On November 16, young leaders from around the world challenged and inspired their audience at an awards ceremony held at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. The event, which was organized by the International Youth Foundation’s YouthActionNet™ program, recognized the Fellows for their efforts to address urgent needs in their communities, such as preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, advocating for the rights of women and the disabled, feeding the hungry, and rehabilitating child soldiers. During a discussion on global youth leadership, governmental, NGO, and diplomatic leaders from the Washington, D.C. area heard the personal insights and stories of nearly 20 YouthActionNet fellows.

“Young people are willing to take risks that adults are not; we are bold because we are driven by a vision for the world,” said David Bacon, 26, who empowers women in Cambodia by training them to make carpets. “There is injustice and inequality everywhere and people are afraid to speak up so we must do something,” added Gautam Gupta, a 25-year old from India who mobilizes youth to end violence against women.

A Nokia-supported program, YouthActionNet invests in the power and promise of young people to create positive change. “I am humbled by your hard work and dedication,” said Derek Khlopin, Director of Regulatory and Industry Affairs, Nokia, in addressing the fellows. “This program fits our mission to connect people. These young people can make us feel extremely confident about our future leaders,” he added.

Before the panel discussion, the audience viewed a special video, commissioned by the Sylvan/Laureate Foundation, that highlighted the stories of five fellows in Honduras, Kenya, Cambodia, India, and the United States. This video will be available soon on the YouthActionNet™ website at www.youthactionnet.org

Doug Becker, President and CEO of Laureate International and an IYF board member, spoke of his company’s support for YouthActionNet™’s first national youth leadership program in Mexico. “We want to continue to spread this model of developing and supporting youth social entrepreneurs, who have shown us the real meaning of seeking justice and persevering in the face of so many obstacles.”

The ceremony and discussion were part of a week-long capacity building and learning experience for the fellows that included sessions on developing personal leadership skills, communications training at the offices of the global public relations firm Porter Novelli, meetings with select NGOs, and a panel discussion held at the Center for Global Development. “IYF adheres to the belief that young people are problem solvers, not problems to be solved,” said IYF President and CEO Bill Reese. “The young social entrepreneurs we honor tonight are change makers in their communities; and the kinds of passionately engaged citizens that we so desperately need if we are to create a more peaceful world.”

To learn more about YouthActionNet™ and the 2006 YouthActionNet™ fellows, please visit: www.youthactionnet.org.