YLP with Azerbaijan Participants on World No Tobacco Day

Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan participants in Azerbaijan and in the U.S. organized events to encourage people to break the habit of smoking and to warn people of the risks of cigarette smoking.  


Check out the video created and produced by finalists of the Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan for World No Tobacco Day.  Creators called upon people to "Stop Smoking and Help Yourself!" 

Directed and Written by: Ali DamirzadeProduced by: Tofic RzayevSpecial Thanks to: Togrul Damirzade, Seylan Musayeva, Gunel Isparzade, Fikrat Mammadov, Javahir Ahmedova, Ruslan Aliyev, Eshad Yusif, Siara Yusifova, Vusale Mustafaeva (Volunteer)Supported by: UN DPI Azerbaijan and American Councils in AzerbaijanThe soundtrack copyrights belong to: Explosions In The Sky - Human 

“Save the Environment” Clean-up Event and Charitable Auction at Zarifa Aliyeva lyceum

 Thank you to Rufat Rizayev for submitting this post. 

YLP Participants
Aydan Mammadova and Ibrahim Farajov 

On April 27 lyceum named after academician Zarifa Aliyeva took an action of cleaning the school neighborhood from rubbish. The action was organized by the winners of the program Rufat Rizayev and his students Ibrahim Farajov and Aydan Mammadova. All the school staff and more than 500 students of the lyceum took part in this “Save the Environment” action.

This was not the first ecological action held by our school but it was for the first time when we decided to clear not only the school area but also the whole neighbourhood. Before we started the action we held discussions in classes about influence of the environment on our health. The students worked in groups and came up with different ideas on how to save the environment. Everybody voted on cleaning both the school yard and the attached streets and yards.

It was very interesting to see with what diligence children were engaged in the territory cleaning. The inhabitants of the apartments were so much impressed by our school’s initiative that most of them joined us. It is well known that joint work brings people together  and the joint work on an accomplishment of our favourite planet brings up in people not only a sense of responsibility for all the mankind but also forms in students skills of social interaction.

On April 28, for the first time in our lyceum a charitable auction was organized with the aim to fund raise to help the children needing urgent treatment. Couple days before carrying out an action the students of our school visited special establishments where children having serious brain illness are treated. As soon as we made a list of children who needed urgent surgery the students made leaflets and posters to proclaim the purpose of the auction with the idea of attracting as many people as possible. Most of the things sold at the auction were made by the students themselves. Having very close connections with our graduates, we invited them and their parents, too. As one of our graduates Rashad Gadirov expressed in his speech: “People showing mercy brings kindness in people”. He himself raised money by giving a short concert by playing the guitar. All the students on the present were keen, nobody remained indifferent to destinies of sick children. It was also one of the purposes of an action to bring up in students the feeling of mercy and empathy for the destinies of other people.

 As a result of carrying out auction over 10 thousand dollars were collected. The raised money was put into the bank accounts of the sick children.

What are your goals for the Program? What would you like to learn and what would you like to teach?

Thank you to Rafia Valiyeva for submitting this post:  

The Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan is a Program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs section of the U.S. Department of State and administered by American Councils for International Education.

The goals of the Program are clear. They are focused on expanding relationship between U.S. and Azerbaijani students, educators and communities from different ethnic, religious, and social groups and strengthening ties between the two countries.

It is a great chance for both U.S. and Azerbaijani finalists of the Program to get to know one another, develop their leadership skills, respect for diversity and sense of civic responsibility, involve them in community service.

Do you know the acronym
SMART Goals?
Read more about it at
http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/smart-goals.html  

The participants will have lots of things to learn from one another and teach one another as well. Even now the students are active on Facebook sharing pictures and ideas on different topics. U.S. participants have seen so many pictures of historical places of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani participants are eager to visit Washington and Arizona. They want to know more about the educational system of the U.S. They would like to present rich and ancient culture of Azerbaijan.

I hope their friendship and good relations will be long lasting and the two countries will benefit from this exchange program a lot. 

 What are your personal goals for the Program?

What do you hope to learn from the other participants in Azerbaijan and the U.S. and what do you hope to teach the people that you meet?   

Finalists and Volunteers Create a Movie about their Success!

