Our Gala brings together over 200 community leaders, young professionals, supporters and donors in celebration of exceptional young leaders and their community projects through the Young Agents Awards.

Hosted by Citytv Breakfast Television’s Riaz Meghji, the evening will include a cocktail reception, silent auction, young agents awards and amazing entertainment by youth performers such as the Woman’s Drum Circle from the Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA).

Date: Saturday, March 27, 2010
Time: 6:30 Cocktail Reception, 8:00pm Young Agents Awards
Location: Vancity Theatre at the Vancouver International Film Centre; 1181 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 3M7 (Please consider environmentally friendly transportation to the Gala. The closest skytrain station is Yaletown/Roundhouse)

While appes will be served, don’t come on an empty stomach!

Official media sponsor: Citytv

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Tickets $25 (A tax receipt can be issued for amounts above $50 less ticket price). For tickets, contact events@globalafc.org or 604-762-0978. They are selling out fast, so order yours today!

Please purchase tickets in advance. Ways to purchase and pickup tickets:

1) Visit Kathryn Graham at Lamplighter (92 Water Street) on Fridays and Saturdays from 11am – 4pm;

2) Call 604-762-0978 to arrange a time to purchase and pickup tickets outside of the Lamplighter times;

3) Last resort is to purchase tickets at the Gala. First come, first serve. Limited number of tickets will be available at the door.

Two methods of payment:

1) Cash (Preferred)
2) Cheque (Payable to “Agents of Change”)

• Assistant Manager – Operations (Internship)
• Communications Coordinator
• Communications Liaison, Young Agents
• Communications Liaison, Riding to Break the Cycle

More information on each position is available below.

Please send your resume and a short statement of interest to volunteer@globalafc.org by Monday, February 8th.

Assistant Manager – Operations (Internship)

Liaising with the President and Operations Manager, the Assistant Manager plays a pivotal role in maintaining communication and internal coordination within our growing organization.

This position may pay an honorarium depending on applicant experience.

Weekly commitment: 5 to 10 hours per week
This position has a minimum eight month commitment from start date.

Responsibilities

Internal Communication

• Gather timely news updates from each working committee
• Liaise with President and Operations Manager to disseminate organizational updates
• Gather information for monthly internal newsletter to disseminate important organizational information to executives
• Maintain, organize and upload key documents to Global AFC’s internal website Socialtext
• Gather updates from committees about upcoming events and add to our internal calendar
• Document procedures and processes within the organization

External Communication

• Collaborate with community members interested in volunteering
• Maintain contacts in the nonprofit community
• Maintain a strong social media presence
• Help coordinate Changemakers Night Out, a monthly social gathering

Administrative/ Other Duties

• Take minutes at Executive and General Meetings
• Maintain Global AFC supporter contact lists
• Maintain Global AFC volunteer database along with HR Manager
• Provide a supportive role in other Global AFC operational activities as directed by Operations Manager

Skills and Experience

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Detail-oriented and organized
• Flexibility in volunteer hours
• Ability to work in a team and independently

Communications Coordinator

Weekly commitment: 8-10 hours per week
This position has a minimum of an 8 month commitment from start date.

The Communications Coordinator works with the Communications Chair to implement all internal and external communication for Global AFC including internal messaging, media relations campaigns, recruitment campaigns, blogging, marketing, event promotion, website presence and more.

