Table of Contents
What is Voices of Youth?
Who uses Voices of Youth?
Why should I become a member?
What can I do if I do not become a member?
Why should I take part in the discussions?
What will happen to my ideas?
How to use this site
How can adults use Voices of Youth?
What are Voices of Youth Chats and how can I get invited?
Why can't I log off?
What is Voices of Youth?
Voices of Youth is an Internet site created by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for young people who want to know more, do more and say more about the world. It’s about linking children and adolescents in different countries to explore, speak out and take action on global issues that are important to them and to creating a world fit for children.
Voices of Youth is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a whole, and in particular by Articles 12, 13 and 29. These three articles are dedicated to ensuring young people’s rights to participate in decision making processes, to express opinions freely, and to be equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about change in their own lives and in their communities.
See Voices of Youth’s mission statement.
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Who uses Voices of Youth?
Voices of Youth is a website for young people who are interested in issues of human rights and development. Voices of Youth is particularly concerned with reaching and involving young people from developing countries, and youth who do not traditionally have a way to make their voices heard – or have access to the Internet. Voices of Youth also tries to attract young people who may not yet realize just how interesting and important child rights can be.
From where? Since its launch in 1995, Voices of Youth has reached young people in more than 180 countries. More than 60% are from developing countries.
Are they girls or boys? Girls’ participation in the Voices of Youth web discussions as a whole, at 55%, significantly outnumbers that of boys, who make up 40% of Voices of Youth members (5% of members did not disclose their gender).
How old? The most active age groups on Voices of Youth are 15-19 year-olds (32%) and 20-25 year-olds (32%). Those aged 10-14 make up an additional 8% of Voices of Youth members.
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Why should I become a member?
Becoming a member of Voices of Youth opens up a whole range of opportunities to you. As a member of the Voices of Youth community you can:
- Take part in the Voices of Youth discussions
- Make sure young people and world leaders hear what you have to say about child rights
- Link up with other young people around the world
- Create an online profile for yourself
- Submit content for the explore section of the Voices of Youth website
- Have a say in the way Voices of Youth grows and changes
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What can I do if I do not become a member?
If you do not want to become a member, that does not mean there is nothing for you to do on Voices of Youth. As a guest you can:
- Learn all about child rights in the Explore section
- Read the messages on the Voices of Youth discussion boards
- Learn of upcoming events and activities
- Learn how to take action and make a difference in your community
- Think about becoming a member!
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Why should I take part in the discussions?
By expressing your ideas through Voices of Youth you are adding your voice to those of many other people around the world – people who really care about making this world a better place for everyone, and especially for children.
Remember that your voice is strongest when it is joined by the voices of other young people around the world. The greater the number of those who take part in Voices of Youth, the louder those voices are, and the greater the chance for positive change.
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What will happen to my ideas?
Your ideas will be shared online with the many people - young people and adults alike - who link to Voices of Youth. They will be able to see what you have written and give their own ideas and views in response.
Selections of young people’s ideas from Voices of Youth will also be presented at many world events and sent out to policy makers around the world through Voices of Youth’s bimonthly newsletter, “What Young People Are Saying”.
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How to use this site
Voices of youth is divided into three major sections: Explore, Speak Out and Take Action.
Explore: This section is where you can learn all about child rights and development related issues. It is where you will find:
- Facts about the issues
- Information you need to make sure you are in the know
- Stories of young people from around the world
- Quizzes
- Games
- Videos
Speak Out: The main feature of this section is the Voices of Youth discussion boards. Here you can make a comment, reply to a message, start a new discussion thread or just read what other young people are saying. This is also where you can link up with other young people who are members.
But you have to a member to join in the discussions (see “Why should I become a member”). Also in Speak Out are:
- Summaries of what is being said in the discussions
- Summaries of what was talked about in Voices of Youth’s chats (see Voices of Youths’s Chats for more)
- Stories and poems submitted by VOY members
Take Action: This is where you learn how to turn your ideas into action and make a difference. This section also has profiles of youth leaders to give you inspiration, and will soon have a very long list of organizations and projects you can get involved in. Tell us what you are doing to take action!
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How can adults use Voices of Youth?
Voices of Youth is a very important resource for adults. It is the place to find out what young people think about child rights related issues, and what they suggest should be done to make the world fit for children.
Here is how adults can use the different sections:
Explore: The perfect resource for learning about child rights and getting ideas for how to spread the word and awareness to young people – and even other adults – about these issues.
Speak Out: Read the summaries of what young people are saying about various rights related issues, including what recommendations they have for action.
Intergenerational dialogues: The Speak Out section of Voices of Youth also plans to have many opportunities for adults to talk with Voices of Youth members. Through speaking and listening, both generations can clarify and affirm their own experiences and perspectives and work towards a common solution.
Take Action: Find out about youth-led initiatives around the world and ways to link up and provide support.
We have also developed a detailed online guide to using Voices of Youth as a programmatic tool, including many successful past projects as examples. You can access the guide on Voices of Youth, or contact us at voy@unicef.org to request copies of the guide on CD-ROM.
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What are Voices of Youth Chats and How can I get invited?
On a regular basis Voices of Youth hosts invitation-only chats on one child rights related issue for young people around the world. On occasion, Voices of Youth chats also invite adults and decision makers to participate.
Voices of Youth chats are invitation-only to ensure that young people who do not traditionally have access to the Internet – and to Voices of Youth – have an opportunity to make themselves heard. Local organizations and UNICEF offices in countries around the world select the young people who participate in the chats. So get involved with your community and you may be eligible for one of our chats!
For summaries of what young people have said in past chats, see summaries in the Speak out section of Voices of Youth.
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Why can't I log off?
If you are having trouble logging off, it may be that your cookie (a file on your computer that allows Voices of Youth to “remember” who you are) has become corrupted. To fix this you will have to manually delete the cookie. Below you can find instructions for the major browsers. If your browser isn't listed, please ask an administrator to delete your cookies for you.
Internet Explorer 6.0
Tools # Internet Options # General tab
Delete Cookies # Delete All Cookies in Temporary Internet Files Folder? # OK
Internet Explorer 5.5
Tools # Internet Options
Delete Files # Delete Offline Content # OK
Settings # View Files # [highlight cookie files and delete] # [close window] # OK
Firefox
Tools # Options # Privacy # Cookies # View Cookies
Highlight unicef.org cookies and press delete or click Remove Cookies
Netscape Navigator 6.0
Tasks # Privacy & Security # Cookie Manager # View Stored Cookies
Remove All Cookies # OK
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