EducateDeviate on the Staples Youth Social Entrepreneur Competition

Check out EducateDeviate on Staples

The Staples Youth Social Entrepreneur Competition, hosted by Ashoka and Youth Venture, provides young people and youth organisations the chance to showcase their project online around the world. Projects will be evaluated and voted on, and the best projects go on to win a variety of prizes.

EducateDeviate is one of the projects listed for this competition – check out our application page and leave us some comments! You can see all the other projects (from 46 countries) here.

If you have a project and want to give this a shot, you have until October 15, 2008 6:00 pm EST (21:00 GMT) – which isn’t long!

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More Youth Conferences

From the YouthLinkExpress newsletter, which is am absolutely fantastic resource for events and opportunities for youth development:

Civicus Youth Assembly
Date:June 16-18, 2008
Location:Glasgow, Scotland
Building on the success of last year’s CIVICUS Youth Assembly the 2008 event will offer an opportunity to meet and work with other young women and men who are really making changes to things that matter. The Youth Assembly will offer young delegates a program and a space to develop and commit to action internationally. Applicants aged 18-25 are encouraged to apply! For more information, click here.

World Youth Volunteer Conference
Date: March 31-April 2, 2008
Location: Panama City, Panama
Organized by the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE), the World Youth Conference will select 100 outstanding young volunteers from around the world to participate in collaboration with the IAVE World Volunteer Conference. This year’s theme, ‘Volunteering for Human Development: More Solidarity, Less Poverty’ will focus on several issues related to Latin American poverty. Register before February 29th! For more information, click here.

Unite for Sight Fifth Annual International Health & Development Conference
Date: April 12-13, 2008
Location: New Haven, USA
Individuals interested in international health, public health, international development, microfinance, health policy, and public service are encouraged to attend the International Health and Development Conference. Keynote speakers include Susan Blumenthal, Jeffrey Sachs, Jim Yong Kim, and Sonia Ehrlich Sachs. Register today! For more information, click here.

3rd Global Youth Conference on Democracy & Political Participation
Date: February 20-22, 2008
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
How do we develop a culture of participatory governance amongst the citizens and civil society to build grassroots participation and accountability in governance? The 3rd Global Youth Conference will provide for focal discussion on the critical issues of enhancing greater demand for voice and accountability for better public policy and practice. For more information, click here or send an email.

To subscribe to the newsletter, send a blank message to getnews@youthlink.org.

BRATs Recruiting Again, ESUM Public Speaking Competition, Essay Competition 2008

Quick updates (using Deepest Sender):

1) The Star’s BRATs are recruiting again for 2008! I get a lot of comments from would-be BRATs asking about the next recruitment, so here’s your chance. Workshops will be held on:

• Taiping, March 9 – 12
• Penang, May 24 – 27
• Kuala Selangor, August 16 – 19

If you are aged between 16 to 19 and you’re interested in journalism, the BRATs would be a great foot in the door for your media aspirations. To participate, just write a 1000-word essay about yourself, your family, your inspirations, and your preferences, and send it to:

BRATs Star Youth
Menara Star
15, Jalan 16/11,
46350 Petaling Jaya, Selangor OR
email to brats@thestar.com.my .

Include a bio with contact details, family details, and academic background. Doesn’t have to be crazy complex though. Don’t forget to indicate which workshop you’re interested in. (And don’t worry if you don’t get your first choice – I didn’t get my first choice of workshop but got drafted into the next workshop in Lumut). The participation fee is RM120, but you only have to pay that if you are accepted.

Be quick – applications close February 2 2008!

2) If you’re more interested in speaking than writing, the English Speaking Union of Malaysia (ESUM)’s Public Speaking Competition is right up your alley. Two finalists of this competition will be sent to London in May to represent Malaysia in the International Public Speaking Competition.

Preliminaries and semi-finals will be held on the 8th of March. The preliminaries consist of a 5-minute delivered speech on “New Frontiers, New Horizons” as well as a 3-minute impromptu speech. Those in the semi-finals would then have to talk about how they could change the world.

