YL INDIA wins UN Award!

http://www.global1.youth-leader.org/2010/12/yl-india-wins-global-united-nations-award/?pfstyle=wp

December 15, 2010

Alright, folks,

our first National Team has climbed the top of the world and
enjoys the blissful sun.

Official entry @

http://www.onlinevolunteering.org/en/vol/stories/2010_positive_nett-
works.html and you can check out your online volunteer fellow winner
projects @ http://www.onlinevolunteering.org/en/org/stories/index.html

EVERYONE ROCK ON + REPLICATE THIS EXAMPLE!

Several cities, countries

and continents are getting
their stuff and teams
together to start rocking
the same way!

Pakistan, Asia, Arab World,

Berlin, Hamburg…

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE
ENTIRE TEAM! AND A BIG
THANK YOU – YOU GUYS
ARE THE FIRST LIVE
DEMONSTRATION THAT
OUR GLOBAL INSPIRE-SUPPORT-EMPOWERMENT CONCEPT WORKS !!!

A SPECIAL call of HONOUR TO RITIKA, who registered as a translation coordinator in

summer 2009 and noticed … a potential pumping under the surface. This is how it went:
“Eric, can’t we have an Edition for India?” “Well, Ritika, this is exactly what all this is
about.” … Voilà : TIME FOR CELEBRATION, as a plateau before the next PHASE!
SPREADING!
Akanksha Gulia, Priyanka Ohri, Ritika Verma, Samarpita Mukherjee, Tarun Chawla

A team of five online volunteers, led by journalist and mass media specialist Ritika Verma,
brought the Indian edition of the Youth-Leader Magazine to life. Hosted by the German
Positive Nett-Works e.V. Association, it provides information on exemplary change
initiatives, and solutions and tools for addressing development issues. It therefore inspires
and empowers Indian youth to take their own initiatives forward to tackle local issues.

Ritika first joined as an English writer to cover stories from India. Quickly, she discovered
the online magazine’s potential and offered to take on developing an entire Indian edition. A
core team was established that set up the technology, work processes and content of the
magazine and mobilized a stable network of online volunteers, young professionals who
support the project as writers, editors, designers, photographers and programmers. In
addition, Ritika used her professional and personal connections and gained the support of
mass media and journalism professors.

“Today, Youth-Leader India is a fully fledged online magazine with daily news, a weekly
newsletter, outreach campaigns, offering opportunities for participation. They have just
started a photo and essay writing contest about youth participation in the frame of the
International Year of Youth”, says Eric Schneider, Director of Positive Nett-Works.

Akanksha Gulia, India: “I am a final year student of Bachelor of Technology in

Biotechnology. I have been actively involved in youth leadership and environment related
activities and strongly believe that youth have the power to facilitate change and make the
world a better place to live in. Online volunteering provided me with the perfect platform
to work on a subject I am interested in, namely environment, and via a medium I enjoy,
which is writing.”

Ritika Verma, India: “I work on the Youth Leader website at least 5 hours per day. I
build contacts online and on the ground. We hold online jam sessions on Skype to coordinate
with the other volunteers. I am looking forward to converting it into a print publication in
the future. Being an online volunteer is an amazing experience. It’s like being a part of this
huge human work force, which is everywhere!”

Samarpita Mukherjee, India: “I am the editor of Youth Leader. Writing about change
makers has motivated me to take up my cause further. Currently I have involved myself
with some other organizations as well, though at a local level. For example, along with some
other volunteers I am recording school text books into audio recordings for young girls who
cannot see and are too poor to afford to learn Braille. The volunteering experience with
Youth Leader has turned me into a change maker too!”