Young people making change happen

Canada

Young entrepreneurs across Canada are launching companies focused on saving the environment, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) told the Financial Post.

Andrew Wong, one such entrepreneur, received $1,500 to start a business that makes products out of recycled materials. Andrew Sutherland and Lisa Von Sturmer, two other entrepreneurs, launched Growing City, which facilitates composting solutions for commercial businesses in downtown Vancouver.

Europe

Copenhagen, Denmark, is hosting the 10th annual Buster International Youth Film Festival, with movies from countries like Russia, Mexico and Germany, among others. There are 169 films on the programme and something for all ages and generations.

To add to the fun, attendees are invited to a special media lab, where people of every age can play with animation techniques, computer games and much more from the digital world. This year’s themes are sport, health and cool girls in films.

Asia

Like all those in Myanmar under the age of 38, 30-year-old Tin San has never voted before. To gear up for this year’s elections, he and many other bloggers in the military-ruled country are going online.

The November 7 election has been widely criticised by activists and some Western governments as a sham orchestrated by the ruling generals to shore up their rule. Some favour a boycott by voters, many of whom are disillusioned with the process.

But Tin San is among a group of optimists who advocate participation and online debate of the polls “I have quite a lot of influence on my readers so I want them just to think about the information,” he says. AFP

U.S.A

Youth leadership America (YLA) – a non-profit organisation that fosters leadership among high school students – has released a video on Youtube that makes preparing for an interview cooler than you ever imagined it could be. The original rap music video humorously corrects typical business etiquette mistakes most young professionals make. Check it out at vimeo.com/14603137.

YLA has developed many new communication tools to define brand outreach by enhancing the website, releasing student-made viral videos and utilising social media networks to promote this new direction. In seven years, YLA has fostered the career development and networking abilities of more than 500 high school students with civic, business and community leaders.

Africa

While speaking at the Uganda Youth Forum (UYF), Uganda’s Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi said that the government must listen to proposals from youth when they make and implement policies. The initiative, which focuses on Ugandans between 10 years and 30 years-old, initially focused on HIV/AIDS, but now is being extended to education, health, entrepeneurship, and to fostering patriotism.

“In this strategic plan, we shall strive to become a hub of the youth, providing credible and timely information on youth-related issues in the country,” said UYF chairman, Dr James Magara, during the launch.

Australia & New Zealand

The inaugural AusCivics Film Festival will be held in Australia next month in a bid to get young people excited about the Australian system of government and voting.

Constitution Education Fund Australia (CEFA) is organising the event, which CEFA Executive Director Kerry Jones says is important in order to make young Australians aware of how their country is run.

“More than half our young Australians do not even know we’re a democracy” he told ABC news Australia. “On top of that, 1.4 million eligible Australians didn’t enroll to vote in the last election.”