International AIDS Conference 2008
Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise
“Young Positive People: Working with the Media”
A joint initiative of the World AIDS Campaign and the United Nations Population Fund
Prior to the upcoming 2008 International AIDS Conference, and in connection with the youth pre-conference the World AIDS Campaign , in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund, World AIDS Campaign will hold a media training for young people living with HIV who will be attending the conference. The training will be held on Wednesday 30 July 2008. A maximum of 25 young people will participate in this training, which will provide participants with support in identifying what their message/s as positive young leaders are, as well as share tips on how to work with the media.
International Summer Camp
The International Students educational project Forward is inviting students from 18 to 25 years old to take part in the Summer International Students Camp "Step forward" within the Russian Youth Educational Forum "Seliger 2008" that will be held by Seliger Lake in Tver region (300 km from Moscow ), Russia on July 12 - 26, 2008.
The main aim of the educational multi-cultural camp is to bring students from all over the world together to exchange educational and cultural experience.
The program is organized the way students from each country have a chance to get others acquainted with their history and culture.
With the Summer “Step forward” camp you would have an opportunity to:
- get a first-hand experience of the culture and history of Russia and other countries
- learn about their educational systems and students life
- experience the feeling of “getting into” the foreign languages
- enjoy beautiful Russian nature
- make friends from all over the world and just have fun!
The summer camp program would combine language trainings with organized activities (conferences, round tables, debates, arts and crafts projects, workshops, music and drama, games and contests, art and drawing, inventive engaging performances and shows, sports and outdoor activities, excursions).
We will very much appreciate it if you could forward the information on our International Summer Camp program “Seliger 2008” to people who may be interested, and also include it in your newsletters/listings/web site. For any further information (terms of participation, the program, schedule of events, etc. ) please email study_abroad@mail.ru or students.forward@gmail.com
Regards,
Anna Solodkova
the coordinator of the International Summer Camp program,
the leader of StEP “Forward” in Russian Federation
ALTIERO SPINELLI INSTITUTE FOR FEDERALIST STUDIES
25th International Seminar on Federalism
FEDERALISM IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD
A Government's Agenda for Europe and the World
Ventotene, August 31 - September 5, 2008
For many years, the Altiero Spinelli Institute for Federalist Studies has organised a yearly international seminar on the island of Ventotene. This island off the Italian coast, was the place where Altiero Spinelli, author of the Federalist Ventotene Manifesto, was imprisoned during the Second World War. Each year, young Federalists gather here to discuss with leading experts from the European and World Federalist Movement federalist ideas and their application to the European and global context.
Topics & Structure of the seminar
Topics for this year's conferences will be:
· What is a federal state (federalism vs. nationalism)
· Federalism, peace and ecology
· The need for a new global, political and economical order
· Toward a European security strategy: what European foreign and security policy in the Balkans?
· Regional unification processes: Africa, Middle East, South America
· A European federal government and a European constitution: strategy and action of the federalist organisations
· A European agenda for a European federal government
Starting with 2007, the traditional structure of the seminar was changed, following the suggestions of previous participants. Each morning will host three talks of 30 minutes each (09.30-11.00), on a general topic. These presentations will be followed by working groups (11.30-13.00). The afternoon session will be devoted to the presentation of the groups' feedback (17.30-18.00) followed by an interactive discussion between the participants and the speakers (18.00-19.30). This way, we want to encourage a more active involvement of all participants into the seminar's works.
Call for Papers
You are invited again to be a part of this discussion. After the success of last years' editions, a certain number of speakers will be selected on the basis of a Call for Papers, open to everyone interested. The deadline for the submission of an abstract of your paper is May 31. Your abstracts will be reviewed by an Altiero Spinelli Institute (ASI) commission and notices of acceptance will be sent out on approximately June 30.
The ASI will provide to the selected speakers full reimbursement of their travel expenses and accommodation and full board for two nights - three days. Speakers who want to attend the whole seminar will receive full travel reimbursement and will have to pay a fee of 90 €.
All abstracts must contain:
§ Author's name and affiliation
§ Title of the paper
§ Author's email (check carefully that it is the correct one)
§ Author's full postal address (street, zip, city and country)
§ Author's mobile (preferred) or landline (not preferred) phone
If you wish to submit an abstract, please send it to abstracts@istitutospinelli.org before May 31. Abstracts sent after the deadline will not be examined by the commission.
PARTICIPATING CONDITIONS
Applications
The online application form must be submitted by June 10 at the very latest. The form is accessible through the Institute's website on
http://www.istitutospinelli.org/forms/application/ventotene_international/index.htm
If you should encounter any problems with the web-based form, send an email to applications@istitutospinelli.org. Make sure that it contains all the same data requested by the web-form.