Responsibilities

Internal Relations

• Assist in developing and/or coordinating communication materials
• Review communications materials, which includes proofreading and editing documentation, ensuring accuracy and compliance with Global Agents for Change standards
• Draft and revise key messages for specific projects, programs and events
• Assist in the documentation of the communications teams processes

External Relations

• Develop content for information brochures and flyers
• Review external communications for a variety of programs and projects, including for third party events
• Act as a liaison between the Communications Chair and Media Relations Manager
• Draft some media releases, advisories, and backgrounders throughout the year. Campaigns would include: Riding to Break the Cycle recruitment, Riding to Break the Cycle (B.C. and US campaigns during tour), Young Agents Awards/Mentorship, Microcredit Challenge
• Assist in development of media relations plan
• Assist in responding to media calls and coordinating interviews with appropriate spokespeople
• Provide Online Collateral and Website support
• Draft copy for websites and collateral
• Coordinate website design and collateral production with graphic designer and other outside contractors

Skills and Experience

• Media relations experience an asset
• Experience with Wordpress an asset
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Detail-oriented, organized, and able to multitask
• Ability to problem solve and work with limited financial resources
• Creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit
• Flexibility in volunteer hours
• Requires attending some events on weekends or evenings

Communications Liaison, Young Agents

Liaising with the Young Agents Program Manager and Communications team, the Young Agents Communications Liaison will play a pivotal role in the communication activities for the Young Agents Program.

Weekly commitment: 5 to 10 hours per week

This position has a minimum eight month commitment from start date.

Responsibilities

Global Agents for Change’s Young Agents Program provides funding and mentorship for youths aged 12-18 with projects impacting positive change in their local communities and beyond.

In this role, the Young Agents Communication Liaison will act as a liaison between the communications team and Young Agents Program Manager. The position would be conducting communication activities for Young Agents under the supervision of the Communications Manager.

Tasks may include:

• Writing and preparing press releases, media advisories, and press kits
• Assisting in the management of media relations, including building and maintaining of media contacts for Young Agents
• Assisting in communication activities with external stakeholders, including community partners
• Assist in social media activities when directed
• Provide a supportive role in other Young Agents communication activities

Skills and Experience

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience with media relations an asset
• Detail-oriented and organized
• Flexibility in volunteer hours
• Ability to work in a team and independently

Communications Liaison, Riding to Break the Cycle

Liaising with the Ride Leaders and the Communications Manager,  the Ride Communications Liaison will play a pivotal role in the communication activities for the Riding to Break the Cycle flagship program.

Weekly commitment: 5 to 10 hours per week
This position has a minimum eight month commitment from start date.

Responsibilities

Ride to Break the Cycle (RTBTC) is the flagship program of Global Agents for Change. Each year, Global Agents for Change launch cycling journeys raising funds and awareness to fight global poverty while providing participants’ the opportunity to build a mobile community focused in creating social change. Since 2007, RTBTC has grown to cover three rides: the Pacific Coast Tour, riding from Vancouver to Mexico; the European Tour, from Amsterdam to Istanbul; and finally, a Cambodia tour through a partnership with PEPY.

In this role, the RTBTC Communication Liaison will act as a liaison between the communications team and RTBTC committee. The position would be conducting communication activities for RTBTC under the supervision of the Communications Manager.

Tasks may include:

• Writing and preparing press releases, media advisories, and press kits
• Assisting in the management of media relations, including building and maintaining of media contacts for RTBTC
• Working with riders and RTBTC organizing committee to coordinate media events on during the bike tour
• Assist in coordination of use and leverage of riders’ personal media contacts and networks
• Assist in social media activities when directed
• Provide a supportive role in other RTBTC communication activities

Skills and Experience

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience with media relations an asset
• Detail-oriented and organized
• Flexibility in volunteer hours
• Ability to work in a team and independently

On a personal level, this trip was a chance for me to at least have a preview of development work since I had never seen any projects first-hand. I had only read articles of development work and criticisms of the approaches of many NGOs around the world. The successes and criticisms that I’ve read were similar to some of the situations that PEPY encountered throughout the course of their work.

The ride is designed to educate participants and benefit the communities the organization operates in. From our experience, they lived up exactly to what they said they would offer.

PEPY invests time and resources in people, because we believe that improving education, providing training and stimulating ideas builds capacity for people to better solve their own problems.

Before we began bike riding, we had a chance to visit one of PEPY’s schools in Chanleas Dai Commune with the organization’s executive director Daniela Papi.