Applications are open to those aged 16-20 and forms can be found in the Sunday Star Education pullouts (which are another good resource for this sort of thing).

3) If you wish to change the world through essays, check out The World Bank’s International Essay Competition 2008. This year, they would like to know your practical ideas for shaping the
 City of your Dreams. This competition is open to anyone 18-25, and the prizes include up to USD1000 cash, as well as an all-expenses paid trip to the ABCDE conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

Send your essays online in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, or Portuguese. The closing date is March 23, 2008.

KaosPilots Team 15 Aarhus Applications Open!

The applications for Team 15 of the KaosPilots social entrepreneurship/creativity/design/business school in Aarhus are officially open!

Get it off the KaosPilots website here, or use the Wanna Be A KP mirror.

Applications are due March 14 2008 and shortlisted applicants will be informed on April 5 2008. The admissions workshop for those shortlisted is on April 24-25 2008 in Aarhus, Denmark.

Get your applications in now!

The List of Youth Speakers and Inspiring Young People to Invite to Your Conference or Event

In response to tech conference Tokion‘s lack of women speakers, women bloggers everywhere banded together to create a list of women speakers for any conference, hosted at Personism. The ever-growing list contains hundreds of inspiring women in design, the arts, entrepreneurship, activism, non-profits, business, and everything else that would certainly be an asset for any conference or gathering of minds.

There’s another group of people often missing at these conferences though: young people. Sure, there is no end to youth conferences, but look at the big ones like TED or ideaCity – how many of the participants are under 30? IdeaFestival is testing out a “IF Kids” section, which was apparently quite successful in the 2007 festival, but might be a little condescending to young adults who aren’t actually kids but who aren’t quite old enough to blend in with the other adults. And even if those big events were more inclusive socially, many deserving young people won’t be able to afford them. Tickets are upwards of US$500 a piece, and that’s if you’re lucky enough to get them before they sell out. Factor in travel, visas, accommodation, and all other costs and you see a very pricey proposition that turns away many young people from otherwise being the biggest contributors.

What young people need are more opportunities to be represented, more exposure to wider groups of people (and not just their peers). Young people should be taking the stage more often in those big events, they should be the ones being listened to by big minds such as Al Gore or Richard Branson. It’s their voice that should be heard, particularly since all the big chances will be handled by us anyway.

Inspired by Personism’s list, I am now creating:

This list is by no means exhaustive. If you want to be on this list, or know anyone (below 30) who should be here, leave me a comment with their name, country, the field they’re involved in, and a brief description. Please also include a link to a website or webpage about them. It doesn’t have to be their personal/business website – a profile or a news article works too, just as long as it has information (and preferably contact details too) about themselves.

Don’t be afraid to self-promote! So many of us deserve better but are too shy or modest to ask for it. I will scan the list for scammers and spammers though.

You may notice that (at least in the early versions) this list is skewed towards a certain geographical area. This is partly because I’m from that area so I know more people there, but also because people in non-Western countries tend to be underrepresented in big events like these. See the diversity of countries as a good thing – you’ll get a very varied set of backgrounds and opinions, information and knowledge will cross borders, and everyone benefits.