Admission
By June 30, an ASI Commission will select the participants and will provide the admitted ones with detailed information concerning the procedure for confirmation, the final programme and how to reach Ventotene.
Participation fee and travel reimbursement
Considering that, in the past years, the participation fee was often higher than the travel expenses, starting with 2005, the ASI decided to abolish both the participation fee and the travel reimbursement. The selected participants will receive without any cost accommodation and all the meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) from the lunch of Sunday Aug. 31 to the lunch of Friday Sept. 5 included.
No travel reimbursement is provided. Booking in large advance, it will be possible to fly to Rome or Naples (the closest airports) at very low costs from many places in Europe.
Special conditions for Italian participants
The conditions for Italians applying for the international seminar are instead the same as those of the national seminar (150 € participation fee and 80% travel reimbursement up to a maximum of 70 €).
Caution money
A caution of 100 € shall be paid in advance by those who have been accepted in the seminar, so that the Institute can book the hotel, without risking own funds in case of last-minute withdrawals. The full amount of 100 € will be given back, cash, to each participant at the end of the seminar, provided that s/he will have attended all sections.
Scholarships
In order to facilitate those who come from the farthest countries, the ASI will provide a certain number of scholarships of 150 € each, covering part of the travel expenses, upon request. The attribution of the scholarship will be communicated together with the confirmation letter. Please note that the acceptance to the seminar does not automatically imply the attribution of a scholarship unless explicitly stated.
If you want to apply for a scholarship, please send a full CV and a motivation letter (not longer than one page) to scholarships@istitutospinelli.org. Incomplete applications (lacking the CV, the motivation letter, or both) will not be examined by the Institute.
Working language
English will be the working language for the international seminar. An Italian seminar will be run in parallel, with Italian participants.
European Science Parliament
The European Science Parliament (ESP) is a new project of the City of Aachen and RWTH Aachen University that gives citizens of different age groups and professions from across Europe a chance to make their voices heard by providing a discussion forum for topics dealing with Europe's future challenges, and therefore, bringing forward the dialogue between science and society.
This year’s main topic will be “energy” – a topic concerning every single one of us. Do you always take the car? Do you save energy? Do you ask yourself, how long our energy feedstock will last?
Everyone interested can start discussing the subject on:
www.science-parliament.eu
Youth violence and youth subcultures
Member of the EDDF organisation (check out www.edff.net), the meeting platform for football fans from around the world. This organisation stands up against racism, violence, discrimination and sexism which unfortunately surround football.
The year 2008 is for all football supporters in Europe a very important one. Between 7 June 2008 and 29 June 2008 the UEFA European Championship takes place in Austria and Switzerland.
It will be a peaceful event, where many different people, speaking different languages and of different cultures are celebrating a big party together. But there will also be some black sheep, which will disturb the event with violence and racism. Yet this is not a problem concerning football events solely: It is a problem concerning the social life in general.
Therefore we are organizing a congress around the topic “Youth violence and youth subcultures”. The participants can present their opinion and discus with other organisations from other countries. The main goal is to exchange thoughts and find possible solutions for the problem of youth violence.
The congress will take place at September 2008. Participation at the congress will be free of cost. Also the journey to Salzburg and the hotel will be partly free of cost.
If you are interested to take part or at the congress, please send your answer to: congress@edff.at and we will send you further information.
Please also send this e-mail to other organisations which maybe are interested in taking part at the congress.
Contact person: Thomas Kutsam, EDFF, email: congress@edff.at
World Youth Service and Enterprise
Our International Leadership Programme is for people who care about what's happening in the world and are willing to do what they can to make a positive difference. Our programmes provide an opportunity to experiment with new models, creating a holistic view of the world we live in that is underpinned by the need for shared values and an awareness of our ultimate interconnection.
WYSE is an Educational Charity associated with the Department of Public Information of the United Nations that specializes in value-oriented leadership education in a global context. We believe that every person has the potential for leadership. Leadership is an expression of our willingness to engage in the issues and challenges we see around us. It is about finding creative solutions to global and local problems. It is about recognising our own potential and harnessing these qualities for the benefit of ourselves and others.
The programme is open to young people age 18 to 34 and will be held in Lucca (Italy) from August 10-21 2008. The cost of the programme is £770 (British Pounds), which includes full board and accommodation and training fees. All trainers donate their time and expertise as they believe in the value and quality of the programme.
For further details please contact Roland Rahal on ILP@wyse-ngo.org or have a look at our website http://www.wyse-ngo.org
The International Leadership Programme is a 12-day residential programme which promotes visionary leadership with awareness and provides education that respects diversity of political, religious and social views.
Balkan Trafik Festival!