We get so caught up in technologies and constant change that we often forget that the most complex and effective solutions may not necessarily be the most effective. Writing notes on a board during a lecture can be more engaging nowadays after seeing endless cluttered PowerPoint presentations throughout our academic years.

Some people and organizations apply this mentality to development work. But as Daniela correctly said, “Technology is useless without education.”

Education is an essential aspect of their programs and development projects. Sometimes the most effective solutions cost the least. One of PEPY’s educational programs, for example, costs $1,500 a year to educate groups of kids as opposed to spending $55,000 to build a new school.

Education in the context of development must go beyond handing out leaflets and information sheets like some other NGOs have done in the past. Some think that people will just magically adopt the “gifts” given by organizations and integrated it in their lives.

No.

Daniela said they had to do more than just outreach⎯they had to prove concepts. When they were trying to get people to use a water filter, it took a full year for people to adopt them.

One school principal said that the water filters was the best thing PEPY did for education because the filters helped increase school attendance because there was less illness. “You can’t force people to change results. They will see the results, adapt and demand,” Daniela said.

A big problem many NGOs cause is that they assume community needs as opposed to understanding them and involving the community in a participatory way. So we often hear stories of organization handing out drugs not realizing that a big part of their target population can’t read instructions or don’t have access to the food they need to take the drug and so on.

When PEPY began their literacy camp, there was a much bigger increase in the use of the books at the school once they were taught how to use the books.

They don’t just give away books, they show them how to use it. They don’t just give away filters, they sell them at an affordable price so people take real ownership of it and are educated on how to use it.

Your role in social change

Daniela lives by Howard Thurman’s quote: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” This was the most unexpected, but useful, thoughts that I took away from the entire trip.

If I had read this quote by itself outside of our meetings with PEPY, I wouldn’t give it a second thought. What intrigued me was that she and some of her friends live by this idea in relation to development.

When I asked her one of the most vague questions you could ever ask: “What route should I take if I want to get development experience. I want do do something to help people.”

Instead of telling me to do an internship, get more skills and so on, the first question she asked was, “What are you passionate about?”

One of Daniela’s friends runs a restaurant and works with non-profits in the community to help them with fundraising and other projects. That way she has the freedom to explore her interest in development and other issues.

If you’re motivated to do what you’re passionate about, you’ll have the energy to integrate your passions with social change. The non-profit route isn’t the only option to make a positive impact.

Another example is one rider who wanted to open up a bike shop to provide quality service at an affordable price in his town. Biking is his passion and he wants to help people fulfill their interests.

There are many lessons to learn about development. It’s just as important to continuously educate yourself as it is to educate others.

For the original post, click here.

Here’s a real quick blog post and apologies that I couldn’t get many up during the trip so far. We’ve just had such an action packed schedule of visiting various different NGO’s and other cultural activities. Can’t wait to do more postings when I’m back.
It’s been a couple hot days of cycling since we’ve arrived in Siem Reap, but the journey has been epic! As our Global Agents for Change group is smaller, we joined up with a larger group of riders in the city called Battambong a few days ago. It’s now our last day in Phnom Penh and we are off to Chuuk before our finally destination Kep, where we’ll stay at The Vines eco lodge. The ride days are usually just over 100km and while it’s hot, we’re get many chances to stop for coconut juice, cane sugar juice, and even palm sugar juice!!! They’ve been the perfect energy drink while riding in temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius.

Today being our last day in Phnom Penh, we took it easy and slept in until 9:00am. Our previous ride days begin with breakfast at 5:45 and taking off at 6:30am in order to ‘beat-the-heat’. We had lunch today with Loung Ung who wrote the book “First They Killed My Father”. I haven’t had a chance to read her story yet, but through chatting with everyone, she has endured a lot. She survived the Khmer Rouge and was adopted by an American family at a young age. She returned to Cambodia to be involved in a variety of international development projects. Loung is super inspiring and has a lot of interesting insight into development in Cambodia. She said today that with any form of community development, NGO’s must have a foreign exit strategy in place. Her NGO originally started with almost 100% foreign staff and now almost all staff who fill the current roles are local Cambodian. The goal of development ultimately is to achieve sustainability within communities without dependence on foreigners. After all, it is the local community that knows best the needs of its people.

