Youth-LeadeR

www.youth-leader.orgmail: office@youth-leader.org

edited by Eric Schneider

copyright Youth-Leader 2013

Hi!I am super pleased to share with youthe exciting new offer that Youth-LeadeR and many amazing friendsare making to the Young Generation,and everyone who cares about them,their future, - and your own future:youth, teachers, parents, citizens,organizations, even media!

We have an outstanding, unprecedented YOUTH LEADERSHIPsupport and training program for youth, students, ecoclubs,teachers, and youth organizations.

In fact, we keep doing what we do anyway: producing media,stories and action-kits tools about model solutions, forgingalliances with changemakers, meeting, helping and takingaction with awesome youth.

And to make it easy to understand, we call it a support program,- with YL media, contacts, services and community, all in one.

This booklet shows youHOW THE ELEMENTS OF YL INTERACTas a complete Learning and Support program that YOU cantune to your frameworks: time, locale, life, school, causes

WHAT MAKES CHANGE GENERATION RISINGSPECIAL AND PRECIOUS compared to available youth actionprograms. We compare with no less than awesome worldchampions Free The Children / Me To We. We love their work.Change Generation Rising goes similar ways but reachesaround the globe and with very little effort. it offers additionalthings that can amplify action in schools and beyond evenmore. By active youth groups, but also by new groups formingbecause the offers to date have not been attractive enough.

ENJOY!

add YL Missions to your work as a local chapter of an organization- this program gives you a huge amount of new knowledge, toolsand action opportunities.

YOU MEET HEROES & VISIONARIES OF OUR TIME

ROLE MODELS. '80% of human behaviour is shaped by rolemodels. Subconsciously, copy-paste.' If you want to awaken andunfold your inner hero to the max, surround yourself with realheroes: Youth Leaders and Changemakers.

ENCOUNTER. Spirit and Knowledge TransferVibrant videos, rich stories, deep interviews and personal dialoguein 'live' Webcasts.

YOU TAKE REAL ACTION

ACTION. The ExperienceMonthly Missions. Replication of Model Solutions, at home andabroad, small and historic.

YOU ARE WITH A GLOBAL COMMUNITYOF LIKE-HEARTED YOUTH (AND GROWN-UPS)

GLOBAL COMMUNITY. Free interaction in vibrant social mediastreams. A Supportive Learning Environment.

Constant stream of news, campaigns, portraits, interviews,innovation, reports, videos in our online media, to stay constantlyimmersed in the Bright New World of Changemaking.

YOU ARE EMPOWEREDTO MAKE THIS PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE AT SCHOOL

METHODSExhibits of Role Models & Solutions reach the entire schoolcommunity without strees on time or resources. They sparkinterest, build community and can evolve into long-term, student-powered 'Informal Sustainability Learning Environments' - froma teacher's point of view. For you, it's your Clan's base camp,with your possible mix of posters, exhibits, campaigns, projects,fundraisers, films, webcasts, meetings... For lively, idealist youth,the place to be!

STATUSExcellent media of great value to teachersRecognition as 'Our New, Highly Gifted' by teachersYouthLeadeR membership, UNESCO statusEventually also official charity status

YOU ARE EQUIPPEDTO STRONGLY SPREAD SPIRIT & KNOWLEDGE - EVERYWHERE!

TOOLSOnline Mediamagazine and social media with solutions and changemakers

Onsite Mediaposter collectionsvideo collectionstake action packsteaching toolscomicscardgameand more

As you can easily tell, the career evolves naturally. By taking actions, using the tools(webcasts, poster exhibits > wall display) and gaining visible media presence and demandas speakers at other schools, the Warriors make impacts, build community, friendships,develop skills and lifelong memories AND gain recognition as role models and ... "assistantteachers" trustworthy and precious to manage student-powered activities at school, thatget ever more interwoven with classroom teaching and the school calendar. This impactstheir entire local generation. It can happen quite quickly. 3 Missions can be accomplishedin a month. Webcast, Exhibit and Wall Display can even be implemented in the first month.Imagine the impacts, the personal growth after one year! Imagine ten, twenty, fifty youthat a school doing this, ... over five or more years at school. They will be unlike any "grown-ups" you have ever seen. This is why I say... it's like a different species. And that's whatwe need, as Co-creators and Inhabitants of a global, peaceful, sustainable civilisation.

