2012

Aim of the grant invitation

EIFL’s Public Library Innovation Programme (PLIP) encourages libraries to use information and communication technologies (ICT) to expand their services to contribute to community development and improve people’s lives.

Who is eligible to apply?

This invitation is open to public and community libraries in Kenya, Uganda and Ghana.
A public or community library is a library that is open to the general public and that makes all kinds of knowledge and information freely available to the public.

Libraries are encouraged to apply in partnership with other ICT for development organizations that provide information services in the areas of health, agriculture, supporting youth and children at risk, employment and entrepreneurship/small business. However the library must be the lead partner and the grant applicant.

Read more http://www.yipekenya.org/Library.htm

Community Enterprise Development Conference 2011 – Call for Applications

The Africa Women and Youth Organization (Berlin, Germany Office) in partnership with SALMET, Christine Berger Germany and the German Institute of Human Nutrition proudly presents the Community Enterprise Development (CED) 2011 conference,

The CED 2011 Conference in Potsdam Germany is a 7-day study tour to three mechanized farms – sea food, crop and poultry farms in Berlin, Germany from Sunday, November 27th – Friday, December 2nd 2011.

The training is specifically designed to build the capacity of the communities and help organizations, business owners and agro-allied professionals (mainly farmers) to generate durable economic and social benefits.

Find out how to participate by visiting http://www.yipekenya.org/Community Enterprise Development Conference 2011 – Call for Applications.htm

Canada World Youth 2012 Leadership Awards

Canada World Youth (CWY) is currently seeking nominations for the 2012 Leadership Awards aimed at recognizing the excellent achievements of young Canadians and youth from around the world that are engaged in innovative initiatives promoting peace, intercultural understanding, and community and international Development. The candidates must be nominated by a third party.

CWY is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of young people that have a desire to become informed and active global citizens. CWY programs are designed to help youth experience the world for themselves, learn about other cultures and diverse Canadian communities while developing leadership and communication skills.

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Call for Curation Proposals

The Open Society Foundations’ Youth Initiative requests proposals for up to $10,000 in funding to develop and curate thematic pages on the new global youth portal and community at youthpolicy.org

The site aims to consolidate knowledge and information on youth policies across the international sector, ranging from analysis and formulation to implementation and evaluation.

Read more http://www.yipekenya.org/Call for Curation Proposals.htm

ONE Africa Award

The ONE Africa Award celebrates progress toward achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

ONE will recognize the Africa- driven, African led advocacy efforts that have demonstrated success at a community, national, or regional level. The $100,000 award will bring recognition to innovative African efforts to fight poverty and will incentivize more of such efforts (The award may be split into two prizes in order to award two smaller organizations better able to absorb a smaller monetary award.)

For further information, visit http://bit.ly/pBqvkW

ISOC Community Grants

The Internet Society is a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. It is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world.

The Internet Society will be accepting applications for the November 2011 round of the Community Grants Programme from 15th August to 16th September 2011. Award decisions will be made in mid-November.

The Community Grants Programme has been established to assist Internet Society chapters and members specifically in projects that will:

• Advance Internet Society’s mission and goals specifically those aligned with ISOC Major Strategic Initiatives

• Serve the Chapters’ communities

• Nurture collaborative work among Chapters/Individual Members

• Enhance and utilize knowledge sharing in the global internet community and

• Encourage Chapters’ sustainability and relevance.

For more information, visit http://bit.ly/pkX0iH

Invitation to the Nairobi People’s Congress, 25th July 2010

A time comes when people must stop complaining about bad leadership and take upon themselves the responsibility of organizing and realizing the ideal platform on which to discuss their problems, propose solutions and to engage their energies in the implementation of their resolutions.

Leadership is not an exclusive club for politicians but it is the visions, actions and sacrifices of everyday people like you and me, aimed at making our societies civil organizations with the capacity to provide the basic comforts of life for all the individuals that constitute it.

We are all blessed with unique talents and abilities and with the right formations set up amongst ourselves we can not only express ourselves in the service of the people, but while doing so, provide the necessary leadership into the areas where our gifts allow us a clearer view than that of our brother who in time and in turn will also get to lead us into the terrain where his talents will provide excellent guidance.

We are all leaders, and in a civil, equal and tolerant society, this fact will become very clear. But this will not happen by itself and it will surely not be done by our political leaders or even by a political mindset. For it is in the nature of politicians to deceive the people into giving them access to collective resources which they loot and plunder, for the truth is that politics is the struggle for the control of resources and that is what politicians do.

We, the people, need to come together and organize our society in the way that only we can.

