To all of the extended Ignitus Worldwide family we extend our warmest wishes for a peaceful and safe holiday season. Rest, relax, and refresh your commitment to others. This coming new year is a perfect opportunity for you and your crime watch groups to make your resolutions for the new year.

Let 2012 be a year in which civic engagement and youth leadership are the order of the day for all of us!

These tips can help keep you, your friends, and your family safe throughout the chaos and fun of the holidays. Unfortunately crooks and criminals don’t take a holiday at this time of year. Follow the guidelines below to steer clear of trouble.

• Remember the three A’s of crime prevention
  • Be Aware of your surroundings
  • Be Alert to suspicious people and vehicles
  • Avoid dangerous situations
• Is it absolutely necessary to carry a purse or bag at all times? A wallet or credit card in a pocket would be less tempting.
• Carry only the amount of cash or credit cards that you need.
• Keep your bag closed and carry it in front of you and close to your body. Do not carry spare keys in your purse.
• Avoid carrying a lot of packages, it can make you look defenseless. Place all packages and gifts in the locked trunk of your vehicle.
• Avoid follow-home strong-arm robberies. As you drive home with your trunk full of gifts, look for potential danger before entering your driveway. Do not enter your driveway if a suspicious vehicle has followed you. Go to the nearest safe location, or an area where there are people and call the police.
• If you are confronted in your driveway, remain in your locked car with your windows up and blow your horn. The distance from your car to your front door is “no man’s land”. And make sure the walkways, doorways, and driveways around your home are well lit.
• If someone attacks you, just give up the property. If you are afraid your attacker will knock you down, sit down. There is nothing in your purse, wallet, or shopping bags worth serious injury or death!
• When using the ATM, make sure that it is not in a secluded location and is well lighted. Have a friend with you if possible. Go directly to your car and count the cash in your vehicle, not at the ATM.
• Be aware of where you are and where you are going at all times. Stay away from potentially dangerous areas or situations.
• Trust your instincts. If you suspect something is wrong, or if a situation seems dangerous, you may by right! Don’t dismiss suspicious people, cars, or situations. Report them immediately.
• At home, do not display all your gifts where they can be seen from a window or doorway.
• Going on vacation for the holidays? Have a friend or family member check on your home and leave emergency contact information with them.
• Beware of holiday con-games and fraud schemes, only give to charities that you have dealt with before.
• Call 9-1-1 for EMERGENCY and your police department’s regular number (you can find it in the phone book) for NON EMERGENCY.

Be safe this holiday season! Thanks for helping spread the word.

(Ignitus wishes to thank the Miami-Dade Police Department for lending us their tips to build upon!)

Guinea-Bissau is one of the States Parties to the treaty. Cluster munitions remain a pervasive problem in this day and age, and States Parties to the Ottawa Treaty, ratified in March of 1999, have a duty to eliminate stockpiles of landmines within four years and to clear all known landmine fields within ten years.

This particular conference invited States Parties to the treaty as well as youth leaders from around the globe to follow the ensuing discussions as observers. On November 30, the youth leaders attended a special dinner where each one was matched with a special guest in order to lobby help in pushing for progress and universalization of the Ottawa Treaty. We are proud to be able to make a difference in communities abroad by pushing for change at the policy level with the help of our youth.

In October, Jerry Rudoff, our Board Chairman, was awarded a token of recognition by the city council and mayor of Laranjal Paulista, Sao Paolo in Brazil for his work as chairman of Ignitus Worldwide and Youth Crime Watch of America. Jerry was beyond grateful and honored to receive this recognition but wanted to recognize all the community members that were in attendance by saying that Jovens Construindo a Cidadania (our Youth Crime Watch program in Brazil) would be lost without them and the youth that they serve who believe in the cause of Ignitus Worldwide. They were committed to change that would shape global society and the way it deals with youth at the national and international level.

