Youth AWARDS celebrate Best-Practice ICT projects @ WSIS

The Youth Creating Digital Opportunities Coalition (YCDO) and the Youth Caucus of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) are organizing a WSIS Youth Awards Program to celebrate and reward best-practice youth ICT projects

Geneva, September 10, 2003– The WSIS Youth Awards are open to youth projects around the world that have significant youth involvement, use ICT in achieving set objectives and desired results, have been running for at least a year and have clearly defined results/ impact. They present a unique opportunity for anyone under 30 who runs a project or company using information and communications technologies for development.

The Awards will be made at a presentation ceremony held during the World Summit on the Information Society (Geneva, December 10-12, 2003), with invitations sent to world leaders, leaders of ICT4D organizations, WSIS delegations, UN agencies, and international organizations. All winners will be presented and awarded by the sponsors of the categories.

This important international awards program aims to:

· Identify and document hundreds of potential best-practice youth-led ICT initiatives.

· Recognize and showcase young people's potential as development actors in their communities.

· Promote learning and skill-sharing from and between the selected projects.

The overall prize of US$10,000 will be sponsored by the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP).

Other awards will be made to category finalists using ICTs in the following areas: Environment, Media, Children’s Rights, Rural, Employment and Entrepreneurship, Health, Education, Human Rights and Peace Building, and Culture. The finalists/winners will have an opportunity to showcase their projects in an exhibition within the Youth HUB space in the ICT4D Platform at the Summit.

In addition a book will be published highlighting 100 of the best-practice stories identified through the awards application process. It will also indicate lessons learnt and opportunities to scale up youth led ICT 4D projects.

Within the World Summit on the Information Society, young people (organized within ‘Caucus’) are active participants as a driving force behind technological entrepreneurship and innovation. The Awards Ceremony compliments other Youth Caucus initiatives at the Summit like the Youth HUB Exhibition Space, a Youth Media Team and the launch of a YCDO Fund.


Applications deadline: 15 September. Using an online system accessible at www.ycdo.net/wsis/award.html

Activities coordinators: - Pearl Jumo, Youth Focal Point, Global Knowledge Partnership Secretariat- Alex Fielding, Youth Liaison, WSIS Executive Secretariat

Core evaluation jury:- International Panel of Experts

Key partners in YCDO:
- Global Knowledge Partnership,
- International Institute for Sustainable Development,
- TakingITGlobal (who coordinate WSIS Youth Caucus),
- Digital Youth Consortium
- Seed funding was provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and YCDO staff presently form a virtual team based at the individual member organizations.

Sponsors:
 GKP (Global Knowledge Partnership)
- Others


About YCDO:
The Youth Creating Digital Opportunities Coalition was formally established in February 2003 with TakingITGlobal, the International
Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) as original members. YCDO seeks to improve the coordination and harmonization of efforts in using ICTs for Development (ICT4D). Its goals are to ensure meaningful participation of young people in all levels of policy-making, to support youth ICT4D projects, and to promote continuous learning and sharing through ycdo.net, a global on-line community. A YCDO Fund designed to replicate and scale up existing ICT4D projects is being developed to be launched at WSIS in December. www.ycdo.net

About YOUTH CAUCUS:
Participation of youth in WSIS is organized around a "Caucus" with over 1000 members from 150 countries. The Youth Caucus has been very active at all WSIS Preparatory Meetings on the regional, national and international levels. National WSIS Youth Campaigns have begun in many countries like Ghana, Brazil, Nigeria, the Philippines and India to initiate local activities and projects around WSIS. At the Summit itself, the Youth Caucus has an ambitious slate of activities including a Youth HUB Space at the ICT4D Platform with exhibitions and workshops, the YCDO Awards Program, a Youth Media Program, and the launch of a publication and video on best practice Youth ICT4D projects. The WSIS Youth Caucus is facilitated by TakingITGlobal, as part of the Youth Creating Digital Opportunity initiative. www.ycdo.net/wsis

About WSIS:
The World Summit on the Information Society provides a unique opportunity for all key stakeholders to develop a common vision and understanding and to address the whole range of relevant issues related to the Information Society. It aims to bring together Heads of State, Executive Heads of the United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, civil society entities, industry leaders and media representatives to foster a clear statement of political will and concrete plan of action to shape the future of the global information society and to promote the urgently needed access of all countries to information, knowledge and communication technologies for development.
The Summit has been endorsed by the UN General Assembly and will take place under the high patronage of Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, with the International Telecommunication Union taking the lead role in its preparation.

The Summit will be held in two phases: Geneva (10-12 December 2003) and Tunisia (16-18 November 2005). www.wsis.org 

Contact Information: Alex Fielding: alex@takingitglobal.org  Pearl Jumo: pearl@gkpsecretariat.org.my