The World Youth Movement for Democracy (WYMD) was created in 2004 at the Third Assembly of the World Movement in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

by an international body of young democracy and

human rights activists A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing camp ...

. WYMD is a branch of the

World Movement for Democracy World Movement for Democracy is an international network of individuals and organizations who share the common goal of promoting democracy. The World Movement was launched in February 1999 when the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and two n ...

, and it retains the organization's core values such as the belief in a broad-based

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

that adapts itself to different cultures. WYMD promotes a set of values, including rule of law,

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

, and free media, in all societies, and it works to create these values in some countries and strengthen them in others. In addition, the Youth Movement has several more specific, youth related purposes. It serves as a means for youth

activists Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

to come together to share ideas, network, and collaborate on projects, which helps further their knowledge of democracy issues and provides them with a practical skill set.

Structure

The Youth Movement is led by a steering committee that is composed of no more than 10 members at a time who represent the regions of the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. Committee members are elected for a two-year term by members of WYMD. The Secretariat also works to coordinate meetings with members and reach out to new members.

Current projects

The stated aim of the World Youth Movement's programs is to increase knowledge of

democratic ideals Democratic ideals is an expression used to refer to personal qualities or standards of government behavior that are felt to be essential for the continuation of a democratic policy. In the 20th century, T. H. Marshall proposed what he believed to ...

, collaboration among other

youth organizations The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

, and development of international solidarity networks that support youth in adverse circumstances. The World Movement for Democracy's activities include hosting democracy-related essay and photo contest, a regular newsletter, a fellowship program, and regular, online discussion panel webinars on youth-related topics. The World Movement for Democracy hosts a general youth assembly for its members, which takes place during the biannual World Movement for Democracy Global Assembly. The World Youth Assembly is organized in two parts: a session devoted to a democracy issue of high relevance to youth and a session devoted to the

organization development Organization development (OD) is the study and implementation of practices, systems, and techniques that affect organizational change, the goal of which is to modify an organization's performance and/or culture. The organizational changes are ...

of the World Youth Movement. Every year on October 18, the World Youth Movement for Democracy commemorates the World Youth Day for Democracy, a day when “young democracy supporters celebrate their role in fighting for and strengthening democracy.” In past years, WYMD-network youth organizations around the world have celebrated the day by hosting meetings and events, volunteer, creating art, and otherwise coming out in support of human rights and democratic principles.

References

External links

National Endowment for DemocracyWorld Movement for Democracy
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Youth Movement For Democracy Organizations established in 2004 Democracy Youth organizations based in the United States