[CS Bureau] New Youth Caucus Facilitators

[Adam Peake]

Nick, thanks for all you've done, and hope to see you in Bangkok.

And Hi to the new facilitators (come and help us struggle with 
Internet governance!)

A question about the Asian regional meeting: how did you hear about 
this?  It seems to have slipped in unnoticed.  Very much unnoticed 
(trying not to sound annoyed :-) and the meeting is now about 7 weeks 
away.

"Asia-Pacific: 11-13 October 2004, Bangkok (Thailand). The conference 
will be followed by four sub-regional conferences leading to a second 
session of the Regional Conference to be held in 2005 (date and venue 
TBD)."

<http://www.itu.int/wsis/preparatory2/index.html#regional>

Little annoying, not least because the 2nd Asian Civil Society Forum 
(ACSF) organized by CONGO will be held in Bangkok one month later.

Thanks,

Adam



>Hi Civil Society Bureau,
>
>I have now stepped down as facilitator of the WSIS Youth Caucus. Below I am
>pasting a message from the new facilitators of the Youth Caucus which was
>sent to the Youth caucus mailing list.
>
>It has been wonderful working with all of you throughout the WSIS process so
>far. I will still remain involved in a smaller way (I'll probably be at the
>upcoming WSIS Asia meeting in Thailand), and I hope that we might
>collaborate again on other things too! You can of course continue to contact
>me at nick at takingitglobal.org or nick at nickmoraitis.com. I remain working
>with TakingITGlobal on several other projects.
>
>Robert Guerra/others: can you update your records to make Titilayo your
>Bureau Focal Point? (takinsanmi at wsisyouth.org) and add her to this mailing
>list?
>
>All the best,
>Nick Moraitis
>
>--
>
>From: Titilayo Olujumoke Akinsanmi
>Subject: Thanks & Proposed Plan of Action From New Facilitators [delete]
>Sent: August 25, 2004 @ 11:52 AM EST
>
>
>We sincerely thank the entire membership of the WSIS Youth Caucus Selection
>Committee for giving us this opportunity and believing in our leadership
>competencies to serve as Facilitators of the vibrant WSIS Youth Caucus as we
>all work towards Tunis 2005.
>
>We extend our highest commendation to the team at Taking IT Global,
>especially Nick Moraitis and Alex Fielding, for their excellent leadership
>of and unparalleled devotion to the WSIS Youth Caucus in the long road to
>Geneva 2003. We also use this opportunity to thank the long list of
>institutional partners, which cuts across governments, donor agencies,
>international organizations and youth networks for their commitment to and
>support of the WSIS Youth Caucus as a vibrant partner in creating and
>utilising digital opportunities for all; its vision; and the recognition
>this has brought at the global, regional and national levels of Information
>and Communications Technologies (ICT) policy-setting and decision-making.
>
>The road to Tunis 2005 is filled with excitement, varied challenges and
>opportunities for collaboration. We call upon all young people of the world,
>especially every single member of the WSIS Youth Caucus, to work and partner
>with us in building an even more vibrant, more cohesive Youth Caucus. Now is
>the perfect time for us to unite even stronger to show the world that young
>people indeed are "empowered as learners, developers, contributors,
>entrepreneurs and decision-makers" in creating "a people-centred, inclusive
>and development-oriented Information Society".
>
>As we gear up towards Tunis 2005, we, as the Facilitators, envision a WSIS
>Youth Caucus that works in unity amidst diversity, collaborates with a
>commitment to real action and functions based on transparency, teamwork,
>mutual respect and partnerships. We commit ourselves to acting with utmost
>professionalism, maturity and accountability in the process of realizing
>this vision with your active participation. Our work and operational
>strategies will be based on the principles of openness, broad consultation
>and inclusiveness.
>
>ACTION PLAN
>
>Top on the list of Actions to be implemented is the setting up of an
>informal Advisory Committee that will comprise of people committed to the
>success of the WSIS Youth Caucus in the Tunis Phase. This Advisory Committee
>will serve to guide us in planning and implementing our operational and
>networking strategies, and in our partnership-building efforts towards and
>after Tunis 2005.
>
>In the coming weeks, we will issue calls for participation in our mailing
