The YOUTH-TO-YOUTH COMMUNITY of the
WORLD BANK GROUP Presents…
resents…
2009
GLOBAL YOUTH
CONFERENCE
YOUTH LEADERSHIP IN A
TIME OF CRISE
RISES
…a conference by youth, for
youth…
youth…
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009
8:30AM TO 4:30PM
PRESTON AUDITORIUM
WORLD BANK HEADQUARTERS, WASHINGTON, DC
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Welcome Y2Y members,
young professionals, students, entrepreneurs,
members of the Network of DC Youth Organizations1
and World Bank employees
interested in youth issues!
The Y2Y Global Youth Conference is an annual event coordinated and organized entirely by young
World Bank Group staff and volunteers to reach out to the broader youth community, practitioners,
and academics to exchange lessons, new ideas, and models, creating partnerships towards the goal of
youth empowerment.
This year’s conference provides a forum to educate, engage and inspire as we come together to
discuss and give shape to ideas on Youth Leadership in a Time of Crises. The panel discussions,
film screening and Youth Expo are meant to provide an interactive environment for you to share
ideas and spring into action in three critical areas: Education, Employment, and Civic
Engagement.
“Young people represent agents, beneficiaries and victims of major societal changes
and are generally confronted by a paradox: to seek to be integrated into an existing
order or to serve as a force to transform that order. Young people in all parts of the
world, living in countries at different stages of development and in different socioeconomic settings, aspire to full participation in the life of society.2”
Conference Planning Committee
Mehreen Sheikh, Co-Chair
Nikita Malik, Co-Chair
Y2Y Steering Committee
Ceyda Dagdalen
Lorena Gil
Sina Grasmann
Kevin Hempel
Moutishi Islam
Dimitrios Lagias
Gbenga Lasisi
Sara bin Mahfooz
Mary Mugala
Pamela Mukerji
Claudia Oriolo
Sara Pais
Chau Pham
Rafael Pinto
Mamata Pokharel
Garima Sahai
Maggie Tunning
Michael Yamoah
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NDCYO (Network of DC Youth Organizations) is a network of 16 organizations in the DC area created by Y2Y in 2008 with the goal of
establishing partnerships among organizations that have the common agenda of youth development.
2
World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, Fiftieth session – UN Agenda item 105.
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
8:30am – 9:00am
9:00am – 9:30am
9:30am – 10:30am
Breakfast and Registration
Welcome by Y2Y and Opening Speaker: Pamela Cox, World Bank
VP Latin America & Caribbean Region
EDUCATION: How? How much? And for what?
Jamil Salmi, World Bank Group, Moderator
Clemencia Chiappe, Partners of Americas
John David ("JD") Walsh, JD Basketball
Xiaohui Yang, China Agricultural University
This panel discussion on Education will address the following three questions:
1) Play, study, work - how to find the right balance?
2) What are the roadblocks in getting education to the less privileged?
3) Can education be an effective tool in fostering global peace and unity? If yes
how?
10:30am – 10:45pm
10:45am – 12:00pm
Coffee Break
EMPLOYMENT: Confronting the Youth Labor Market Challenge
Wendy Cunningham, World Bank Group, Moderator
John Guerra, DUTO
Fiona Macaulay, Making Cents
Yuri Ostrowsky, Click Diagnostics
Silvia Uranga, Fundacion PESCAR
María Fernanda Zúñiga-Zabala, DUTO
As stated in Resolution 50/81 adopted by the General Assembly of the United
Nations, “Unemployment creates a wide range of social ills and young people are
particularly susceptible to its damaging effects: the lack of skills, low self-esteem,
impoverishment and the wasting of an enormous human resource.” In the context
of rising unemployment rates worldwide, the employment panel will illuminate the
following issues:
1) What are the current employment challenges and special needs of youth?
2) What are the different and innovative approaches to face these challenges?
3) What are the policy implications, and what is the way forward?
12:00pm – 1:30pm
1:30pm – 2:30pm
Networking Lunch and Expo in the Atrium
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: Can You(th) Make a Difference?
Inspirations and Contributions of Youth Leaders
Colleen Hammelman, Innovations in Civic Participation, Moderator
Hania Aswad, Save the Children
Santi Dharmawan, Society for Democracy Education
Mimi Melles, Advocates for Youth
Claudia Pompa, Fundacion Paraguaya
Civic engagement among the youth is an urgent matter that needs to be
addressed given today's changing environment. By empowering the youth, they
can become engines of change and progress in society. The Civic engagement
panel hopes to recognize youth leaders and inspire future leaders for social change
with insightful perspectives and contributions.
