Ten years after the devastating genocide in Rwanda, young people in
Butare organized to rebuild and develop their country by forming
YADDI, an association designed to "bridge the development information
gap among young people and network their efforts for sustainable
development." According to Executive Director and Founder Cleophas
Kanamugire, by both educating youth and employing them as a resource
for development, YADDI acts upon its founding belief that "in every
society youth are the major tools for change."

Youth comprise nearly two-thirds of the Rwandan population, nearly
all of whom were deeply affected by the Rwandan genocide through
either direct participation or the loss of family members and
neighbors. By both providing opportunities for reconciliation and
community engagement and developing young people´s strengths and
skills, YADDI is pursuing an ambitious agenda to cultivate a new
generation of leaders. YADDI´s programs focus primarily on engaging
young people who have left primary school or high school and have
little or no opportunities to complete their formal education to work
on projects that include eradicating illiteracy, promoting peace,
information technology support and training, and HIV/AIDS education.
These various programs are united by their emphasis on building upon
and further developing youth capacity through information sharing and
peer-to-peer education.

One of YADDI´s key initiatives is its Youth Peace Education Program.
In 1994, young people were influenced by political actors to
participate in mass killings and human rights violations. Responding
to the continued need for youth to become informed about human rights
and engaged in conflict prevention, YADDI developed the Youth Peace
Education Program to spread information about conflict and violence,
peace, and human rights to young people through young people´s work.
In addition to educating young volunteers about the basics and
implementation techniques of human rights principles, YADDI provides
them with basic materials for education campaigns and connects them
to primary and secondary schools, orphanages, and youth serving NGOs.
In this manner, these peer to peer exchanges focus on strengthening
understanding and tolerance amongst Rwandan youths-a critical step to
healing the feelings of mistrust and hate left amongst communities in
the wake of the genocide.

Another of YADDI´s key programs is designed to reduce insecurity for
young people and orphans in particular. According to the 2005 Rwanda
Demographic and Health Survey, 29% of the population under eighteen
is classified as orphans or critically vulnerable, owing to the
genocide, HIV/AIDS rates, poverty, and other socio-economic factors.
The Ministry of Gender and Family Planning has overseen the creation
of hosting centers that care for many of these displaced children,
yet children´s rights within these centres are often not clearly
understood by either the children or staff, leading to mistreatment
and high dropout rates. In order to encourage young people to take
an active role in improving this national situation, YADDI developed
the Promotion of Children Rights in Hosting Centres program. The
program engages young Rwandans to work with and educate children and
staff at the centres in their daily activities and to discuss
children´s rights, as well as to cultivate a sense of responsibility
amongst communities on the need to protect those rights. In this
manner, youth in the program are becoming leaders in building a
national understanding of the rights and responsibilities of young
people.

Through this program, YADDI hopes to plant the seeds that will
cultivate and mobilize a nation-wide children´s rights movement. In
order to generate a wide network of organizations committed to
promoting these activities and reach as many young Rwandans as
possible, YADDI has developed significant partnerships and relations
with local and international universities, NGOs focused on HIV/AIDS
work, the NationalYouth Council, and other youth focused
international organizations. In addition to sustaining and enlarging
existing programs, YADDI is currently working to establish a
satellite office in the Rwandan capital of Kigali to foster stronger
links between the government, local organizations, and resources,
while increasing the impact of YADDI´s work. Through bringing this
range of stakeholders together to support their programs, YADDI hopes
to continue building the skills of Rwandan youth and empowering them
as leaders with the knowledge and vision to bring about socio-
economic transformation for themselves and their communities in the
years to come.

Please contact Kanamugire Cleophas, Executive Director and Founder,
by email for further information: kacleophas@yahoo.fr ,
administration@yaddi.net

My name´s Tonton Elton ELUKESSU KBOMBI. I was born on April 1, 1974.
I graduated in Economic studies, option: Financial Management from
Protestant University in Congo/Kinshasa in 2001.

I was privileged to join associative movements when I was still
younger, just after I had completed my secondary diploma in 1992. I
also participated in the inception of a local not for profit
organization: Centre of Ideas for Integrated Development - CIDI as
one of founding members. This organization helped a lot to launch a
national youth organizations network named Collective of
Organizations of United Youth of Congo-Kinshasa, shortened "COJESKI-
RDC. Based in Bukavu in the province of South Kivu, COJESKI was
created in 1995. Within this structure, I have led the position of
Program Manager of Economic and Community Development since December
2001 up to now.

COJESKI is actually doted of two consultative statuses as an
observer: Commission African Commission of Human Rights and
Economical and Social Commission of United Nations ECOSOC. So far, it
counts 364 youth organizations members throughout the DRC. For more
details, please visit us at www.cojeski.org

From May 2003 to December 2005: I worked as a Technician analyst of
projects with Congolese Initiative for Autonomous Management of the
populations ICG/GTZ (www.icgrdc.org). It was created and is funded by
GTZ to specifically support small and micro enterprise projects
through micro credits as well as follow up and evaluation of
activities in Province of South-Kivu. My responsibilities included
studies, analysis, transformation of new project ideas from bankable
projects, financing of projects, supervision and implementing
community projects, planning, elaboration, follow up, monitoring and
evaluation, reporting).