Jorge Duarte Miguel of the Brazil Policia Militar received the award on Jerry’s behalf and closed his speech with these powerful words of encouragement: “Never has there been a more exciting time in the history of youth-led civic engagement.  Now that we have entered the 21st century, you as our community leaders and the youth you serve are poised to assume the role as Brazil’s future.  As the leaders in your respective communities and the youth in their schools, I congratulate all of you on being an integral part of this effort.”

It is important to recognize, as Jerry did, that our community members and adult mentors are just as integral to the process of change as our youth. We wish all the youth in Brazil all the best going forward!

Their program has been evaluated by the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Lithuania and was placed on the European Crime Prevention Network’s website as exemplary methodological material for the work of social specialists abroad.

August 29th was a very special day for Vilnius Police Club’s community members. The day began with a round table discussion in Vilnius to review the club’s ten years worth of activities, achievements, and work in youth delinquency, drug, and alcohol prevention. Those in attendance included Child Protection Ombudsman, Edita Ziobiene; Vilnius’s Mayor, Arturas Zuokas; Deputy Head of the Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Department, Inga Bankauskiene; and other guests from Lithuania, Germany, and Estonia. At the close of the discussion, all the guests moved to the Vilnius Police Club where they were welcomed by a speech from Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite. Afterward, guests were treated by a special concert prepared by the club’s youth.

In Cooperation with the World Society of Victimology, we hope to start peace building and conflict resolution in northern Uganda where there has been a war for more than two decades. Next month, Kiwalabye will be presenting at the Sexual Violence research institute Forum in Cape Town.

The picture above shows Mr. Frank Kiwalabye, Mr. Stephan Permentia, Mr. Chris Ibe and Prof. John bright at the ISC Congress.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ignitus Worldwide, alongside the Broward Prevention Office, the South Florida Gang Reduction Task Force, and many other agencies, presented a youth summit on May 20th, 2011, where over 300 middle school students were informed of the serious challenges before them in the gang, bullying and sexual assault arena, and taught various crime prevention skills to put into action at their respective schools. Present at the training were nine middle schools: Driftwood, Apollo, Attucks, Gulfstream, Indian Ridge, McNicol, New River, Nova, and Millennium. Four of these are official members of our Ignitus Worldwide Florida Affiliate.

As part of the training, the students were divided into six groups that heard various speakers and later shared what they learned with everyone present. These six speakers presented a 45 minute presentation on the following subjects: Snitching, bullying, diversity, building positive relationships, abuse, and conflict resolution. From these workshops the students were grouped back into their school groups and other facilitators helped them design a plan and their next steps to implement that plan back in their schools. For our Ignitus groups, this became their Action Project plan for next year.
One of the added aspects of this training was the Law Enforcement Panel that provided a brief overview of their role within law enforcement and provided concrete tips on how to interact with law enforcement in order to help create a safe environment.

At the end of the summit, participants were extremely excited about the goals they were now prepared to fulfill in their respective schools, in order to create a safer and fulfilling educational environment for themselves and their peers. Ignitus Worldwide is proud to stand behind these Agents of Change!

*Videos courtesy of TeenSpace211.

Mr. DiCarlo’s first stop was in the Baltic country of Lithuania on June 7, where he met with Affiliate Director Tatjana Cerniavskiene, along with some of the youth involved in our program, and the Children’s Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Lithuania. After this meeting, the potential is clear for Lithuania to serve as a launching pad for additional Ignitus programs in the Eastern Europe area.

Next, the roads led Mr. DiCarlo to Africa, where on June 16^th through June 18^th he was present in the Regional Meeting for the Ignitus affiliates in West Africa: Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Togo, Nigeria, and Ghana, the host country. Also present was the Ghana National Police Department, a United Nations Ambassador, community business leaders and local youth, to discuss various issues not only affecting Ghana, but also for all of West Africa. From there, goals were established to work on the more-pressing issues and move forward together. One of the steps taken was to appoint Abdul Jobe, Affiliate Director in Gambia, as the Ignitus representative for the West Africa region. The meeting was covered in local news and radio stations that interviewed Mr. DiCarlo and several of the participants.

