The TakingITGlobal Dispatch! 
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For the Months of June/July 2002 (volume 2.3)

In This Issue:

1 -> Welcome to the Dispatch
2 -> Stockholm Challenge Finalists
3 -> TIG Youth Day
4 -> i-Cubed
5 -> TIG Projects System
6 -> TIG at Events
7 -> Wrap up

~•~ 1. Welcome to the Dispatch ~•~ 

Thank you for your support, interest and involvement with TakingITGlobal.
We now have over 6,200 members from 185 countries -- that's 2,200
more members and 25 more countries since the last issue of the Dispatch
three months ago! We hope that our network will continue to grow
and that you will take advantage of the many resources that TIG
provides.

The past few months have been very busy so there is a lot to talk
about. TIG has started to gain recognition among an increasingly
large international audience as we participate in events such as
the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the US Government's
National Youth Summit. We are also very excited about several projects
designed to get our members and other young people involved. With
TIG Youth Day on August 17th, our online chat sessions, and the
TIG Projects System, there are now several new ways for you to join
together with other youth and make a difference.

Thanks for your participation,

The TakingITGlobal Team
http://www.takingitglobal.org/

~•~ 2. Stockholm Challenge Finalists ~•~ 

TakingITGlobal has qualified as a finalist in the Stockholm Challenge!
The Challenge is an annual awards programme in which entrants submit
a project that demonstrates how technology can be applied in practice
 to social welfare and health care programs. Projects are divided
into six categories (e-Government, Culture, Health, Education, e-Business,
and Environment) and are awarded for their innovative use of IT
in reducing "the gap between the information-rich and information-poor"
in their respective fields.

This year, the Stockholm Challenge's international jury reviewed
nearly 600 projects from 78 countries and, on June 18, the finalists
were announced. Of 200 entrants in the Education category, TIG was
selected as one of only 20 projects to compete in the finals. The
final competition - which is being held in Stockholm, Sweden - will
take place on October 7-10, and will be an opportunity for TIG to
both gain recognition and learn from the efforts of other organizations
who are doing similar work.

~•~ 3. TIG Youth Day - August 17, 2002 ~•~ 

One of our Youth Representatives in Pakistan (Rana Bilal Ahmad)
came up with the idea of having a TIG Youth Day. We thought that
it was a fantastic idea for a pilot project, and so we are pleased
to announce that the first TIG Youth Day will be held on August
17th, 2002. TIG Youth Day is a time to celebrate the achievements
of TIG members, to share ideas for the coming year, and to promote
involvement of local youth in TakingITGlobal worldwide.

The goal of TIG Youth Day is to expand the reach of TakingITGlobal
beyond the Internet. We intend to assist TIG members in running
their own local events so that the message of TIG can reach an even
broader audience. Essentially, we want August 17th to be a day in
which as many people as possible from all around the world celebrate
the past year and think of ways we can make progress in the coming
year.

Are you interested in organizing a Local Activity on this day?
If so, please go to http://tyd.takingitglobal.org or e-mail
tyd@takingitglobal.org -- we look forward to your involvement!

~•~ 4. i-Cubed ~•~ 

The first issue of i-Cubed, our online 'Zine, has been available
on the web site for some time now (at http://d.takingitglobal.org/express/). 
The issue's theme is volunteerism and contains several interesting
articles. If you haven't read it yet, we highly recommend that you
check it out and, if you have an opinion on any of the articles,
 feel free to give the writers your feedback.

Furthermore, i-Cube's second issue is currently in production.
The issue's theme is culture, so if you'd like to tell us about
your culture, share your opinions on cultural interaction, discuss
the significance of culture, or anything of the sort, please submit
an article on the site - http://www.takingitglobal.org/express/
- or e-mail it to editorial@takingitglobal.org

~•~ 5. TIG Projects System ~•~ 

The TakingITGlobal Projects System has launched! Partially inspired
by great feedback from our Holiday survey, the Projects system allows
anyone to set up a project page for an initiative they're working
on, providing a place to post project information, upload and share
documents and links, and keep track of project progress using the
progress report tool! Check it out and set up your projects today
-- http://projects.takingitglobal.org/

~•~ 6. TIG at Events ~•~ 

.-=> WSIS Prepcom 1

The United Nations is planning the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS), which is to be held in two stages - December 2003
in Geneva, and in 2005 in Tunis. To being planning the event, nearly
1000 diplomats, business people, and NGO leaders met in Geneva July
1-5 to discuss what the Summit will be about and how it will work.
Ten TakingITGlobal members were also there.

The aim of the Summit is 'to develop a common vision and understanding
of the Information Society, to better understand its scope and dimensions
and to draw up a strategic plan of action for successfully adapting
to the new society'. A grand plan: so broad that it confused almost
everyone present at the July Preparatory Meeting. But one thing
is clear: in the emerging information society, young people are
the leaders - remember, Bill Gates was only 19 when he started Microsoft.
We have grown up with technology, use it more than anyone else,
and develop most new innovations, from web browsers to MP3 music
tools. 

Reminding diplomats of the central role and concerns of young people
in the information society was the main task of the TIG delegation.
The group included Lan Anh from Vietnam, Gustavo from Brazil, Nick
from Australia, Terri from Canada, Maitreyi from India, Mervin from
the UAE, and Gaurab from Nepal. With other youth at the event, we
formed a Youth Caucus (or interest group). The Caucus met regularly,
produced a daily newsletter to present their concerns, and produced
position-statements on procedures (ie. the rules on how different
groups, including youth, could participate) and themes (the topics
the WSIS should consider).

The Youth Caucus' energy and hard work was recognised by the support
and encouragement of many other organisations and governments -
and some of these groups even started copying parts of our approach.
The next meeting in preparation for the Summits will be in March
2003, but already work is continuing online to ensure that our voice
is heard!

If you'd like more information visit http://projects.takingitglobal.org/wsisprepcom1
or watch the TIG ICT community - http://ict.takingitglobal.org

Thank you to the Global Knowledge Partnership (http://www.globalknowledge.org)
for their support of this project, conducted together with the International
Institute for Sustainable Development (http://www.iisd.org).

.-=> CitizenYou Commonwealth Youth Summit

TakingITGlobal International Strategist Michelle Bird attended
the Commonwealth Youth Citizenship Conference (CitizenYou) in the
United Kingdom earlier this month, representing TIG and speaking
on a panel about globalisation. The conference brought together
youth from over 50 countries, and worked to produce resources for
youth organizations on three themes - participation and democracy,
rights and responsibilities, and globalisation.

.-=> National Youth Summit

TakingITGlobal co-founders Michael Furdyk and Jennifer Corriero
held a workshop about TIG and youth engagement at the U.S. Government's
National Youth Summit in Washington D.C., where hundreds of youth
and youth-serving organizations gathered to share information and
resources on positive youth development. You can find out more about
the National Youth Summit and view pictures from the event here:
http://d.takingitglobal.org/opps/event.html?eventid=1305

~•~ 7. Wrap Up ~•~ 

Your interest, support and involvement with TakingITGlobal is what
allows this community to grow and encourage more young people to
be inspired, informed and involved every day!! Thank you for being
a member!

Stay connected,

The TakingITGlobal Coordination Team