Other resources for opportunities – alternative education, youth empowerment, getting involved

There have been many opportunities for fellowships, conferences, scholarships, courses, and so on that come my way and should really be on this blog. However, I haven’t always had the time to post all the information that comes my way – especially when about 10 of them come at once in a newsletter.

I get my information mainly from a few sources, and I would recommend that you check those sources out to find more great opportunities for youth and alternative education. Here’s where to look:

TakingITGlobal – awesome resource for young people looking to make a difference. Events, scholarships, groups, projects, whatever – everything you need is there.

Have Fun Do Good – Britt Bravo’s blog has a lot of information and resources on making a difference in creative ways. I particularly like the books she recommends – she has great taste (and great luck because she gets the books for free!)

TinKosong – this blog, started by a bunch of Malaysian university students, contains regular information on opportunities for young Malaysians to get involved and expand their education. A lot of the information we have is crossposted between the two blogs, since we both have a similar scope (though they do come from a more Ivy base).

Education in Malaysia – the other top Malaysian education blog (haha), whose founder Tony Pua is now an MP! While EiM is more about analysis and commentary rather than opportunities, they do sometimes appear, and it’s a good resource for current affairs in education anyhow.

Ask MetaFilter – every so often there will be a question about travel, education, or opportunities, and the answers given would be top notch. The main site, Metafilter, doesn’t really carry much links about opportunities, but it’s worth a watch.

The Star: Education – Every week in their Sunday pullout, they write up about different educational opportunities and events across Malaysia, and it’s republished on the website. Youth2 is another good source in the paper; however, their website isn’t quite as regularly updated.

GoAbroad and TransitionsAbroad – both great resources for anything to do with travel and going abroad. GoAbroad also has a regular newsletter with information on different programs that you can subscribe to.

ActNow – This Australian-based website is all about educating and empowering youth to make change in their communities. Within their pages are plenty of information and resources on current issues, and ways you can get involved.

World Youth Foundation – this Malaysia-based organization releases a regular email newsletter with all sorts of updates and information on youth empowerment and making a difference.

Young Social Enterprise Initiative – they provide various programs and fellowships for young social entrepreneurs to gain funding and mentoring for their work and enterprises. Their social network, FutureShifters, allows young social entrepreneurs to connect with each other and share ideas.

Global Youth Action Network – the organization that links youth-based organizations together. Their newsletter, YouthLink Express, has all sorts of information on events, conferences, possible scams (which are unfortunately an issue with youth conferences), organizations, and many others.

International Young Professionals Foundation – not just for young professionals, but for any young person seeking to make a difference. Membership is inexpensive (and there are funding options if you can’t afford it) and they have tons of information on various opportunities across the globe.

Social Edge – Opportunities – such an AMAZING resource for anything to do with social change and social entrepreneurship. Check out their main site too for discussions and resources on the same topics.

Do you have any other resources for such information and opportunities? Post a comment and share them with us.

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Expanding EducateDeviate – what would you like?

EducateDeviate has been up and running for over two years, and in this time it’s grown from being just a blog about my thoughts on education, to a resource for anything related to youth empowerment and non-traditional learning. With that, I’m planning to expand EducateDeviate to make it more self-sustainable, as well as being a better resource for everyone.

Here are some features I’d like to implement:

• User-submitted content: So far I’m the only person that writes for this blog (aside for a guest post or two for Blogathon), but that means that posting schedules have to fit in with my (increasingly packed) real-life schedule. I would love to open the blog up to you, by allowing you to send in entries and see them published on EducateDeviate. Myself (and possibly a small team) would still moderate the entries for spam/clarity, but other than that, this is a great opportunity for you to get your opinions out and receive feedback from others.
• Events listing: A lot of the posts I make on EducateDeviate are reminders for certain events or competitions – basically, anything with a certain deadline. It would be great to have a regularly-updated sidebar listing related events, which can be updated independently of the blog.
• Resource directory: One of the main reasons I started EducateDeviate was to provide resources for alternative education opportunities. A directory of resources – programs, schools, people, links, books, etc – clearly organized and searchable by criteria would be amazing.
• Forums: Some pretty interesting discussions can spring up here from time to time. Let’s encourage them!
• Sponsorship: Currently, due to WordPress.com’s limitations, I am not allowed to put in any advertising. I’m not opposed to joining an ad banner service such as Nuffnag, Advertlets, or Adsense; however, I don’t want EducateDeviate to be a barrage of advertising. I’d rather advertise public services, non-profits, or youth ventures. So far I make nothing (no money) out of EducateDeviate, and while I don’t need to live off it, it would be good for EducateDeviate to sustain itself. Sponsorship from related organizations and companies would be a great way to connect EducateDeviate’s readers with other resources that could help them, and I would still have enough control to maintain editorial integrity. I could also introduce more commercial aspects such as an Amazon.com bookstore or T-shirts.

That’s just the beginning. In the future I’d like to develop the following:

• The Educated Deviant scholarship fund to encourage young Malaysians to explore alternative education options
• Special events such as roadshows, workshops, fairs, and so on
• Books and other publications – the eBook I’m working on with Daniel is a great start, and I’d love to make more of these
• Podcasts and vlogs – with enough resources, EducateDeviate could be even more interactive
• Consulting and counselling services for companies that want to connect to young people, or for young people that want to explore alternative education but don’t know how.

As part of my goals for EducateDeviate is to develop a community of educated deviants, I would like to pose the next question to you:

What do you want to see in EducateDeviate?

Any idea, no matter how weird or silly, is fine. You may inspire something that shows up on the site! Also, if you want to help me develop EducateDeviate further (particularly if you have any experience with web development), please contact me.

Know a kick-ass indie designer/event manager/promoter?

(cross-posted to EducateDeviate, Wanna Be A KP, and Facebook)

I’ve got some plans to develop EducateDeviate further (to make it more self-sustainable) as well as to boost my chances at getting KaosPilots funding.

To do that, I need help with the following:

• Web design and development – particularly those who can take my list of “I need my website to do this, that, and the other” and develop a nifty CMS that makes the job easy (more details later) while keeping to a certain aesthetic.
• Graphic design, particularly for postcards and brochures – I have ideas, I just can’t design all that well
• Event management – someone who can take my ideas and work out how to make it happen
• Promotions/marketing/publicity – the maven who can get all that above OUT THERE

Now I am a simple college student, which means I don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on this endeavour. (I was looking around yesterday and one company quoted $15,000 for a simple website. DUDE. I could go to UWP again and have change with that money.) However, I would love to support indie young up-and-coming artists/designers/practitioners. I’ve been doing that with fashion and I want to do that with more aspects of my life.

I’m looking for someone who can relate to all this as personal projects – too many other options I’ve seen assume I’m a business and get into business-speak. I want someone that’s human. Someone creative and daring. Someone who would pull me out of my box. Someone young is a bonus.

Know anyone who fits this? Are you willing to help? Drop me a line.