Since the founding of TakingITGlobal in 1999, I have been incredibly inspired by my interactions with thousands of young change makers from all around the world. Through my Masters Research on youth-led action in an international context along with exposure to other studies and international conferences examining the role of today's generation of youth as change agents, I have gained an important observation. My observation is that I have seen the emergence of Six Archetypes of Youth Change Makers, which provide a glance at the roles young people are taking on in the process of creating change.
The Dreamer
The Dreamer is the driver behind new ideas. Dreamers are often the first to articulate a long-term vision for the future and think big. It is the sense of aspiration, optimism and imagination of dreamers that drive progress, innovation and change.
The Megaphone
The Megaphone is a vocal advocate for change. Megaphones are very focused on delivering the message and will campaign tirelessly and work hard to lobby for a message to be heard. They inspire action through their words and help to shift priorities on the agenda.
The Spark Plug
The Spark Plug is a catalyst and has a gift for networking and connecting people. The Spark Plug is able to foster collaborations and bring many different organizations and individuals together in dialogue, convincing diverse interest groups to come together for a common goal.
The Task Master
The Task Master is often behind the scenes making things happen and is sometimes the under-rated player within a group or organization. Often, it is the Task Master who literally keeps things together by turning ideas into manageable tasks with actionable timelines. Task Masters are practical, objective-oriented individuals.
The Sherpa
The Sherpa serves as a guide who provides mentorship, insight and training through peer education. Sherpas are natural educators with a strong interest in learning and sharing knowledge. Sherpas value hands on experiences and are able to draw upon the expertise and resources of those they encounter.
The Storyteller
The Storyteller is often the documenter of an organization and its projects, preparing short stories, interviews, blogs, webcasts newsletters and more. Storytellers become a vehicle for spreading inspiration and sharing of best practices through identifying patterns and strengthening movements through recognizing exceptional individuals.
The Faces of War -- Why Irresponsible or Fanatical Individuals and/or Governments Must Never Gain Control of Nuclear Weapons http://civact6.tigblog.org/post/417257
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Would you like to explore the possibilities for volunteer, professional, and/or career involvement in civic action, community service, and other constructive developmental efforts in countries that are of greatest interest to you ??
Visit and explore the wide range of available choices for programmatic and/or administrative professional specialization and possible careers, at:
Dave Matthews, Facilitator
The Civic Action Free University http://www.tcafu.net
"Nation-Building: Are You Serious ??"
E-Mail Address: civact6@yahoo.com
The infolinks challenge is an online video contest about smart ways of making money online. So what are you waiting for? film your creative way of making money online and win the $5000 Challenge! ..
Educação, segundo o dicionário Aurélio, é o processo de desenvolvimento da capacidade física, intelectual e moral da criança e do ser humano em geral, visando à sua melhor integração individual Leia mais...
Would you like to explore the possibilities for volunteer, professional, and/or career involvement in civic action, community service, and other constructive developmental efforts in countries that are of greatest interest to you ??
Visit and explore the wide range of available choices for programmatic and/or administrative professional specialization and possible careers, at:
Dave Matthews, Facilitator
The Civic Action Free University http://www.tcafu.net
"Nation-Building: Are You Serious ??"
E-Mail Address: civact6@yahoo.com
Get ready for this one – the latest “green” training is happening in prison. Instead of simply containing inmates for their wrongdoings, the Stafford Creek facility in Aberdeen, Washington is teaching individuals how to become contributing members of society.
The Sustainable Prisons Project – a collaboration between the Washington Department of Corrections and The Evergreen State College in Olympia – aims to help prisoners understand their impact on the environment, and find ways to reduce it. By growing native plant species in a greenhouse behind the prison, inmates are acquiring skills that can aid them in assimilating back into society through environmentalism.
With “green” jobs on the rise, the Sustainable Prisons Project is a way to provide almost guaranteed “green” workers. This program offers people who have strayed from societal norms – and maybe need a little help getting back on track – the means to do so. Instead of releasing these people back into society with no direction, why not steer them toward environmental activism?
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the African Development Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the German development finance institution DEG announced that they have created a new private equity fund that will invest in Africa’s health sector. The Health in Africa Fund will invest in small- and medium-sized companies in sub-Saharan Africa, such as health clinics and diagnostic centers, with the goal of helping low-income Africans gain access to affordable, high-quality health services. The fund will help implement key recommendations of IFC’s report, ‘The Business of Health in Africa: Partnering with the Private Sector to Improve People’s Lives,’ which found that the private sector already delivers about half of all health-related goods and services in Africa, and that greater investment in private health companies could have major health and economic benefits for low-income Africans.