ADVANCED WARRIOR

CONGRATULATIONS !

This wheel shows simplesteps, building up on oneanother, using theelements in YL

Sure.They ARE doing it.

Not everyone is a master at it, right away.But it's the same with everything.

It's like in gameplay.You dig it, spend time on it, and quickly grow.

Think of ball players.They quickly pick up any other ball sport.Think of musicians. They pick up other styles.Think of card game enthusiasts. It goes super fast.Oh, and computer gamers.

This game is for those who love changemaking.Many already do it, and would love to go bigger.

See what teens are doing.

They have awesome tools with them.And a team beyond awesome.

"I knew young people are doing stuff, but this issensational. I am floored by the potentials."

"The videos have instilled a sense of activism in myentire family. I was especially surprised by their impacton my younger peers."

"I am crying. I think this says it all. Ameena is awesome.She gives me strength, too."

You have awesome media in your hands.

They serve you to inspire others and build community,- and also to inspire you to ever greater heights andnurture the same passion, vision and determinationinside yourself.

We all have it inside. We FEEL it, when we feelinspired... the next step simply is to verbalize it. Justlike we are inspired from music ... and then learn tosing. You have it inside. And with practice, you learnto unleash the spirit, for real.

So, immerse yourself in good company and practice!

What teens do.

What twens do. What teachers do.

What Ameena Matthews does.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcSL2yN39JM

www.youtube.com/watch?gl=DE&hl=de&v=wS5Hjhy1RhM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx88LEhNneM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lscfp2rT5Eg

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OpZPyKVGSw

include$100 Fundraisers for YL CharityPartners - mostly real heroes inaction 'in the field', featured inour media and present in YLWebcasts. Hence, impacts aresoon felt and feedback is in­spiring. This action can be aPhilanthroParty, public action,a stand at school, whatever...unless specified.

A Social Experiment like 1 or 2 Weeks of veganlifestyle, and documenting one's discoveries, break­throughs and breakdowns with a daily blog post.Hilarious, life-changing, popular with youth and easyto scale in one's school. A teacher's dream come true!

Support or replication of a model solution. Thiscan be small or big. Warriors make their choice, unlessspecified.

Actions also include the spreading of YL Media, likeexhibits, changemaker movie nights, sponsoring YLcardgames for kindergartens and other. It is alsopossible to gain extra credits and honours by takingsurplus actions or aiming at extraordinary impacts.

www.youth-leader.org/missions

Cassandra. Turn Grease Into Fuel www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeVThKzdmck

Lulu. PhilanthroPartieswww.youtube.com/watch?v=l4iMl6753cgGhouls Helping Ghouls at Mattel's Monster Highwww.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwq8xFZAtiY

Gabrielle. Donate Don't Dump http://vimeo.com/29524809

The Webcasts serve several purposes

They take place in mornings,afternoons, evenings and on week-ends.

They are usually tunedto current UN Theme Days of the month.

This means that teams (and teachers) can join andcombine it with as much audience, participation andimpacts as is possible in their frameworks. In class,as ecoclubs, or at home.With or without special missions.

Participants- meet heroes in person- are prepared, ask meaningful questions and how they can take the solution to scale- present their own achievements, if they have taken actions in support of the hero's initiative- celebrate common achievements

This makes them a powerful inspirational experiencefor newcomers, a great stage for accomplished warriorsand a community-building experience.

www.youth-leader.org/webcasts

YL Poster Exhibits are very po­werful tools for reaching, in­spiring, impacting and involvinga community - like a SCHOOL.