We need to organize our neighborhoods, our estates, our wards, and our city.

The time has come for us to organize ourselves. It is now time for YOU to get up and to be a part of this awakening.

THE MISSION …

The people of Nairobi are coming together to hold the inaugural NAIROBI PEOPLE’S CONGRESS on the 25th of July.

We are coming together to agree on how we will empower ourselves to create the society that we have all been dreaming of. A society where everyone is involved in the building of our beloved land and not one where our only role is to be extorted in the name of taxes and rates by a bunch grabbers who have no capacity to fulfill their campaign promises.

Our mission is simple; to give space to those with ideas to share with everyone else on the best way to bring together our energies across the neighborhoods in a way that we can finally begin to solve the simple problems that have undermined us and that have made the world question our intelligence.

We also seek to agree on how to structure every estate committee in the most efficient and productive way and how to form ward committees that involve the representatives of these estate and neighborhood formations.

Most importantly, we seek new leaders who will be willing and able to inspire members of the public to work on these resolutions and who will be the cornerstones around which neighborhoods will build themselves into a strong foundation on which the Community of Nairobi will sit.

This community is what will comprise the Nairobi People’s Congress.

By bringing together our knowledge and experiences, we shall be able to build a living society; an intelligent and sensitive organization conscious of its present circumstances while at the same time visual of its bright future; a place where all are accommodated, given the space to be human and to achieve their potential.

This will be the gift of our generation.

TO PARTICIPATE …

The inaugural Nairobi People’s Congress is a constitutive assembly comprising of 10 representatives from every administrative ward in Nairobi.

Registration is open to all members of the public residing in Nairobi. We especially invite those who are willing to work alongside other like-minded individuals who believe they have something to offer society.

Registration will be direct to the secretariat but all those registered from each ward will convene themselves so that in observing the spirit of fair representation, they will decide on who amongst them will participate as observers or as representatives.

(Due to restrictions in time and for clarity in documentation, those making presentations will be required to prepare and forward a brief written summary to the facilitator at the start or during the session to clarify their position. Copies will be compiled and distributed to all the participants after the program.)

To participate in the preparations or to register for the Congress, please contact:

Benedict Wachira- 0721-158008 or Hillary Mulialia- 0722-258552.

To register, send a short message with the following details:

•             Name,

•             Ward

•             Contact (Phone no.)

to the above numbers or by email to nairobipeoplecongress@gmail.com

Please register before 16 July, 2010

Your country needs you! Your city needs you!

Youth AfriCamp: Building expressive advocacy capacity for youth participation

Themes: Youth and New Media; African Youth Charter and African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance

Open Society Institute, Youth Initiative seeks to empower youth to become active citizens who are willing and able to influence public life and promote open society ideals. The international initiative is an expansion of what began in 1995 as the Debate Program. While its work with debate continues, the initiative also provides small grants and technical assistance to build the capacity of youth-focused local organizations and encourage a broader range of youth-led projects that promote open society values. The Youth Initiative (YI) aims to build a community of networked, civically engaged young leaders who understand the underpinnings of a democratic society, and will therefore become its active guardians.- www.soros.org/youth

The Youth AfriCamp provides a forum that allows the participating youth to showcase their work in their respective regions.  In addition, the camp includes training segments that will allow youth to acquire skills in creative social messaging techniques that they can apply to their work. The YI sees added value in convening the AfriCamp to not only act as facilitator and sponsor, but most importantly, to raise the profile of the work young people are doing under challenging conditions.

The AfriCamp will bring young activists together so that they can learn from one another while we learn from them. It is integral for the YI to identify these local actors and collect this information to inform the OSI network. It will allow young activists to gain hands-on training in new media that could be translated to their advocacy efforts in their given fields. The participants will be recruited across the sub-Sahara Africa with ages ranging from 18-29 years.

Format

The AfriCamp will accommodate both Francophone and Anglophone participants.  The selection process will be competitive ensuring high caliber participants. The format includes a week long combination of presentations, training sessions and breakaway sessions for direct peer consultation for those working on similar issues or issues of interest. Training sessions will consist of outside facilitators procured by the YI as well as peer to peer trainings. The event will culminate with an afternoon long advocacy concert featuring local artists. The Youth Initiative has developed the following general themes for the Youth Camp: Youth and New Media, Youth and the Africa Youth Charter, Youth and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance

To register, fill in an application form online: http://www.idebate.org/africamp/ and for any inquiries please contact Ronald on email:  rrwankangi@osiea.org.

Application deadline 5th March 2010.