The World Bank’s Environmental Department is seeking civil society representatives to serve as observers on two Climate Investment Fund (CIF) Trust Fund Committees. The Bank has contracted a leading public policy dispute resolution organization, RESOLVE, to manage this self-selection process. The CIFs, which are managed by the World Bank and implemented jointly with the Regional Development Banks, were established through an inclusive and consultative process in support of the Bali Action Plan and approved by the World Bank Board in July 2008. Application forms, criteria, and instructions for the observer seats are available on the RESOLVE website (www.resolv.org/cif). Application instructions and criteria will be posted in Arabic, Bengali, Cambodian/Khmer, French, Nepali, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tajik, and Turkish during the week of June 15. Completed applications are due by Wednesday, July 2. CSO Observers Sought for Climate Investment Funds (CIF)
The Bank’s Environmental Department is seeking civil society representatives to serve as observers on two Climate Investment Fund (CIF) Trust Fund Committees. The Bank has contracted a leading public policy dispute resolution organization, RESOLVE, to manage this self-selection process. The CIFs, which are managed by the World Bank and implemented jointly with the Regional Development Banks, were established through an inclusive and consultative process in support of the Bali Action Plan and approved by the World Bank Board in July 2008. Application forms, criteria, and instructions for the observer seats are available on the RESOLVE website (www.resolv.org/cif). Application instructions and criteria will be posted in Arabic, Bengali, Cambodian/Khmer, French, Nepali, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tajik, and Turkish during the week of June 15. Completed applications are due by Wednesday, July 15.
Dave Matthews, Facilitator
The Civic Action Free University http://www.tcafu.net
"Nation-Building: Are You Serious ??"
E-Mail Address: civact6@yahoo.com
Wildfires in the forests in the Rocky Mountains can potentially threaten water and power supplies to millions of people across the western United States. The Colorado River, which is an important source of water for residents of 13 states, are in the middle of a 2.5 million acres of dying forests in Colorado and southern Wyoming, according to the U.S. Forest Service official Rick Cables. If these forests are to catch fire it could potentially lead to damaged or destroyed reservoirs, pipes and other infrastructure that supply water to millions of people in the Rocky Mountain region.
This threat is made possible by the largest recorded outbreak of bark beetles in the area. Bark beetles are insects that attack and kill living trees, which subsequently generates very large quantities of dry timber that can easily catch fire and lead to wildfires. These beetle infestations are naturally recurring events in the west; however, the scale of this movement is much larger than usual. This may be due to a lack of freezing weather in the region, which usually reduces the bark beetles population. Also, researchers fear that the situation will worsen due to global warming, which will decrease the amount of freezing weather, thus enabling the beetles population to further expand. According to Barbara Bentz, a research entomologist with the Forest Service, nearly 8 million acres of trees have fallen to the beetles. Canadian forests have also suffered from this outbreak and scientists in Canada believe that the “death of so many trees is altering local weather patterns and air quality.”
As a result of these outbreaks, many forests are being threatened in the west by not only the bugs themselves, but also wildfires, which the beetles indirectly instigate. As of now the Forest Service has received $26 million stimulus funds for the Rocky Mountain region to deal with the beetle-relate problems. However, dealing with the infestation could cost as much as $213 million. The government seems unlikely to provide any more support. The only solution to this problem is for the citizens in this region to unite and provide funding for this program. With your support, the forests of the Rocky Mountains can be preserved.
The United States Global Change Research Program, a joint scientific venture of 13 federal agencies, has reported that climate change will worsen in the future. This report is based off evidence such as shifting migration patterns of butterflies in the West and heavier downpours in the Midwest and East. Some of the effects being cited in this report are familiar, such as powerful tropical storms and erosion of ocean coastlines caused by the melting of Arctic ice.
However, the study also warns that there will be an increase in drought in the Southwestern United States and more intense heat waves in the Northeastern United States as a result of the continuing increases in the concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. According to the report, reduced mountain snowpack means earlier melt-offs and reduced stream volumes across the West and Northwest, which will affect residential and agricultural water supplies, habitats for spawning fish, and the reduction of hydroelectric power generation.
However, the speed and severity of these effects in the future are less certain in the report and depend entirely on how nations around the world decide to handle emissions in their countries. Our destiny is in our hands. It is up to the nations of our world to decide what our fate will be.