YLP with Azerbaijan Finalists in Sumgait created a great movie about their success in getting smokers to exchange their cigarettes for an apple.  Check out the youtube video now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omDgG6YvgJ4&feature=youtu.be

Democracy and Human Freedom: Points of Discussion among Ganja YLP finalists

YLP with Azerbaijan participants at the
presentation about democracy and human freedoms

On April 29, YLP with Azerbaijan finalists Ganja took part in a discussion led by Halima Khanim from the Young Leaders Initiative Group on the topic of Democracy and Human freedom in Azerbaijan.

After a brief presentation, participants split into groups where they discussed problems that they see in their communities and created action plans to work to overcome these problems.  The event allowed participants to open their minds to new ways to address the daily problems that they encounter and learn communication and compromise skills within a group dynamic. 

Shabnam Aliyeva, blog submitter stated about the event, “We had a great discussion day. We had fun but at the same time we learned new things about our government, community & this discussion day gave us a chance to get to know each other more closely.”

Dedication to a Healthy Lifestyle

YLP with Azerbaijan finalists speak
about the dangers of smoking!

YLP with Azerbaijan finalists Javahir Ahmadova, Sayyara Yusufova, Salekh Jafarov, and Ruslan Aliyev organized a presentation at School#23 for over 60 8^th and 9^th grade students to warn them of the dangers of smoking. 

The presentation started with general information about the Youth Leadership Program. Next, organizers spoke about the dangers of smoking and showed a video about the health risks related to smoking. 

Keep up the great work!

YLP with Azerbaijan Adult Finalist Elmira Ilizarova Shares on GYSD

Elmira Ilizarova's student share their Earth
Day poster with the class 

Thank you to Elmira Ilizarova for her impressions of GYSD 2012 and how the event brought together her community and school. 

Global Youth Service Day event is a great event that brought so many people together. The range of the activities was so big that we don’t know what to start with!

April was a very busy month in our school. When we were preparing for our Annual English Language Week we introduced the idea of holding the GYSD.  One of the activities was poster presentation and one of the topics was “The Earth Day”. The students got very excited as they had a good chance to speak out and be heard. They shared their thoughts and brought new ideas about saving the world and the whole planet.

The next step was a conference. 9^th grade students were so much involved in the activity that they decided to invite their pees from other classes and presenters for the conference. The participants had a real talk and exchange of opinions on the subject.

While upper grades were discussing the global problems on how to “Save the World” 6^th grade students organized “Recycling Debate.”

Students and staff with the children at the
boarding school

At the beginning they were introduced the rules for running an effective and productive debate. They learned how to communicate using etiquette. It was one of the lessons that taught all the students very important skills for their future life.

While giving their opinions on one of the subtopics “Recycle, reuse, and reduce” the students suggested going to the orphanage. They said that they had a lot of toys, clothes that they could share with the other children. So, we went to a boarding school for children with special needs. We took a lot of presents, had a real party, danced, played football and made friends. We were happy as we could make other people happy.

It was hard to say “Good Bye” and promised to come back soon. We have already started preparing for the second trip on the 1^st of June –International Children's Day.

Arizona YLP with Azerbaijan Finalists Help to Organize the Relay for Life – Red Mountain GYSD Event

The Red Mountain High School Team at the Relay
for Life Event

Rajan Patel, Abbie Sharkey, and Alyssa Vossler worked together with their fellow students to take part in the Relay for Life at Red Mountain.   Relay for Life is a nationwide fundraising event to help find the cure to cancer. The 2012 Relay for Life at Red Mountain had 1,037 participants, 93 teams, and raised over $76,368 for the battle to find the cure to cancer. 

YLP with Azerbaijan finalists set up booths to sell various products to other participants to raise money towards the cause.  Aside from fundraising, scores of people take to the track in order to show their support of the physical battle with cancer, with someone from every team walking at all times. "Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back" is written on their shirts as they walk in the heat of the Arizona sun determined to make a difference. Survivors of cancer are also invited to the event, allowing them to join in the fun and allowing others to celebrate their intense battle with one of the world’s most deadly diseases. Fundraising continued through the night in Arizona and into the hours of early morning, during which "Hope, Cope, and Cure" was spelled out with candles on bleachers to round off the event.

