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Town Hall Meeting - Israel - Haifa University of Haifa - Haifa, Israel Friday, January 8, 2010 25 students ages 21-25 Moderator: Yair Goldfinger Audience: - The students are part of a program that is funded by the Raveh Ravid &Co Fund for Promoting Excellence and Social. (Raveh Ravid Fund) - They are all first or second year students at University of Haifa, Israel. Method: - The group was divided to 5 groups of 5 students each. - Each group came with a list of the most important global challenges facing its generation. The list was presented to the entire group. - Each group then came with suggestions to world leaders (and local leaders) on how to address these problems, and presented the solution to the entire group. - A group discussion took place around the different issues and solutions and on concrete actions they can take today to make a change. Problem Identification: What do you see as the most important global challenges facing your generation? - Education – becoming more expensive and less accessible to more and more people, not concentrating enough on professional education but more on theoretical education, does not prepare the students for the real life, professional level of teachers is decreasing. - Violence – increasing interpersonal violence. - Values – weakening of the family cell, higher and higher percentage of divorces, enterprises prefer to reduce their operating costs before treating their employees fairly or keeping values. - Strengthening of extreme religion, misuse of the religion - Corruption – mainly in government/authorities. - The environment - Not enough is being done to protect the environment and preserve the planet resources. • All were in agreement that most of those issues can be solved with better education (“it all starts and ends with education”) Imagine Solutions: Prepare three concrete recommendations to world leaders on how to address the problem you have identified? - Increase the salary of teachers and add training for “real life” as part of the program (teach how to manage a household, how to manage a small business etc) - Create a program where you can get free education in return for national service / volunteering for the community and similar activities (for example 3 years of free studies in the university in exchange for 1 year of national service or 1 year of volunteering to some non profit organization). - Make public transport more available and cheaper. - Lower taxes and provide incentives for companies that support values, protect the environment and observe green policies on one hand, and increase fines on companies that pollute, treat employees unfairly etc. on the other hand. - Strengthening the family cell – Create government programs to strengthen the family cell, mainly through consulting and support. - Increase salary in the public sector to attract more talent, make the government work more transparently using the internet (report on each minister's daily activities/calendar) - Teach at school from an early age about the different religions in the world, so we better understand other religions. Commit to Action: What actions can you take within your own scope of influence to have an impact on the issue you have identified? - Recycle more. - Start with changing yourself, and then work on delivering the message to the surrounding neighbourhood and family. - Commute more using public transport and less using your car. - Plan more family dinners. - Work with schools in the area in order to teach children about higher education, the importance of education etc. - Smile more. Pictures: more pictures   
Jan 9th, 2010 - 10:51:04 | Yair GoldfingerRight To Play - Townhall Meeting Summary Total number of Townhall meetings: 13 Total number of participants: 522 Age group average (estimated): 15-24 MIDDLE EAST Jordan: 3 Townhall meetings conducted 63 youth participants (26 male, 37 female) Age range: 13-25 years Lebanon: 3 Townhall meetings conducted 68 youth participants (43 male, 25 female) Age range: 10-28 (most youth between ages of 14-23) AFRICA Liberia: 1 Townhall meeting conducted 36 youth participants (gender breakdown unknown) Age range estimated to be between 15-18 Rwanda: 1 Townhall meeting conducted 46 youth participated (33 male, 13 female) Age range: 15 - 22 years old Uganda: 4 Townhall meetings conducted 271 youth participants (145 female, 126 male) Age range: 13-26 years old EUROPE: UK: 1 Townhall meeting conducted 38 youth participants (18 male, 20 female) Age range: 18 - 25 years old Dec 23rd, Dec 23rd, 2009 - 16:38:09 | Right To Play Right To Play - Global Redesign Initiative - Youth Consultations Townhall Meeting – United Kingdom Date: November 15, 2009 Place: Roehampton University Number of participants: 38 (18 men & 20 women) Age of participants: 18 - 25 years old Demographic of Focus Group: Right To Play student ambassadors Facilitated by: Will Bennett, Right