List last updated: 26 Jan 2008

NAME	COUNTRY	FIELD	DESCRIPTION
Tiara Shafiq	Malaysia / Bangladesh / Australia	Youth, Alternative Education	Maintainer of youth/alternative education blog EducateDeviate
Suzanne Lee	Malaysia	Photography	Self-made professional photographer and traveller
Poh Si Teng	Malaysia / USA	Journalism	Co-founder of Malaysia youth socio-political magazine theCICAK
Tharum Bun	Cambodia	IT, Communications	Blogger on ITCs
Khailee Ng	Malaysia	Entrepreneurship	Co-Founder of theCICAK and various web ventures
Daniel CerVentus Lim	Malaysia	Entrepreneurship	Maintainer of Malaysian entrepreneurship blog Ideapreneur
David Askaripour	USA	Entrepreneurship	Founder of youth entrepreneurship portal Mind Petal, web entrepreneur
Brett Farmiloe	USA	Passion	Went on the “Pursue the Passion” roadtrip to interview leading people about their passions in life
Hayley Angell	Australia	Passion, Empowerment	Life coach and speaker on youth empowerment
Jessica Kiely	Australia	Youth, Career Development	Founder of FRANK Team, a company that empowers youth through speakers and newsletters on career development
Adam Smith	Australia	Youth, Education	COO of Education Foundation Australia
Bec Heinrich	Australia	Youth, Education, Leadership	CEO and Founder of Rising Generations
Tom Dawkins	Australia	Youth, Media	Founder of youth media portal VibeWire
Simon Moss	Australia	Youth, International Development, Education, Poverty	COO of youth-run development organization The Oaktree Foundation
Hugh Evans	Australia	Youth, International Development, Education, Poverty	Founder of youth-run development organization The Oaktree Foundation
Jennifer Corriero	Canada	Youth, International Development	Founder of TakingITGlobal
Effa Desa	Malaysia	Film, Activism	Founder of Filmmakers Anonymous, organizes film festivals in Malaysia
Renee Dillon	Australia	Art, Crafts	Organizes workshops for budding artisans
Victor Gan	Australia	Photography, Film	Self-trained photographer and filmmaker
Craig Kielburger	USA	Children’s Rights, Activism	Co-founded Free the Children at 12 years old
Aaron Gill	Malaysia	Web, IT	IT entrepreneur
Michelle Gunaselan	Malaysia	Activism	Writer at TELL magazine, co-founder of voter education initiative VoteED
Cally Highfield	United Kingdom	Art	Artist, illustrator, and novelist of Rose Petal Tea
Hwa Yang Jerng	Malaysia	Philosophy	Interested in Machine intelligence, Cultural phenomenology, History of ideas, Bridging/unifying the liberal arts, science, engineering, and commerce
Kenny Koay	Australia	Entrepreneurship	Founder of j2k, a mobile phone plan distributor that provides employment opportunities for international students in Melbourne
Trisha Okubo	USA	Entrepreneurship, Media, E-Commerce, Fashion	Founder of Omiru: Style for All, a style website dedicated to real style for real people. Style expert featured in Lucky Magazine and the Wall Street Journal. Disruptive Innovator at eBay, currently focusing on social commerce projects
Kidchan	Malaysia	Arts, Graphic Design	Self-made artist; interesting observations about Malaysia
Darren Lee	Malaysia	Internet Technology, New Media, Web2.0/Social Networking	Founder of Intrivent Global, Internet Technology Evangelist, New Media Specialist in the field of Web 2.0/Social Networking
Bryce Ives	Australia	Youth, Media, Arts	First General Manager of SYN Melbourne, Australia’s largest youth media project. Crrently the online producer of the ABC’s Heywire
Nikki Brooker	United Kingdom / Australia	Youth, Politics, Peace	First young person in the UK involved with campaigning to establish the UK Youth Parliament, then a trustee and co-ordinated the London Region. Also involved in Peace One Day
