NEW New Partnership: Brightest Young Minds (Australia)

IYPF is proud to announce a new partnership with Brightest Young Minds(BYM). BYM aims to foster a new model of leadership in the up and coming generation of young Australians through a 5 day life-changing event that provides 18-25 year-olds with a platform to launch their own social initiatives and affect issues that they are personally passionate about. An example from 2007 was can be found here: www.bipolarexpedition.org.

The applications for the 2008 BYM summit(for Australian delegates) are now open, and can be found on their web site.

AGM Documents online

The documents prepared for the AGM and minutes of the meeting have been uploaded and can be found on the Membership AGM page.

• Presentation of IYPF Annual Report for 2006/2007
• Presentation on IYPF Strategic Plan 2007/2009
• Financial Reports for 2006/2007 Financial Year
• Director's Declaration
• Director's Report
• Minutes

New Directors elected to Board of Directors

Congratulations to those successfully elected to the Board of Directors at the recent AGM. The successful candidates were:

• Morse Flores (Swizerland)
• Constance Walyaro (Kenya)
• Jodie Nelson (Australia)

It was a very close ballot this year, we had a field of 11 very high quality candidates from across the globe. Hopefully those that were unsuccessful can find other ways to contribute to IYPF.

See Board of Directors for more information.

Get your IYPS applications in [Applications Closed]

While the 3rd International Young Professionals Summit in Manchester is still a while away yet. The due date for IYPS applications is fast approaching!

The aim of the Summit is to bring together young professionals for networking, capacity building and information sharing around our core theme of “How young professionals can help to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals " and specific topics will include:

• Governance, economy and education
• Women and gender equality
• Healthcare and HIV / AIDS
• Environmental sustainability

For more information about IYPS, please go to the IYPS website

IYPF AGM

The IYPF will hold its 2007 AGM in Brisbane, Australia on Monday 17 December from 6:15 for a 6:30pm start and will finish at 7:15pm. The AGM will be held in the Community Meeting Room, Ground Floor, Brisbane Square Library, 266 George Street, Brisbane.

At the AGM, the IYPF membership will elect 3 new Directors to serve on its Board. The IYPF is currently calling for nominations from its membership for these positions. Please see the Director position description and director nomination form. Note that only IYPF members are eligible to nominate - you can become an IYPF member today by applying online.

The official AGM notification will be distributed to IYPF members on Monday November 26 along with details of director candidates, proxy and ballot forms, and other business to be conducted at the AGM.

For any queries, contact Cameron Neil, IYPF CEO, on cameronneil@iypf.org.

Young Professionals Stand Up Against Poverty

On October 17th 2007, members of the International Young Professionals Foundation will be joining millions of people around the Globe in a World Record attempt to Stand Up Against Poverty. Local IYPF events will be held where IYPF members and other young professionals will meet and discuss the role of Young Professionals in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The following are examples of these events.

Country: England, UK
What: Fundraising Dinner
Event Coordinator: Sarah-Jo Dawson
Contact: sarahjodawson@iypf.org

The event will be a fundraising dinner in London with speakers from IYPF between each course and a discussion at the end on how YPs can help to achieve the MDGs. Sarah-Jo Dawson, IYPF President, will read the Stand Up Pledge. Attendees will bring photographs of poverty and Young Professionals helping to fight poverty in the UK. There will be a fundraising raffle with eco-friendly prizes and white bands will be on sale. White banners are being made for the event using recycled materials.

Country: Nigeria
What: Street Party
Event Coordinator: EsterEshiet
Contact: esthereshiet@iypf.org

In Nigeria IYPF is collaborating with Activista Nigeria, the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA), Creating Local Connections-West Africa (CLCWA) and the Youth and Child Labour Elimination Project (YCEP) to take action against poverty through “Calabar city walk against poverty”. The event is targeted at 100 participants ageds 15-40, with talk shows at strategic points in the city and stand up activity at the millennium park serving as a wrap up.

Country: Peru
What: Party
Event Coordinator: Ursula Carrascal
Contact: ucarrascal@yahoo.es

The event is at a restaurant run by young social entrepreneurs. Photos of the recent earthquake disaster in Peru will be shown, as well as photos of members of the VIDA organisation working to put up solar powered cookers in the Ica area. Guests will also watch a video and recieve a flyer on "Young social entrepreneurs and the MDGs" written by members of IYPF

Country: Cote D’Ivoire
What: One minute’s silence
Event Coordinator: Yocolly Desmosthenes
Contact: yocolly1@yahoo.fr

The event will be a one minute silence with IYPF members and other young professionals from across the country participating

Country: Australia
What: Dinner Party with Speakers
Event Coordinators: Cameron Neil
Contact: cameronneil@iypf.org

The Canberra event will be a dinner with two guest speakers from IYPF in Africa and a discussion of how young professionals generally, and Australian YPs specifically, can best contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. There will also be a second event that will be an informal gathering of IYPF friends.

Country: Australia
What: Dinner Party
Event Coordinators: Britt Jacobsen
Contact: brittjacobsen@iypf.org

Melbourne IYPF members will have a dinner party where they will discuss what Poverty means to them and look at photographs of poverty in Australia. This will be followed by going to help at a shelter for homeless people.