Well, it’s off to dinner and then an early night before the 130 km cycle to Chuuk tomorrow. Sorry for the lack of posting friends! It’s been a bit of whirlwind but I hope to catch up on more of my insights into Cambodia over the next week and when I return to Canada.

Farewell from Cambodia!
Christina

I just returned from three months in Europe, two of them spent with an energetic and sometimes intense group of young people, cycling from Amsterdam to Istanbul. For those interested, a bit more about the trip itself is in the post-script of this letter. However, what I wish to share with all of you is that some clarity of values emerged for me and I wish to embark on actions that align with those values. I share this in the hope that it will directly resonate with some of you; that some of you will be able to connect me to others who will enable me to bring these ideas to reality; and that some of you will be moved by my sharing and will share with me your goals and dreams that we may support each other in ways large or small.

The values that have emerged for me are simple:

-I believe that the basics of life, freedom from violence and dignity are inalienable human rights — they are not dependent on any responsibility, but are simply entitlements of being human in this world at this time.

-I believe that every other person has gifts to offer to me and to others and that to maximize those gifts, I must create the most opportunity for the most people possible. The most basic opportunity is that of a healthy life.

Thus, I am committing myself to increasing both the number and proportion of people who have access to the basics of life — sufficient food, shelter, water, medical care and dignity.

What does this commitment call me to do? That is where things get blurry. Committing to a large-scale goal is easy; finding actions that tangibly turn that goal into reality is not. In Canada and many of the world’s wealthier regions, we do a good job of ensuring our citizens have access to the basics of life through our social assistance (welfare) policies. However, there is much room for improvement, particularly in regard to dignity, an aspect that I believe is greatly undervalued (even for its economic impact). In low-income countries, there is generally no basic safety net and this means that the poorest citizens (and often the majority of citizens) lack the basic essentials of a healthy life.

Thus, I believe that creating social safety nets that are most effective at providing the basics of life for the most people is the best way to meet my commitment. I remain bound to my commitment and not to any one path, though, and would be happy to hear alternative perspectives.

What issues am I trying to address?

-In Canada, and particularly in Ontario, I believe that our system is not sufficient to ensure access to the basics of life. I also believe that it is more difficult than necessary for those on social assistance to achieve lasting financial independence — and that many are denied dignity in the process (a part of the problem in establishing lasting financial independencs).

-Around the world, our system of aid has detached consumer and purchaser, meaning that choice ultimately rests with aid agencies and charities, not the people who are supposed to be receiving the support. I believe that this is hindering many people from receiving the most benefit possible from the resources which already attempt to provide them with opportunities.

-Effective systems must be sustainable — that is, the belief in the value of providing opportunities to others (the political will) must outweigh the burden on those from whom the resources are taken (the cost). This requires both maximizing support and minimizing cost.

The idea that I believe addresses these issues best is that of a basic income, “an income unconditionally granted to all on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement.” This has a few major benefits:

In Canada,

1) Eliminates the disincentive of welfare clawback of new earnings (50% or more), instead creating a tax system that is progressive from top to bottom.
2) Removes the stigma of receiving a handout and inherently changes the focus of any support workers from ensuring compliance to supporting people.

In low-income countries,

1) Reunites purchaser and consumer so that people can decide for themselves what the most important things are
2) Stimulates domestic (and very local) economic growth through increased consumer power

I propose this to you as one suggestion among many, many possibilities and would be delighted to add your questions and ideas to my own nascent knowledge on the subject (there is a good run-down of many of the practicalities of implementation and philosophy at http://www.basicincome.org/bien/aboutbasicincome.html)

So, finally, I ask for your help in three ways:

1) Connect me to people would be interested in building alliances or helping me find practical ways of increasing the number of people who have access to the basics of life. I am looking to do this as a volunteer, a researcher or professionally (becoming employed would certainly help prevent an increase in cost to the system I’m advocating!) If you are one of these people, then no intermediary is required.

