TakingITGlobal Proudly Presents:

        The TakingITGlobal Dispatch! 
•¸¸•´¯`•¸¸•´¯`•¸¸•´¯`•¸¸•´¯`•¸¸•´¯`•¸¸•´¯`•¸

For the Month of March 2003 (volume 3.2)

In This Issue:

1 -> Welcome to the Dispatch
2 -> Cultural Diversity Discussions
3 -> Global Gallery Contest
4 -> Online Chats
5 -> Organizing a Local Event or Meeting 
6 -> Develop a project on Culteral Diversity
7 -> Featured Article of the Month
8 -> Featured Member of the Month
9 -> Wrap Up

~•~ 1. Welcome to the Dispatch ~•~ 

For the month of March, TakingITGlobal would like to invite all members
to get involved in the theme of Cultural Diversity!  The goal is to
foster a greater sense of cross-cultural understanding, acceptance, and
appreciation among TIG members, who come from diverse backgrounds of
over 210 different countries and territories.  We encourage all TIG
members to share aspects of their culture by contributing to the TIG
site!

Our active members, youth representatives, staff and volunteers have
been preparing for the March monthly theme by conducting interviews,
surveys and adding content to help get things started!

We look forward to hearing your input on the theme of Cultural
Diversity!

http://d.takingitglobal.org/themes/diversity/

In friendship,

The TakingITGlobal Team
dispatch@takingitglobal.org

~•~ 2. Cultural Diversity Discussions ~•:~ 

Join in on an online discussion about the importance of Cultural
Diversity!  Share your views and perspectives on this topic by going to
http://discussions.takingitglobal.org (then click 'Cultural Diversity'
at the top of the list)

To get things started, we've asked young people attending a world
affairs conference why they feel Cultural Diversity is so important --
here are some of the responses:

"Cultural diversity is important because it bridges the gap between
individuals from different backgrounds and encourages people to respect
each other as well as connect with one another through strong
connections.  This will give people the opportunity to create positive
change through understanding one another." ~ Fatima, Canada.

"To allow for social acceptance and equality for all" ~ Jacqueline,
Bermuda

"Because it keeps alive traditions, history and revives our heritage.
It makes us proud and feeling like we've part of something special" ~
Fiona, Albania

"Because it allows for an exchange of different beliefs, values and
ideas"  ~ Dana, Jordan/Lebanon

"People need to be integrated and not remain individual-centric" ~
Sybil, Croatia

"The world is beautiful because of different cultures" ~ Jessa, Hong
Kong

Come and join the discussion! http://discussions.takingitglobal.org

~•~ 3. Global Gallery Contest ~•~ 

In keeping with this month's theme of Cultural Diversity, the Global
Gallery will be running a contest for all of you visual artists out
there!  The contest, entitled "Life as You Know It", calls for artwork
that expresses life as you know it in your community, city or country.
Help to encourage Cultural Diversity by sharing your story through art!

A scanner (donated by HP) will be awarded to the creator of the winning
submission.  Also, this submission, along with 4 runners-up, will be
exhibited on a TakingITGlobal postcard, which is sent to country team
members and mentors all over the world.  These 5 winners will each
receive 20 of these postcards and a TakingITGlobal mouse pad.

All artwork entered into the contest will be voted on by your fellow
TakingITGlobal members.  After 5 days of voting, a panel of judges will
evaluate the top voted submissions based on visual appeal, style,
effort, originality and relevance to the topic.

The "Life as You Know It" contest will run from March 1 to March 22, so
create and share your cultural expressions!

For more information, or to submit artwork, visit:
http://d.takingitglobal.org/express/gallery/contest.html

~•~ 4. Online Chats ~•~

This month, we have scheduled Online Chat Sessions so that members can
meet online and share ideas on the theme of Cultural Diversity!

Topic: Fostering Cross-Cultural Understanding:
* Why is the issue of cultural diversity so important?  
* What can young people do to promote cultural diversity and
cross-cultural understanding in their community?  
* What questions would you like to ask of someone from another culture?
* Are there specific projects that TIG members would like to undertake
in order to foster cross-cultural understanding?