Abbie Sharkey and Rajan Patel serve snow
cones to raise funds going towards
the research of cancer.

"Relay for life means a lot to me and I believe that it is extremely important to me that we keep on working to find a cure to the deadly disease of cancer,” said YLP with Azerbaijan Finalist Abbie Sharkey upon completion of the event, “It was so motivating and inspiring to see all the survivors and cancer patients at the event.” Students from across Mesa, Arizona attended Red Mountain High School’s Relay for Life event on April 21, 2012, a tradition upheld by the school for years. “This was my first relay, but my experience here today has certainly made me want to come back in the future,” said student and YLP with Azerbaijan Finalist Rajan Patel, “I never knew fundraising could be this fun!” The event certainly inspired students and adults alike to take action against cancer, and encouraged people of all ages to speak up and help understand the cause behind Relay for Life. Many attendees continue to come back year after year to show their support. As YLP with Azerbaijan Finalist Alyssa Vossler stated, “This is in honor of those who have lost the battle of cancer and for those who are still fighting back. Someday soon, we hope that there is a cure for cancer.” 

 Relay for Life events took place throughout the Phoenix Metro area. Teams range from school teams to community and family teams, and people of all ages and backgrounds join in order to support the world’s fight against cancer. The goal of each event is a simple one: raise as much money during the year as you can, and donate all proceeds to fund the research of various types of cancer. Every year in April, the nation’s teams gather at the Relay events in order to raise awareness of the fight against cancer, and raise even more money towards research.

Lead a Healthy Lifestyle without Cigarettes - YLP with Azerbaijan Project in Sumgayit, Azerbaijan

The awesome YLP with
Azerbaijan finalists who
organized the event!

On April 28, Aydin Agayev, Rashida Askerli, and Irada Mehdiyeva led a presentation for 16 students at the Sumgayit Education USA Center about the dangers of smoking.  The YLP with Azerbaijan finalists created a short movie and presentation to show participants about the harm that can be caused by smoking cigarettes. 

After the presentation, the finalists worked together with the group to hold an English language conversation club – where they shared their English language expertise with the students.    

Duwamish Alive! YLP with Azerbaijan participants in Seattle Celebrate GYSD 2012

On  April 21, eight student and two adult participants of the Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan participated in a Global Youth Service Day event in Seattle called “Duwamish Alive!”, which took place at the West Duwamish Greenbelt, Seattle’s largest remaining contiguous forest.  


This blog post is brought to you by Sahil Piyarali, YLP with Azerbaijan Finalist from Seattle, Washington. 

Removing invasive plants in the West
Duwamish Greenbelt contiguous forest for GYSD 

Our group was placed at a work station that also included those student and adult participants taking part in the Youth Leadership Program with Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are currently in Seattle, Washington.  Our whole team was taken to a back area of the forest, and after a long lecture by the volunteer person from EarthCorps who was helping our work station out, we got to work. The task that was given to us was to remove blackberry plants and ivy that was growing in this area of the forest. It was hard work, having to pull, cut, and dig the roots of these plants out of the ground, and not confuse them with other plants growing close by. We had two work periods lasting about an hour-90 minutes each, with a break in between. At the end of the day, we were told that to keep the forest going, removing the blackberry plants and the ivy were vital, as they were invasive plants that blocked the way for more native and economical plants to grow. It was amazing to see how much we had impacted the forest for the better and the end of the day by removing these invasive plants.

Takeaways: This event was a VERY successful event on many levels! It was the first time that we, YLP with Azerbaijan exchange participants, have met in a group, and for some it was the first time meeting others in the group (some of them knew each other from school etc beforehand), and also meeting two of the trip leaders who will be taking us to Azerbaijan.  We got to start building a lot of group camaraderie, as there was plenty of time for talking throughout the day! Meeting the participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina was a rewarding experience as well, as we got to talk to them for plenty of time.  Finally, just being able to make an impact on the environment was a really nice way to pull us all together. 

