Oxfam International Youth Partnerships
Encyclopedia
Oxfam Australia
Oxfam Australia is an Australian, independent, not-for-profit, secular, community-based aid and development organisation, and an affiliate of Oxfam International. Oxfam Australia's work includes long-term development projects, responding to emergencies and campaigning to improve the lives of...
. Originally started as the International Youth Parliament, it supports youth led initiatives, facilitates skills and capacity building
Capacity building
Capacity building also referred to as capacity development is a conceptual approach to development that focuses on understanding the obstacles that inhibit people, governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations from realizing their developmental goals while enhancing...
programs and supports young people
Youth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
to advocate for their rights and freedoms
Youth rights
Youth rights refers to a set of philosophies intended to enhance civil rights for young people. They are a response to the oppression of young people, with advocates challenging ephebiphobia, adultism and ageism through youth participation, youth/adult partnerships, and promoting, ultimately,...
and those of their respective communities. Participants are designated Action Partners and take part in a three year program developed to support them through a skills and grants program.
International Youth Parliament 2000
In October 2000, 250 young people aged between 15 and 28 attend the sitting of the International Youth Parliament in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, an initiative of initiave of Community Aid Abroad Oxfam Australia and strongly linked to the Youth Workshop of the Alliance for a Responsible, Plural and United World. The delegates were advocates for significant issues affecting their communities and regions focusing on three significant areas: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, Youth in Conflict and Cultural Activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
. The success of the gathering and the participants’ desire to remain connected led Oxfam Australia to support a two year program afterwards through a skills and grants program.
Oxfam International Youth Parliament 2004
After the success of the first International Youth Parliament a second program was started in 2004. This time 301 young delegates were selected because they were already actively working for change and had the support of their local communities. The OIYP 2004 started, like the previous International Youth Parliament, with a conference held in Sydney in July 2004. Areas of the partners included HIV/AIDSHIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
, Labour and Employment, Indigenous Rights
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
, Sustainable Development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
and Agriculture, Peace Building
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
, Human Rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, Health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
, Youth Culture & Empowerment
Empowerment
Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social, racial, educational, gender or economic strength of individuals and communities...
, and Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
. Partners were eligible to apply for small grants for projects they were working on during these two years.
Oxfam International Youth Partnerships 2007
In 2007 the third cycle of OIYP was initiated and the main event, kaleidescope, happened in Sydney in October.Oxfam International Youth Partnerships 2010-2013
The OIYP 2010-2013 was launched in November 2010 in New Delhi. 300 Action Partners met and exchanged ideas. The program will go on until 2013 and will include different e-workshops, face-to-face workshops and grant programs to develop the skills and projects of the Action Partner.Global Environment Advocacy and Production Association (GEAPA)
The Global Environmental Advocacy & Production Association (GEAPA) was established in 2010 as an initiative of a small group of Oxfam International Youth Partner.Mission
GEAPA’s mission is to build a global youth network that provides members with a space in which common grounds, practices and support can be found within and from which GEAPA global environmental projects, initiatives and themes can be promoted and fostered within members respective communities.
Vision
GEAPA envisions a diverse global community in which our young members work together towards the preservation, maintenance and sustainability of our precious environments.
Our efforts will go towards gathering our members to learn, work and grow together whilst uniting and harbouring best practices in environmental restoration.
At GEAPA, we value unity, diversity, sustainability and the protection of our environments.
Objectives
- Promoting and share information on environmental projects of youth around the globe.
- Creating a strong action network for working on environmental issues
- Support and mentor various projects of our members
- Link members with various environmental global opportunities
- Creating awareness about environmental issues among community people