Exhibit Superpowers:

- very visible in public space- explorable at one's own time- long-term exposure, memorable, impact

- scope and multitude of solutions form a holistic impression: an abundance of solutions for a sustainable civilisation is available"

- multimedia experience, add videos- interactive experience - enable feedback through posters and more

- opening a conversation about "what changes would you like to see?" "who inspires you most and why?" "which initiative are you willing to join?"

... Nurturing a Changemaking Climate by making Role Models present 24/7

www.youth-leader.org/posters

YOU'LL MAKE HEADLINES - in no time!

Why? Because people love it, it's super high valuefor society, and ... because there's almost no peopledoing this. People are sooooo boring and behind. Ordo you see lots of heroes around you and in media?

The world - and good media - yearn for heroes andawesome youth, living the credo of YES!"Giving all that we are, on behalf of everything we love."

If you live your heart, your true values, your passion,know about global issues and take meaningful action,media presence is practically guaranteed.> Help the journalists with the elements that make apositive change media culture article or tv interview:quotes conveying your cause and spirit, good actionimages + shining passion!

Once you have taken missions, you'll be filled to thebrim with spirit and memories. You'll have lots of factsand anecdotes to share. All you need to do then isorganize your thoughts (like you do before speakingabout an issue you are passionate about - like yourfavourite music band or sports team) and SIMPLY BEYOUR AWESOME SELF. HAVE FUN!

Here are examples. We don't expect you to rise to anational tv debate in just a few months, and win. Butif you unleash your hero to the fullest... well, then...

Cassandra. CNN Heroes www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHG-W8HspLQ

Julia and Emma. CBC News www.youtube.com/watch?v=sku8mm4zY4cNews articles: www.bookswithnobounds.com/media

Rachel. Live tv debate vs most horrid talkshow bully of Canada2 million views on youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX_-Zoom9Uc

There is so much that can happen at schools.Flip through some examples in our publicationYOUTH LEADERSHIP IN ACTION

If there is no proper sustainability education and youth-led action learning at your school, we give you magicalwands for making it happen. The webcasts, posterexhibits turning into student-managed sustainabilitylearning environments, YL's UNESCO status andexpert support are part of it. On top of all that cometwo magical spells:"Our New Highly Gifted", and"We have the Duty to attend school, but also the Rightfor up to date Education, in tune with school's purpose:the empowerment of becoming an active citizen in alibertarian, democratic society, and today this meansa sustainable society in a global family of nations.And this learning process involves model solutionsfor sustainability, expert presence, role models andaction."

For the full formula,ask Hermione, or check theYL Clans and Tribes Handbook part 2:MAGCIAL METHODS

www.youth-leader.org/publications

http://bit.ly/1cLPYb7

http://bit.ly/1cLQ8zi

http://bit.ly/1cLQJkG

Ok... what I want is to provide a vibrant community forpassionate young changemakers. YL Clans and Tribes aremeant to have ONLY young people taking action. That'sawesome cool! No wannabe's. No talkers.

Missions require simple but visual documentation ofyour actions with dynamic photos and a few lines. Thismakes the social media stream a fun and highly upliftingexperience for everyone. Too much work? No. It only takes5 minutes to make a post. Also: changemaker skills includebasic media work. The pictures and lines you create for theYL social media stream are the perfect things to share withyour local journalists, too. That's how you conquer themedia. Check Julia and Emma's facebook page as anexample. Back to Community:

Members take action, receive credits, ascend levelsand ranks - like in an Adventure Reality Game. This approachunfolds powerful changemaking magic! It makes facing theterribly serious Quest more fun, opens our imagination,creates myth and Utopia, animates and connects our innerand outer hero, and facilitates funky media communications.

The personal Warrior Chronicles have excellent valuefor CVs. Will you find sponsors turning your Clan's creditsinto real value, like movie tickets and organic goodies?