YLP with Azerbaijan student participants from Seattle, Washington
celebrating GYSD

The Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan Finalists of Baku and Sumgait Azerbaijan Unite at the GYSD Novkhani Beach Clean Up

YLP finalists take part in
an ice breaker before the start
of the event 

The atmosphere was jolly at the Azadliq Metro on April 22.  Nineteen Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan finalists and alternates laughed, joked, and talked the whole way to their first-ever join community service event – the Novkhani Beach Clean Up! 

The event started with team getting to know each other better through icebreakers and teambuilding events.  Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan Program Director in Azerbaijan Ramina Murshudova led the event with the help of FLEX Alumni Coordinator Kristina  Stepnova ’10, Elefser Rasulzada '11, and Javad Hajiev'11. 

Team Work

As a team, the YLP with Azerbaijan participants slapped on their work gloves, put a few bags in their back pockets and were ready to clean up the beach.  Participants passed the time by making up stories about being present-day Azerbaijani Cinderellas who lost not only shoes but also their toothbrushes, hand creams, slides and sponges – some of the odd items that they picked up on the shore of the beach!  After two hours, over 20 huge bags of trash were collected. 

Helping the community and beautifying the beach!

To congratulate themselves on their first joint service project, participants enjoyed lunch on the beach (and were sure to pick up the trash they made after themselves!) The GYSD event ended with an interesting activity where all of the participants made a web out of string.  Everyone passed on the string and shared their impressions of the day’s events and their hopes and wishes for things to come with the Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan exchange. 

Besides the obvious positive result of cleaning up a Baku beach, the event helped participants get to know each other and helped to make them understand the needs of their communities and country.  Participants hope that events such as this one will interest Azerbaijani youth and more people will join in on helping the country to be clean, beautiful and safe.

YLP finalists from Baku and Sumgait  at the
GYSD Novkhani Beach Clean Up

Thank you to all of the YLP with Azerbaijan participants who helped to make this blog post happen, mainly – Saleh Jafarov and Sayyara Yusifova!

YLP with Azerbaijan finalist from Arizona Promotes Recycling for GYSD!

Earth Club members organize events during lunch
for Earth Day and GYSD

Paige Zuraw, YLP with Azerbaijan finalist from Westwood High School in Arizona volunteered with her school’s environmental club for Global Youth Service Day.  Westwood High School students celebrated Earth Week on the 19th, 20th, and 23rd by hosting several activities during lunch.  Together with 20 other student and teacher volunteers at her school, Paige encouraged the general student body to support a healthier planet by holding environmentally friendly games and fundraising events.  Some of the games played included “Trashketball” in which competitors had to throw bottles into a recycling bin, dance-offs where the participants danced to music, and Bottle Bowling where bottles are knocked down with a ball.  The winners received the prize of a reusable water bottle or an Earth Club t-shirt.  The games were enjoyed by competitors and spectators alike.

Trashketball anyone?  

To raise money, the Earth Club sold henna tattoos.  People in the club used henna to make custom designs on the purchaser, and the henna paste will eventually rub off and leave a mark.  Henna is very “green”, because it is a natural dye made of plant material, and it stains the skin for only a few weeks.  Many people at Westwood High School bought the henna tattoos, and the profits from the event will be used to pay for current projects, as well as support future service activities planned by the club.  A portion of the money will be used to buy supplies for families in need during the club’s Adopt-A-Family annual project where the Earth Club donates supplies to a newly immigrated family.   It will also be used to construct a new garden to beautify the Westwood High School campus.  

When asked about the event Paige said, “I enjoyed volunteering during Earth Week by setting up games, encouraging others to recycle and designing henna.  These things helped the Westwood Earth Club, and in turn will help the planet.  I also liked being able to see how our efforts made other students happy and more apt to recycle.  Being born on Earth Day, I am very environmentally conscious, so I would like to do all I can to keep our planet green and help others.”

A thank you to Paige Zuraw for her blog submission and happy belated birthday!  

Ganja YLP with Azerbaijan Finalist Teach Children to Love and Take Care of Nature

Raifa Valiyeva speaks to the students
about the importance of recycling

On April 21, in celebration of Global Youth Service Day, eight Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan (YLP) participants from Ganja organized and participated in an event to teach youth in the community the value of caring for nature.  The event started with presentations about the importance of plants, saving trees and taking care of trees, recycling, reusing, and reducing. YLP adult finalist Rafia Valiyeva and Vusal Mammedov, a local professional in gardening and landscaping who works as a journalist for media center, led the interactive presentations, which included question and answer times for the children.  Additionally two students from the Agrarian University made presentations for the children.