Country: Ukraine
What: Event at Odessa University
Event Coordinators: Eddy Orinda
Contact: eddyorinda@iypf.org

An informative forum on the Millennium Development Goals, for the law students of the Odessa National Academy of Law: Faculty of International Legal relations and Legal Journalism. It is anticipated that 100 students, specialists and lecturers of law will attend. There will also be a weblink to the IYPF Stand Up event in England

Country: Zambia
What: Paper Presentation at the National Youth Symposium
Event Coordinators: Justin Somi
Contact: justinsomi200@yahoo.co.uk

A young professional of 24 years old will deliver a paper presentation “Stand up Speak out against poverty” at the National Youth Symposium in the central province, with all nine provinces represented.

Country: Pakistan
What: IYPF / WESS Event
Event Coordinators: WESS
Contact: ihksd@hotmail.com

Country: Kenya
What: IYPF Event
Event Coordinators: Edna Reichi
Contact: ednariechi@iypf.org

Country: USA
What: Teleconference with Spain
Event Coordinators: Pilar Dafonte
Contact: pilardafonte@yahoo.com

Country: Spain
What: Teleconference with USA
Event Coordinators: Pilar Dafonte
Contact: pilardafonte@yahoo.com

Global
There will also be an online global gathering on Facebook where any members or friends of IYPF can have their say about Poverty and how Young Professionals can help to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

More details of these events can be found on our website www.iyps.org

IYPF turns 6 today!

Congratulations IYPF!

• 2007-2009 Strategic Plan launched
  
• IYPF Organisational Climate Change Strategy launched
• StandUp with IYPF on Oct 17
• New and Improved Web Site Launched
• Streamlined Membership Registration - Join Now
• International Young Professionals Summit Application Form Released - Download

Coming soon:

• Staff Recruitment & Development Program. E-mail brittjacobsen@iypf.org to register your interest

ANNOUNCE: IYPF Stragic Plan Launched!

Posted by Gregory Nelson on 4th October 2007

Earlier in the year I wrote about 2007 being an exciting year for IYPF, and with IYPF´s 6th birthday here, we are now on the verge on seeing some major things coming into fruition. So far this year we have seen:

• Plans for IYPS progressed significantly. Nearly a year out we have had 250 expressions of interest.
• The Stand Up events are shaping up well. We got a tremendous response for position to help support the events - nearly 150 people applied!
• The new web site has been deployed, which has resulted in a doubling of traffic coming into the site, excluding the explosion of interest in the site once it was changed over.

For IYPF's 6th birthday, we are making a number of announcements on new things happening that will set IYPF up for years to come:

• A new membership system, making it easier to sign up and become involved in IYPF. In the past 6 months alone over 800 people have looked up information on joining IYPF.
• Making public the strategy that will be carrying IYPF forward for the next three years
• Implementing a new recruitment program that will build upon IYPF's internal capacity.

Together these will establish a foundation from which many new and exciting things will come. If you would like to see a simplified public version of the document, you can find it here. I would encourage anyone who is interested in how we are moving forward to contact me at gregnelson@iypf.org, or add me to your MSN at amorpha_@hotmail.com.

About the author: Gregory Nelson sits on the board of IYPF where he heads up the Strategy Working Group. Over the past 6 months he has worked on developing the 2007-2009 Strategic Plan among other internal reforms.

ANNOUNCE: IYPF Climate Change Strategy

In September 2007, after 6 months of Board and staff discussion and input from members, the IYPF developed a climate change strategy. The purpose of the strategy is to guide the IYPF's activities over the immediate to short term to enable it to be carbon neutral and to set an example to its members and partners of the importance of action on global warming.

The 2007 Strategy, to be reviewed at IYPS 2008 next August, includes the following actions:

• Undertaking a study to develop a greenhouse gas inventory for the organization
• Convening a sustainable Summit in 2008
• Developing indicators of environmental performance that the organization will report on at regular intervals
• Educating members on climate change

For the full strategy, download it here. Send any comments to climate@iypf.org.

Make a difference…Change the world

There are some who seek to make a difference. There are some who seek to change the world. Is this you? Are you sitting on an idea that you feel can create a positive impact in your community or beyond? Are you developing a project but just cannot get it started due to lack of support? IYPF can help you!

By successfully applying to become an IYPF-approved member project, you will gain support from the IYPF Implementation Team. Your designated member contact will liaise with you, providing a connection to a network of skilled people and partner organizations. Often, too, ideas for sourcing funds can be provided.

IYPF has worked with projects such as the Barefoot Power in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, Basics for HIV/AIDS Control Project in Uganda, and Empowering Youth for a Better tomorrow in Zambia. Although these projects vary in their focus, they are all aligned with the IYPF values and vision of a global community of young professionals creating a better world for current and future generations through local and global action.

To download the project proposal format, take a look at the flow chart, or just to find out more about our service, log on to http://www.iypf.org/member-projects.htm.

About the author: Ailene Castro has recently joined the IYPF staff as a MPA – External Communications. She will be working on strengthening external communications for the organisation and providing links for people who wish to join the IYPF network.