The third meeting took place from June 19^th through the 21^st, just outside of Johannesburg, South Africa. Representatives of both this country’s affiliate and Zambia’s were in attendance. They visited local schools where YCW programs were established, and met with local police officers to discuss the impact of Ignitus in those countries. Next steps will include expansion efforts in the South African province of Gauteng, as well as strengthening the alliance with Malawi and Zimbabwe, in order to continue the work of Ignitus Worldwide in the Southern Africa region.

The final stop was in Uganda on June 25^th, where Mr. DiCarlo met with affiliate representatives of said country, as well as those from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zanzibar, in order to find ways to move forward together as the East Africa region of Ignitus. Strategies and initiatives were discussed, including a possible follow-up meeting in Zanzibar where more action plans would be executed.

Mr. DiCarlo, the rest of the Ignitus Worldwide headquarters staff, as well as the Board of Directors, would like to commend and thank all who made these four meetings a success, especially the affiliate directors and members of the host countries. “Building upon the excitement, good will and solidarity of these meetings, now is the time we push forward,” says Mr. DiCarlo. We look forward for our programs to continue to grow, overcome obstacles, and ignite youth to make a difference around the world.

Take a look at the rest of the pictures from these visits and meetings – go to our Facebook page!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Over 30 youth leaders in Gambia are now part of the Ignitus Worldwide network, after completing a four-day training this past April 27th, in which they were trained to participate in the Youth Crime Watch program for the country. The various workshops engaged them and empowered them to use their skills to prevent drug use and violence in their communities, as well as promote peace and good citizenship.

On May 26th, they took their training to the next level through the unique experience of visiting the Tanka Tanka Psychiatric Hospital to show them the vulnerabilities of youth to mental and physical damages due to drug use.

An Anti-Bullying Broadcast

We start with the story of Katy Robinson, one of the leaders of YCWC who put her passion in journalism and broadcasting to use during the creation of a bullying video that is now being used in several schools in the area. Bill Stansberry, affiliate director in Ohio, tells us more:

“Katy is the daughter of John Robinson a Chillicothe Police Department Sergeant who also happens to be one of the last officers I hired as Captain at the Chillicothe Police Dept. Katy is 16 years old and is in the Broadcasting class at Chillicothe High School. She directed this video, filmed it, and produced it at the Broadcasting lab at Chillicothe high School. This summer she will be attending Ohio University as part of the “Kids in College” program. She joined YCWC 2 years ago and participates in all of our activities, now serving as one of the leaders of the group. In addition to attending all YCWC meetings, Katy is also on the Chillicothe High School Track Team. She is the oldest of 4 children and has plans to further her education and pursue a career in broadcasting, possibly to become a newscaster.”

Assessing the Success of YCWC

In order to truly succeed as an organization, external efforts are important (such as the creation of the bullying video), but so are internal efforts, which help to measure the success of any program such as ours, and serve as a guide to help make the future even more fruitful. YCWC conducted a pre-test and post-test with the youth in Chillicothe High School and Huntington Middle School in order to measure their involvement in the program and in their schools. Mr. Stansberry tells us more about the results of these tests:

“You will find that more students participated in the post test survey than the pre-test. This is due to the fact that the students saw that other students were taking ownership of their schools and programs and became more involved. Due to this participation, YCWC students were asked to coordinate the ‘Prom Promise’ presentation that was made at our local City Park and all local school systems attended, with over 1200 high school juniors and seniors present. After the bullying video was produced area schools requested copies to be presented to their student population, and as director of YCWC I was asked to make presentations at area high schools concerning self-esteem. You will find that drug and violence awareness also increased the students’ self-confidence, and fear of violence was lessened after programs throughout the year.”

We congratulate our affiliate in Ohio for all the great work they are doing, and look forward to seeing more successful endeavors coming from the YCWC.

