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Sister Cities International and One World Youth Project have teamed up to offer youth a unique, exciting, year-long project based on the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. Getting Started
Program Overview
UN Millennium Development Goals
Eligibility / Requirements
Sample Application
About One World Youth Project
Getting Started
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- Sister Cities youth pair themselves with youth in their sister city. The pairing can be between youth groups/clubs, classrooms, or schools.
- Each sister city counterpart identifies a teacher/educator or group leader for the program.
- Each sister city counterpart fills out an application. Applications are due in July.
- Applications are reveiwed in July and announcements are made in July/August.
- Each sister school pair is assigned a Project Ambassador mentor who helps guide them through the entire program year.
- Youth begin work on the 8-month program in October.
For more information please contact Jennelle Root at jroot@sister-cities.org or 202-347-8630 ext. 4003.
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Program Overview
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One World Youth Project's program is broken into three parts: communication, curriculum, and community service.
Communication
- Youth participants communicate directly with their sister-school as well as with the entire One World Youth Project community through pen-pal letter correspondence, password protected internet message-boards, and OWYP's Conversation Bursts.
- Once every two months One World Youth Project hosts a two-week Conversation Burst. This is a time for 'intensive' communication between sister-schools. At the beginning of the school year, each teacher or group leader is mailed a packet of Conversation Burst curriculum.
- Further communication opportunities include reading news online from participants all over the world, learning about the communities of the Project Ambassadors from their Ambassador blog entries, and taking part in participant SKYPE Chats online once every two months.
- One World Youth Project provides a school year's worth of monthly curriculum related to each Millennium Development Goal. Each Sister Schools pair chooses one MDG and explores it through an 8 month curriculum program centered on a real life, personal story.
- Monthly curriculum activities are provided and participants submit their activity responses at the end of every month to One World Youth Project.
- The monthly curriculum activities are posted on the website, allowing participants to view all the responses from around the world.
- Each sister-school pair organizes a collaborative community service project working toward their focus UN Millennium Development Goal.
- One World Youth Project, in collaboration with Youth Service America, provides each school/group with a GUIDE TO MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL ACTION.
- In the winter each participating school is asked to elect two youth leaders to spearhead their group's community service project. They will communicate directly with their Project Ambassador throughout the year.
- By early spring, each group must have developed a community service project action plan.
- Youth are expected to complete their community service project by May.
UN Millenium Development Goals
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The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UN MDGs) summarize the objectives agreed upon at the 1990s international conferences and world summits. In September 2000, world leaders distilled the key goals and targets in the Millennium Declaration and from that the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) worked to write a concise set of eight goals that the United Nations hopes to achieve by 2015.
- Eradicate extreme poverty
- Achieve universal primary education
- Promote gender equality & empower women
- Reduce child mortality
- Improve maternal health
- Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
- Ensure environmental sustainability
- Develop a global partnership for development
Eligibility / Requirements
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Eligibility: the sister group program is open to....
- all Sister Cities International member communities
- Sister Cities youth groups (middle and high school age)
- middle or high school classrooms, entire schools, or clubs/youth groups in member communities
Requirements: each sister-group must....
- have a designated teacher/educator or group leader
- have a faculty sponsor, if the group is based out of a school
- have someone within the group who has a good command of English
- have access to the internet (at least once every two weeks)
- have monthly class, after-school, or youth group time to commit to the project
- be willing to communicate with One World Youth Project volunteer staff
regularly
About One World Youth Project
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One World Youth Project (OWYP) is a unique sister-school program for middle and high school students, linking schools in the USA/Canada with schools from around the world together in learning partnerships for the purpose of cultural exchange and collaborative community service toward the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals. Participant schools are provided with nine months of free curriculum, a guide to MDG action, access to online message-boards, coordinated international SKYPE chats, letter exchanges, mini-grant opportunities for their MDG community service work, and invitations to regional OWYP youth summits.
Unlike other cultural exchange programs, One World Youth Project is free of charge, does not require that students physically travel beyond their classroom, and provides consistent staff support to youth leaders and teachers. OWYP was founded by youth and remains entirely managed and operated by a volunteer staff, ages 17 to 24. Most importantly, OWYP offers youth the opportunity to not only learn about global challenges, but also take tangible action to help meet these challenges in collaboration with their sister-school. In order to provide useful and quality education, OWYP believes secondary schools worldwide must step up their efforts to prepare the next generation for an increasingly globalized society and economy. Easily incorporated into existing curriculum and state-requirements, One World Youth Project is a cost-free way to inspire global awareness, teach 21st century skills, and empower youth through positive agency.
To find out more visit the One World Youth Project website.
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