A global call to service We, the participants of the 6th Conference of the International Association for National Youth Service held in Buenos Aires in September 2002, Coming from 28 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, North America and the Pacific Islands as representatives of governments, leaders of local, national, and international youth service programs, and individuals experienced and interested in the field of youth service and development; Affirm our conviction that youth service is an indispensable part of the development of our countries, our regions and the international community. We thus recognize the need for urgent and sustained action to foster the healthy transition of young people to productive livelihood and responsible citizenship and to build healthy communities. Vision for the youth service field The members of the 6th Global IANYS Conference propose a Global Call to Service that seeks to make meaningful, high quality service the common experience and opportunity of all young people worldwide. During the coming decade, the members of IANYS call on all youth service organizations, governments, funders, and international organizations to channel resources and energy into building the infrastructure to advance this vision.
Principles of effective youth serviceThe language used to describe the effective engagement of young people in meaningful service in their community varies significantly among countries, cultures, and languages. Terms include: youth service, civic service, service-learning, civic action, life skills and volunteering, or terms in languages such as Spanish which include solidaridad, aprendizaje-servicio, and educación comunitaria, demonstrate the variety of ways that different groups define this community development action by youth. While each of these terms may represent distinct aspects of methodologies for engaging youth in national service corps, academically-linked, or community-linked service programs, the delegates of the conference believe that all these terms and types of programs should share the following common methodological characteristics: - Be conducted in participative manner and responds to the identified needs of a community
- Be coordinated with community-based organizations, schools, institutions of higher learning, or government agencies,
- Foster civic responsibility and participation by youth in all phases of the service program development and implementation
- Have clearly defined learning objectives for the participating youth, as well as development objectives for the area of action. In the case of school-linked service-learning this also signifies integration of the service into, and enhances the academic curriculum of the students
- Provide structured time for the youth participants or students to reflect on the service experience in a way that leads them to a greater understanding, analysis, and further action on the issues they are engaged in
- Provide recognition of participants' efforts as a way of strengthening motivation and commitment
- Be structured in ways that provide opportunities for participation for people from a broad array of cultural, economic and educational backgrounds.
These forms of service are often done on a voluntary basis or without expectation of significant financial compensation but may sometimes include small stipends and incentives as a means of covering the living expenses, especially of full-time service participants.
Benefits of youth service programs and evidence of impactInternational research has shown that high quality youth service programs deliver important benefits at various levels of society: Youth: - Studies find that ongoing, quality service increase the personal, social, academic, and civic skills of participating youth such as
- Improving the academic performance of youth and the commitment of students to stay in school
- Increasing the future civic activity of youth as adults in terms of voting and volunteering
- Reducing the involvement of youth in delinquency, substance abuse, or early initiation of sexual activity
Organizations:
- Strengthening of community and national organizations due to increased participation by community members
- Provision of literally billions of hours of service to groups which, in turn, extends the organization's capacity
Communities:
- Contribution of billions of hours of service to community initiatives in areas such as HIV-AIDS prevention, education and tutoring, environmental conservation, care for the elderly or homeless, etc.
Examples of model youth service programs:- National Service Corps Programs such as the Ghana Youth Service Corps, Servicio País in Chile, Katimavik in Canada, Community Service Volunteers in the UK, and Unis-Cite in France are designed to engage youth in full-time service.
- School- and university-linked service-learning programs such as Escuelas Solidarias in Argentina, Learn and Serve America, or Opción Latinoamerica are designed to combine academic learning goals with service in the community.
- Community-linked service programs such as Habitat for Humanity are designed to engage youth in service programs based with community groups.
- International Service Programs such as Peace Corps, Voluteer Service Organization (UK), and JICA -- Japan are designed to engage young adults in full-time service in other countries.
- Transnational Service Programs such as the United Nations Volunteers, European Voluntary Service, and the North American Service Corps are designed to engage youth from multiple countries in service projects.
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