2:30pm – 2:45pm
Coffee Break
2:45pm – 4:00pm
FILM SCREENING: Where the Water Meets the Sky
Speaker: Kimberley Sevcik, Media Relations Manager, Camfed U.S.A.
4:00pm – 4:15pm
5:00pm onwards
Closing Remarks
Closing Reception at Eye Bar (1716 I St NW)
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OPENING SPEAKER: PAMELA COX
Pamela Cox is Vice President over the Latin America and the Caribbean Region (LCR) of the
World Bank. During the past two years of her tenure, this region has been the leader among
operational vice presidencies in International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(IBRD), and International Development Association (IDA) lending volume, typically
accounting for more than 40 percent of IBRD lending worldwide. Ms. Cox’s insights have
repositioned the Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean Region as a key development
partner among client countries. The Bank has become a trusted partner in the region by
confronting the twin challenges of reducing poverty and inequality, while increasing economic
growth and improving infrastructure in order to better compete in the global market. She
holds a PhD in Development Economics and Policy and MALD in Development Economics
from Tufts University’s Fletcher School, and a BA in International Studies/International Economics from Reed College.
EDUCATION PANEL
Jamil Salmi, a Moroccan education economist, is the World Bank’s tertiary education
coordinator and the principal author of the Bank’s Tertiary Education Strategy, Constructing
Knowledge Societies: New Challenges for Tertiary Education. In the past 16 years, Dr. Salmi has
provided policy and technical advice on tertiary education reform to the governments of
more than 40 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. He has also guided the
strategic planning efforts of several public and private universities in China, Colombia,
Kazakhstan, Kenya, Madagascar, Mexico and Peru. Dr. Salmi is a member of the
Governing Board of the International Institute for Educational Planning, the International
Rankings Expert Group, OECD’s expert group on Assessing Higher Education Learning
Outcomes, the International Advisory Network of the UK Leadership Foundation for
Higher Education, and the Editorial Committee of OECD’s Journal of Higher Education
Management and Policy. A graduate of the French Grande École ESSEC, he also holds a
Master's degree in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh (USA)
Panel Moderator
and a Ph. D. in Development Studies from the University of Sussex (UK). He is the author
of several books and articles on higher education and development issues. His latest book, published in February 2009,
addresses the Challenge of Establishing World-Class Universities.
Clemencia Chiappe is the Project Director of Edúcame Primero Colombia initiative financed
by the U.S. Department of Labor and implemented by Partners of the Americas and its
Associates. Ms. Chiappe has been a consultant for the World Bank in Central and Latin
America, Africa and Asia and USAID, the Interamerican Development Bank, UNICEF,
UNDP, and the Colombian National Planning Department and the Ministry of Education.
Ms Chiappe has been a Fulbright Scholar, President of the Board of the City of Bogotá
University –Universidad Distrital, and Professor of Social Policy. She was Director of the
public television channel of the city of Bogotá –Canal Capital, and Director for the
Educative Innovation Institute in which she develop the very innovative and education
proposals, a television Miniseries addressing ethical dilemmas. -Francisco el Matemático”.
John David ‘JD’ Walsh is a former University of Maryland basketball player and founder of
JD Walsh Basketball School. JDBASKETBALL operates in 10 countries on three continents,
reaching over 15,000 youth throughout the globe. He has completed five tours as a ‘sports
diplomat’ for the U.S. Department of State, working mostly in Islamic regions in the Persian
Gulf and India. His ‘Hoops for Health’ project with Chinar.org, an orphanage in Kashmir,
won the 2008 Ashoka Nike Gamechanger Award. For the past three years, he has been
promoting the game of basketball in the Indian subcontinent, operating in 13 cities. Most
recently, Walsh and Institutional partner, George Mason University, were awarded the 2009
Sports Initiative Grant to foster cross-cultural exchange between the US and India. He
currently splits time between NY and New Delhi.
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Ms. Yang Xiaohui is a student of Agricultural Irrigation Works at China Agricultural
University. Originally from a less-developed hometown, Ms. Yang entered the University
with state financial assistance. To give back, she led a voluntary team of seven schoolmates
to participate in Project Hope Inspire Action, an initiative of the China Youth Development
Foundation and the World Bank to inspire young people to engage in community service.
