The Wellspring

Australian Human Rights Commission is looking for human rights advocates to nominate themselves or others for this year’s Human Rights Medals and Awards.

“Hundreds and thousands of Australians are working persistently around the country year in, year out, to improve the human rights of others and to promote a fairer place for all of us,” President Catherine Branson QC said.

“The Australian Human Rights Commission has been recognising these efforts since 1987 by awarding the Human Rights Medal and Awards to these quiet achievers without whose efforts, our country would be the poorer.

“If you know anyone, anywhere around the country who has been actively trying to protect and promote the human rights of others, nominate them before Friday 2 October.”

Nominations are being called for the Human Rights Medal and Young People’s Human Rights Medal and seven award categories: Law, Community (Organisation), Community (Individual), Literature (non-fiction), Print Media, Television and Radio.

For further information and to download a nomination form, see http://www.humanrights.gov.au/hr_awards/.

Nominations close Friday, 2 October, 2009.

ABC Heywire is searching for 40 young creative leaders from rural and regional Australia to tell their stories on the ABC and take part in the Heywire 2010 Forum in Canberra.

The Heywire competition is open to young people aged 16 – 22 living outside of Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide or Perth. To enter, create a story in any media – text, audio or video – about life in Australia outside the major cities. Successful stories are presented on the ABC through ABC Radio, triple j and ABC.net.au and winners also attend the Heywire Forum – a week-long all-expenses-paid trip – in Canberra in February 2009.

Entries are judged in the ABC Local Radio regions and one winner is chosen from each region for the calendar year.

For further information, see http://heywire.abc.net.au/. For further information on how to enter, and to download an entry form, see http://blogs.abc.net.au/heywire/how-to-participate.html.

Entries close 9 October, 2009.

The annual oikos Student Entrepreneurship Award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurial student projects in the field of higher education for sustainable development that have had a proven and visible impact. An international award jury assesses the projects.

In 2009, the Award will focus on two areas:

• Curricula Change: projects that equip tomorrow’s decision-makers with knowledge of sustainable economics and management and action-oriented skills.
• Sustainable Campus: initiatives that make campus life and work more sustainable.

Winners receive €1000 and the opportunity to participate in the oikos Winter School 2009 (15-21 November): a one week training session on sustainability entrepreneurship at the management school Witten/Herdecke in Germany. At the Winter School, participants will learn about sustainability and student entrepreneur projects, engage with student leaders from across the world, and build a platform to plan and expand future projects.

For further information, see http://www.oikos-international.org/en/projects/award/award-2009.html.

The British Council is looking for outstanding young Australians (aged 16-19) with a track record in social entrepreneurship, community activism or volunteer work to take part in its Global Changemakers programme.

Global Changemakers is a British Council programme that supports a global network of young activists and social entrepreneurs to develop as leaders through intensive leadership training and mentoring with business and political leaders. It creates opportunities for young people to present a consolidated voice on youth concerns to political leaders, whilst becoming part of an active global network.

In November 2009, a group of 60 outstanding candidates from around the world, including Australia, will be selected to attend high-level leadership and media training in the UK. Selected through a global competitive process, successful candidates will improve their leadership skills and be connected to a network of like-minded people around the world.

After a week-long intensive session, participants will have prepared a brief that a peer-elected group will present at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January 2010.

Candidates should:

• Be aged 16-19 in November 2009
• Show leadership potential
• Have demonstrated communication and team working skills
• Have a track record of social entrepreneurship, community activism and/or volunteer work
• Have good analytical skills
• Be free to attend the Global Youth Summit in the UK from 15-21 November 2009 as well as the WEF Annual Meeting in Switzerland from 27-31 January 2010, if selected
• Possess a strong interest in areas such as community development, sustainable development, international relations, human rights, law and sociology.

For further information, see http://www.britishcouncil.org/au-globalchangemakers.htm. To apply online, see http://www.global-changemakers.net/. Applications need to include a YouTube video addressing the selection criteria. Applications close 21 August, 2009.

