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The following summary of our activities and accomplishments
(since our arrival in Washington, DC - 1996) is to illustrate
the diversity of our work, and should in no way be considered
a full and complete list of our committee work or activities.
For your convenience this list is in reverse-chronological
order. If you would like a full list of the committees
and coalitions on which we serve, please visit our Committees
page.
• Provide presentations, training workshops, program
coordination, and advocacy leadership
• Participate in issue, advocacy, and program
development campaigns and committees
• Review and edit policy documents, issue statements,
and advocacy campaign plans
• Consult with international governmental and
non-governmental organizations
• Disseminate books and information to partners
and international agencies
• Issue action alerts for youthful offenders facing
the death penalty
• Answer questions of students and other interested
individuals
• Provide information and resources to NYAP and
its affiliates
• Developed five course curriculum modules
for United States high schools; test pilot programs
have begun.
• Developed two new resources papers and will have three
more resource papers complete by end of the year.
•
Developing two new books: street children, and refugee
children, each with supporting education modules.
• Developing two new continuing education courses for
DC Public School Teachers, with support of the District.
•
Participated in the CWLA/Deepalaya NGO Professional
Exchange to India through the U.S. State Department.
• Recruited, selected, and trained six youth leaders
from the U.S. to attend the Children's World Congress
(Italy).
• Provided training at the World Conference on Mental
Health and InterCAMHS World Conference in New Zealand.
•
Provided training on child labor and its effects to
American Psychological Association and Congressional
Fellows.
• Provided introductory training on child soldiers to
the National Forum on Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
• Provided introductory workshop on human exploitation
to the youth leaders of the Religious Action Center
.
• Served as a panelist on the State of the World's Exploited
Children to the National Young Leaders Conference.
• Served as a consultant on three documentary films:
Violence of Light; Poetry in Wartime; and one yet unnamed.
• Provided advice and contacts to the Oprah show for
the July 15 program entitled: Atrocities against Children.
• Hosted Indian Professional Exchange delegates through
the U.S. State Department to discuss child welfare.
• Hosted Ukrainian Professional Exchange delegates through
the U.S. State Department to discuss child issues.
• Hosted Turkmenistan Youth Exchange Delegates through
the U.S. State Department; served as lead speaker.
•
Had articles published at Family News and Focus, Caribbean
Voice, Washington Post, Education Update, etc.
• Serve on the North American Regional Consultation
to the United Nations Study on Violence against Children.
• Serve on the Youth Participation Committee for the
U.N. Study on Violence Against Children (North America).
• Invited to join the Global Campaign for Education
to promote/further basic education for children worldwide.
• Assisted with Global Action Day: the largest lobby
event ever on behalf of children's rights (107 countries).
• Consulted the new Acting Director of the International
Child Labor Program at the U.S. Department of Labor.
• Consulted the Office of Sen. Harkin, Rep. Engels,
and government agencies on Cocoa Protocol and Tariff
Acts.
• Met with founder of Global March against Child Labor,
Kailash Satyarthi, on CWC planning (Washington, DC).
•
Attended the World Bank Commission meeting on International
Child Labor with ICCLE and the Global March.
• Served as the Chair of the Youth Participation on
the CRC Committee, and as a Steering Committee member.
• Served on the Department of Labor, OSHA Teen Worker
Editorial Committee, consulting on youth websites.
•
Developed a user-friendly website to educate youth and
the public about national/international child issues.
• Developed a quarterly e-Newsletter on national/international
child issues and developments reaching 4,000+.
• Accepted to the NGO Committee on UNICEF which provides
us with a voice and consultative status at UNICEF.
• Provided consultation and resources to a new YAP International
Project: Urban Youth Academy (charter school).
• Provided summer programs to more than 90 DC children
with Reaching Out's Summer Enrichment Program.
•
Provided interviews, background, and referrals to numerous
national media sources regarding our issue areas.
•
Listed as the website of the week in Parade Magazine
and School District Administrators Magazine.
• Developed a new report on the “Arguments
Surrounding the Execution of Youthful Offenders”.
• Created a draft template for a week-long child
slavery curriculum guide for use in U.S. high schools.