Ms. Yang's program helps the children in a Beijing orphanage with an outward development
approach.
EMPLOYMENT PANEL
Wendy Cunningham is the Coordinator for the World Bank’s program on Child and Youth
Development and the manager of the Children and Youth Unit. She is responsible for
supporting the Bank’s efforts to provide evidence-based program and policy advice and
operational support on a range of child and youth development issues in developing countries,
with a particular focus on early child development, school-to-work transition, and youth
violence. Before joining the C&Y Unit, Wendy was a senior economist in the Human
Development Department for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) where she led studies
and projects in social protection, labor markets, and youth development. She also led the Bank
LAC Region’s youth development agenda and has published several studies on the issue of atrisk youth in the region. Wendy has a Ph.D. in labor economics from the University of Illinois
and has a strong publications record on labor markets, informal sector employment, gender,
and youth development.
Panel Moderator
John Alexis Guerra Gómez is the Chief Technology Officer for DUTO - Engineering with a
Social Purpose. When John Alexis was finishing his undergraduate degree in Computer Science
at the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, he realized that he wanted to use technology to
benefit society. With that goal, John helped to found DUTO and became the head of the
software development of IRIS, a device that allows blind students to see the colors and shapes
of visual pedagogical materials. When John wanted to give the company's product a more
scientific approach, he applied for and won the 2008 International Science and Technology
Fulbright Scholarship for Ph.D. study at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he is
currently working on developing DUTO's technologies.
Fiona Macaulay, President and Founder of Making Cents, has 15 years experience in
microenterprise development, experiential learning curriculum design, facilitation and
organizational capacity building in more than 20 countries all over the world. Fiona’s work equips
youth and adults with the vision, confidence, and skills to find quality employment, or create and
grow businesses. Under her leadership, Making Cents has established itself as a world-class
social enterprise known for finding practical-yet-innovative solutions to problems, and for
working closely and respectfully with local partners on the ground. Making Cents has emerged as
a leader in the youth enterprise and livelihoods sector by creating learning opportunities and
networks that support youth, practitioners, policymakers, and funders to more effectively share
and develop programs, policies, and partnerships.
Yuri Ostrovsky is co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of ClickDiagnostics, a start-up
founded by Harvard and MIT graduate students, MBAs, and affiliates. Click's mission is to
provide mobile telemedicine services to underprivileged developing-world populations. With a
bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Harvard, Yuri worked in the software and
information technology industry, then entered MIT for a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. His work in
India on Project Prakash, which provides treatment and rehabilitation to the congenitally blind
as well as tries to understand brain mechanisms learning to make sense of the visual world, has
appeared in scientific journals and the popular press. He is also a founder of the Prakash
Foundation, a non-profit effort to combine health services, educational opportunities, and
scientific research to help the often-neglected blind and disabled populations in the
underprivileged regions of India.
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Silvia Rueda de Uranga has been working towards youth and education for over 30 years. She
is currently the Director of Fundación Pescar Argentina and President of Fundación
Desarrollar, a non-profit organization promoting the development of disadvantaged
communities and the exchange of knowledge through the use of new information and
communication technologies (ICTs). She is the former President of Asociación Conciencia, has
founded the Argentinean Dialogue and Partners of the Americas in Argentina, and has been
Executive Secretary of The InterAmerican Democracy Network. She has also been a member of
Civitas International for over 15 years.
María Fernanda Zúñiga-Zabala, Co-Founder and CEO, DUTO - Engineering with a Social
Purpose. A computer scientist by education and an entrepreneur by vocation, María Fernanda
has developed experience and skills in IT project management with emphasis on innovation.
With those skills she had taken the company from dream to reality, breaking the paradigm that in
Colombia, it is not possible to develop technology and simultaneously help the people that most
need it. Because of her successful leadership, DUTO has been by organizations like YABT from
the OAS, IDB Youth, MTV, BiD Network (Netherlands) and Ventures (Colombia). DUTO is
in the phase of pilot testing of IRIS in Colombia, and is looking for investment for domestic and
international expansion.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT PANEL
Colleen Hammelman joined Innovations in Civic Participation (ICP) in 2008 as a program
associate working with the Executive Director to manage projects fostering youth civic
engagement in the US and internationally. She manages projects relating to capacity building in
South Asia and the Middle East and North Africa, youth service and environmental
sustainability, developing pathways to teaching careers for AmeriCorps members, measuring the
impact of youth civic engagement and ICP’s communications strategy. ICP is a leader in the
global movement to promote sustainable development and social change through youth civic
engagement. ICP supports the development of innovative, high-quality youth civic engagement
policies and programs both in the US and around the world.