Robert Ngara Obundi (Affiliate Director in Tanzania), Brown Kabuyanga ( Affiliate Director in D.R. Congo), Joseph Rwabira (Affiliate Director in Burundi) and other members of Ignitus in Burundi came together and talked about different ways in which they could advance as affiliates and accomplish the mission of Ignitus Worldwide. Some of the topics discussed during the meeting included local relationships with other NGOs, obtaining funds via sponsorships and fundraising activities, getting materials for their activities, and participating in all meetings and conferences hosted by Ignitus’ headquarters. They also talked about some solutions to bridge the gap between these groups and increase the success of their activities, including bilingual agreements (English/French) and reinforcement capacity workshops, in order to help members to compose proposals and create relationships with other NGO’s.

These affiliates are scheduled to meet once again in June, alongside other affiliates and the Chief Executive Officer of Ignitus Worldwide.

D.W. Waters Career Center
2704 N. Highland Avenue
Tampa, FL 33602
813-233-2655

Advisors: Officer Kevin Jonnally, Principal Veronica Knight- Morgan

Normally the expansion process to open an Ignitus Affiliate/Youth Crime Watch program happens like this:

1) A site is interested and we talk with the Principal to ensure they know what is expected from a “Best Practices” site. Done.
2) We then recruit a “Core Group” of students to implement the program. Done.
3) Train this “Core Group” on how to implement projects that help decrease crime in their school. Done.
4) The group then implements projects January through May. What happened here?

When I showed up for the scheduled training in November I was greeted by a happy Principal, staff and student body thanking Ignitus for working with them. Apparently, the site had already had a school-wide assembly introducing Youth Crime Watch to the student body. When I asked Corporal Kima Morales, a junior at DWW, not only did she already know an assembly was the first activity a site should coordinate, but she also knew how to coordinate it! She looked at me shocked at the question and said, “I read the manual.” I held up the two-inch binder and asked sheepishly, “This manual?” When she confidently nodded, I realized that half my training for the day was already taken care of!

The Youth Crime Watch program at D.W. Waters held a school-wide assembly in November of 2010, where they announced several issues YCW wanted to address over the coming school year. They shared the three areas they were going to focus on: Fighting, Drugs and Peer Pressure. They all agreed it was hard work but they had a lot of fun planning this event for their school. One of the members read a poem about gang violence that was well received. They performed a skit for each of the areas they were going to deal with: a mock fight to show how to report, a drug deal to show how it could happen to anybody, and a peer pressure situation to prepare students for what may happen among their own friend circles. The main purpose was to show their peers that nothing good comes from fighting, drugs or being influenced by peer pressure. They said “it was a blast putting this event [together].”

This group also started their Youth Patrols around the school. Again, they did not wait for training and the implementation was completed using the YCW Component Manual. I witnessed students checking radios in and out and getting into position. It was impressive to say the least. They are launching a creative anti-crime PSA campaign over their school pager system. Their next project will focus on drug prevention, planning on completing another event before the school year ends.

Other future goals include a school-wide pie-throwing fundraiser, coordinating their morning announcements and coming up with more skits to show peers how to handle situations. They plan to expand the PSA initiative into a full-fledged video and/or performance team. Finally, this group is looking into implementing Peer Mentoring in their program.

Ignitus Worldwide is proud to recognize D. W. Waters Career Center as a middle of the year success story. Once we have analyzed the Crime Statistics and evaluated the Outcome Measurement Information, we feel sure that the structure of this group and its passionate students, coupled with the technical assistance of Ignitus, will show that a “best practices” site will decrease crime in their school and develop skills in their students that will help them become good students, good citizens and good leaders.

Usually known for April Fools’ Day, April 1st was seen in a different light in the state of Rhode Island. Ignitus Affiliate Third Eye of RI changed things up and introduced their Rhode Island initiative “April Friends Day.” Statistics show that on April 1st students who are bullied are less likely to miss school because they are scared of being bullied.

John Mattson, Affiliate Director and Founder of Third Eye of RI, was anticipating only a little over 350 students, when he realized he had over 500 students in attendance. The conference was a great success, with performances from Mastery Martial Arts, Mount Pleasant High School’s “Teens on Target” alongside singer Genesis Morales, and live Jeopardy from Bain Middle School, among other performances and activities. However, the feature of the conference was the 1st Anti-Bullying Rally to the State House. More than 500 students and advisors marched to end bullying in Rhode Island, one of the main states pushing towards anti-bullying legislation. Students truly let their voices be heard about the serious impact of bullying, not only in Rhode Island but in the entire country, advocating for more legislation to be passed to protect students.

