"Choiceless & Voiceless"

International Seminar
Berlin-DE, 5-12 July 2009

In June 2009, elections for the Parliament of the European Union were held. Everyone has been talking about voter turnout, and many projects were trying to encourage young people to use their right to vote. And yet, hardly anyone talks about the people who do not vote, except when to blame them.
They are mystified, ignored, thrust aside.
We want to look into the corners that other people ignore. Who are the non-voting young people? In most European countries, non-voters tend to be concentrated in specific demographic and socioeconomic groups, especially the young and the poor. What is missing, in their opinion, to make voting attractive – or actually even possible?
We want to risk an attempt to see behind the curtain of non-voting and non-voters.
The approximate structure will be scientific theory and reflection in the first two days, and more practice and field enquiries in the days after.
This means that we invite external experts for the beginning of the seminar to have free time for going out and talking to “real” non-voters after that. We’ll also do a lot of group work to be more flexible and be able to discuss more intensely.

AIMS & OBJECTIVES
The seminar aims to make participants explore the complexity of the phenomenon of non-voting and to start a dialogue between young non-voters and voters to finally develop approaches and strategies for better integrating young non-voting people into political processes.
To fulfil its aim, the seminar has the following objectives:
 to listen to and discuss with social scientists who will offer their expertise on the topic,
 to exchange arguments with politicians and journalists to get to know different perspectives and interests,
 to become active and run the streets of multicultural Berlin in order to add personal “stories” to the scientifically-based knowledge pool simply by asking young non-voters about their motivations and experiences,
 to illuminate the different and multi-facetted backgrounds which avoid young people from voting and to give them an authentic voice which can be publicly heard,
 to launch a dialogue between decision-makers and non-voters as well as between voters and nonvoters.

Young Society Initiative is a promoter of the project "Choiceless & Voiceless - Nonvoters in Shadow of the Society" seminar that will take place 5-12 July 2009 in Berlin.

Creative Activism

When Acting for Change Becomes an Art Form

Creative activism is understanding what we want in our world and directing our energy into it’s creation and promotion. Instead of highlighting the negative aspects of society it emphasizes what we could do, what we can achieve and how we can be.

Step into the real world.

Give yourself a voice.

Take control of your society.

Empower your life.

Stop being lead by others.

And enjoy yourself.

“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing” - Albert Einstein

Young Society Initiative believes in the power of Creative Activism.

Rock-A Festival

ROCK-A
Rock Against Discrimination!
26-28 June 2009, Ozdere - Izmir

Rock-A screams out for the third time we meet for the dreams of the free life and the equal world.

Rock-A volunteers again have the same joy and enthusiasm to devote their efforts and time for better gathering...

from the manifest of Rock-A; "Capitalism is in crisis and everyday more people are struggling in poverty... The companies are only in the greed sense of the profit... and ambition of our lives are continuing to be exploited... The world of profit and money greed continue to kill thousands of people... There is still a way to solve the problems... Let's Rock!"

We are singing our songs for freedom and peace!

We sing our songs to stand against all discriminations ...

Young Society Initiative participates Rock-A Festival this weekend.

"Doors More Wide Open"

International Training Course
Bohinj-SLO, 8-14 June 2009


"Door More Wide Open" training course was developed to raise the skills and competences of the youth workers working with the youth at risk. The youth workers learned new tools of outdoor education by the help of the approach TAPE.

International Refugee Day - 20 JUNE 2009

'The amounts needed to rescue people are less than what is needed to rescue banks'.
Antonio Guterres, UNHCR Higher Commissioner

'The best town for living is one in which a foreigner feels at home'.
Italo Calvino, Italian writer born in Cuba- At least 13.250 persons have died in their desperate attempt to find a safe shelter in Europe since 1993
- Their names and their stories have been compiled by the UNITED secretariat under the so-called 'List of Deaths'

- The experts say it is impossible to know the real number and it is likely to be three times higher

- Hundreds of organisations from Turkey to Finland speak out against this intolerable human cost of building 'Fortress Europe' to celebrate the International Refugee Day

- On the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Convention in 2001, the United Nations declared June 20th the International Refugee Day.

YOUNG SOCIETY INITIATIVE is a member of UNITED for Intercultural Action Network and supports the campaign "International Refugee Day - Fortress Europe!".

Adam Osman Mohammed was 38 years old when he was shot in Darfur after accepting voluntary repatriation when his asylum claim was refused in Great Britain; he died in his home in front of his wife and his four-year-old son. Chulun Liua, a 51-year-old Chinese woman, was left in coma after jumping out of a window to avoid a police raid in Paris. Afrim Magastena, a 24-year-old Albanian man fromKosovo, hanged himself in a detention centre in Prenzlau, Germany, in fear of deportation.
13.250 sad stories like these ones are documented in the 'List of Deaths' whereby the UNITED for Intercultural Action secretariat has been monitoring the deadly results of 'Fortress Europe' since 1993. The current 'List of Deaths' already includes 13.250 deaths of asylum seekers and migrants who have lost their lives in an attempt to find a safe shelter in Europe.

Although the experts say it is impossible to know the real number, which is likely to be three times higher, the UNITED 'List of Deaths' has been made with a rigorous method of comparing sources, from news to NGOs' media releases.
Where, when and under which circumstances the refugees died is data compiled exclusively from officially documented deaths.