From December 2003 up to now: President of Center for Action for
Community Growth CAPROCO (local not for profit NGO working for
promoting youth through entrepreneurship and Micro finance). It is
headquartered in Kinshasa.

From July 2006 up to November 2006: Finances et Administration
Manager with an airlines company: GR Aviation. My responsibilities
exclusively included the management of financial operations:
Centralization of all financial reports, budgeting, and supervision
of accounting, regular financial reporting, management of accounts
(clients, orders of suppliers, personnel, associates) and bank
operations.

From October 2006 up to now: I work as Program Director within YES
DRC NETWORK Youth Employment Summit Campaign, www.yesweb.org and I am
now working with the International Young Professionals Foundation to
create a YP network in DRC.

1. Add Your Pledge to the Billion Tree Campaign!

Join Wangari Maathai's Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign:
www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign/

This effort, launch by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), aims to mobilize individuals, communities, businesses, non-
profit organizations and governments to commit to tree planting
pledges entered online at
www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign/pledges/with the goal of
collectively planting at least one billion trees worldwide during
2007.

At the UNEP Governing Council meeting in Nairobi this past month
close to 90 million trees were pledged, including a planting pledge
of 45 million trees by Cameroon; one million by Haiti; 20 million by
Myanmar; and 20 million by Venezuela. Pledges also came from Kenyan
groups including youth networks. During the campaign's first two
months over a quarter of a billion pledges were received, putting the
campaign on track to reach its goal!

By empowering all levels of society -- from governments to grass
roots organizations -- to take practical steps to reduce pressures on
primary forest, the Billion Tree Campaign will not only help conserve
biodiversity, reduce soil erosion and promote carbon dioxide
absorption but will also serve as a powerful expression of global
solidarity.


2. Join Avaaz.Org And Sign The Global Warming Petition

Read about www.avaaz.org later in this newsletter and sign their
petition to get global leaders to take stronger action on global
warming! www.avaaz.org/en/climate_action/


3. Attend an Idealist.org Start Up Meeting

Read about idealist.org later. To find or host a meeting in your
area, and for more details about this whole initiative, please go to
www.idealist.org/meetings.


4. Send in Your `Top Lists´

Submit to newsletter@iypf.org any books, websites, blogs, actions,
etc. that you recommend to other members of the IYPF community!

Oz GREEN is an independent, not for profit organisation that was
established in 1992. Oz GREEN facilitates transformative learning and
leadership programs for sustainability, enabling people to harness
their inner wisdom, creativity and intelligence to build pathways to
an ecologically sustainable future. Oz GREEN runs a range of
programs, working nationally in Australia and internationally in
India, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Pakistan. Donations to Oz
GREEN are tax-deductible in Australia.

Oz GREEN programs are based on a 3-part methodology that enables
informed participation, harnesses unique contributions and provides
ongoing support through long-term engagement. Oz GREEN programs
enable people to become agents for positive social change to address
environmental and sustainability challenges at their roots and build
pathways for long-term engagement and ongoing growth.

Some of Oz GREEN´s programs include:
· Youth LEAD: youth leadership training and mentoring to build a national network of young leaders actively working for change in their own community and beyond.
· MYRiveR: Youth voice, vision and action reversing the decline of river health
· Living Communities: Community education for sustainable living.
· India, Clean Ganges Campaign: Environmental education programs with schools, river priests, media, boatmen and community village water supply program.
· East Timor & Papua New Guinea: Sustainable village program involving local communities.

What´s in store for 2007?

The year ahead is shaping up to be a big year for Oz GREEN. The Youth
LEAD program is going from strength to strength. This network of
inspiring young Australians now involves over 450 people. In 2007
there will be a further 9 workshops across Australia. These workshops
provide leadership training and mentoring for youth-led eco-social
projects. Through Youth LEAD young people learn how to listen deeply
and question strategically. They find focus, direction and a clear
plan for action.

For the first time there was also Youth LEAD Facilitation Training in
February for Youth LEADers who wanted to further their skills.

The MYRiveR program continues to grow and expand. MYRiveR is a whole
river basin environmental education and engagement program that
harnesses youth passion, intelligence and commitment to build
pathways to sustainable river futures. This year Oz GREEN will be
working with schools and communities along the Cooks, Derwent, Yarra,
Murray and Darling Rivers.

The new Leading with the Heart program is focused on finding wisdom
and inspiration for living with purpose and passion on an endangered
planet. New Leading with the Heart workshops will be held this year
and continue to build on the success of last years pilot program. The
first will be held at the end of March in Sydney.

For more information on any of Oz GREEN´s programs, visit their
website at www.ozgreen.org.au or feel free to contact them at
ozgreen@ozgreen.org.au.