Reynato Reodica	Australia	Youth Policy, Youth Rights	Executive officer of the Youth Action Policy Association, peak body for all youth workers and young people in NSW Australia
Brandon Bear	Australia	Youth Health, Sexual Health	Working in sexual health and drug and alcohol health promotion in the field of harm minimisation for 5 years
Joshua Rayan	Malaysia / Singapore / Australia / Indonesia	Media, Communications	Founder of Words Wizards, a creative communications agency that has become a branding specialist for many corporates
Yvonne Foong	Malaysia	Health, Neurofibromatosis	Advocate for neurofibromatosis awareness, writer
Carol Chew	Malaysia	Politics, Youth	National chairperson for Beliawanis, the young women’s arm of Malaysian political party MCA
Joel Clark	Australia	Youth Empowerment, Leadership, Poverty, Education	Founder of nonprofit organisation, Community Spirit Tours, and wide-covering youth advocate with a number of organisations
Josh Lim	Malaysia	Media, Advertising	Founder of blog advertising company Advertlets
Adelyn Lim	Malaysia	Children, Health, Cancer	Founder of children’s cancer organization ROLF Kids
Joel Neoh	Malaysia	Youth, Entrepreneurship	Winner of The Firm and founder of YouthMalaysia
Jennifer L. Pozner	USA	Women, Media, Writing, News	Founder of Women in Media & News, a women’s media analysis, education and advocacy organization dedicated to increasing women’s presence and power in the public debate
Christine HappySlip	USA / The Philippines (?)	Media, Video, Web	Creator of one-woman YouTube show HappySlip
Zadi Diaz	USA	Media, Web, Production	Co-founder of online production company Smashface Productions
Alicia Curtis	Australia	Youth, Leadership, Mentoring	Assists schools and businesses harness the leadership potential of their young people
Donnie Maclurcan	Australia	Politics, Community, Social Entrepreneurship	Founder of Australian community project Project Australia
Miriam Lyons	Australia	Youth Policy, Festivals	Director of Center for Policy Development, director for various festivals in Australia
Matt Noffs	Australia	Youth, Drug & Alcohol Dependency	Development Manager at the Ted Noffs Foundation
Billie Jean Edwards	Australia	Youth, Indigenous Issues	Young Indigenous leader
Joey Le	Australia	Cultural Awareness, Personal and Professional Development, Leadership, Mental Health for Young People, Youth Health Issues	Former Chair of NSW Youth Advisory Council. Currently working as a medical doctor with an interest in psychiatry and adolescent health
Danielle Begg	Australia	Social Policy, Youth Activism, Psychology	Co-established youth advocacy group Australian Teens Advocating Change (ATAC), aimed to promote multiculturalism, the prevention of substance abuse and a positive image of youth in the media through community service announcements and nation wide tours
Jimmy Kyle	Australia	Youth Empowerment, Indigenous Youth	Program manager of Koori Connect, which engages indigenous young people on a range of cultural activities and events aimed at improving community connection, school retention and providing vocational learning opportunities
Sarah Chunys OAM	Australia	Mental Illnesses, Youth Health	Motivational speaker on the subject of adversity/getting through tough times and mental health issues including suicide
Josh Shipp	USA	Youth Empowerment	High-rated youth speaker, CosmoGIRL columnist, has a TV show in development
Peter Draw	Singapore	Art, Drawing, Children, Happiness	Social Cartoonist
Xavier Clarke	Australia	Indigenous Youth, Social Issues	AFL star and co-founder of Indigenous youth support group Unity Foundation
Linh Do	Australia	Youth, Environment	Youth founder of Change A Million Light Bulbs and Change&Switch
David Toovey	Australia	Youth, Social Justice	Current director of the Oaktree Foundation