2) Let me know how you feel about what I have written – your ideas will inform my actions. If this resonates with you, let me know that, too. I would love to have you join me on this journey (or join you on this journey, as the case may be).

3) Bring up this topic in day-to-day conversation. With a simple “How’s that going?” you will be encouraging me to fulfill my commitment and providing more opportunities to let something flourish.

And to each of you, I extend this offer: You have allowed me to express my passion and purpose; I am here should you wish to express yours. I believe that it is in sharing what we want to achieve that we lay the foundation for realizing it.

Thank you so much for reading this message. I hope that it is the beginning of a journey that will leave our world a better place.

Robbie Brydon
robbie.brydon@gmail.com

PS And, as promised, for those interested in my trip, it was fantastic. We covered 14 countries, 12 by bicycle and 2 beforehand (yes, I’m counting the Brussels train station and Belgian rails!) We raised $70,000 for the Global AFC microcredit fund – thank you so much to everyone who contributed and to those who weren’t able to but still wished us well. More info about the fund is at http://www.globalafc.org/blog/projects/riding-to-break-the-cycle/opportunity-fund/ (and if I didn’t previously give you the opportunity to donate and you would like to, you still can! Click on the donate arrow at the top of that page; tax receipts are available for donations of $100 or more, but by cheque only – contact me for details).

My album of photo highlights is at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2584007&id=28122102&l=ac96d7bbbd and there are links there to five other photo albums which also have various stories about the trip (they duplicate most of the pictures in the highlights album, but provide another ~200 photos plus stories.) I’d be happy to talk about the delights of Dutch bike paths, the terrors of Czech ones, the Romanian shores of the Danube or the incredible culture of hospitality we found throughout Eastern Europe. I’m always happy to hear from you – even on those occasions when I’m slow to respond.

In the end of course it became much more than just than the $70 000 we collectively raised. We all get to come away with the knowledge that we have accomplished a goal that many people thought was outlandish. In reality however, it was actually quite easy. Yes, we biked 4000km, but it wasn’t all in one day. Every day we had a manageable task of biking around 70km. That isn’t to say there weren’t daily challenges around directions, language, hills, weather and a whole host of other problems, but together none of them were all that daunting.

I know personally one of the biggest things I will come away with is a sense of unified global caring. Every day we put ourselves out into the world and everyday we were helped by total strangers. Many times they did not know who we were, what country we were from, or what we were doing, they just knew that we needed help and opened up their hearts to do what they could. How I view guests and helping strangers has been totally changed.

There are so many great stories to tell, and I’ve tried to do my best to share as many as I can, but in the end all of our words can never do justice to just how special this trip was to everyone. I had bad moments, and bad hours, but not once did I ever have a entirely bad day where I wished I was somewhere else. I would just like to take one last chance to say thank you to everyone that helped play a role in making this happen for everyone. All of our friends and family back home that supported us, all of our wonderful hosts along the way, and especially all of the strangers who helped guide us here. We are all better people because of your support.

That’s about all I have for now, riding into Istanbul down a four lane highway going 60km/hr with 15 bikes behind me was one of the craziest things I’ve done, but I feel like that story is best saved for another post or over conversations when I get home. I will say however that we are also extremely lucky as it is Ramadan right now so Istanbul is even more spectacular than it would otherwise be. The shear number of people around the blue mosque at sundown is mind-boggling.