International Youth Day was established by the UN in 1999, to raise awareness of the importance of youth participation and investing in youth. The theme of the day for 2009 is Sustainability: Our Challenge. Our Future.

In celebration of 2009 International Youth Day, the World Bank’s Youthink! programme is holding an essay competition. Young people from across the world aged 16-25 are invited to submit a single, original and previously-unpublished essay of no more than 1000 words on the following topic:

What are your tangible ideas for how youth can create effective, long-lasting change? How can youth in your country—or around the world—work together to really make a difference?

Three entries will receive prizes and be published by the World Bank.

For further information and for submission instructions, see http://youthinkblog.worldbank.org/youthink-international-youth-day-essay-competition.

Applications close 12 August, 2009.

The Japanese Embassy in Australia is seeking participants for the 22nd Ship for World Youth program.

The Japanese government has announced that Australia has been selected as one of the countries that will participate in the 22nd Ship for World Youth (SWY22) Program, a two-month international cultural exchange program that brings together over 250 young people from around the world to learn about international cooperation and understanding. They are now inviting applications from young Australians aged 18-30 for Australia’s 12-member delegation. Selections is based on the ability of applicants to contribute to youth development activities (including international exchange activities) and their interest in and understanding of Japan.

Over a two-month period, participants will be involved in a wide range of activities aimed at fostering cultural sensitivity, understanding and friendship. Most of the program is conducted on board the cruise liner Fuji Maru, with some activities scheduled in Japan, and others in a number of seaports that are visited in the course of the voyage.

The basic itinerary of SWY22 in 2010 will be:

• Jan. 12 Arrival of the non-Japanese participants in Tokyo
• Jan. 13-21 Activities in Japan
• Jan. 22 Departure from Japan
• Jan. 22-March 5, Official on-board activities of the SWY22 program
• March 5 Return to Japan, disembarkation (all participants).

The Participating countries for SWY22 will be:

• Australia
• Bahrain
• Ecuador
• Egypt
• Greece
• India
• Japan
• Kenya
• Oman
• Sri Lanka
• Turkey
• United Arab Emirates
• Yemen

The ship will stop in India and the UAE.

For further information, see http://www.swyaustralia.org/ and http://www.swyaa.org/. To download application forms, see http://www.au.emb-japan.go.jp/e_web/education/Ship.htm.

Applications close 24 August, 2009.

The Brightest Young Minds Summit is on once again. This year’s Summit will be held from 27 September – 2 October at the University of Sydney.

The organisers explain: “Each year, the Brightest Young Minds brings together 100 of Australia’s brightest young people between the ages of 18-28 to work together and develop new social entrepreneurship initiatives, receiving mentoring from some of the country’s most inspiring business and community leaders.”

Applications are open to all young Australians aged 18-28, and close Sunday 2 August.

For further information and to apply online (as in previous years, there is a $25 application fee – though organisers promise that successful applicants will not bear any further cost for their participation at the Summit), see http://www.bym.com.au/. The BYM Foundation have also produced a nifty YouTube video:

The Multifaith Future Leaders Program is a three-day leadership workshop to be run from 22-24 February, 2010 by the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission, that includes activities designed to engage people of different backgrounds in learning new skills, exploring commonalities and making connections. These activities will help the young people build relationships so that they can support each other in future leadership endeavours.

The workshop, the second of what is intended to be an annual event, is open to young people aged between 18-26 who are ‘committed members of a faith community’ (this would seem, rather unfortunately, to rule out atheists). After an interview process, approximately 40-50 applicants will be selected to participate. All food, accommodation and activities will be free of charge.

For further information, see http://www.antidef.org.au/secure/downloadfile.asp?fileid=1011066. To register your interest, see http://www.antidef.org.au/www/309/1001127/displayarticle/1010655.html. Though there is no strict closing date for registration of interest, the Anti-Defamation Commission have requested that it be completed by September or October.