Following the presentations, the children, YLP student finalists, and YLP adult finalists from Ganja planting trees and seeds in the yard of the Young Leaders Association.  Joining in on the event was local Peace Corps volunteer Elaine Vukov, who interviewed the volunteers to put together an article about the project. 

Above and below
Students and YLP with Azerbaijan
finalists plant trees and seeds during
the GYSD event 

This project, which started with the Lofty Tree play and ending with presentations and a hands-on project, taught the children involved about the importance of protecting the environment and how they can pitch in with their little hands! 

  

Quotes from the event include: 

Elaine Vukov Peace Corps volunteer in Ganja.  “The combination of having the kids do the Lofty Trees, environmental play, and the planting seeds activity is very instructional.  The children are learning to appreciate nature, put on a play and have fun all in one.”

Farida Sultanova YLP finalist said “ We can show how to keep clean our surrounding environment, how to fight against pollution of water of air. In our planet there are a lot of problems. But if we can unite in such organizations we can overcome.”

Halima Fatullayeva another YLP adult finalist says: ”They need just one step  from us adult to share or give them opportunity. Later they will be very good example. We need more initiatives people to do such events.”

YLP with Azerbaijan Finalists in Baku Share Promote Healthy Lifestyles for GYSD

Leyla organizing a presentation
at her school

Three Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan finalists, Javid Kerimli,

Leyla Azizova, and Sarkhan Gadirzade organized presentations at schools in Baku, Azerbaijan on the dangers of smoking for Global Youth Service Day.  

According to the World Health organization, the health effects of smoking on young people include respiratory problems, addiction to nicotine, lower level of lung function, and increased risk of cancer.  These and other facts were shared with hundreds of the finalists’ classmates at School #82, the Baku European Lyceum, and the Deyanet Turkish Lyceum. 

These presentations are part of a larger project organized by alumni of the Eurasia FLEX Alumni Program, who will organize a Capital-wide awareness campaign of the dangers of cigarettes targeting youth.  FLEX Alumni will organize presentations at schools and universities, invite local experts, and organize a public event to distribute brochures to the community to educate them about the negative aspects of smoking. 
Thanks to the YLP with Azerbaijan finalists for their cooperation in this event and for spreading the word to their classmates about the dangers of smoking!  

Javid shares the dangers of smoking
with his classmates

Sarkhan presents about the
dangers of smoking to over
100 classmates 

YLP with Azerbaijan Finalist Karthik Uppaluri Helps to Restore Desert Habitats at the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy for GYSD 2012

Karthik Uppaluri together with volunteers at the event

The Sonoran desert is truly a rich desert habitat in Scottsdale, Arizona with some of the species found nowhere else in the world. The preserve currently covers more than 18,000 acres and home to several rare species. It took thousands of years to build the geology of this preserve, and it’s easy to destroy it if we are not careful.  The efforts to sustain the preserve and help restoring it to its natural state will keep this living treasure for future generations to enjoy. Conservancy stewards, citizen volunteers, many high school and middle school students shared the same passion and joined together to restore the Conservancy on Global Youth Service Day weekend and Earth Day, April 21st 2012, by planting various kinds of Cactus and created new hiking trails.   Participants had perfect weather, with nice cool breezes under the morning sun. The Conservancy provided shovels, gloves, cactus plants and ropes etc. which were needed to plant 4 different kinds of cactus species.

Volunteers at the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy 

The enthusiasm was shared equally by 9 year old Gabby, to 89 year old Jane Rau who is the founder of the Conservancy.  Student groups ECO and APE took pleasure in restoring the habitat and joked around while working. Chaparral high school teacher Jen MacColl was proud of her students as they helped in restoring the habitat. She says it’s nice to be able to give the students an opportunity to give back to our society and make them realize the importance of natural habitats. Preserve manager Claire Miller, said that restoring the preserve is a grassroots citizen effort and it’s nice to see our youth getting involved. The Conservancy stewards who are the “head honchos” of the conservancy who take care of everything from education outreach to monitoring trails, were there to help with all the activities. Tony Siros, had 3 generations of his family members volunteering there. When asked why, he said they enjoy the preserve so much, that they want to help restore it.   Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan finalist Karthik Uppaluri from Arizona really enjoyed being part of restoring a living treasure, even though he fell on a cactus and spent some of his time at the project pulling out the thorns.