April Friends Day caught the eye of local media, with NBC Channel 10 covering the conference and WPRO 630 AM inviting Affiliate Director Mattson for an interview afterwards. Third Eye of RI is making a big impact in the smallest state of the United States, so we congratulate them on a very successful conference!

Introduction

In a healthy democracy, elections are the starting point for a stable government that protects minority rights, ensures free speech, respects the rule of law, and promotes a strong civil society. By allowing citizens to choose the manner in which they are governed, elections form the starting point for all other democratic institutions and practices. Nigeria, however, has not been experiencing a healthy democracy due to the past substandard elections conducted from 1999 to 2007.

The 2007 general elections were said to be the worst in the history of elections in Nigeria. They were widely condemned by the international community and local Nigerians alike. After the 2007 elections, Nigerians were more determined to have a credible, free and fair electoral process. They began their mission with a new voter’s registry and the appointment of new Chairman of the Election Commission, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor, Attahiru Jega, OFR late last year.

Voter’s Registration

The former voter’s registry was flawed and even included the names of non-Nigerians like Mohammed Ali, Mike Tyson, Bill Clinton to mention a few. Therefore, a call for a new voter’s registry was made by the Civil Society and human right groups. The INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, who promised free and fair elections for Nigerians, called on all Nigerians to come out to register at the voter’s registration drive scheduled for January 15 –29, 2011. The registration drive lasted  almost a month in order to give room for eligible voters to register. At the end of the registration period, a total number of seventy-three million eligible voters were registered nationwide.

Ignitus Worldwide Affiliate Youth Crime Watch of Nigeria, a National NGO and an organization in special consultative status with United Nations Economic and Social Council was among several other national and local Non-Governmental Organizations accredited to monitor and observe the process of the voter’s registration. YCW Nigeria deployed its members as observers to various states of the federation and came out with a report which was submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Headquarters in Abuja. (See report as attached).

Accreditation of Election Observer Groups

Further to the submission of application by Observer groups to INEC (EMOC 01 Forms) for Election Observation ahead of the April 2011 General Elections; the Commission has shortlisted and approved 337 Domestic Observer Groups/Organizations to observe the forthcoming General Elections.

All successful accredited Observer groups as shortlisted below are required to fill EMOC 02 Forms and submit the full names of their officials and the State of deployment to the Election Monitoring and Observation Unit, INEC.

The Youth Crime Watch of Nigeria deployed observers to sixteen states of the thirty-six states of the federation. The States are: Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Abia, Delta, Rivers, Yobe, Kano, FCT, Benue, and Nassarawa. See this link for details: http://www.inecnigeria.org/suplmentary-list-of-successful-observer-groups-2011-general-elections/

Observation is the purposeful gathering of information regarding the elections, and the making of informed judgments on the conduct of such a process on the basis of the information collected, by persons who are not inherently authorized to intervene in the process and whose involvement should not be such as to jeopardize their main observation responsibilities. Observing an election can be divided into three phases: i.e. observing what occurs before, during and after the election.

Types of Elections/Election cancellation

In the 2011 General Elections in Nigeria, there are going to be elections for the National Assembly (known as Parliamentary election in some other countries), the Presidency and the Gubernatorial/House of Assembly. These elections are/were scheduled as follows: Parliamentary/National Assembly – 2^nd April, Presidential – 9^th of April and Gubernatorial election – 16^th of April 2011.

