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Our Time Is Now: Young People Changing the World tells the stories of more than thirty young people in over twenty countries who are taking action to contribute to their local and global communities.
The book spotlights the efforts of young leaders who are addressing a host of urgent global challenges: poverty, violence, racism, environmental destruction, and civic apathy, to name only a few.
For those youth profiled, serving the community is both a challenge and an adventure; serious work and creative fun. Each provides insights on strategies that can help ensure the success of an initiative, while reflecting on the rich personal rewards of giving back.
Woven throughout are quotes from human rights advocates, political leaders, corporate CEOs, and journalists – all recognizing and endorsing the powerful contributions of today’s youth to improving the lives of others.
At a time when headlines emphasize the “bad news” in our world, the stories in this book offer hope that committed individuals – no matter what their age – are making a positive difference.
About the Authors
| Sheila Kinkade is a writer and communications consultant who works to help nonprofit organizations tell their stories. The author of three nonfiction children’s books, she has traveled to more than forty countries to carry out work for various international development organizations. |
| Christina Macy is a published author and former White House speechwriter who has worked in the advocacy and nonprofit field for more than thirty years. In addition to writing about children and youth issues, she has promoted civil liberties, human rights, and religious tolerance. |
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“Collected here are the stories of passionate, committed young leaders who chose not to look the other way when they saw a problem – the shame experienced by a person with HIV/AIDS, the poisoning of a sacred river, the frustration of a nation’s citizens in the face of a national crisis, the exclusion of the physically disabled. These are young people who choose to take a stand.”
–Archbishop Desmond Tutu
from the foreword of Our Time is Now
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“There are so many problems in our society that it difficult to identify the most important ones. You cannot wait for someone else to address those issues. It is up to every one of us to take notice of what is going on, search for solutions, and most important of all, to take action.”
– Kritaya Sreesungpagit
Founder, Youth Innovation Year
Thailand
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“Our biggest success has been to restore hope... To me that’s the magic, to bring that spark to people.”
– Erion Veliaj
Executive Director, MJAFT!
Albania |
About the Book’s Sponsors
Our Time Is Now is a collaborative initiative of the International Youth Foundation (IYF), the Pearson Foundation, Nokia, and the Sylvan/Laureate Foundation. Each of the four collaborating organizations shares a common commitment to promoting the role of youth leaders globally. IYF conceived of the book and marshaled the resources needed to produce it, tapping its YouthActionNet youth leader network and national partner institutions to identify candidates for inclusion. The Pearson Foundation designed and published the book. Nokia provided financial support for the book’s production and distribution, and the Sylvan/Laureate Foundation has provided assistance for the book’s marketing.
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