Hania Aswad, currently with Save the Children as “Regional Chief of Party” for Naseej
Community Youth Development Regional Initiative, has worked with almost all types of the
Civil Society Organizations including; Non-governmental Organizations, Governmental Bodies,
Public Organizations, International Organizations and Donors (humanitarian and developmental)
in the Middle East Region since 1992. Throughout these different positions, she worked for and
with youth, women, teachers, refugees, displaced communities, high officials, diplomats, disabled,
artists, and others. She has worked on the field, in supervisory roles and in donor position. She
has also written a number of papers, training manuals and research, and conducted and facilitated
a decent number of training courses, round table discussions and workshops.
Santi Nuri Dharmawan, Society for Democracy Education, Indonesia
Raised in multicultural Indonesia, Santi Dharmawan believes that an environment of respect,
awareness and active youth participation are essential to building a nation as well as creating peace.
To this end, for almost five years now, Santi has been working with local NGOs and collaborating
with the Government to address social and political issues affecting younger generations. At the
Jakarta-based Society for Democracy Education, she is a research assistant developing training and
study trips on democracy, good citizenship and constitutionalism for high school teachers of civic
education. As a consultant for international NGO in writing a debate module for students in
Islamic schools (Pesantren), Santi also works closely with the Department of Religious Affairs to
design alternative educational tools to be applied in religion classes at public high schools.
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Mimi Melles is the Manager of International Youth Speak Out (iYSO), a project of the
International Division. iYSO builds the capacity of youth-driven organizations in sub-Saharan
Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean to empower young people to be powerful advocates
within their own countries and at international forums on reproductive and sexual health and
rights of youth, especially young women. During her undergraduate career at the University of
Maryland, she was nominated to serve on the National Steering Committee of the Student Global
AIDS Campaign to oversee the work of over 85 college and high school chapters, eventually
becoming the National Student Coordinator. Mimi also worked with faculty at UMD on
numerous research projects.
Claudia Pompa has been working with the Fundacion Paraguaya to further development
and social entrepreneurship in Paraguay for the past 6 years. Fundacion Paraguaya is a
leading edge social enterprise that seeks to develop innovative solutions to poverty and
unemployment and proactively disseminate them throughout the world. Claudia’s projects
have focused on youth leadership and capacity development in rural Paraguay. She has played
an integral role in internationally renowned projects including the San Francisco de Asís
Agriculture School’s Youth Entrepreneurship Summit, and managed acclaimed top-level
Junior Achievement Paraguay initiatives.
FILM SCREENING
Narrated by Morgan Freeman,
Where the Water Meets the Sky is the
documentary of a remarkable
group of women in a remote
region of northern Zambia who
are given a unique opportunity: to
make an uplifting and poignant
film to speak out about their lives
and challenge local traditions
which have, until now, kept them
silent. Many in the group can’t
read or write; most are desperately
poor; and few had been previously
exposed to film or television. But
with the help of two teachers, this
class of 23 women learns to shoot
a film that portrays a subject that is
traumatic for them all and rarely
discussed: the plight of young
women orphaned by AIDS. The women defy age-old traditions of silence and demonstrate with courage, humor and
resilience that their futures are once again t promise.
Film Discussant
Kimberley Sevcik is the Information & Media Relations Manager for Camfed U.S.A. Prior to
joining Camfed, she worked as a journalist, reporting on issues such as postwar reconstruction
in Afghanistan, sex trafficking in Nepal, and wrongful conviction in the U.S. She is the author of
Angels in Africa (Vendome Press 2006), a book that highlights the ingenious ways in which
ordinary African women are tackling the most pressing issues on the continent. She has also
written for the New York Times Magazine, the London Sunday Times Magazine, the Asian Wall
Street Journal, Salon.com, Rolling Stone, and Marie Claire, where she was a contributing editor
on international women’s issues. She is the recipient of a 2004 award for exceptional magazine
journalism from the National Women’s Political Caucus and two awards from the North
American Travel Journalists Association.