Nigerians enthusiastically turned out in large numbers at the polls. In the midst of the parliamentary election, there was a call for cancellation by  Prof. Attahiru Jega, who sighted logistical challenges in moving  sensitive materials to the polling stations throughout Nigeria. This led to series of criticism from citizens, domestic observers and the International Observer groups. In some areas, politicians were lynched by angry youths and youths in other parts of the country led protests to condemn the cancellation and shoddy preparation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Report of Election Observation

As reported by our domestic observers, there were late arrivals of both election materials and officials at the polling stations on April 2, 2011 before the cancellation of the National Assembly election. These staff members were deployed by the National Youth Service Corp and were trained only a few days prior to the election. Hardly any of INEC staff were seen at the polling station in all the places visited

Voters throughout Nigeria turned out in large number to perform their civic responsibility, and adequate security were provided for the electoral materials, staff and voters at each of the polling units nationwide. Domestic and International Observers like the Commonwealth, European Union, African Union, Economic Community for West Africa States, and the United Nations were on ground to observe the process of elections.

It is to be noted that voters must be accredited in order to participate in the elections. Accreditation which was meant to start by 8.00am did not start until 9:10am or some minutes to 10:00am GMT in some places. Only few voters were accredited before the stipulated time of 12noon while voting was already on in some states of the nation before the Chairman of INEC called for cancellation of all elections.

The cancellation is a welcome development because it saved the nation from crisis which would have enveloped the entire country if the election proceeds.

Many have therefore called for the resignation of the INEC National Chairman while some set of groups and citizens believe in the ability and integrity of the INEC helmsman to conduct a free and fair election.

New Dates of Election

The parliamentary election shift brings a change to the order of elections. The Presidential election is now Saturday 16^th day of April 2011 while the Gubernatorial election will now be on Tuesday 26^th of April 2011. The new date has effectively altered all the dates for this month elections although the sequence still remains. See: http://www.inecnigeria.org/welcome/

I believe in a change. Nigeria is greater than any individual no matter highly placed. We, in the Youth Crime Watch of Nigeria determined more than ever before to contribute our quota to Nigeria development hence the deployment of the entire members to observe this 2011 elections in about 16 states of the federation including the FCT.

A facebook page has been created for young people to support peaceful election in Nigeria and comments are welcome. The group already has over 200 members. See: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_190089507683549

Useful Links:

Independent National Electoral Commission official website: http://www.inecnigeria.org/

List of Candidates in Nigeria Election 2011: http://www.inecnigeria.org/list-of-candidates/

Rescheduled elections: http://www.inecnigeria.org/press-release-inec-reschedules-2011-general-elections/

Newspaper report: The National Coordinator during the botched election spoke with one of the National dailies, the National Mirror. See http://nationalmirroronline.net/news/9342.html

Now, they created and implemented a very successful Anti-Bullying poster contest, teaming up with one of the art teachers for supplies, as well as with the morning announcements team to advertise it. When it first comes to mind, it makes people think “How do you explain bullying in a picture?”

Over 50 students throught they could answer this question, submitting artistic entries showing why bullying is bad. The group created two categories for the contest, hand-drawn and computer-generated, with a first prize winner in each category and one grand prize overall winner.

Designed by Rogelio Peña

Designed by Keon Robinson

Designed by Sydney Shriver

Judges were comprised of administration, community guests and students. Walmart provided the gifts and has been a great supporter of Morgan Fitzgerald’s Youth Crime Watch group “The Phantoms.” The event was a great success and created waiting list of youth who now want to be part of the Ignitus Worldwide family. However, The Phantoms are not done. They plan to hold a second “pie-in-the-face” fundraiser, aiming to donate the funds to families facing hardships.

We congratulate this school for showing us how youth can change the world!

Q:  Even though Ignitus started as a local crime prevention program in Miami, it has spread across the world in the last 10 years.  What do you think is the reason for this?

A:  Well, you’re right.  What began as a program with a local focus has developed into a program with great international breadth and strength.  Most people do not realize that this occurred with very little global marketing on our part.  That is why we see Ignitus as a movement as much as it is a program.

Many youth across the developing world are yearning to be part of something positive where the can see tangible results.  Remember that the myriad of opportunities available for youth in the United States – sports, arts and other types of clubs – simply don’t exist in many places in Africa,  Asia and Latin America.  Ignitus groups offer a type of opportunity that we take for granted here in this country.

