Message from Shannon Joseph, Regional Director of WYA North America

Hello WYA North America members!

We are now one of the fastest growing regions in the organization and it's all thanks to you!

The North American Committee has grown significantly this year primarily in the New York and New Jersey area, this has created new possibilities for outreach which is great because we have plenty of outreach planned!

This coming fall we will be offering seminars on Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), taking the lessons learned from the 2008 ISF (For information on the 2008 ISF click here ) out to our members around the world. Plans for university outreach in Canada and the United States have begun already and if you are interested hosting an ART seminar at your university please contact northamerica@wya.net. We will also be giving WYA introductory presentations in high schools in the New York area. Please contact the North American office to invite us to your high school.

At the end of September, I will be visiting universities, high schools and youth groups in Texas (Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio), to build our membership base there. This membership building tour will also extend to Missouri at the beginning of October. My hope is to build strong committes in which young people can begin training and start to take on projects that they feel are important in their local communities.

WYA North America's new Viviamo program will be beginning in the fall and we will be accepting high school students seeking volunteer hours to take part in the program. The Viviamo program developed in partnership with the NGO Heart's Home will give participants and experience in compassionate care and solidarity through service time in homes for the elderly. If you are interested in participating in this program, please contact northamerica@wya.net . 

North America's Track A-trained membership continues to grow and I encourage all of you to become part of this trend (online training zone). Track A training is the best way to gain an in-depth understanding of the ideas and work of the World Youth Alliance. All North American interns must complete Track A before beginning their internship, so completion of Track A is a definite bonus on an internship application. It is also required for anyone who wants to represent us in our international advocacy work.

There are many ways to become more involved in the work of the World Youth Alliance and I hope that many of you will join me in strengthening WYA's presence in North America!

Should you have further questions feel free to contact me at northamerica@wya.net .

PEACE!