2bu : to be young

http://you.inq7.net/2bu/stories/04062004/sto2-1.htm
RP gears up for Global
Youth Service Day 2004
By Lloyd A. Luna
YOU contributor
MEMBERS of the Voice of the Youth Network celebrating last year's Global Youth Service Day

FROM KUWAIT to the Philippines to Uganda, from Bolivia to India to Spain, millions of youth in over 150 countries around the world are organizing community service projects and special events to celebrate the 5th Annual Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) from April 16 to 18.

Tinig Kabataan (Voice of the Youth Network, VOTY), the Network of Campus Journalists of the Philippines (NCJP), SAVE ME Movement and other youth groups in the Philippines have expressed their full support and
commitment.

Young people around the world are responding to terrorism, war and ethnic violence by focusing their efforts to eradicate hunger and HIV/AIDS, address education problems in their communities, and resolve conflicts. Young volunteers are mobilizing en masse to mark this year's GYSD.

Global Youth Service Day is an annual global event led by Youth Service America, in cooperation with Global Youth Action Network Inc., its key partner, together with a consortium of international organizations and national committees. The GYSD 2004 Philippine celebration is led by the National Youth Commission and Youth for Sustainable Development in partnership with the national coordinating committees, including NCJP), Tinig Kabataan, Philippine Youth Employment Network Inc., Batangas Youth Organization and Family Planning Organization of the Philippines. SAVE ME Movement, the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Youth Affairs, Tuklas Katutubo, UNESCO Club and Remedios Foundation's Youth Zone Project are also lending their support.
VOICE of the Youth Network ladies holding GYSD posters

NCJP, the fastest growing organization of campus journalists in the Philippines, is organizing local events in different regions, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao under SUMMER 2004. This program aims at inculcating moral values in journalism, with more than 300 student publications nationwide participating. As NCJP national president Patrick Asiòero said: "We are putting into writing different events that has something to do with GYSD because for us, documenting the celebration itself is very vital in promoting also the active participation of the Filipino youth."

Meanwhile, VOTY founding [resident and NCJP director on International Relations Pocholo D. Gonzales stressed that: "The Filipino youth is continuously and passionately inspiring, informing and involving their fellow youth, through GYSD where young people represent a dynamic force of creativity and change." He added that GYSD creates and remarkable opportunity to exemplify the power of a generation uniting its efforts to build a better Philippines and world.

For more information, you may contact Catherine Kamping at mckates@yahoo.com, Pocholo Gonzales at pocholo@youthlink.org or Lloyd Luna at lloyd@voty.org. You may also visit www.gysd.net and www.voty.org for more details.

Lloyd Luna is the founding chairperson and CEO of Network of Campus Journalists of the Philippines.