• Provided advocacy training programs for the
CWLA on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
• Co-founded the Campaign for U.S. Ratification
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
• Served on the International Advisory Committee
(IAC) for the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA).
• Participated in and provided information to
the U.S. Department of Labor’s conference on child
soldiers.
• Co-sponsored and coordinated the “Breaking
the Silence” Summit through the U.S. Campaign
against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
with 30 former CSEC from around the nation (Washington,
DC).
• Developed resource paper on the case example
of former ‘restavek’ in Haiti (modern child
labor/slavery).
• Met in India with Kailash Satyarthi, founder
of the Global March against Child Labor, for project
planning.
• Celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Congressional
Human Rights Caucus with guest, the Dalai Lama.
• Initiated an education and outreach program
on child issue areas for U.S. students, teachers, and
parents.
• More than doubled the use of interns to improve
productivity and response, and reduce operation costs.
• Invited to join the International Advisory Committee
(IAC) of the Fair Labor Association (FLA) - New York.
• Met new partners at the International Red Cross
Conference on Children Affected by Armed Conflict (Spain).
• Participated in the Under Our Wings: 2nd Annual
Conference on Juvenile Justice (Las Vegas, Nevada).
• Applied to join the NGO Committee on UNICEF,
the premier U.N. consultative body on child issues.
• Developed new publication – Stateless
Children: Youth Who Are without Citizenship.
• Developed new publication – Modern Child
Slavery: The Coercion and Exploitation of Youth Worldwide.
• Participated in the UN General Assembly’s
Special Session (UNGASS) on Children.
• Participated in the International Forum for
Child Welfare World Forum: "A World Fit for Children".
• Participated in the National Conference on Missing
and Exploited Children White House Summit.
• Coordinated the U.S. Campaign Against the Commercial
Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC).
• Reviewed the Attorney General’s guidelines
for T visas for individuals trafficked into the U.S.
• Responded to a U.S. government request to draft
legislation on the issue of trafficking children.
• Participated in and secured experts for the
“Under Our Wings” conference on the juvenile
death penalty.
• Provided ‘Stateless Children’ booklets
to NGOs in Uganda and Eastern Europe at the request
of UNICEF.
• Launched website for the U.S. Campaign against
the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.
• Secured individuals to testify at the Senate
hearing on the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children,
Child Prostitution and Child Pornography; celebrated
its ratification later in 2002.
• Led in the push for United States ratification
of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children
in Armed Conflict; celebrated its ratification by the
U.S. Senate later in 2002.
• Served on the International Advisory Committee
for Child Welfare League of America.
• Consulted with numerous international NGOs,
the Vatican Office Representatives on Trafficking; the
Embassy of Thailand staff; the Ugandan Minister of Gender,
Labor and Social Development; numerous Members of Congress;
members of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child;
and many others.
• Developed and coordinated new report –
“Case Studies on the Impact of Small Arms on War-Affected
Children in Cambodia, Mozambique and Colombia”.
• Provided research for the United Nations Conference
on Small Arms and Light Weapons.
• Designed and coordinated an Advocacy Day in
Washington, DC for NYAP Senior Staff.
• NGO Participant in the 2nd World Congress against
the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.
• Prepared research for the United Nations General
Assembly - Special Session on Children (UNGASS).
• Coordinated conference to co-found the U.S.
Campaign against the Sexual Exploitation of Children.
• Established the steering committee for the U.S.
Campaign against the Sexual Exploitation of Children.
• Developed online issue booklets and youth gang
report, entitled “Youth Gangs: Crashed and Burned
Early”.
• Published a quarterly newsletter on national
and international youth issues sent to partners and
subscribers.
• Developed new publication –
Discrimination Against the Girl Child: Female Infanticide,
Female Genital Cutting, and Honor Killing.
• Provided Discrimination Against the Girl Child
books to Members of Congress, at their request, to assist
in the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
• Created the Execution Action Alert Network to
prevent and eliminate the execution of youthful offenders.
• Developed and coordinated youth delegation for
international conference (Manila, Philippines).
• Selected to recruit and train the US youth delegates
for the ECPAT International Youth Conference.