To Play UK Number of groups: 5 Economics 1. How can we redesign the world that there are not extreme gaps between the rich and the poor? Empower youth around the world as a global generation so they can work for themselves to close the gap. There must be focus at a grass roots level as well as that at the top end where there must be fair distribution of finance. However a holistic view to what it means to be rich and poor must be taken and social inclusion, human rights, and access to education must be fair and equal for all. 2. How can we ensure that every person has an opportunity to be employed with a job that is related to their skills and interests? Education is key and we hold a belief that there is a place for a vocational aspect to traditional learning techniques. There must be programmes that give confidence to the individual so that they can try new things and believe in themselves, which will lead to achievement and employment. Of course there must be always be opportunities to apply for- whether it is further education, vocational training or within the job market. 3. How do we end corruption? Develop programmes that instil a belief of fair play and behavioural change. By engaging all of society in promoting and encouraging fairness, highlighting role models and developing a strong and adhered to legal framework. Security 1. How can we create a world where people feel safe and free from terror? By believing in non-violent methods to promote conflict resolution. These would be integrated into community focused around mutual respect, cooperation and shared values as a long term solution to escalating differences that cause tension. 2. How can we find peace in a world with war and conflict? Fundamental to this is respecting each other’s human rights and believing in cooperation and communication above violence as the principal agent of change. Institutions 1. How should the world be run and governed in a way that is fair and meets the needs of everyone? Democracy is paramount to this and should be monitored and safeguarded by a credible international organisation with genuine power to act. The organisation should also protect people’s needs – health, food, shelter, water, sanitation, security, freedoms, education and access to all of these needs. Sustainability 1. How can we protect our planet and our natural resources so that we are not threatening current and future generations? Our first and foremost importance is raising awareness of the problem around the world. Empowering individuals and ensuring they know that their actions make a difference. This would be furthered by creating cooperatives that share a goal of sustainability and ensure all, whether corporations, institutions, cooperatives or individuals have sense of responsibility. Values Peace, equality, respect, community, transparency, honesty, fun, loyalty to the nation, tolerance, teaching right from wrong and love. Global Risks 1. How can we be prepared to respond, be aware of the risks and plan to protect what we can? Communication, co-operation and trust between people and nations. Faith and a feeling that an individual or nation stands for something (see values). Ensure all have access to aid and health care. Prevention is always better than the cure and pre-emptive steps and processes must always be taken to protect individuals and regions. Part of this would be learning from the past and a strong focus on global solutions to global problems Interpretation of Statistical Graphs and Figures - The general consensus was that Multinational Corporations have too much power and have a duty to act responsibly. Some said that this duty must not impinge on their ability to be profitable, innovative, and successful (note from WB, this alludes to Charles Tilly’s development conundrum of ‘how to prevent the emergence of large scale, collective violence and sustain human progress’ , which I found interesting that students grasped so well). - The group interpreted that the more advanced a country is the more awareness there is regarding problems of sustainability, therefore inequality of education is the major issue here. Group Findings: - The most important global issues according to our group were: World Poverty – 23.7% Population growth – 14.2% Spread of disease – 9.6 % The environment – 19.3% Global economic stability – 14.2% Social Justice – 14.2% War on Terror – 4.8% Combating Religious Intolerance – 0% - 23.8% of attendees trusted their global political leaders (attendees were from England, Scotland, Japan, USA, Pakistan, Bahrain, and Kenya). When asked, 55% of the group trusted Barack Obama. Dec 23rd, 2009 - 16:28:11 | Right To Play Right To Play - Global Redesign Initiative - Youth Consultations Townhall Meeting – Rwanda Date: November 17, 2009 Place: Conference room of Right To Play’s Implementing Partner: Vision Jeunesse Nouvelle (Western Province) Number of participants: 46 youth (33 males & 