Monitoring and documenting progress can be used inschool settings, be it as ecoclubs or even as offiicial subjectof choice. Isn't that intriguing? YL Change Generation Risingclasses... well, your ecoclub basically is one!

IN SHORT: The best and legendary community imagi­nable for young people who care for a GOOD World.

YL Clans are informal youth groups.You can register as one wit your friends and takeaction independent of anything school. Or you join asyour ecoclub, or you form a new one. Your entireclass can be one. You can even found an official clubwith charity status!!! We have a magic trick to do so,in more than 30 countries. Warriors can find out details.

YL Tribes are friendly youth organizations we coope­rate with. We recommend their magical tools, evenmake their excellent activities a compulsory mission- like PhilanthroParties and 50 Actions for a SustainableLifestyle. And they share Change Generation Risingwith their members and networks. Because it's aHUGE WIN WIN!

www.EarthGuardians.org www.LemonaidWarriors.com

More about theYL Warrior PathYL Warrior MissionsYL Magic Methods for Changemaking atwww.youth-leader.org/clans

Every generation has a SOUND.Its spirit expressed through music and art.

What IS the art of the Change Generation?expressing the spirit of

WE ARE GOING TOPROTECT THE EARTHCHANGE THE WORLDAND HAVE AN AWESOME RICH LIFE

We have found it.

This is the Soundtrack ofCHANGE GENERATION RISING

It's the Soundtrack of aBRIGHT NEW WORLDthat is already HAPPENING

And our Warriors are going to learn to sing it!because then ... u truly got the spirit!

Thankx to Voice of Youth.

Not musicians.But changemakers, famous for action,expressing their heart, spirit and message alsoin rhyme and song

Earth Guardians, who in sacred ceremoniescommited their lives to protecting the Earth andAtmosphere for future Generations.

www.youth-leader.org/music

Well, when we talk special and novel, we have to make some comparisonto what exists so far. In this case, all the good things that already exist.Ouch. That's not so cool, but it is necessary and you will thank me for it.Everything that exists is good. But its is not enough. if it was, we wouldalready have a thriving young generation of awesome on large scale in allour schools and have loads of young social entrepreneurs and sustainabilitysolutions going to scale in no time.

But that's not the case. So, let's look at how to upgrade ;-)

Can one program make a difference? Well, some do! So why not makemodel solutions available on wider scale and add more dimensions. In thewords of Craig Kielburger, the champ of youth action in schools and beyond,losely remembered from We Day: "Banish the words impossible andhopeless from your vocabulary. We were told all our dreams with Free TheChildren were impossible, and here we are today. 120,000 of you areproving that change is possible. It is possible!"

Craig, Marc and the countless who have joined their movements of changehave shown that the impossible is possible. Nothing like FTC or We Daywould have been imaginable ten years ago. But they do it. it is still imaginableto "the old" in all other nations.

But it can be done. And it needs be done. And more. This is why I orientand explain Change Generation Rising in the context of the most advancedprogram for teen at school activism on the planet: Free The Children andMe To We. And that we need more than that. Not instead of it. Besides it.

Wherever I go, I say "You have to see this," and in many YL publications,the first thing you see is a link to a We Day video. And a YES! video. YES!is the world leading community of twen youth leaders. Among the manyoutstanding aspects of Free The Children / Me To We is the fact that they

connect so well into schools. It is their priority to be part of young people'severy day lives, to influence their community on a broad scale. Theyconnect with classroom activities, and make it part of learning culture.

I admire, applaud, observe and learn from Craig and Marc in many ways,and I say - this is absolutely essential for enabling the young generationto become a sustainable society on relevant scale. And unless this happensin other countries... those countries have no chance to advance towardsa sustainable society. Because they don't have a change generation. Ifsuch action in thousands of schools, on stage, on television, is not evenimaginable. They are in apathy, sitting idle. But they'll have to do it. Youwill have to do it. And not you can.

So, but what does Change Generation Rising have to offer, on top?

