Main actors: The nongovernmental youth sector

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The international nongovernmental youth sector has a long history. In principle, most of today’s international nongovernmental youth organizations developed out of different kinds of religious and ideological/political movements over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (e.g., the trade union and worker’s movement, the missionary movement, the antiwar and peace movements, the ecological movement). The fact that these organizations developed out of movements, constituencies of like-minded young people, and a large social membership base has provided them with legitimacy as “representing young people.” International politics (especially during the Cold War) played a large role in positioning youth organizations.^[10] Some have retained power and influence despite weakened membership and limited economic means to conduct large-scale programs.

In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries the explosion of new information and communication technologies (ICTs), new awareness and acceptance of the importance of the role of civil society in governance, and the emergence of social issues such as migration, intercultural relations, among others, has led to the creation of new nongovernmental youth organizations with an international reach. Many of these new organizations cater to constituencies of young people who are not interested in joining a political party or who are particularly concerned with a single value-related issue. Others cater to young people who do not feel welcome or represented in “traditional” or “mainstream” youth organizations and prefer to form their own communities internationally (such as young people from specific minority communities).

Many of these have their instutional base in Europe where the financial, administrative, and legal conditions for such organizations to establish themselves are more advantageous than elsewhere.^[11] There is no consensus among these organizations concerning the age range of youth, and they do not consider agreement necessary. They work with very diverse target groups from as young as 13 to as old as 35.

International Nongovernmental Youth Organizations

The following table includes the most important international nongovernmental youth organizations active at the international level. These organizations have the longest history of action, the largest membership globally, the most elaborate structure in terms of national and regional affiliations, or are very active in the international youth sector.^[12]

Virtual Networks Addressing Young People, Information Associations/Portals

Child Rights Information Network (CRIN)
www.crin.org/about/index.asp
CRIN is a global network that coordinates and promotes information and action on child rights. Its guiding framework is the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. CRIN distributes news and reports; runs events; lobbies; enables advocacy; and promotes knowledge sharing and coordination. CRIN participates in international child rights coalitions and advocacy groups, supports campaigns, and makes the UN and regional mechanisms more accessible to those lobbying for social change. CRIN has a membership of more than 1,900 organizations in 150 countries.

Network for Youth In Transition
http://cpbinternational.ning.com/
This free resource & networking site is designed to strengthen the dialogue and increase awareness about the role youth play in development and peace in their communities. This site is also created as a space to share learning, from across agencies and disciplines on programming, managing such programs and evaluating programs for and with youth. Please feel free to explore this site and its many features. If you like what you see, please REGISTER and create your own profile, contribute by sharing your resources in the FORUMS, BLOGS or start your own GROUP to work toward a common goal. You can also connect with colleagues, CHAT on youth related topics, and INVITE OTHERS to join. The wider this is shared, and the more this is used, the greater opportunities we have of learning and growing as a field.

Oxfam International Youth Partnerships Portal
http://oiyp.oxfam.org/oiyp/template_14a.aspx?id=2294
This portal offers information about forthcoming global youth-related events, campaigns, and conferences. Social Edge www.socialedge.org/features/issue-areas/youth-social-entrepreneurship. Since 2003, Social Edge has been a global online community where social entrepreneurs and other members of the social benefit sector connect to network, learn, inspire, and share resources. Social Edge is particularly targeted at social entrepreneurs with limited access to other local resources and practitioners due to the nature of their work (e.g., international development) or their location (e.g., developing countries or rural areas). Social Edge is supported by the Skoll Foundation, which has a grant-making program for social entrepreneurship (www.skollfoundation.org/aboutskoll/index.asp).

Taking It Global (TiG)
www.takingitglobal.org
TiG provides a portal for young people to find inspiration, access information, and get involved in improving their local and global communities. TiG’s mission is to provide opportunities for learning, capacity building, cross-cultural awareness, and self-development through the use of Internet communications technology. TiG focuses on encouraging youth participation. By leveraging the power of social networks and digital media, TiG tries to achieve interactive learning, collaboration, dialogue, and action that is completely interactive.

World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS)
www.civicus.org
CIVICUS is an international alliance of members and partners that constitute an influential network of organizations at the local, national, regional, and international levels, and span the spectrum of civil society. CIVICUS works to strengthen citizen action and civil society throughout the world, especially in areas where participatory democracy and citizens’ freedom of association are threatened. CIVICUS provides a focal point for knowledge sharing, common interest representation, global institution building, and engagement among these disparate sectors. It acts as an advocate for citizen participation as an essential component of governance and democracy worldwide. CIVICUS has established its global headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa. CIVICUS networks many national and international organizations, including youth organizations. In addition, it runs special projects, including one on the promotion of volunteering, which is particularly relevant to young people: www.civicus.org/special-projects.

YouthActionNet
www.youthactionnet.org
YouthActionNet is a program that invests in the potential of young people to create positive change. Through its global and national-level fellowship programs, customized trainings, dynamic website, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities, YouthActionNet offers young change makers ideas, resources, and connections to like minds around the world. Launched in 2001, YouthActionNet is an initiative of the International Youth Foundation (www.iyfnet.org), a global not-for-profit organization supporting youth development programs in 70 countries.

Youth for Development Portal
http://zunia.org/cat/children-and-youth/
Youth for Development is an online community, a collaborative space where development practitioners and youth can share knowledge, best practices, and research about youth and development. It is an initiative of the Development Gateway Foundation, an international nonprofit organization with the mission to reduce poverty and enable change in developing nations through information technology. The foundation started within the World Bank, later became an independent foundation supported by government and private-sector donors who recognized the high potential of information and communication technology to increase the impact of scarce development resources.

You Think!
http://youthink.worldbank.org
You Think! is the World Bank’s youth information portal. It offers young people easy access to research, knowledge, and experience gathered by World Bank experts on international development. It also provides young people with the opportunity to share their opinions on development issues.

Footnotes

[10] – For more information concerning the role of the youth movement in the Cold War, see Joel Kotek, Students and the Cold War (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1996) and La jeune garde: Entre KGB et CIA, la jeunesse mondiale, enjeu des relations internationales, 1917–1989 [The Young Guard: Between KGB and CIA—World Youth in International Relations] (Paris: Seuil, 1998). [↩]

[11] – Many international nongovernmental youth organizations with global reach are headquartered in Europe and share secretariats with their European branches, as European institutions provide administrative grants for the institutionalization and organizational development of INGYOs, allowing them to maintain a permanent secretariat and a full functioning office. [↩]

[12] – The World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) is a left-wing youth organization, recognized by the United Nations. It was founded in London in 1945 as a broad international youth movement. At the beginning of the Cold War, almost all Western organizations pulled out of WFDY due to its association with Soviet-aligned socialist and communist parties. WFDY experienced a crisis with the collapse of the Soviet Union, which led to the disappearance of its most important member organization, the Soviet Komsomol. It survived this crisis and maintained its left-wing character. The main event of WFDY is the World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS). The 17th World Festival of Youth and Students is planned for South Africa, in December 13 – 21, 2010. More information on www.wfdy.org [↩].