13 females) Age of participants: 15 - 22 years old Number of groups: 5 Problems Poverty (lack of health care, education, scarcity of food and shelter, high unemployment) Bad governance (Corruption, dictatorship, mis-management, etc.) High demographic density (increased number of children per household, lack of habitable space, etc.) Insecurity (due to armed groups) Epidemics and diseases Youth Recommendations for Leaders - Facilitate youth’s access to micro finance credits. - Enhance job creation. - Build up social infrastructures. - Promote interest and support for work well done by leaders. - Reinforce respect for all citizens according to democratic principles. - Promote freedom and justice (justice for all, fight impunity). - Avoid nepotism - government officials must be recruited on the basis of their competencies, not for personal or political reasons. - Always consider the people’s interest as first priority. - Forbid early marriages. - Establish a family planning policy. - Establish a national policy to increase agricultural production (to alleviate food scarcity). - Fight unorganized prostitution which can contribute to unwanted pregnancy. - Promote unity and reconciliation within the country. - Accept and recognize political opposition parties and people’s claims for justice. - Reinforce institutions responsible for people’s security (police, army, etc.). - Respect human rights. - Involve the population in decisions involving national security. - Involve the UN in all national security issues. - Develop a sense of unified patriotism among the population. - Establish a proactive health policy aiming to protect the populations against major diseases. - Promote healthy behavior among the populations. - Educate the populations on healthy life styles. - Facilitate population’s access to Medicare. - Establish a comprehensive national WATSAN policy. - Oversee in-country production of condoms, impregnated mosquito nets, etc. Youth Actions to help in Solving Problems - Community sensitization on health issues (support from local government). - Improve young entrepreneurs’ managerial skills (support from the government through youth training). - Sensitize youth to ensure massive participation in democratic elections for better change. - Youth must take ownership of the family planning policy and sensitize parents and local governments. - Youth must sensitize parents and families against early marriages; - Youth can increase their involvement in agricultural production. - Youth will get involved in discussions around unity and reconciliation issues. - Youth can initiate discussions around patriotism, etc. within the population. - Youth can sensitize the public on health issues (with support from local government). Dec 23rd, 2009 - 16:21:35 | Right To Play Right To Play - Global Redesign Initiative - Youth Consultations 3rd Townhall Meeting – Lebanon Date: December 5, 2009 Place: Youth Network for Civic Activism (YMCA), Nabatiyeh, South Lebanon Time: 15:30 – 17:30 Facilitator: Jihad Haidar, Country Manager, Right To Play Lebanon Number of participants: 20 youth (12 males & 8 females) Age groups: 16 - 23 years old Number of Groups: 4 Introduction: Right To Play members introduced themselves and gave a brief introduction about Right To Play. The World Economic Forum and the Global Redesign Initiative (GRI) were then introduced showing the purpose behind the initiative, and the objective of the meeting. Then the Town Hall Concept was explained to the participants Procedure: Some questions were imposed by the facilitator aiming at clarifying the task and breaking down the titles given in an attempt to simplify the topics. After giving an Overview of the Six Pillars, listing them on flip chart papers, and explaining the “Focus on Engaging Youth”, the facilitator divided participants into four working groups, asking each to select one topic and define the difficulties and challenges the world is facing. A power-point presentation was shown with subtitles to explain the terms given and providing indirect examples to help lead into the required track. Topics Discussed: Following the directions provided by the GRI of the YGL, the topics were: 1. Strengthening World Economies 2. Ensuring Sustainability 3. Enhancing Security 4. Building Effective Institutions 5. Creating a Value Framework 6. Mitigating Global Risks and Addressing Systematic Failures Questions Provided: 1. Does our today world need change? 2. What are the fields that mostly need change? 3. Who is responsible for this process? 4. What role should be taken by that person/side that is responsible? 