Q:  But 25 countries in ten years?  That is some level of growth!  What is at the root of this expansion?

A:   Even at an early age, I feel that people want to make a difference in their communities and their world as they see it.  In the developing world where crime, violence and corruption are all the more commonplace, I think that youth are even more compelled to take an active stand. It is the action orientation of Ignitus programs to which the youth are drawn.

Q: As you see it, what are the greatest benefits of belonging to Ignitus in an emerging market country?

A:  In terms of what youth gain from the program, our three pillars of leadership development, enhancing organizational capacities along with honing their problem solving skills are the most prevalent, whether here in the States or abroad.  In an international context, especially in our Africa programs, the program really has the power to combat “brain drain” and give the most talented, civic-minded future leaders of a particular country reason to stay and build their community instead of fleeing for greener pastures in the West.  If we can accomplish this, we really have a chance for significant economic development and for the creation of civil societies.

Q:  With all the challenges facing the developing world, like poverty, HIV and corruption, how does a program like Ignitus make any difference at all?

A: Engaging youth during their formative adolescent years is key – this is the time to entrench the significance of civic engagement and loyalty to an idea bigger than themselves.  What’s more, youth populations across the developing world are exploding – in most places in Africa and Latin America more than a third of the population are between 10 and 24 years old, contrast this to the United States at 21%, Western Europe at about 18% and Japan at 15%.  Youth are not just the future, they are the present as well.  I can see no initiative more strategic in addressing the programs of the developing world than in working with these young people to create a sense of community and to solidify belief in civil society.

Q:  In the United States, Ignitus is seen as a Service Learning program.  How does this differ in an international context?

A: Service Learning is generally defined as a method under which students or participants learn and develop through active participation in organized service that meets the needs of a given community.  In the United States, many of these types of projects are organized through school.  With significantly lower school attendance in the developing world, organizing activities present challenges and often need to be larger in scope in order to retain youth participants.

The key characteristic to Ignitus programs is the emphasis on one widely accepted component of service learning, namely the youth voice aspect.  We are a youth-led program, so ensuring that youth are actively engaged in the project itself and they have the opportunity to select, design, implement, and evaluate their activities is of paramount importance.  Given the distractions of every day life in places like Africa, encouraging relevancy and sustained interest is crucial to program success.

Q: What is future programming going to look like?  Any new endeavors?

A: As you know, much of Ignitus’ programming has focused on the areas of crime and violence prevention as well as conflict resolution.  We are especially proud of programs like our initiative in Liberia, where one of the principal goals is to have youth involved in armed conflict lay down their arms.

Over the course of the next year, we plan to launch a new program focused on environmental advocacy and sustainable development.  These singularly 21^st century initiatives are of the utmost importance in the developing world as pressing human needs obviously need to be met into the future.  We’re quite excited about this initiative and hope to have it ready by the start of the next school year.

To learn more about about Mr. DiCarlo, read his biography here.

The Third Eye of Rhode Island, our Ignitus Affiliate in New England, is preparing to kick off their very own Regional Conference with a unique initiative: April Friends Day! It falls on April 1st, a day that is typically known for pulling pranks and bullying people. Many students all around the nation are scared to go to school that day because bullies supposedly have the right to bully them. This is something that Third Eye has taken a stand to change, because it is better to make a friend than to hurt one and possibly lose one.

Debbie Michalenka from C.A.B.I.N.S (Community Against Bullying in Schools) is promoting April Friends Day by selling Lime green wrist bands (Picture Shown Left). While in a weekly Third Eye Steering Committee meetings, she was flipping through the calendar to find the best date for the conference and she coincidentally concluded with April 1st as the best date.

“We expect to have over 500 students” says John Mattson, founder of Third Eye. Last year’s conference just exceeded the 400 student mark, so this year, Third Eye Plans to make it bigger and better.
There will be dances, skits, plays, presentations, special speakers and workshops, all aligned to prevent violence and make schools and communities safer. The best part is that it’s all youth-led!

Please help us promote this event to the people you know, organizations, sponsors, the entire country and the world! Be part of the solution, not the problem!