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EXPO
Located in the World Bank Main Complex Atrium, the
conference Expo is an opportunity for young
professionals to get involved in their communities and
gain inspiration from the work of some well-established
non-profit
development
organizations.
For
organizations that engage young professionals on
development projects and those that work with youth,
this is an excellent opportunity to exhibit work, market
new initiatives, and promote best practices in youth
development.
Partner Organizations:
United Nations Association for National
Capital Area (UNA-NCA) -- a non-profit
organization serving the greater Washington area that
builds support for the United Nations through local
education and advocacy.
YABT -Young Americas Business Trust -- a
non-profit organization linked with the Organization of
American States (OAS), acts as a catalyst for young
entrepreneurial development in the Americas.
Plan USA -- Working in 48 developing countries, Plan
USA aims to bring lasting improvement to the lives of
children in need wherever they live, whatever their
circumstances using child sponsorship as the foundation
of the organization.
ChildFund International -- a non-profit
organization that bases its work on the belief of the
inherent potential in all children, working in childsponsorship.
Partners of the Americas - A Ganar -- Led by
Partners of the Americas, A Ganar uses team sports to
help youth in Latin America and the Caribbean find
jobs, learn entrepreneurial skills, or re-enter the formal
education system.
Save Darfur Coalition – inspires action, raises
awareness and works with world leaders to put an end to
the genocide in Sudan.
IREX -- an international nonprofit organization
providing leadership and innovative programs to
improve the quality of education, strengthen
independent media, and foster pluralistic civil society
development.
Atlas Service Corps -- Atlas Corps’ mission is to
integrate a global citizen sector to create a global
partnership for development.
Society for International Development,
Washington DC Chapter -- a global forum of
individuals and institutions concerned with sustainable
economic, social and political development.
Young Connection -- a community of young
professionals at the Inter-American Development Bank
(IADB) seeking to build a sense of institutional cohesion
among young professionals.
Youth-to-Youth Community (Y2Y) -- a network
of over 800 young employees within the World Bank
Group working to mainstream youth issues in
development and bring fresh and innovative ideas to the
forefront.
World Learning Visitors Exchange Program -a global non-profit that fosters global citizenship
through international exchanges, training, and
international development projects.
Iranian-American Youth -- a grassroots campaign
composed of a network of concerned citizens dedicated
to providing moral support for and drawing the world’s
attention to the Iranian people’s struggle for democracy
and human rights.
China Agricultural University (CAU) –
participant in Project Hope Inspire Action, a joint
program of China Youth Development Foundation and
World Bank, helping young people build capacity and
improving the environment for youth development.
Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology (HKUST) -- a public university located in
Hong Kong and participants from the Project Hope
Inspire Action will be showcasing their projects.
AED -- a nonprofit organization working globally to
improve education, health, civil society and economic
development—the foundation of thriving societies.
Art of the Living Foundation – a UN NGO which
sits on the Economic and Social Council offers special
programs, service opportunities, and fellowships to its
members.
ESSAY COMPETITION
Entrepreneurship is a key strategy in boosting youth
employment. With most job creation coming from
small enterprises, youth entrepreneurship is a way to
integrate young people into the labor market. However,
young people only make up a small share of all
entrepreneurs. In light of this phenomenon, the Y2Y
Global Youth Conference 2009 Essay Competition
invited youth under the age of 30 to expound on the
topic of youth entrepreneurship. The contest topic
was: “What are the constraints to youth entrepreneurship in your
country? Has the global crisis changed the dynamics? How can
governments help young entrepreneurs to create and further
develop their social and productive ventures?” We received
over 100 entries and chose only the top three essays for
recognition. The winner will be announced by Pamela
Cox at the beginning of the conference and will receive
a $1,000 laptop, sponsored by the World Bank’s Latin
America and Caribbean Regional Department’s
Development Marketplace Initiative.
Expert Judging Committee:
Wendy Cunningham, Coordinator, World Bank
Children & Youth Unit
Roy Thomasson, CEO, Young Americas Business
Trust (OAS)
Valerie Lorena, Director, Young Americas
Business Trust (OAS)
Poonam Ahluwalia, CEO, Youth
Entrepreneurship and Sustainability (YES Inc.)
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Your Notes:
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From the
YouthYouth-toto-Youth
Youth Community
at the World Bank Group,
Group,
thank you for coming!
For more information on Y2Y and our events, please visit
http://www.worldbank.org/y2ycommunity
http://www.worldbank.org/y2ycommunity
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