TakingITGlobal Proudly Presents:

        The TakingITGlobal Dispatch! 
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For the Month of February 2003 (volume 3.1)

In This Issue:

1 -> Welcome to the Dispatch
2 -> Monthly Themes
3 -> Contributing to TakingITGlobal
4 -> Input into the World Economic Forum
5 -> Update on the Role of Youth Survey
6 -> Featured Member of the Month
7 -> YCDO.net Launches at WSIS Prepcom 2
8 -> Wrap Up

~•~ 1. Welcome to the Dispatch ~•~ 

Thank you for getting involved in TakingITGlobal.  Our Online Community
now has over 12,500 members in over 210 countries and territories -
that's 2,500 more members since the last issue of the Dispatch!  With
this impressive growth in membership comes the challenge of engaging
members in more effective and meaningful ways.  Thanks to many dedicated
members, youth representatives, volunteers, mentors and TIG staff, new
strategies on how to actively engage members have been developed and are
discussed in this month's newsletter!

We look forward to working together in developing new and exciting
initiatives during 2003!

In friendship,

The TakingITGlobal Team

dispatch@takingitglobal.org

~•~ 2. Monthly Themes ~•:~ 

Thanks to the feedback from our active members, youth reps, volunteers,
and mentors, TakingITGlobal will be launching a Monthly Themes Strategy
as a way to encourage membership engagement and activity around specific
areas of interest.  Each month, TakingITGlobal will be featuring a new
theme that is announced in our monthly newsletter at the start of that
month, encouraging members to submit articles, artwork, opportunities
and events related to the monthly theme.  Selected content will be
featured within various sections of the TakingITGlobal website which
will act as a means to showcase members work and engage them into
important issues going on in the world.  Of course, members are still
encouraged to participate in the site in ways that are not related to
the monthly themes!

The first theme in March will be Cultural Diversity -- You can start to
contribute by submitting articles, events, organizations, and art
related to Cultural Diversity.  In the next newsletter, we'll provide
some specific suggestions and ideas on how to get involved! If you have
any -- let us know! memberservices@takingitglobal.org

The focus topic for this theme is 'Life as I know it', which will allow
different and diverse cultures to be shared and expressed within the
TakingITGlobal community.  The key date during this month will be March
21st, which is Elimination of Racial Discrimination Day.  There will be
several live chats on March 21st to celebrate this day and discuss
cultural diversity in your community; details will be sent in the next
newsletter.

~•~ 3. Contributing to TakingITGlobal ~•~ 

Are you looking to contribute to TakingITGlobal, but aren't sure what
you want to share, or how get more involved?

In working to re-develop our volunteer program, we've developed a new
tool for members who want to be involved on a regular basis.  Go to the
following URL: http://takingitglobal.org/aboutus/tigopps.html/ and
check off the areas that you are interested in contributing to, so that
we can send you e-mails in advance letting you know about upcoming
opportunities and how you can contribute.

As a TIG volunteer who applied through the Volunteer Program, you will
receive an e-mail within the next week explaining how some of your
volunteer positions have been converted to the new TIG involvement
options. If you want, you can go ahead and fill out your involvement
profile now, or wait to receive the e-mail later this week.

~•~ 4. Input in the World Economic Forum ~•~

During the World Economic Forum's 2003 Annual Meeting, TakingITGlobal
launched a series of discussions in collaboration with the forum, in
order to provide TakingITGlobal members with an opportunity to share
their views on the theme of "Building Trust".  There were a variety of
unique perspectives shared and selected comments were highlighted on
screens at the forum.  To view the discussion forums, check out
http://weforum.takingitglobal.org

~•~ 5. Update on the Role of Youth Survey ~•~

TakingITGlobal recently conducted a survey on the Role of Youth which
involved over 1,000 survey respondents from over 100 countries!  We are
in the process of compiling the results and look forward to sharing
highlights from our research with you in the near future.  A special
thanks goes out to those TakingITGlobal members who took the time to
participate in the survey.  Your involvement is greatly appreciated!

~•~ 6. Featured Member of the Month ~•~

This month, TakingITGlobal would like to recognize Adewunmi Ayodeji
Thomas, one of the most active members of the TIG online community!

He has added several articles, organizations, and events to the Nigeria
country site, and has also managed to introduce new members and started
projects on how to make the TIG Nigeria country site one of the most
active.

A quote from Ayodeji, "The world needs positive change that can only be
engendered by people like us. The planet has undergone an abysmal
decadence; efforts from TIG members can make a tremendous difference."

To read and share ideas with Ayodeji check out his profile:

http://d.takingitglobal.org/community/profile.html?memberid=6046

Share your story! Submit yourself as a featured member:

http://d.takingitglobal.org/home.html?shell=fmnominate

~•~ 7. YCDO.net Launches at WSIS Prepcom 2 ~•~

In collaboration with the International Institute for Sustainable
Development (IISD) and the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP),
TakingITGlobal is launching YCDO.net, an online portal designed to
enable youth to share experiences and seek new opportunities and
participation in the area of ICT 4D (Information Communication
Technologies for Development).  The site is being launched at the Second
Preparatory Committee meeting of the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS).

YCDO.net is a place for young people working on ICT issues to come
together to:

* communicate and network with each other, 
* collaborate and share advice to improve their activities and 
* discover new opportunities and ideas for further action

Stay Informed: In your TakingITGlobal profile, select 'ICT and Digital
Opportunities' as one of your interests (and subscribe to the YCDO Wire
newsletter). Get Involved: Visit http://www.ycdo.net/ and/or e-mail
info@ycdo.net

~•~ 8. Wrap Up ~•~ 

Your interest, support and involvement with TakingITGlobal is what
allows the TIG community to grow and encourage more young people to be
inspired, informed and involved everyday! Thank you for being a member
with the vision of positive change!

Stay connected,

Your friends at TakingITGlobal 
dispatch@takingitglobal.org

--

The TakingITGlobal Dispatch is the official newsletter of
TakingITGlobal, electronically published via email, and compiled from
various events and news from within the TakingITGlobal network.
Contributions should be sent to dispatch@takingitglobal.org. Please
include your full name, age, and your member name.

Past issues of the Dispatch can be read in the dispatch archive, found
at http://d.takingitglobal.org/community/dispatch/