27-28-29/03/2008 Brussels, ,lick here for more information and the programme!
Europe@home photography competition
The European People's Party (EPP) Group in the Committee of the Regions of the EU has decided to launch a photography competition entitled Europe@home: Europe starts in our communities. The aim is to encourage young people to think about the impact of Europe in their city or region.
To be in with a chance of sharing part of the €2000 cash prize fund, participants between the ages of 15 and 28 are invited to submit a photograph either in colour or black and white at www.cor.europa.eu/eppweb . Inspiration for the photograph could come from any of the linguistic, cultural, religious, social or economic expressions that are seen in your region or city as long as they represent Europe for you…everyone knows the saying a picture tells a thousand words!
The competition will run between 4 February and 30 April 2008 and in addition to the €1500 first prize and the €500 second prize, the two winners will be invited to Brussels on the occasion of the EPP Summer University for Local and Regional Media on 10-11 June 2008, where the photographs will be used in an exhibition .
For further details, please have a look at the rules for participation, visit www.cor.europa.eu/eppweb or contact Katie Owens , Press Officer EPP/CoR , kathryn.owens@cor.europa.eu , +32.2.282.24.00.
ECAS publication on citizens and Treaty of Rome
European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) is a non-profit European association aiming to promote European Citizenship rights among other civil society organizations, as well as among citizens of EU.
In the framework of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome ECAS has run the project for the European Parliament. The key component of the project is the publication “50 Questions and Answers on citizens and the Treaty of Rome” which was elaborated during the first half of this year (so that it is up to date with the decisions of the June European Council). We disseminate this publication “electronically” via our mailing lists and “physically” during our conferences (free of charge).
We have had so far many positive remarks on it from the Commission, MEPs, partner NGOs and participants of our conferences. This is why we would like to disseminate this publication even further. We are now asking many of our partners to feature the publication (or link to it) on their websites. We will be also sending it to National Parliaments in January.
This publication could be used as interesting learning and training material on the European citizenship and its evolution throughout the EU history. It could also be a good manual to explore the EU history in a form of “answers and questions” from the citizens' perspective.
I would like ask if there is any possibility that your website features this publication ( please see publication attached to this email) or a link to it (http://www.ecas-citizens.eu/index.php?option=com_alphacontent§ion=20&cat=920&task=view&id=67&Itemid=113 ) . This would certainly give an opportunity to young people to better understand European citizenship and to learn about it in a more accessible way.
I'm looking forward to your reply. Should you have any questions regarding ECAS activities please check our website (www.ecas-citizens.eu) or contact us via email (joanna.smigiel@ecas.org ).
Best regards,
Joanna Smigiel
Project assistant
ECAS - European Citizen Action Service
Rue du Prince Royal 83
1050 Bruxelles
Belgique
Tel: + 32 (0) 2 548 04 95
Fax: + 32 (0) 2 548 04 99
E-mail: joanna.smigiel@ecas.org
Website: www.ecas-citizens.eu
New Youth for Europe
The name of the project is “New youth for Europe ” and is tought to improve the scholar performance of our associates. But the other goal is to spread integration and to promote a new citizenship among youth in the European countries. In every case you can find some more details in the attachment.
The main idea is to gather youth form several EU countries in August 2008 in a wonderful place in north of Italy . We will be about 1000 youth from 10 EU countries to take part in this happening from the 2 to the 9 of august 2008.
But before this Meeting, on the base of the same project, we want to invite the top of your organization to stay a couple days with us in Florence (we suppose on the 1° may 2008) for the first and informal Convention of the small Youth Association working on the European policy and level. There, we want to know better each other and have time to share partnership, ideas and communications.
For the Summer Meeting we are able to invite at least 20 youth of your Association at zero costs! For the Florence Convention we want to invite also 2 members of your Association as our special guests.
Then, If you are interested please let us know as soon as possible and try to stay in touch with us because we need also a letter to confirm your partnership in this project. If you need some other informations please do not hesitate to call us at : +39 335 6280234.
'European Young Journalist Award' on EU enlargement
Young journalists from all over Europe are invited to participate in a pan-European competition on EU-enlargement issues. The European Commission's Directorate-General for Enlargement launched this competition together with the European Youth Press to encourage young journalists to reflect on, express and exchange their views about the European Union's enlargement policy. Participants are asked to submit a recently published article on EU enlargement via the competition website www.EUjournalist-award.eu by March 15th 2008.
Entries can be written in one of the official EU languages or one of the languages of the candidate and potential candidate countries. The aim of the competition is to select a national winner for each country. All 35 winners will be invited on a trip through Western Balkan countries and will have the opportunity to participate in a conference with media representatives from various countries in June 2008.
More information: www.EUjournalist-award.eu