Canada World Youth
Bulletin
April 2008
www.canadaworldyouth.org
Here's a look at the latest news from Canada World Youth!
Farewell and bon voyage, Jacques
On
December 6, 2007, CWY lost its founding father, Jacques Hébert. He was 84 years
old. Passionate about justice and equality, deeply devoted to youth, and a tireless
globetrotter, Jacques sowed the seed for CWY one evening early in the 1970s, while
talking with his children. He said, “Imagine a group of young people going to live
in a small village in Côte d'Ivoire for three months, with a group of young Ivorians
who would already have spent three months with them in Canada. Together, they would
discover what each individual can do to change the world.”
In the following years, CWY flourished and grew under the watchful eye of the man whose passion and boundless energy had made it all possible. In 1977, Mr. Hébert also founded Katimavik, a volunteer program in Canada for people aged 17 to 21.
Today, the CWY model developed by Mr. Hébert is world renowned and has created thousands of young global citizens who are able to cultivate tolerance and find constructive and peaceful resolutions to conflict.
“Jacques had the profound belief that young people can effect extraordinary changes within society,” says Don Johnston, president of CWY. “His work will continue to inspire hundreds of people throughout the world, young and old alike.”
After Mr. Hébert's death, more than 190 past participants wrote to CWY; in our opinion, they are the best placed to pay tribute to him. We invite you to read their testimonials on the organization's website:
Testimonials in
English
Testimonials in
French
Read the complete biography of Jacques Hébert
New projects in Benin and Costa Rica
This summer,
CWY will launch two new Global Learner projects: one in Benin and one in Costa Rica.
Through these projects, people between the ages of 18 and 25 will have the chance
to spend six weeks overseas working as volunteers and learning about another culture.
This is a unique international experience: Spread the word! The deadline for
registration is Friday, April 25, 2008.
More information about the projects in Benin and Costa Rica
Programming for 2008–2009 underway!
This
year CWY will be running 56 programs in Canada and in 19 countries in Africa, Asia,
the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Thirty-eight groups will take
part in the core program, in which participants have the chance to live and work
as volunteers for three months in a Canadian community followed by three months
in another country.
In addition, eighteen groups will take part in the Global Learner program, which gives young people the chance to go overseas on shorter educational programs run by CWY in conjunction with schools or youth groups.
In all, more than a thousand young people will have the chance to take part in an international educational experience like no other!
Join our official Facebook group
CWY has an official Facebook group, which is already more than 1000 members strong! Colourful photos from around the world, videos, new international projects, innovative ideas for action and involvement… It's the ideal place to contact friends and other members of the Canada World Youth family.
“CWY broadened my vision of global realities,” says young Bolivian volunteer
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Bolivian participant María Eugenia Robles Mengoa with her Canadian counterpart Laurel McCalla. |
Each year, hundreds of young volunteers take part in CWY programs. Here is a testimonial from María Eugenia Robles Mengoa, who participated in the 2007–2008 Alberta/Bolivia project. In a recent letter to the Canadian consul in Bolivia, the young Bolivian explains how CWY's bilateral program changed her vision of the world. She plans to use the skills developed during her project to try to improve the living conditions of other Bolivians.
“After CWY, my life was completely changed. The program allowed me to broaden my vision of global realities and to identify what I want to do with my future—what goals I want to attain.
…Thanks to CWY, I'm much more confident. …My time in Canada made me realize that I am just as good as the next person, …that I shouldn't feel inferior—and nor should my people. Many of us are under the impression that coming from a developing country makes us inferior to people from developed countries. I have come to understand that this way of thinking closes many doors. I feel fortunate to have been born in a Third World country, in Latin America. It has given me the chance to learn to deal with what we refer to as ‘reality' on a daily basis, for I am surrounded by poverty. I have also come to realize that many different factors have contributed to the present state of my country. And it is this present state that I would like to somehow play a role in changing.
CWY gave me the chance to work with a variety of organizations, to see that the help we need so badly here does exist, and to realize that we can create a social system similar to the one that Canada has.
I think we are all capable of doing great things. We just have to want to, and we have to believe in ourselves.
These realizations, which are the fruit of my reflections since the end of my CWY program, have helped me to reorient my studies and to become the person I am today. My family and friends say that I have grown a great deal, and they applaud me for putting such conviction and passion into my ideals.
…I hope you will remember that I told you I intend to become the Bolivian ambassador to Canada some day. And when we meet again in Canada, I will be happy to invite you over for a little tea!”
María Eugenia Robles Mengoa
Canada World Youth participant from Bolivia
CWY at the 20th World Volunteer Conference
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Anshula Chowdhury, shown here (bottom of photo) while on her CWY Nova Scotia/Jamaica program in 2006-2007, recently took part in the 20th World Volunteer Conference in Panama. |
Vlad Gomez, a CWY employee in Edmonton, and Anshula Chowdhury, past participant of the 2006–2007 Nova Scotia/Jamaica program, took part in the 20th World Volunteer Conference in Panama City, Panama, from April 2 to 5, 2008.
The conference was organized by IAVE (the International Association for Volunteer Effort) and YMCA Panama, with the theme “Volunteering for Human Development: More Solidarity, Less Poverty.” Representatives from volunteer organizations in Latin America and throughout the world were present. “The objective was to give people the opportunity to exchange information, experiences, and knowledge pertaining to the various facets and impacts of volunteerism,” says Vlad Gomez. “The conference touched on volunteerism and senior citizens, volunteerism and youth, international volunteerism, corporate volunteerism, and the role of governments. Another objective was to focus on achieving the Millennium Development Goals.”
The event also included a youth conference from March 31 to April 2, during which 100 young people from Panama and 100 more from countries around the world had the chance to talk about youth volunteer projects that tend to promote solidarity and equity. “I got to meet people from Japan, Taiwan, Russia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Chili, Haiti and Scotland, and we discussed a wide variety of approaches to volunteerism, the impacts of volunteerism, and innovative ways of financing projects. …This conference was a great opportunity for me!” says Anshula Chowdhury of her experience. Vlad and Anshula presented the CWY program as an innovative model for youth volunteerism which cultivates a commitment to the creation of more just and equitable societies.
To contact us: communication@cwy-jcm.org
We thank the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), as well as our generous donors, for their invaluable financial support.