The main difference is that Free The Children activities are defined as aService Learning curriculum. That's what it is, and it's fantastic. Theseactivities are necessary for forming peaceful, sustainable societies. Water.Schools. Food. Incomes. Freeing children from violence and abuse.Solidarity with indigenous people. Healing depression. There is a lot ofwork to be done in these fields to fix our broken, sad societies.

But we need something else also.

These service learning activities are patching the wounds of the inheritedbroken system.

But they are not creating the new.

On top and besides (not instead!) the activities proposed by Free TheChildren, there exist precious other things being done by young people.

Cassandra, 11, established a program for collecting used restaurant cookingoils, turning them into biofuels and donating profits to people in need ofwinter heating. Her group's work is worth beyond $100,000, they haveintroduced policies that politicians failed to achieve - and Cassandra isnow scaling her work statewide.

Be aware: Cassandra is receiving awards left and right, incl CNN Hero ofthe Year. but on one even came up to replicate the idea in other cities. It'sthe same thing for many youth and also celebrated adult changemakers.For me, it was the first thing I asked her. This is to go national. Global.Now, children and youth can join her Mission and make it real in their city.

Through Change Generation Rising.

Sustainability Solutions. Innovation

So - YL and Change Generation Rising enable young people to spreadsolutions to their sphere of influence and thereby introduce innovation,advance their societies to sustainable models. If 11 year olds do it in onecity, others can do it in theirs.

And they do so by getting inspired by the Hero's example, inspirationalvideos and deep interviews allowing you to walk in the hero's shoes andfeel into the action, to start feeling ready to take it on yourself. The kidsalso have the Hero's tools in their hands. And they can meet live. As anindividual, a group, an ecoclub, a class, or with their family or company ...in Change Generation Rising webcasts.

It's very simple, very inspirational, fun, full of learning, and - it changes theworld. Big time. if people choose to. If not, well, their problem, than humanitywill crash and tear everything down along with them. This is beyond ourpower at YL. BUT what we ca do is offer everyone the tools, support andspirit to make changes.

Another example is Robyn. When she learned about the water crisis, shedecided to take action and do research. She found out about the Councilof Canadians' initiative for Blue Communities, which enourages city councilsto pass a three-pronged resolution for banning bottled water, making waterpublic, not private, and making water a human right. Believe it or not,Robyn has turned around a dozen cities around to pass one, two, or evenall three parts. And she is 13 years old.

She wants this to go all over Canada. I want it to go all over the planet.She is a Hero in Change Generation Rising, along with golden arrows, thetools, an interview that really teleports you into the experience of steppingup to city councils.

This is stuff that needs to be done. This is true innovation. These are robuststeps towards sustainable societies.

There is more. Labelling GMOs. Banning fracking. Ending unsustainablepalm oils. Ending bullying. Ending harassment. Ending shark finning. Largescale ecosystem restoration.

Many of these solutions are driven by teenagers, others by people beyond

their teens. Beyond their fourties. And they are available! As speakers.They instantly agree to an alliance when I approach them, asking forpermission to use their materials, republish their articles, connect to theirwebsite as an authentic learning environment, dream up ways how youngpeople can replicate this model solution, and feature them as a Magicianin Change Generation Rising. A mentor to the Clans and Tribes. They arevery carefully chosen. Whereas many people can tell which teenagers tochoose for Hero awards, they have difficulty among older people. But thereis a way to tell.

So - YL connects young people to the grand visionaries of today. Notthinkers like Einstein, not talkers like ML King. But the ones with the clearfacts, perspective and model solutions for the grand challenges of our time.You can meet them for real. Not on stage. but for eye-level dialogue withdetail questions about how to implement the solution in your context, howto build the vision further, how to even contribute to their global network.

Role Models

"80% of human behaviour is shaped by role models." Subconsciously.Copy-paste. Like all mammals do, through all senses.

For evolving ourselves into Inhabitants of a Sustainable Civilisation ofAbundance for All, and for becoming the ones creating it, in the first place!- Heroes, we need Role Models. Otherwise, the impact of inhabitants ofthe Age of Un-Sustainability is too strong. Then we have no chance tochange.