• Designed and Presented “Implementation
without Ratification: CRC” at conference in Sydney,
Australia.
• NGO Participant in the United Nations Conference
on Women: Beijing +5 "Women 2000: Gender Equality,
Development and Peace for the 21st Century".
• Organized a rally with Amnesty International
against the trade of Conflict Diamonds in Sierra Leone
• Provided Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
(CSEC) workshops with NYAP state affiliates.
• Participated and assisted in the national and
international work of the Child Rights Caucus.
• Hosted child care workers from Russia, China,
Ukraine, South Africa, Western Sahara, Argentina, and
Jordan.
• Published a quarterly newsletter on national
and international youth issues sent to partners and
subscribers.
• Co-founded the International Initiative Against
Sexual Trafficking (IIAST).
• Developed new publication –
Children and the HIV/AIDS Crisis: Youth Who Are Infected
and Affected.
• Developed new publication – Children Behind
Bars: Youth Who Are Detained, Incarcerated and Executed.
• Created an improved version of the Youth Advocate
Program International website.
• Lobbied for and succeeded in the ratification
of U.N. International Labor Organization (ILO) 182.
• Organized Summer Citizenship Program in Washington,
DC for youth from YAP state affiliates.
• Coordinated “Challenges of Palestinian
Youth in the New Millennium” international conference
in Bethlehem.
• Became the United States partner of the International
Young People’s Participation Project of ECPAT.
• Published a quarterly newsletter on national
and international youth issues sent to partners and
subscribers.
• Led a study tour for NYAP leaders to the West
Bank and Gaza Strip to meet with youth service organizations.
• Completed two new reports, “Juvenile Justice
in the United States” and “Risks and Realities
for Youth Living in the Age of AIDS”.
• Developed new publication – Child Labor:
Exploited and Abused Youth at Work.
• Developed new publication – A Right World:
Helping Children Understand the CRC.
• Developed new publication – Commercial
Sexual Exploitation of Children: Youth Involved in Prostitution,
Pornography and Sex Trafficking.
• Co-founded and served on the Steering Committee
of the US Campaign to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers.
• Co-sponsored a symposium on the UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child at Georgetown University.
• Served on the U.S. Coordinating Committee of
the Global March Against Child Labor
• Joined the Child Labor Coalition (CLC) to positively
affect outcomes of national/international youth decisions.
• Helped establish the U.S. Alliance for the Convention
on the Rights of the Child.
• Published a quarterly newsletter on national
and international youth issues sent to partners and
subscribers.
• Created and distributed a 1999 wall calendar
on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• Produced two YAP International Reports –
one on U.S. farm worker children and one on the commercial
sexual exploitation of children in the United States.
• Provided assistance to a local organization
in South Africa to create its own Youth Advocate Program.
• Supplied equipment to an educational program
working with Afghan refugees.
• Coordinated a study tour for NYAP to investigate
and examine youth issues in China.
• Co-sponsored the national NYAP conference and
secured attendance of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
• Developed new publication –
Child Soldiers: Youth Who Participate in Armed Conflicts.
• Created a report on the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child (CRC) sent to 2,000 organizations
• Led on the U.S. Coordinating Committee for the
Global March Against Child Labor, to highlight child
labor issues.
• Published a quarterly newsletter on national
and international youth issues sent to partners and
subscribers.
• Participated in the Second World Congress on
Family Law and the Rights of Children and Youth.
• Hosted youth organization staff from Tajikistan,
Ghana, and Sri Lanka to discuss future exchange programs.
• Conducted an educational staff exchange program
in South Africa.
• Opening of the YAP International office at 4545
42nd Street, NW, in Washington, DC.
• Palestinian Youth Service Program, a job-training
and educational program for youth in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip was formally started and recognized by the
Israeli and Palestinian governments.
• Co-sponsored the national conference on child
welfare issues: Developing Partnerships for Children
and Families: A Public and Private Initiative
• Conducted training sessions and workshops on
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to
educate youth workers around the United States.
© copyright - Youth Advocate
Program International 2003-04
Last updated 10/11/2004
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