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Invitation for young people:
Contribute to 'awakening book' and speak at the conference

World Voices is an international coalition of young people and leading charities that originated at The United World College of the Atlantic in February 1997.

World Voices is an idealistic and holistic humanitarian project run by young people from homes and offices in Canada, Germany, India, Malaysia, Norway, South Africa and the UK.

World Voices is involving young people in over 70 countries and is working with and supported by organisations including Amnesty International, Friends of the Earth and Oxfam, and personalities such as The Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi.

World Voices is about exposing the injustice and inhumanity of the status quo from radically fresh and different perspectives. But crucially World Voices is about celebrating alternatives. Our projects embrace and promote alternative values, lifestyles and technologies to those that currently diminish humanity and the planet.

Why are we needed

The turn of the millennium is a moment in history when it is important that we stop up and evaluate the state of the people and the planet. It is essential for each of us, people of all ages and of all cultures and nationalities, to reflect deeply on our values and our aspirations for the society and world in which we want to live - and to take the personal responsibility for creating that future.

This is what World Voices is all about - a fresh start! The world is in need of greater dialog and co-operation between cultures, generations, nations and organisations. World Voices is promoting a holistic way of assessing the problems - and solutions - of the future.

What are our goals?

  1. To create awareness around important issues
  2. To create a forum for dialog between generations, organisations and nations
  3. To inspire change in action and ideas by promoting real alternatives
  4. To give young people a chance to playing their role in creating a better future
Please visit our web-site at http://www.worldvoices.org to read more about the organisation. You will also find more information about our projects at the end of this mail.

Tell the world

'Tell the World' is an invitation just launched by World Voices inviting young people all over the world (age 13 to max 30) to feature in a book assessing the state and future of the world from radically fresh perspectives at the millennium. It is also an invitation to speak at our international conference and festival to be held at the Royal Festival Hall, London on the 11 and 12 September 1999.

It is about inviting young people to 'Tell the World' about anything that is important to them:

  1. about social, environmental or political issues of relevance to you, your community or your country
  2. about the attitudes, values or lifestyles of the people around you
  3. about your own personal experiences d.. about what is going wrong or about solutions and alternatives.
'Tell the World' is about listening to what young people are saying, assessing the state and future of their lives, communities and countries. It is about asking fundamental questions about what is important, what people believe in and the sort of future they want.

Please help

We need help to reach out to as many young people as possible across the globe. You can help us in any of the following ways:
  1. order leaflets to distribute - we have Spanish and French translations (send us a mail with how many you want to norway@worldvoices.org)
  2. write for Tell the World yourself and make your members write! (submit by email to tell-the-world@worldvoices.org or by post to the address below)
  3. make a list of people and youth organisations that we can invite to participate (email us their details to norway@worldvoices.org)
We are asking a lot already, but maybe we can make one final request. Trusts, businesses and charities have donated thousands of pounds to fund our projects. But we are not there yet. We are still in need of a further £15,000. Do you know people or organisations we could approach for help? Your contacts could mean so much to the success of this project.

As way of acknowledging and thanking you for any support you can give us, we will feature your organisation in a new resource area of our web site that is are currently being developed. A little information about your organisation will also feature in the action section of our noDebate magazine to be launched in September 1999. Send us an email with a short description of your organisation (up to 25 lines) and your contact information (post-address, phone, fax, email, web-site, contact-person etc.) so that we can add you to our database now. Mail this information to silje@worldvoices.org

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours Sincerely,

Silje Vallestad
- for World Voices Co-ordinating team -

silje@worldvoices.org
http://www.worldvoices.org

OUR PROJECTS:

Awakening

A new millennium - a new future. The symbolism is irresistible. Our 'awakening' projects will ask and engage fundamental questions about the state and future of humanity and the planet at the millennium.

A conference and festival

entitled 'awakening' is to be held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on the 11 and 12 September 1999. It will incorporate a sustainable lifestyle centre demonstrating new ideas and technologies for helping to reduce our 'footprint on the earth'.

A book

to be launched at the event in four languages will combine the accounts of young people from all over the world on the state and future of their communities with contributions from leading personalities such as the Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi.

noDEBATE

no debate is a new magazine designed to challenge fundamental assumptions about the quality of our lives and the state of the planet. It will engage themes and issues about which there is often 'no debate'. The first edition will tackle notions of happiness. Subsequent issues are planned to address consumption, fear and non-violence.

It is to be published once a year, written predominately by young people and edited from our Indian office. Funding is being sought by our seven country offices and bases to distribute the magazine free to schools, colleges and universities. no debate may also form a supplement in a number of existing publications.

Grant program

Each year World Voices hopes to award small grants to practical community projects run by young people that offer alternatives or solutions to problems related to human rights, development or the environment.

The program will begin in November 1999 with the target of awarding 50 small grants of between 400 and 3000 US dollars in the first year. It is hoped that the program can be developed in association with the UK Department for International Development, the European Union and Oxfam.

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