Emerging News

Enterprising Youth Leaders from Around the World Receive Awards Through YouthActionNet.org

A 23-year-old Namibian leading efforts to help families of those in his community stricken by HIV/AIDS, an 18-year-old radio journalist in Vietnam whose stories on environmental and social issues have reached over 30 million people, and a young Peruvian working to provide poor children in the Amazon rainforest with books, are among young people from around the world to receive 15 special awards through YouthActionNet.org.

An interactive website created by and for youth, YouthActionNet.org works to inspire and promote youth leadership worldwide. Launched in 2001 by the International Youth Foundation (IYF), a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization headquartered in Baltimore, MD, YouthActionNet celebrates the vital role that youth are playing in leading positive change throughout the world. YouthActionNet.org forms a vital part of the "Make a Connection" program, a global initiative of IYF and Nokia to provide opportunities for young people to connect to their communities, to their families and peers, and to themselves.

Ranging in age from 18 to 24, recipients are being awarded $500 each to support their work in leading positive social change. IYF announced the YouthActionNet awards competition in January 2002. Since then, 200 young leaders from 53 different countries have applied for the Awards. Final selections were made by the YouthActionNet Task Force, a group of eight young people from around the world who have played an instrumental role in the site's development and who continue to guide its efforts. Awards are being given though YouthActionNet on a semi-annual basis, with applications currently being accepted for the next round of awards to be announced in December.

In many cases, award winners plan to use the funding they receive to strengthen and expand their efforts. In Vietnam, for example, 18-year-old Ha Thi Lan Anh has been active as a radio journalist through the Young Journalists Group (YoJo), whose broadcasts are heard by roughly 30 million people nationwide.

With support from YouthActionNet, she will organize workshops aimed at educating street and working youth about their rights and how to use technology and the power of media to create social change.

In Namibia, Ndasimana Akuumba will use the funding he received to expand his efforts to help the families of those stricken with HIV/AIDS. At the age of 21, Ndasimana set out to educate men in Namibia with HIV/AIDS on how to write a will in order to protect their wives' and children's future. He now plans to publish an educational pamphlet and expand training sessions to additional villages.

To learn more about YouthActionNet.org and for further information on award recipients, visit: http://www.youthactionnet.org