>list aiming to establish a multi-disciplinary "Issues Working Group" that
>will draft Youth Caucus policy briefs and statements on issues emerging from
>the Tunis process. When deemed appropriate and strategic, the WSIS Youth
>Caucus will actively engage in consultations relating to, among others,
>Internet Governance and ICT financing mechanisms.
>
>We will likewise focus on and ensure the empowerment, engagement and active
>participation of young girls and women in the Tunis Phase. A separate call
>for the establishment of regional commissions, under the facilitation of
>regional coordinators, will be circulated soon. We envisaged that networking
>at the regional level will broaden the caucus membership and ownership,
>spark project partnerships and support the expansion of the national WSIS
>youth campaigns.
>
>A beta version of the caucus website, www.wsisyouth.org, is being finalized
>and will be launched soon thus providing the WSIS Youth Caucus team timely
>information on WSIS events, projects and consultations in general and as it
>relates to Youth in particular. We will strengthen our ties with the WSIS
>Executive and Tunisian Secretariats and solicit their continued support for
>youth participation, especially through the provision of travel fellowships
>for developing country youths, in official WSIS meetings. We will
>intensively lobby governments and other key stakeholders to include young
>people on their official delegations in the WSIS regional conferences, the
>PrepComms and the Tunis Summit.
>
>We will liaise closely, with the goal of reinforcing the existing
>partnerships, with governments, private sector and other WSIS regional
>groupings, caucuses and working groups. Lastly, we will work tightly with
>our Tunisian youth fellows, including the Tunisian Government, private
>sector and civil society organizations, for the organization of potentially
>a Youth Forum and Pavilion within the Tunis 2005 Summit.
>
>We lay this Vision and Plan of Action for the WSIS Youth Caucus in the Tunis
>Phase with the hope that all of us, with the continued support of
>governments and key stakeholders, will work together in making these a
>reality. We also reiterate our call for your active participation in planned
>Youth Caucus consultations. After Tunis 2005, we envisage that this Youth
>Caucus will leave a legacy for stronger youth engagement in future UN
>processes and, most importantly, realize the potential of young people in
>creating digital opportunities and contributing to the attainment of the
>Millennium Development Goals.
>
>We invite you to send in your comments on these plans and strategies and
>forward your recommendations to enhancing our collective work towards Tunis
>2005 to facilitators at wsisyouth.org .
>
>Thank you for this opportunity to serve together.
>
>In partnership,
>
>Titilayo Akinsanmi
>WSIS Youth Caucus Global Facilitator
>Email: takinsanmi at wsisyouth.org
>
>Robert Sagun
>WSIS Youth Caucus Policy Coordinator
>Email: rsagun at wsisyouth.org
>
>Luke Cholerton
>WSIS Youth Caucus Communications Coordinator
>Email: luke at wsisyouth.org
>
>
>FACILITATOR'S BIOGRAPHIES
>
>Titilayo Akinsanmi is a young Nigerian woman based in Johannesburg South
>Africa where she serves as the Program Manager of www.globalteenager.org
>within www.schoolnetafrica.org. She has, over the last few years, on
>national, regional and international levels, engaged on policy and
>implementation issues concerning Youth, Young Women and ICT for Development.
>
>
>Robert Sagun is concurrently serving as the President of the Youth
>Volunteers for Sustainable Development (www.yvsd.org). He has a background
>in economics and works as an independent environmental researcher. He is
>likewise active in the UN CSD and MDG processes. His interests revolve
>around environmental sustainability, poverty reduction strategies, ICTs for
>development and knowledge management.
>
>Luke Cholerton is currently consulting for the UK Government on
>youth-engagement policies, as part of his work for a UK-based consultancy.
>His background lies in computer programming, and using such skills for
>social and business development. He is a leading member of the group
>founding TakingITGlobal UK. His interests are politics (National, European &
>international), International Affairs, economics & business, and technology
>development.
>
>
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