As for what’s next, many of riders are sticking it out in Istanbul for another week or so and a few are continuing their travels for several months. Personally I’m headed off to Beirut Lebanon and then hopefully into Syria before I have to make it back here to fly out on the 14^th of September. It is sad to see this amazing experience end, but I am excited for all of the new adventures on the horizon.

a split second decision this morning has decided that most of the agents are adding an additional twelfth country to the ride to break the cycle europe tour. and the winner is… greece! apparently mezek, our final sleep spot in bulgaria (just outside svelingrad) is about 15k from the greek border, so the decision was made to make it a tri border cross day. spending the rest of our leva at a cafe here in wonderful mezek with the amazing bulgarian terrain and generous people, we are hesitant to leave this country which has been so good to us. my next correspondence will be from turkey. and then who knows what…

last night we all made promises for the last week of our tour. to give a high five to everyone at the end of the ride, to speak our mind, and mine is to write a poem and draw a picture of everyone before the end of the tour.

hello greek salad.
goodbye bulgars.

Written by Gala August 21, 2009

turkish coffee – been waiting for you.
your black foamy crema is zingıng right thru
my fingertips as i take more sips
and relish a seat ın the shade.

flags reign high over the land,
at the gas station and the fruit stand.
its hard to hide the pride inside
please – take a cold watermelon.

you honk at us twice
you wave cuz you’re nice
you invıte us inside
and you tell us our rides…
should have engines.

past the mountains i’d feared
we can now cheer
we’re here!
in turkey – it’s clear…
that we’re strong ones.

istanbul awaits
150k away
and i don’t want this trip to be
over.

Written by Chris August 21, 2009

Our last day in Bulgaria was a wonderful experience. Upon arriving in Svilengrad we were met by the mayor of the city and about 20 other cyclists and they rode us out to where we were staying. Along the way we were given some very tasty bread to eat and each given pins as a lasting reminder of our visit. It was a lovely send off from a country we have very much enjoyed being in and has far surpassed our expectations. I would certainly recommend coming and checking it out if you get the chance.

Yesterday morning we woke up and did something a little different in the morning, we totally changed the route. Instead of going right from Bulgaria into Turkey we though, hey, why not ride through Greece? Wouldn’t it be cool to say that we rode through three different countries in one day on our bikes? It seemed like a logical enough choice – aside from crossing an extra set boarders – it was about the same distance and this way we get to tack another country visited onto our itinerary and passports.

It also graced us with a wonderful stretch of highway and a huge shoulder that made the first 20km of our day a breeze. We then got to visit a very famous and beautiful mosque in Edime Turkey and everything was shaping up to be one of the more memorable days on the trip. We then realized however that it was 4pm and we still had 60km to go and unbeknownst to us, all of it was on not very bike friendly chip-sealed road into a very strong headwind. To make matters worse we did not have any accommodation planned.

Luckily, our group is very good at turning obstacles into challenges and overcoming them. Because we did not have accommodation in the town that we were in able to simple cut the ride day 20km shorter and add it to the next day. While this meant that pods would still be getting in long after dark it meant it was far safer and everyone would be in a good mood not having to ride as far as they thought.

As it turned out the town we chose to camp in, Ürünlü, was an incredible choice. When we arrived the people from across the street volunteered to cook our pasta for us and even gave us a watermelon to eat. The hospitality continued when I went up to the store to buy some juice and an ice cream bar, and the owner of the store charged me less than he should have and even shoved a couple more bars into my bag as a left. Even as we walked around the town later everyone was inviting us in for tea and refusing to let us pay for anything.

I can honestly barely even begin to describe how humbling of an experience it has been, and how grateful we all are for the generosity of everyone we have met. We have truly and genuinely appreciated everything we have been offered so much, and at this point on our trip it really does mean the world to us. What makes it even more special is the people who have been helping us don’t speak English, they haven’t heard why we are riding through their country, they just see that we have been biking in the sun all day and need a little water and a smile and upon up their houses and homes to us. It really is just from the goodness of their hearts that they are helping us and it is extremely moving. It will be very interesting to see how we all treat strangers when we return home.