INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR EDUCATION, YOUTH ORIENTATION AND MOBILISATION (ICEYOM).

CONSTITUTION OF ICEYOM

Introduction;

The International Centre for Education, Youth Orientation and Mobilisation (ICEYOM) was established in 1999 as a project of the Cameroon Vision (CAMVISION)Trust NGO as an innovative and catalytic association for youth empowerment, education, orientation, mobilisation and gender equality.

With  the creation of the Women International Coalition Organisation (WICO) in 2002 the project was then transferred to WICO as a youth initiative for WICO. ICEYOM seeks to support innovative and experimental activities benefiting youths in line with national and regional priorities. It seeks to serve as a catalyst, with the goal of ensuring appropriate involvement of youths in mainstreaming development activities at all times through the stages of sustainable development in partner countries.

ICEYOM therefore seeks to play an innovative and catalytic role in relation to national, regional and world-wide overall systems of development. ICEYOM shall set up a fund that would provide technical and financial support to assist innovative programmes, promote youth rights, economic and political empowerment of youths and gender equality.

ICEYOM advocates to the link of youth interests and concerns to all critical issues on the national, regional and global agenda, especially when one considers that today youths and tomorrow leaders.

ICEYOM focuses its work at the country level working in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and youth organisations with the context of the Resident Co-ordinator, playing a  strong advocacy role.

ICEYOM seeks to concentrate on fostering a multilateral policy dialogue on youth empowerment, education, orientation and mobilisation.

The ICEYOM Goal;

To be an advocate for youths, promote gender-responsive changes, carryout collective concerns and hopes for youths as well as defining and incorporation youth perspective on the development agenda. The goal of this agenda therefore is to transform the world that will bring peace and enhance well being for all, a healthy planet where youth are full participants as well as beneficiaries of development.

The ICEYOM Objectives;

·        To provide a framework for the incorporation of youth concerns and needs into development activities of nations world wide;

·        To identify and access the major constraints that inhibit youth from maximising their contribution to national development efforts;

·        To serve as a framework within which will evolve a fund that will systematically address youth constraints and help overcome them;

·        To stimulate dialogue with national/regional member countries on the kind of projects/programmes aimed at integrating youth into the development process. This will facilitate sectorial planning by regional members countries and help develop, where necessary, the legal and institutional framework for the integration of youth into the development process;

·        To establish a policy framework for ICEYOM`s Co-operation with bilateral, multilateral and NGOs as concern youth development.

ICEYOM Key Challenges;

Youth perspective on development shall address key challenges of the human race in the 21^st century. These includes;

·        Defining and implementing new pathways of development that will  provide gender-equitable  and sustainable benefits to youths and the community in which they live,

·        Fostering and maintaining enhanced sustainable livelihoods for youths in a rapidly degrading environment,

·        Building stable lives for youths on the flux of massive population movement and arm conflicts within and between nations,

·        Securing peace and social integrity amongst youths as old political structures collapse, leaving power vacuums to be fought for and filled by groups that are polarised along class, religion, ethnicity race and gender,

·        Ensuring visibility and audibility of youths and addressing each of the above challenges as well as gender issues.

ICEYOM Immediate Focus Areas;

ICEYOM focus area of immediate concern includes;

·        Strengthening youth economic rights and empowering youths to enjoy secure livelihoods,

·        Ensuring governance and leadership that increases youth participation in the decision-making processes that shape our lives,

·        Promoting youth rights to eliminate all forms of discrimination  against youths and transform development into a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable process.

ICEYOM Programme Strategy;

The ICEYOM programmes strategy are designed and guided by an empowerment framework based on promoting youth rights, opportunities and capacities.

ICEYOM seeks to implement the empowerment agenda through five (5) core strategies that would build on the centre comparative advantages. These includes;

Building the capacity and leadership of youth organisations and networks;

Leveraging political and financial support for youth from a range of stakeholders in the development process;

Forging new synergies and effective partnership among youth organisations, governments, the UN system and private sector;

Undertaking pilot and demonstration project to test innovative approaches to youth empowerment and

Building an operational knowledge base to influence gender mainstreaming among youths and youth organisation.

Project Proposal.

ICEYOM is dedicated to building stronger youth organisations and networks so that youth themselves have the power to negotiate new and better policies with government, international organisation and other stakeholders.

ICEYOM shall provide technical support to governments and youth organisation and networks and promote a dialogue between them and the youths.

ICEYOM is advocating that youth concerns are incorporated into the policies and activities of governments, international organisations and civil society partners.

In recognition of the prevailing interest in promoting youth issues in development.

ICEYOM seeks and fosters collaboration with development agencies at all levels, UN systems, bilateral and private foundations in accordance with the ICEYOM mandate.

ICEYOM has therefore prioritised its programmes to focus on the following;

1.      Implementation of a Platform for Action, playing a key role in supporting the implementation of the platform for action of the Future Leaders Conference to be held in Edinburg, Scotland, August 2007 at the country level through the ministry of youth and ICEYOM Country   Co-ordinators;

2.      Engendering governance and promoting transformative leadership, enhancing youth participation in politics and representation of youths in public decision making processes;

3.      Strengthening youth economic capacities. ICEYOM seeks to ensure poverty alleviation and sustainable livelihoods for youths by;

Assisting youths to enhance their entrepreneurial skills under the Youth Entrepreneurial Scheme (YES). YES shall ensure that youths have enhanced access to credit, market, information and by advocating reform of policies that impede the realisation of their full participation and facilitating the process that enables youth to create healthy and sustainable businesses as well as improve their access to an enhanced bargaining power of youth entrepreneurs in the market place, locally, regionally and globally;

4.      Youth Rights; Advocating for awareness creation and legal instruments to facilitate the     criminalisation and prosecution of discrimination/violence against youths;

5.      Media; Strengthening media in its role of changing public opinion and fostering change with regards to youth. As such the media is considered as the indespensible ally of ICEYOM in its advocacy and brokerage role of youths political, social and economic empowerment;

6.      Mainstreaming Gender; Mainstreaming gender into all youth development activities of government and international organisation.

For Details Please Contact,

Ms Rosemary Olive Mbone Enie,

Geologist/Gender Ambassador,

Women International Coalition Organisation (WICO)

Africa President, P O Box 1075, Limbe, Cameroon

Tel: 237 958 0292

Email; rosembone@yahoo.com / wicoafrica@yahoo.com

Website; www.wicohome.org