These Role Models are everpresent in YL and Change Generation Rising:through media, for real and through Action. Every day. Through socialmedia, local poster exhibits, video sessions, cardgames...

Leadership

This is where YL offers precious additional dimensions to service learningprograms. In service learning programs one joins in an activity. In ChangeGeneration Rising, one takes on projects with tangible impacts on thesocietal landscape. From Cassandra's and Robyn's example, you see thatkids age 10, 13 can do it. We even have younger Heroes on board.

One steps up as a leader, not as a representative, when establishingCassandra's program, when addressing a local city council, when openinga conversation for healing our generation rape and sexual harassment,

when starting a local focal point in the global campaign for making Ecocidea Crime against Peace.

Yes, you do use leadership skills when sparking service learning activities.Because you lead a group. but it's different with the ones mentioned above.There, you lead an initiative.

So, we can say it's ADVANCED stuff in terms of impacts. But it can bedone by BEGINNERS. You decide how far you decide to take it. In YLMissions, we differ between Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 Actions. Each makesa considerable difference in your understanding of the world, your skillsand impacts. All that matters is, just like Craig says "Find a cause you arepassionate about, and take steps of action." Do the research, know theexample, meet the hero. This makes 80% of the required knowhow. Thenuse the tools to adapt it locally.

So ........

Free The Children cannot do all this. That's very clear. For their mission,their function, their frameworks and for the grand achievements that theymake, they HAVE to do it the way they do.

But - young people need to have access to the views, knowledge, solutions,tools and activities from the Heart and tidal wave of the changemakingmovement for a sustainable civilisation.

They have no chance to grow into it, when adult life takes up their attentionand TIME through studies, family, and - compensating and healing theinjuries of their youth.

The time window to grow into ... well.. almost a "new species" of bright,passionate, active co-creative citizens pursueing the priorities of peaceand abundance for all, the stewards of a global, just, sustainable andthriving civilisation is during their days of youth.

Education today speaks of RESILIENCE. Against negative outside influencespushing us on a path of darkness and despair.

We might also say that this is the time to strengthen their genuine self,their personality that knows from the heart what is good and wrong, thatis resilient against outdated meme patterns justifying slavery, abuse, rape,injustice, poverty, obscene wealth, crime and destruction for the indulgence

of a few ... who lacked resilience.

It is the resilience to stay in our inner hero's Lothloring and not fall inot theruins of Minas Tirith and orkish behaviour.

Many of the activities above take only a minute. Ten minutes. A day, aweek-end, a month. And there are so many youth at every school, sufficientthat warriors and groups can form taking on the causes they are mostpassionate about.

The point is to provide the wide spectrum of quality causes and tools, andthe flexible framework providing guidance and liberty for action.

To Do

So, watch We Day, join Free The Children, start Me To We groups. Butalso: walk the path of a YL Warrior. Found a Clan. Join the Tribes. Andgrow beyond anything humanity has known so far. Because that's whatchange means.

P.S.We are two weeks from the new We Day season kicking off in Toronto onSeptember 20, and I still don't know whether it will be streamed 'live' ornot. But that's okay, since with incredible Heroes of our time, I am busypreparing a webcast series for the same week. Change Generation Rising.With young heroes and quivers full of tools for you to take home, apply,share your adventures, breakthroughs and hilarious breakdowns

The combination of both approaches, to me, is just awesome.

P.P.S.I will conclude with an anecdote.

When Craig announced the line-up for We Day Toronto, I was lucky to bethe first one to comment. "Mmmmh, I would like to see more youth leaderson stage." (because at first sight, I can only see tons of adults, musicians,three motivational ME TO WE speakers and only one or two other kids.But they were also at We Day last year, and they are not running aninitiative.

Next day, I got news from a YL Heroine that she just got invited to speakat We Day. NICE.

More to come.