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CONTACT: Melanie Reimer
In Guyana, 592-227-4096, or

Kay Torrance
In Atlanta, 404-420-5129

Georgetown, Guyana….. The Carter Center Guyana held a Youth Empowerment Forum Feb. 15 in Linden that was attended by more than 60 participants from Regions 10 and 4. The participants represented a wide array of youth organizations, secondary schools, and other entities focusing on youth issues, based in both rural and urban areas, ranging from Amerindian villages to the city of Georgetown.

This was the first in a series of planned regional forums for youth to increase their participation in decision making and governance, to be more involved in volunteer activities, and to support development of future community leaders. Particular attention will be paid to the role and development of a national youth council in contributing to government policy. Participants from each regional forum will be selected for a September 2003 national youth forum.

A key element of the forum's success was the realistic role-playing by the participants, demonstrating how volunteering benefits the community by improving volunteers' job skills and by injecting new energy and talent into the organizations and businesses who engage volunteers. Each participant was given a sourcebook of information to assist them in passing on their new knowledge to their communities and in carrying out follow-up activities agreed upon at the forum.

The forum was organized under the auspices of the U.S. Agency for International Development's program More Responsive and Participatory Governance and Rule of Law in Guyana. Through this program, The Carter Center is working to strengthen the judicial system and the capacity of civil society or nonprofit organizations in Guyana to contribute to public debate and public policy-making, with a focus on organizations that involve and assist women, youth, and Amerindians. The Carter Center is working with the National Democratic Institute and the International Foundation for Election Systems in the overall project. NDI supports legislative and local government reforms, while IFES provides technical assistance on electoral administration.

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