| EarthSeeds News Release Contact: EarthSeeds, 719-367-3637 EarthSeeds Invites Youth to Share Solutions to Global Issues EarthSeeds Global Youth Voice project offers opportunities for youth to share solutions to global issues, build friendships, and create international understanding. Colorado Springs, CO � A recently announced international Global Youth Voice program developed by EarthSeeds, a non-profit group which promotes global learning, has the goal of engaging young people in learning about and solving global issues. "As international issues like security, the environment, poverty, and trade become more comples, the need to improve global learning and understanding among students is increasingly apparent," said Mark Joyous, founder of EarthSeeds. �We want to give young people an opportunity to learn from each other, build friendships, and share perspectives from their part of the world� The 2007-2007 EarthSeeds Global Youth Voice program invites school classes and youth groups around the world to pick a global issue for study and to share what can be done to make a difference. Topics might include international understanding, the environment, democratic reform, energy, climate change, water supply, economic development, or any other issue of special interest. Youth groups are being encouraged to begin work now so their ideas can be posted on the EarthSeeds website in the weeks leading up to international Earth Day celebrations on April 22, 2007. There is no cost to participate and complete information can be found at www.earthseeds.net. �Clearly, solutions to issues ranging from climate change to land management to terrorism will rely on finding new ways to share resources, engage in constructive dialogue and discover common values,� continued Joyous. �As our world grows smaller and more interconnected, problems in one part of the world tend to impact others far away. Young people have the greatest stake in this rapidly evolving future, they are the international business and political leaders of tomorrow, and they represent a tremendous untapped potential for creating a more peaceful and sustainable world.� With the largest-ever generation of adolescents approaching adulthood, half of the world�s young people are under the age of 25, and the majority (almost 85%) live in developing countries. From this vantage point, youth are not only the future, they are the present. The EarthSeeds Global Youth Voice project will take advantage of the advances in technology that are making today�s youth much more connected than in the past. At a time when traditional news organizations are struggling for ways to hold on to younger audiences, the internet is becoming a new meeting point for youth to share news and opinions. EarthSeeds is currently working with educators in 22 countries and has just kicked off an international campaign to spread the word about EarthSeeds Global Youth Voice through schools and youth serving organizations such as TouchMath, Roots & Shoots, the YMCA and 6-Friends.org. Global Youth Voice entries may take a variety of forms to address a global issue such as a local research project or article, service learning project, artwork, poem, song, documentary or story, and must be 500 words or less accompanied by a photo if possible. One emailed entry per group or classroom is requested, and EarthSeeds will create a link to the organization's website if more content space is desired. Submissions are due by March 22, 2006, and each work should be reflective of the age of the group submitting the entry. �The next generation will need to develop a more global view to solve problems that impact all of us,� said Joyous. �I�m hopeful that as we bring together young people and organizations from every part of the globe to share ideas and inspirational stories about what is being done, we�ll also be helping young people develop the leadership, knowledge and civic skills to change the world.� In that sense, says Joyous, everyone who participates will be a winner. To find out more about EarthSeeds and the Global Youth Voice project, visit www.earthseeds.net or call 719-636-3637. |