The idea was born after a visit to his homeland of Algeria. “I saw the effects that poverty was having on youth over there and the lack of education and resources they had, so I got a bunch of friends and we started collecting sports equipment to send over there every time I went,” he said. “It kind of snowballed.”

The non-profit’s goal is to create a basic standard of living for orphans and youth in Third World countries. It’s raised more than $3,500 since its inception.

Boubia gets help from three close friends when necessary–Celina Vincent from Fraser Heights secondary in Surrey, Brian Hui and Rachel Ha from Eric Hamber and Quinn Mell-Cobb from Lord Byng. They visit schools to talk to students about leadership and the importance of taking action on social justice. “We try to educate kids about the ways they can make change and the ways they can make their voices heard,” he said.

The group has also hooked up with a woman behind an organization called Hearts in Action. She has provided them with an online platform that enables them to connect with youth around the world for discussions, debates and forums on subjects including AIDS, women’s rights and poverty.

Boubia immigrated to Vancouver with his family in 1999. Although he graduates in a few weeks, he’s concerned about public education, especially since he has three younger brothers–one in Grade 11, another in Grade 2 and the youngest only three months old. “These cuts have been happening since 2000 and they’re just getting worse and worse every year,” he said.

The Youth Rally Against Budget Cuts takes place from 4 to 7 p.m. June 1 at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Boubia expects more than 600 students to show up along with parents and trustees.

“We’re trying to get the Liberals to see the damage they are doing in hopes of them giving us funding back,” Boubia said. “We also want the media to show the images of the youth movement that is taking place so that we can shake some sense into the Liberals.”

Demonstrators are being asked to wear blue, which represents unity and team work in many cultures around the world, according to Boubia. He thinks the rally will send a message to the provincial government.

“I’m going to be honest, we may not get our money back for education but it will scare the hell out of Gordon Campbell and [education minister] Margaret MacDiarmid and we’ll show them that once we rally together and make our voice heard, we’re a voice to be reckoned with,” he said.

Boubia plans to take a year off after high school to travel and work in Africa, including Algeria, Uganda and Rwanda, before returning to study political science and journalism at Langara College.

Special Highlight:

Alumni who may be interested in doing power point presentation during this meeting will have the opportunity to do so by Thursday evening during the open day.

Participation Logistic:

Please note that accommodation and feeding  shall be our responsibility. While transportation to and from Abuja shall be taken care of by our distinguished alumni.

Venue Info:

Interested DESPLAY alumni should please complete this 1 page form and submit to engage@youngstars-foundation.org to receive an invite letter. Note that the alumni are to arrive the event venue by Wednesday 22^nd September 2010, and depart by Saturday 25^th September 2010. Additional information on this shall be in the invite letter!

Enquiries:

Call: (+234) 8065479817, (+234) 7035535876, (+234) 7039634873

Or Email: desplay@yahoo.com, engage@youngstars-foundation.org

…….. we therefore request that all application must reach us on or before Monday 13^th September 2010

Eight years later, over 2 million aspiring musicians download his online lessons every year and over 200,000 loyal students receive his regular newsletters. Having seen the site grow from a few students a month into an international musician “hub,” helping millions of people (both free and paid) is nothing short of amazing — and constantly reminds Jermaine of his humble beginnings. He knows what it feels like to be on both sides of the track and also shares his story with entrepreneurs all over the world regularly.

He is married to his high school sweetheart of ten years and has a 2-year old daughter named Jadyn. He is a graduate of University of California, Irvine, and currently resides in Orange County. He employs a team of 10 both locally and remotely and continues to expand as more passionate musicians find out about the site.

As a business leader I recognize that

• The enterprise I lead must serve the greater good by bringing together people and resources to create value that no single individual can create alone,
• My decisions can have far-reaching consequences that affect the well-being of individuals inside and outside my enterprise, today and tomorrow,
• As I reconcile the interests of different constituencies, I will face choices that are not easy for me and others,

So I promise that

1. I will manage my enterprise diligently and in good faith and will not let personal considerations and compensation supersede the long-term interest of my enterprise and society at large,
2. I will understand and uphold, both in letter and spirit, the laws and contracts governing my own conduct and that of my enterprise,
3. I will respect and protect the human rights and dignity of all people who are affected by my enterprise and will oppose all forms of discrimination and exploitation,
4. I will respect and protect the right of future generations to enjoy a clean and resourceful planet,
5. I will not engage in nor tolerate bribery or any other form of corruption,
6. I will represent the performance and risks of my enterprise accurately and honestly to each of the constituencies that are affected by it,
7. I will actively engage in efforts to finding solutions to critical social and environmental issues that are central to my enterprise, and
8. I will invest in my own professional development as well as the development of other managers under my supervision

In exercising my professional duties according to these principles I recognize that my behavior must set an example of integrity and responsible conduct.

This pledge I make freely and upon my honor.

At first glance Sarah Jameel looks just like an ordinary 18 year old girl. She is bubbly, energetic, and talkative, and according to her mother is obsessed with Grey’s Anatomy. But the similarities end there and once we start chatting it really didn’t take much effort to realize how special she is. Sarah is a realist and a go getter who has spent most of her teenage life as a youth activist. Young as she is, Sarah is the kind of young woman who is determined to step into the real world and take a stand for the betterment of society. Her courage and determination fuels her passion to put herself out there and make that change some of us only dream of doing, so it really doesn’t come as a surprise that Sarah has just returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland where she represented the voice of youth as a Global Changemaker.

Source http://www.hi.lk/sara.html

So such a laudable initiative that i hope other elite Africans can emulate. But, in the last 2 years, The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has announced that it didnt identify an awardee, that is to say, there is a scarcity of suitable qualified African Ex- Presidents in the region to cart away his $5m generous prize! Since the latest announcement in 2010, i have become more worried about the state and future of our great continent. But also i have become excited as i see a great opportunity for upcoming next generation African leaders to pitch for honesty, integrity and value based leadership. As a renown youth leader, i am brooding positive thoughts in this direction, but at the same time i am thinking that there is a huge opportunity for Mo Ibrahim Foundation to consider investing part of their huge  funds  in developing and harnessing next generation leaders accross the continent, such an investment over a 10 years period i can bet has the real potential to greatly redirect the African region just as much as our current team of African leaders project to achieve.

Africa Will Work!

Kingsley Bangwell

ASHOKA Fellow, Young Global Leader – World Economic Forum, Youth Specialist.

HAFSAT ABIOLA’S SCORES

The Director General of SMEDAN, Muhammad Nadada Umar who was very delighted with the initiative donated additional N25, 000 to each contestant and proposed a partnership to Youngstars Foundation for more innovative ideas to move our youths and country forward.

We are indeed grateful for what happened and we remain much more committed to coming up with more leadership and capacity building competitions to take us to greater heights because Nigeria will only get better by the collective efforts of every one. Thumbs up!!