Don’t forget to list your recommendations!

Global Social Ventures Competition 2008 – Call for Entrants

Got an idea for a socially or environmentally viable enterprise? Take part in the Global Social Ventures Competition 2008!

Organized by the top business and entrepreneurship schools in the world (including UC Berkeley, Columbia Business School, London Business School, Indian School of Business, and Yale), this competition aims to provide mentorship, exposure, and support to student-led social enterprises worldwide. Teams compete for over $45,000 in cash and travel prizes, and receive valuable feedback on their plans.

Each team must have at least one student currently in graduate business school or one who was graduated from business school in the past 24 months. Companies less than 3 years old can also apply. Projects can be for-profit or non-profit, but must be financially self-sustaining.

Past winning projects are available, and the GSVC have provided plenty of Social Impact Guides to aid competitors.

Executive summaries are due January 16th, so hurry!

Links in Post:

• Global Social Ventures Competition 2008: Call for Entrants
• GSVC Success Stories
• GSVC Social Impact Guides

Global Engagement Summit 2008 – 5 Days To Apply!

The International Youth Volunteering Summit has renamed itself the Global Engagement Summit and they have extended the application deadline for international applicants.

The summit will take place at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, USA from April 16-20, 2008. Like previous years, the summit will focus on young people, volunteerism, and getting involved. Over $50,000 has been given to delegate projects, which are part of the application process.

Applications close November 30, 2007 so hurry!

Links in Posts:

• EducateDeviate: International Youth Volunteering Summit ‘07 – Apply Now!
• The Global Engagement Summit 2008
• Global Engagement Summit 2008: International Applications

KaosPilots: Now This Is Learning

Imagine a business school where all your assignments are real-life projects from real clients. Imagine spending your second year in a different country working on community projects. Imagine your final exam being a sustainable project for change.

For the KaosPilots, this is reality.

I’ll just quote the post I made on MetaFilter about them:

The KaosPilots, deemed “the world’s most adventurous alternative business school“, teaches social entrepreneurship and leadership through real-life situations.

Part of their education involves international outposts in Vancouver, Buenos Aires, and Bahia, working on projects related to business, community, and sustainability. The final exam is an operational project of your own.

Many former students go on to the private sector or create projects and jobs of their own (though creative industries and non-profits are very common).

They have been nominated for design awards, are considered as worldchanging, and have published a book about their methods. New web technologies are highly utilized by both students and board members alike.

The KaosPilots have been based in Aarhus, Denmark for 15 years, but there are also schools running (or about to start) in Sweden, Norway, and The Netherlands, with more coming in other continents.

The KaosPilots are my new obsession. They are EXACTLY what I have been looking for education-wise. I’ve been looking for ways to actually learn how to run projects and gain first-hand experience, and while I was hoping to get that in QUT, I’ve been getting more theory than anything else. This actually makes things RELEVANT – your work actually matters, and your passion is rewarded. Their core values aren’t gooblyspeak, they’re six simple but powerful aims: real world, balance, being streetwise, being playful, risk taking and compassion.

I’ve applied for the Stockholm (Sweden) program, which starts next year. This would be a major change as it means I drop out of university and I have to work out how to support myself in Sweden for about three years. It also costs a LOT, and I’m not sure I can afford it. But the sheer value of the education I receive would be priceless. That’s if I can handle how hardcore it is, anyway. There will be a 2-day workshop in Stockholm in November for those shortlisted, so I’ll know pretty soon if I make it.

I know the people over at the Stockholm KaosPilots have seen this blog, and may still be reading it – HELLO! I’ll also be meeting one current KaosPilot, Kamilla, at the Youth Enterprise Symposium this weekend, and I’ll have tea with Michael Doneman, a KaosPilots board member and founder of Edgeware who also happens to be a postgrad in my faculty. How convenient. I can’t wait to pick their brains and find out what they’re all about.

Do you have any more information on the KaosPilots? Please share them to me, because they’re awesome and I want to know more. Otherwise, watch this video to see how awesome they are: (you might need to amp up the volume on your computer, as the video’s volume is very soft)

Links in Post:

• KaosPilots (Denmark)
• MetaFilter: KaosPilots
• FastCompany: Business School for KaosPilots
• KaosPilots (Denmark): Syllabus
• KaosPilots (Denmark): Core Competences
• KaosPilots (Denmark): Outposts
• The Tyee: Incoming! KaosPilots!
• The KaosPilots Norway Outpost 2007, Buenos Aires
• Homebase: PauBrasil
• KaosPilots (Denmark): Final Projects
• KlubKaos: People
• KaosPilots (Denmark): KaosPilots In Work
• KlubKaos: Projects
• sTUDENTERHUS åRHUS: The KaosPilots
• INDEX:2007 INDEX: AWARD: KaosPilots International
• Worldchanging: Kaospilots
• KaosPilots (Denmark): Kaospilot A-Z
• del.icio.us: kaospilots
• Homebase: KaosPilots
• Board’s Corner KP
• KaosPilots (Denmark): History
• KaosPilots (Sweden)
• KaosPilots (Norway)
• KaosPilots (The Netherlands)
• Youth Enterprise Symposium 2007
• KaosPilots (Denmark): KaosPilot International Board
• Edgeware