What is Youth LEAD?

Youth LEAD is an Oz GREEN initiative that is building a national
network of young leaders who are working in their local community and
beyond to build a life-sustaining society. Youth LEAD is achieving
this through leadership training and mentoring for youth-led eco-
social projects that forge pathways to sustainable futures. Youth
LEAD begins where other leadership programs finish - with young
people learning to be leaders by designing and undertaking their own
projects. The program starts with a three day training and action
planning residential workshop involving up to 25 participants.

Youth LEAD is currently being documented as a case study in best
practice education for sustainability by the Australian Association
for Environmental Education (2006). Youth LEAD is also a previous
winner of the Social Ventures Australia BIG BOOST! Award

Youth LEAD is proudly supported by the Vodafone Australia Foundation
and PricewaterhouseCoopers Foundation.

About the Facilitators - Oz GREEN co-founders Sue and Colin Lennox
lead by example and are recognised as leading social entrepreneurs in
Australia. They each bring over 30 years of experience and
professional qualifications in environmental education, social
enterprise and youth empowerment gained on the ground in city and
rural settings in Australia and internationally. They are supported
by a team of passionate young professionals, trainee facilitators and
youth-to-youth mentors, each of whom has a track record of
successfully implementing their own life changes and projects.

International Women's Day has been observed in various forms since
the early 1900's and has grown to become a global day of recognition
and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. The
United Nations holds an IWD conference on March 8th each year to
coordinate international efforts for women's rights and participation
in social, political and economic processes and many smaller
conferences and meetings are also held on this date. In some
countries IWD has even become a national holiday.

In this edition of our newsletter, two of our three female IYPF
Directors say a few words about what International Women's Day means
to them and what they will be doing to support it.

Sarah-Jo Dawson, IYPF President

Being brought up in the UK, I felt very fortunate to be able to
pursue my childhood dream of becoming a chemical engineer. Sure,
there was still some stigma attached to "going to work in a man's
world" and yes, only a quarter of my Master of Engineering course
population was female, but really I didn't feel any barriers to doing
this. I was lucky to be supported by my parents, friends and teachers
and to live in a time and place where diversity policies are the norm
and Discrimination Law is in place and, usually, respected.
Throughout my working life to date, I have genuinely felt that I
could do whatever I wanted to and that being a woman did not
interfere with this. Perhaps it is also this attitude that has
allowed me to progress my career in the direction I've aimed for. I
am however acutely aware that this is not the case for everyone. In
some parts of the world, discrimination is still rife, and I feel
that it is the duty of the fortunate few like myself to speak up
against this.

I am also very passionate about women voting. In some parts of the
world, women still do not have this basic human right. Even in the
UK, all women over 21 have only had the vote since 1928. Yet, still
some women here don't use this right (indeed only 61% of the total
population eligible to vote in the UK 2005 General Election did so!).
Ladies of the IYPF, if you have this right, please, please use it and
use it for good!

For International Women's day, I attended a conference, actually on
14th March, called "Climate for Change: Women in Science, Engineering
and Technology - Having and Environmental Impact", organised by the
UK Resource centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology
(http://www.setwomenresource.org.uk/).



Kate Plant, IYPF Vice-President

In the last few decades great strides have been made in improved
legislation and changing attitudes towards gender equality. These
changes have opened up many choices that were not available to women
of previous generations.

One immutable difference will however always remain between the
genders. Women will always be the ones whom, quite literally, "grow
the next generation". We therefore come across the "age old"
question, how can women continue to take advantage of career options
now available to us if we also desire to grow a family?

Some employers, in an effort to retain staff, are leading the way to
enable women to continue in both avenues. For example, a mother´s
room in the workplace (a "pumping room" designed to allow mothers to
return to work while continuing to breastfeed) would have been
unheard of a generation ago. However, sadly most women are not so
fortunate to be employed by such a company. Examples of the minimum
legislative requirements for maternity and paternity leave for
various countries follows (refer to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_leave; accessed 2007/03/05 @
8pm):

· Australian employer´s provide 1 year of unpaid parental leave;
*Finland provides 105 days at 80% paid leave, followed by a share of
158 days with father; and unpaid maternity leave until child turns 3;

· Within the United States, employers provide only 12 weeks of unpaid
maternity or paternity leave; and
· In India the Central Government provides 135 days (90 days) or 12
weeks with the State Governments of 100% paid maternity leave and 15
days for the Central Government

In summary, there continues to be an ongoing disparity in the working
world when it comes to a country´s maternity and paternity leave -
worldwide. Interestingly, even in the "considered" developed
countries (e.g. United States), the rights of these women are treated
as a burden on employers rather than assets to our world.

This International Women´s Day, I plan to attend a gathering of women
and plant a tree to celebrate those women who´ve accomplished "where
we´ve come". Also, to our past generations and every woman around
the world: thank you for your experiences each day!