5. If you could redesign the world, what are the preparedness arrangements that need to be present to deal with the contingency situations? Challenges: The youth participating arrived late because they were coming directly from their schools and universities in the surrounding of Nabatiyeh. The youth have different educational levels. The venue provided for the meeting is small, and we couldn't use the external playground because of the rainy weather. Although there had been clear instructions towards assigning specific sides/persons in charge of facilitating the solution, the youth did not mention any. Successes: Though confused at the beginning, youth were able to define some of the local, regional, and global problems that affect their living progress and development, and were able to suggest solutions. Youth participated in the meeting have some experience in working with the community (YMCA, Educational National Scout, UNESCO Club, Nabatiyeh Municipality), and have first-hand experience with the difficulties that face their living. Although the participants have different social backgrounds, ideas and opinions, the discussion and communicating among each other was easily facilitated. Presentation of ideas after group-work task went on smoothly. The electricity power facilitated the use of the LCD and thus providing more explanation and clarification through the power-point presentation. Identifying Problems and Obstacles Groups I & II – Ensuring Sustainability Problems Identified ° Pollution ° Negative effects of weapons (war) ° Waste water and sewage ° Waste of inorganic material Limited sources of water & energy (e.g. fuel) in relation to the increase in number of population Impacts ° Pollution of drinking and washing water ° Pollution of air and creating the Ozone layer problem ° Pollution of land (agriculture) ° Diseases and death Lack of water (desertification) Ozone problem (hole) resulting in global warming and unhealthy changes in global climate Health problems (diseases and plagues) The desire of some states to control the oil and water recourses through non- peaceful ways (armed struggles) and colonialism Illegal monopolization and competition Suggested Solutions ° Filtration of water ° Reduce use of toxic pesticides ° Use sanitary landfills ° Garbage recycling ° Use cars with little production of CO2, and good quality refined fuel ° Use different energy power instead of fuel (sun and water resources…) Rationalization of water consumption Use of the solar energy and other natural materials to generate power The use of public transport instead of personal cars Group III – Strengthening World Economies Problems Identified Economic imbalance Impacts The widening gap between rich and poor countries Colonization - control of rich countries over poor ones Rich countries help poor countries that suffer from political problems Political Dependency: loyalty to foreign powers and not national interests Control of the capitalist system and the socialist system Rich countries invest their projects in the poor countries and, simultaneously, they sell the products of those investments there Suggested Solutions Providing associations to help poor people, and provide employment opportunities to become productive Raising awareness about the election process and not to succumb to bribes Using supervisors to observe distribution of jobs according to qualifications and reduce Favoritism Design plans that seek to achieve balanced development through equal distribution of wealth Sectarianism should be demolished Consolidation of power between rich and poor countries and concerted efforts of presidents in order to invest their financial abilities in the right place Establishment of companies to bring together workers and employment Group IV – Enhancing Security Problems Identified Poverty Political greediness Imbalanced resource development Impacts Discrepancy in social classes and the widening gap between rich and poor The marginalization of certain communities The world major powers control the decisions and the fate of the poor countries and classify the world into south and north (poor and rich respectively) Complete absence of employment opportunities due to lack of adequate preparation for workers in line with the available jobs Spread of nepotism and favoritism in government jobs and private institutions, regardless of efficiency Wars: destruction of factories and other businesses, displacement of population, insecurity to go seek jobs, etc. Suggested Solutions Providing associations to help poor people, and provide employment opportunities to become productive Raising awareness about the election process and not to succumb to bribes Using supervisors to observe distribution of jobs according to qualifications and reduce Favoritism Design plans that seek to achieve balanced development through equal distribution of wealth Sectarianism should be demolished Consolidation of power between rich and poor countries and concerted efforts of presidents in order to invest their financial abilities in the right place Establishment of companies to bring together workers and employment Dec 23rd, 2009 - 16:15:00 | Right To Play Page: 1 2 3 4 5 (Total Blogs: 23)  feed
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