With these facts UNITED spreads a powerful lobby and awareness-raising tool possible to use in campaign actions all over Europe.
20th of June: International Refugee Day
On the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Convention in 2001, the United Nations declared the 20th of June the International Refugee Day.

Every year on the 20th of June, UNITED for Intercultural Action -the largest pan European network against racism, fascism, nationalism and in support of refugees and migrants- celebrates the International Refugee Day.

Around this day, hundreds of organisations from Turkey to Finland speak out against this intolerable human cost of building 'Fortress Europe' to celebrate the International Refugee Day. Under the common slogan 'Fortress Europe. Weakness Humanity' hundreds of activities and events take place all over the continent in order to highlight this issue and promote refugees' rights.

The main point of these acts is raising awareness about the human side of the refugee issue and preserving their dignity.


Building a safe Fortress
Hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers all over Europe are fleeing from war, persecution or poverty. In the last years the number of migrants seeking refuge has grown considerably, due to several ongoing wars, the increasing intolerance toward minorities in many countries and the global economical crisis.

This week the UN High Commissioner, Antonio Guterres, has launched the UNHCR's annual '2008 Global Trends' report which shows the number of people forcibly uprooted by conflict and persecution worldwide stood at 42 million at the end of last year.

Nevertheless, while the need for protection is increasing, the open attitude of those countries where migrants seek refuge is decreasing.

In fact the European public debate tendency links crime rates with migration. The economical situation creates an atmosphere, which drives people to look for scapegoats.

In Greece, for example, the Government has recently promised the deportation of 100 migrants and asylum seekers per day.

UNITED is convinced that this attitude cannot be accepted. This kind of Government decisions is dangerous because it legitimizes racist and discriminatory attitudes. Many examples can prove the inhuman consequences of these policies, such as the migrants' detention centres, prisons for undocumented people without any legal supervision. Also, the use of deportation as a tool to control 'illegal' migration is often beyond the limits of Europe's democratic and humanitarian legacy. The increasing externalization of Europe's borders as a practice of territorial protection is also beyond human and political legitimization. Indeed the new European borders are now outside its territory.Libya, Morocco and Mauritania, countries that haven't signed some of the most basic international agreements on human rights, have built new detention centres, which examine migrant-candidates. By externalizing deportation Europe cannot guarantee that the rights contemplated by the Geneva Convention are respected. Therefore, Europe violates the most important international agreement on human rights.

"The Role of Theatre in Non-formal Education"

in the memory Jerzy Grotowski (11 August 1933 - 14 January 1999)

International Seminar
Wroclaw-PL, 30 March-4 April 2009

"Couch Surfing!"

CouchSurfing is a worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit.

The mission of CouchSurfing is "CouchSurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance, and facilitate cultural understanding."

The motto of CouchSurfing is "Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch At A Time".

The CouchSurfing community strives to do individual and collective parts to make the world a better place, and believe that the surfing of couches is a means to accomplish this goal. CouchSurfing isn't about the furniture- it's not just about finding free accommodations around the world - it's about participating in creating a better world.

Young Society Initiative promotes CouchSurfing network, as CouchSurfing is a very powerful tool for intercultural learning. We also believe in "making the world a better place"...

Many of the members of Young Society Initiative is a member of CouchSurfing already... You can also sign up to be a member!!!

"Stop Violence Against Women!" Campaign

Stop Violence Against Women!

Violence against women is the most widespread human rights abuse. Every day, thousands of women and girls are abused and murdered by their families, raped in armed conflicts and attacked for defending women's rights.

Running with the theme 'women as agents of change', Amnesty sections across the globe this International Women's Day (8 March) took action in support of the work of women activists in nine countries - Afghanistan, Greece, Haiti, Iraq, Iran, Liberia, Nepal, South Africa and Venezuela.

Every day, women who defend human rights, including sexuality-related rights, continue to pay a heavy toll for their work in protecting and promoting the rights of others, and face specific types of violations because of their gender. As the main defenders of women’s rights in countries where these rights are denied on cultural, social or religious grounds, these women defenders are generally on the frontline.

YOUNG SOCIETY INITIATIVE supports the campaign "Stop Violence Against Women" of Amnesty International.

Why 8th March?

On 8 March 1857, women garment workers in New York City, USA, marched and picketed, demanding improved working conditions, a 10-hour day and equal rights to men. Their ranks were broken by the police.

Fifty-one years later, on 8 March 1908, 15,000 New York women garment workers marched again, this time demanding the vote and an end to sweatshops and child labour.

International Women's Day is marked on this date by women's groups around the world. It is commemorated at the UN and is designated in many countries as a national holiday.

The landscape for women's rights has changed dramatically over the past century. In many countries, women are active participants in the political process and have made significant strides towards economic equality. Globally, there are legally binding agreements to protect and promote women’s rights.

While women make history, they do so in circumstances they have neither chosen nor created. Women face heightened levels of sexual violence in times of conflict, insecurity and in the context of poverty.

Women bringing change
Although we live in a world in which social insecurity is liable to manifest itself in violence against women, it is also a world where women, individually and collectively have overcome enormous obstacles and improved their societies.

Pressured into silence
In many situations, women are working to change their societies but their voices are not being heard. Either people are not listening, or the state or community are actively trying to silence women.

Women must be heard
Women of imagination, courage and determination in every country are working to build a better world. Their voices must be heard. Their contributions must be recognized and encouraged. Human rights abuses cannot be stopped without the active participation of those affected, which in so many cases are women and girls.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/feature-stories/women-make-history-20090306