TakingITGlobal Proudly Presents:

        The TakingITGlobal Dispatch! 
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For the Month of November 2002 (volume 2.5)

In This Issue:

1 -> Welcome to the Dispatch
2 -> TIG Country Sites: Prepare for Launch!
3 -> New Feature: TIG E-cards!
4 -> TIG at the Youth Employment Summit
5 -> TIG Youth Day 2002
6 -> TIG Ghana Conference
7 -> Wrap Up

~•~ 1. Welcome to the Dispatch ~•~ 

Hello,

Thanks for getting involved with and signing up to the TakingITGlobal
Online Community!

We now have over 10,000 members from over 195 countries -- that's
2,500 more members since the last issue of the Dispatch! Our growth
is driven by members like you, sharing TIG with their friends! Don't
forget -- we have an easy tool to help you tell your friends about
TIG: http://tellfriends.takingitglobal.org/

Also, we've launched a new profile URL feature to allow you to
include a direct link to your TIG profile in your e-mail signature
or business cards -- http://profiles.takingitglobal.org/yourusername

There is also a new tool we've created to help you see the different
ways you have and haven't yet gotten involved with the TakingITGlobal
Community, called "Involvement Status", which you can
find as a tab in your profile: http://myprofile.takingitglobal.org/

Thanks for your participation and support,

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

~•~ 2. TIG Country Sites: Prepare for Launch! ~•~ 

This January 2003, TakingITGlobal will be launching our Country
Site Strategy! Each country with TIG members will have a Country
Site that has information specific to that country, like Quick Facts,
 Featured Members, Organizations, Projects, Art, Events and much
 more! The dream is that these country sites will act gateways for
young people within any country to become Inspired, Informed and
Involved! As each country site grows, the global network will expand
and increase cross-cultural understanding and collaboration! However,
it is up to you as a TIG member to build up your site
as a relevant platform, resource and network for your country!

If you are interested in helping to prepare for the launch, there
are a few key things that you can do:

a) Update Your Profile! (http://profile.takingitglobal.org/) be
sure to add your interests, countries you have visited, languages
you speak, organizations you are affiliated with & your bio!

b) Add Opportunities relevant to youth in your country! 
(http://opportunities.takingitglobal.org/) This can include youth-oriented 
organizations, events, scholarships, internships & grants.

c) Share Perspectives on Life in Your Country (http://express.takingitglobal.org/)
What do you want the rest of the world to know about your culture,
community, country & people? Here is where you can share reflections
in the form of artwork, stories, poems & interviews!

~•~ 3. New Feature: TIG E-cards! ~•~

You're surfing the TIG site, and you suddenly remember - I forgot
my best friend's birthday! Have no fear - the long-awaited e-cards
section is here! You can start sending your friends and family e-cards
right now -- right in time for many holidays!

http://ecards.takingitglobal.org/

Now that the section has been launched, do you have any great e-card
ideas? You can easily submit cards by clicking on the 'Submit a
Card' link on the left navigation of the e-cards section!


~•~ 4. TIG at the Youth Employment Summit ~•~

Many TIG members attended the Youth Employment Summit which ran
from September 7-12 in Alexandria, Egypt. Members from around the
world came together on September 10 to meet in person and discuss
their interests in TakingITGlobal. It was an inspirational experience
as members from all continents sat in the same room and shared their
vision and hope for the future of TIG. Most of the meeting was spent
discussing the TIG country sites. Excitement is growing around this
initiative, and members at this meeting were looking forward to
developing their sites! You can read reviews and view photos from
YES here:

http://d.takingitglobal.org/opps/event.html?eventid=108

~•~ 5. TIG Youth Day 2002 ~•~

On August 17, members from around the world celebrated TakingITGlobal
Youth Day, an event inspired by the idea of TIG member Rana Bilal
Ahmed in Pakistan. The purpose of TYD was to commemorate all the
successes TakingITGlobal has achieved, as well as to further promote
our message of "Inspire, Inform and Involve" to youth
globally! All members were invited to organize an event in their
community, and 17 TIG members took on the challenge. These TYD coordinators
each planned unique events and through their dedication had great
success! Final reports continue to be submitted, and look for them
to be on the website soon (http://tyd.takingitglobal.org/). A booklet
is also being compiled to showcase all of the events.

Many thanks to the TYD Coordinators: Nick Palousis (Australia),
Kamrul Islam (Bangladesh), Victor Atanga (Cameroon), Joseph Taiwo
Peacock (Gambia), Ezekiel Kevin Annan (Ghana), Subhash Care and
Manish Lunker (India), Nada Abandah and Anas Abadi (Jordan), Michael
Yorwah (Liberia), Sackaria Amenya (Namibia), Abdullahi Dosunmu,
Femi Emmanuel, Nwigwe Chibueze Jerry (Nigeria), Tariq Malik (Pakistan),
Sylvanus Murray (Sierra Leone), and Ahmed Roblel (Somalia).

~•~ 6. TIG Ghana Conference ~•~

In early September, TakingITGlobal members from Ghana held an inspirational
conference for youth in Ghana entitled "Networking youth globally
through IT" at BusyInternet in Accra. TakingITGlobal co-founders
Jennifer Corriero and Michael Furdyk attended the conference to
learn about how TIG is relevant for young people in Ghana, and to
share some stories about TakingITGlobal's history and growth so
far.

A training session was held on how to utilize the TakingITGlobal.org
site, and several speakers from UNDP, BusyInternet, and the Canadian
Embassy shared ideas and perspectives on the role and potential
of Information Technology in everyday life with the eager and interested
attendees! You can read the final conference report and view pictures
 on the event web page:

http://d.takingitglobal.org/opps/event.html?eventid=1723

~•~ 7. Wrap Up ~•~ 

Your interest, support and involvement with TakingITGlobal is what
allows the 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