Note:
Karthik reached out to all of the Arizona finalists prior to Global Youth Service Day weekend to encourage them to join him and the volunteers of the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy for GYSD 2012.  

A thank you to Karthik Uppaluri for his blog submission!  

YLP with Azerbaijan Participants in Ganja, Azerbaijan Kick Off Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) with the Lofty Tree Project

YLP with Azerbaijan participants help the
children create hats for the play 

On April 18, the finalists of YLP with Azerbaijan organized an environmental awareness program for the children in their community.   The Lofty Tree project teaches elementary school aged children about the need to protect the environment, the trees, and the flowers. 

The children created hats and other props for the Lofty Tree play, where they would be the actors and the stars!  The YLP with Azerbaijan participants helped the children with their designs and explained their roles in the play.  

Participants of the Lofty Tree Program 

As a follow up to the play, all of the children will join the YLP with Azerbaijan participants in a tree and flower planting event on Saturday, April 21 for GYSD.  This hands on-event will help the children cement the lessons that they learned through the play.  

Ganja is Getting Ready for GYSD!

YLP with Azerbaijan participants from Ganja plan for their GYSD 2012 event

Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan participants in Ganja, Azerbaijan spent the weekend preparing for their upcoming Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) Project.

Led by adult participant Halima Fatullayeva, the students from Ganja planned a GYSD event, which will help and teach the community.  On April 21, Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan participants and members of the community will learn about GYSD in a general presentation to realize the scope and importance of the annual event.  Next, they will organize a tree and flower planting event to beautify the city.  

What are your plans for GYSD?  How are you going to celebrate the contributions of youth in your community and mobilize those who have not yet learned the value of community service?
We are excited to hear more! 

Gearing Up for Global Youth Service Day

The finalists and alternates of the Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan are gearing up to take part in Global Youth Service Day events on and around the weekend of April 20-22.  

Global Youth Service Day is an annual campaign that celebrates and mobilizes the millions of children and youth who improve their communities each day of the year through service and service-learning. Established in 1988, Global Youth Service Day is the largest and longest-running service event in the world, and the only day of service dedicated to children and youth. GYSD is celebrated each year in over 100 countries.

Each year, millions of children and youth around the world work together with schools, youth organizations, nonprofits, community and faith-based organizations, volunteer and national service programs, government agencies, faith communities, and other individuals to address the world’s most critical issues and change their communities on Global Youth Service Day.  

Pictures, experiences, and more will be posted about the awesome planned events for YLP with Azerbaijan GYSD events in 2012!

The Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan

            Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan     

The Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan

 is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA)

U.S. Department of State and administered

by American Councils for International Education

Program Description:

The Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan (YLP) is a short-term cultural and educational exchange program focused on expanding relationships between U.S. and Azerbaijani students, educators, and communities from differing ethnic, religious, and social groups and strengthening ties between the two countries. Program activities will inspire youth participants with a sense of civic responsibility and a commitment to community service. The program will seek to develop a group of community organizers who will share their knowledge and skills with their peers at home as they work toward common societal goals and interests.

One hundred and twenty youth and adult participants in Azerbaijan and the U.S. will take part in a substantive three-week cultural and educational exchange program.  All YLP participants will explore the theme of social entrepreneurship for youth to illustrate the program’s broader themes of civic responsibility, youth leadership development, respect for diversity, and community involvement. 

The Youth Leadership Program with Azerbaijan will enable participants to:

• develop their sense of civic responsibility and commitment to community development;
• become part of a group of community organizers who will share their knowledge and skills with their peers through positive action and collaboration;
• foster understanding and build relationships with youth from different ethnic, religious, and national groups;
•  promote mutual understanding between the people of Azerbaijan and the United States.

Applications for the 2013 Program will be available in September 2012.
Learn more at www.americancouncils.org