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more on Brazil, check them out here!

“Nolan joined Youth Crime Watch of Chillicothe 5 years ago with his two sisters, Ashlee and Haley. He also brought his brother to some of the meetings, but due to their family status and his brother living in another city, his brother did not continue attendance at YCWC. Nolan suffered through life with a brain tumor that caused him to be hospitalized many times a year, but despite his medical problems, he remained active and attended all the meetings he was available for. In 2008, Nolan went with YCWC to the conference in Florida, being his first time flying and his first time out of the state of Ohio. 2 years ago Nolan went with YCWC to Cedar Point, an amusement park in Cleveland, Ohio. While there he said that he had never ridden on a roller coaster due to his brain tumor. I asked him if he wanted to ride the roller coaster and he said yes. We rode the roller coaster that day, after getting off he said, ‘that was the best day of my life,’ referring to the ride. That also made my day too. Two weeks later Nolan was back in the hospital with his tumor; I was so terrified that it was because of the roller coaster ride, but found out it was not.

Nolan always wanted to be a firefighter and his dream was realized as shown in the news article. He was so committed to the community, YCWC and his volunteer fire department that this is what kept him happy in life. After a battle with brain cancer, Nolan passed away on December 20^th, 2010. Nolan Brunner is what YCWC is all about, thus helping to promote the mission of Ignitus Worldwide. He will always be remembered as a leader in the community, and should be used as an example of what the youth of today bring to this world.”

-Bill Stansberry, Director

Youth Crime Watch of Chillicothe

Over the past four years, SMAD members have participated in and presented at several RI Third Eye leadership and implementation trainings and conferences. They have taken a leadership role in planning and conducting a variety of projects aimed at enhancing  the physical and social conditions at their school. The range of projects they have planned and conducted is broad, and have focused primarily on three outcomes:  to raise school spirit & pride, to fundraise for donations to local and state charities, and to help to beautify the school property.

SMAD members has shown their creativity and enthusiasm with the following events that have brought students and faculty together during the past four years:

1.  Numerous clean-ups (both outside grounds and inside of the building )

2. “Sticky Tape:” One student from each grade volunteered to be stuck to a wall with duct tape during a school dance to raise funds for charity.

3. Faculty Fun: Faculty members volunteered to participate in various activities at a school dance (teachers had razor scooter races, the vice principal let students dye her hair pink, the principal sang on stage with a DJ).

4.  “Happy Baskets:” Collection of nonperishable food items to be donated to local food bank.

5.  “Turkey Trot:” A fundraiser in which students paid $1 to go outside during last period class. The funds were used to make Thanksgiving baskets for families in need.

6.  “Bunny Hop:” Similar to Turkey Trot, the money collected helped 8th grade students in need of clothing for promotional exercises, and helped cover cost of 8th grade field trip for students in financial need.

7.  Monthly Spirit Days

8.  Monthly “Charity Day” to raise awareness and money for a designated charity.

9.  “Hats for Haiti:” Students pay $1 to wear a hat for the day, all money donated to help victims of Haiti after earthquake.

10.  SMAD members created a video about respect, and have given presentations to the student body.

In spite of some issues at the school this year – (there is presently no full time school principal and as Ms. DiOrio says, “it’s been a crazy year,”), SMAD has continued to meet regularly and be active in the school. They are now in the midst of planning a school-wide “pep rally,” putting faculty and students to compete against each other in various activities to promote school spirit.

SMAD continues to be one of the most active and charitable RI Third Eye Project middle school programs in Rhode Island. It has helped to bring the students and faculty of McCourt MS closer together to create stronger relationships and a more supportive school culture. SMAD students are planning to attend and present a workshop on all the activities they have conducted at their school at the next RI Third Eye Conference on April 1st.

Keep it up McCourt Middle!

Advisor
Sheila DiOrio, Health Teacher
Email: sheila.diorio@cumberlandschools.org

School
Joseph L. McCourt Middle School, Cumberland, RI
45 Highland Avenue
Cumberland, RI 02864-6550
(401) 725-2092