-> Wednesday/Thursday March 19/20
Wednesday: 9:00pm (PST - Pacific Standard Time)
Thursday: Midnight (EST) :: 5:00am (GMT) :: 3:00pm (Sydney)

-> Friday/Saturday March 21/22
Friday: 3:00pm (PST) :: 6:00pm (EST) :: 11:00pm (GMT)
Saturday: 9:00am (Sydney)

-> Saturday/Sunday March 22/23
Saturday: 10:00am (PST) :: 1:00pm (EST) :: 6:00pm (GMT)
Sunday: 4:00am (Sydney)

The link to the chat room is http://chat.takingitglobal.org

~•~ 5. Organizing a Local Event or Meeting ~•~

On the 21st of March, the International Day for the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination, TakingITGlobal members and interested volunteers
that are based in Toronto, Canada, will be meeting to discuss the theme
of cultural diversity and how it can be promoted.  Different cultural
groups will have booths and will be presenting at the workshop as part
of a panel discussion.  Why not organize something similar in your area?

If you plan on organizing an event, post it in our events database at
http://events.takingitglobal.org/ -- and for additional ideas and
resources on planning a workshop or event, check out the Workshop Kit:
http://workshops.takingitglobal.org/

TIG members in the Toronto area will receive an e-mail soon with
location and time details for the Toronto event!

~•~ 6. Develop a project on Culteral Diversity ~•~

If you have ideas about Cultural Diversity you would like to explore
further, consider developing a project with a group of friends.
Determine the key issues that you feel are important, and work towards
addressing them with your project.  In order to help you along the way,
you can look through other projects taking place around the world at
http://projects.takingitglobal.org.  You can also download the
TakingITGlobal Guide to Action, a resource that gives you tips on how to
make your project come to life:
http://www.takingitglobal.org/guidetoaction/

Some project ideas are:
* Working with a group of people to learn a new language or teaching a
language to others
* Organizing a festival that showcases different cultures
* Participating in existing exchange programs or organizing an exchange

* Documenting stories that depict 'a day in the life' of people from
diverse backgrounds

~•~ 7. Featured Article ~•~

The featured article for March is "Culture," by Prabesh Paudyal of
Nepal.  This thought-provoking article tackles the difficult issue of
cultural diversity in a world that is becoming increasingly affected by
globalization.  What happens to valuable traditions if we all watch,
read, eat, drink, and wear the same things?

Thank you, Prabesh, for sharing your ideas with the TakingITglobal
community!  
You can read this article and post your comments by going to: 
http://d.takingitglobal.org/express/article.html?cid=987

You can share your opinions on Cultural Diversity by submitting your
articles to the TakingITGlobal I3 Zine at:
http://d.takingitglobal.org/express/content.html

~•~ 8. Featured Member ~•~ 

This month's featured member is Ezekiel Kevin Annan.  He is one of the
most active members in the TakingITGlobal community, and, as one of his
many initiatives, organized and run the 'Life as You Know It' contest
within Ghana in August of 2001.  It was such a great success that we
have decided to run the contest again!  Realizing that Ghana has minimal
resources available for Internet use, Ezekiel has been very active in
engaging members on an offline basis by organizing several workshops and
successful conferences, introducing hundreds of youth to opportunities
through TakingITGlobal over the past year.  Thank you Ezekiel for your
great leadership and determination!  You continue to Inspire, Inform and
Involve members, not only in Ghana, but all across the world!

To learn more about Ezekiel, view his profile:
http://profiles.takingitglobal.org/kevin

If you would like to become a featured member, or have a story you want
to share in the next upcoming newsletter, please write to
dispatch@takingitglobal.org

In your story, include the following answers to these questions:
* How has TIG had an impact on your life or in your community?
* How have you helped to make a difference in your community through
your involvement with TIG?

~•~ 9. Wrap Up ~•~ 

If you would like to help prepare for upcoming themes, you can fill out
your 'Contributions to TIG' profile at the following URL:
http://www.takingitglobal.org/aboutus/tigopps.html

Your interest, support and involvement with TakingITGlobal helps our
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/