Issue 4, 2011

NEWSLETTER
This newsletter provides the latest information on FORGOTTENDIARIES.ORG which is
managed by Youth Action for Change (YAC).
Forgotten Diaries (FD) is a unique project which aims to raise awareness of the several
under-reported conflicts currently occurring around the world and empower young
people living in these zones with the skills and tools they need to contribute towards
grass roots peace-building and community development.
Forgotten Diaries also provides young people with the possibility of making their voices heard
through the media, by reporting on their daily life via an especially dedicated platform for the
exchange of information and analysis of critical situations. Please visit our website
www.forgottendiaries.org and be part of this global conversation to raise awareness on
forgotten conflict zones
Issue 4, 2011



As part of its commitment to empowering young people in forgotten conflict zones, Youth Action for Change recently
sponsored nine new youth-led, innovative, grass-roots peace-building projects through Forgotten Diaries. These grants follow
the five projects sponsored as part of the first grants program in 2009 which was highly successful and proved FD's key
message to policy makers that if empowered, young people can be the solution to community peace and development and
can bring about a more cohesive and peaceful attitude within communities.

Over 100 applications from all over the world were received. Projects were selected based on their capacity to contribute to a
more peaceful future within each community and their potential to bring about real grass roots development. FD would like to
thank Art Action for supporting this grants program. The nine projects and their outcomes were:

Country Recipient Project Outcome
Pakistan Gulalai Ismail Co Conducted a Peace Education Workshop with 50 young people from the district of
Peshawar to celebrate International Peace Day on 21st September 2010. As a result a
peace-building training manual was developed to be widely used by youth living in
conflict zones and wishing to combat violence and intolerance

East Timor Jose de Jesus Used sport to help integrate vulnerable youth and street children into society and
reduce potential future conflict between communities
Liberia Hans George Distributed cartoon handbills and posters with messages of nonviolence among 500
young people that included former child soldiers, street children and other vulnerable
youth in his community
Ethiopia Belaynesh Abebaw Resorted to the universality of art to empower thousands of girls and women focusing
on making them aware of the voice they have and its importance for the promotion of
peace
Nepal Ashis Himali Used theatre performances involving 2500 youth and spreading the message of peace
building among them

Nigeria Ogaga Maxwell FD blogger, grant awardee and recently announced ambassador for United Religious
Initiative from Nigeria brought together over 200 secondary school student leaders by
using art and culture to raise awareness among them on the need for peaceful inter-
religious co-existence in the Niger Delta area
Rwanda Emmanuel
Niyamugabo
Mobilized more than 2000 young people with physical disabilities in a campaign
"Disability is not inability training them on conflict management, human rights and
peace and involving them in the community development in their countries
Colombia Lorena Callejas Used artistic expression, sports and peace to combat violence between gangs in his
community reaching over 300 young people directly or indirectly affected by the conflict

Nepal Shree Thapa Used the technique of street drama performances reaching over 9000 participants to
reconcile them on the issues of bad practices of caste intimidation


Less than two months after the grants were disbursed, the projects have already begun and the first photos and reports from
project activities have already been received.



Youth-led Project Outcomes

Youth Empowerment - Grants
Nepal: Two children are enjoying cultural
music in a scene of peace building theatre
performances.

Timor Leste: The Ping Pong for Peace program was actively
participated by kids under 18 yrs, they practiced how to play
ping pong, sport education and the spirit of health.


Nigeria: Ogaga presents Peace and culture award winners at
the P.E.A.C.E project


Issue 4, 2011

































Ogaga Maxwell inspires agency for change


Youth Empowerment

When Kofi Annan appeared on television, visiting a country
ravaged by war, many people chose to turn the TV off or
change the channel. Not Ogaga.

Kofi Annan's visit to Nigeria inspired Ogaga to to take his
society's development into his own hands. He founded a
youth NGO called "Dare to Dream" which aims to help young
people unlock their dreams and help them become a
powerful tool for change in society.

While surfing the web, Ogaga got to know Youth Action for
Change (YAC). Through YAC, he got involved with Forgotten
Diaries. It has been, according to Ogaga, 'the hallmarks of
my development work since I started'. Quoting Ogaga, 'the
concept of FD was innovative and I loved the fact that YAC
was started small, since we were made to know how with
little funding YAC grew to where it is now, it was an inspiring
example for young people like us, who do not yet have all the
resource for offices, staff and whatever is needed for big
funders to recognize what we are doing. The courses [in
project development, provided by YAC] also made me have
the needed capacity to embark and develop projects and also
I love the idea that after the project we would be assisted to
put what we have learnt into action.'

Whilst working with YAC, Ogaga was able to have his project
selected for YACs grant through Forgotten Diaries project
which supported his first project 'Sports Skills for Peace'.

His work has also led him to another new accomplishment;
Ogagas nomination as one of the 15 Youth Ambassadors at
the United Religious Initiative. He will now represent Africa as
an ambassador for 2011, alongside another selected youth
ambassador from Kenya. According to Ogaga, the relevance
of his FD experience to his latest accomplishment was that
it 'provided two key experiences for me to be able to share
with the interviewer on phone, my "Sports Skills for Peace
Project" and the recently concluded "P.E.A.C.E project", I do
believe that if I had not done both projects sponsored by
YAC, I may not have been picked because there would not
be proof of work done in the area of Peace building, then URI
is also interested in blogging, and FD website have provided
me with a global platform to blog.'

However, this nomination is only one of the projects Ogaga
has in 2011. After the success of Sports for Peace, Ogaga
tells us about his expectations for his latest project that has
received a grant from YAC, titled 'P.E.A.C.E' [Peace
Education, Arts and Cultural Empowerment]. He states that
'the expectation for P.E.A.C.E is great . in this project we
are merging three things 1. Peace Education 2. Arts with
focus on fine arts, painting 3 Culture, because we discover
that when we focus on Arts and Culture we can reduce
tension; this is also missing in our school curriculum and in
our everyday life.'





Ogagas projects often involve the arts and
sports. According to him, art is universal and
Africans are very artistic by nature. Ogaga recalls
bronze arts and the Terracotta arts, summing up a
rich history that can be rediscovered. He firmly
believes that participating in the arts can be run
parallel with peacemaking.

Ogaga tells us that seeing the young people
turning out to be better people after attending his
projects is the most rewarding achievement. One
of the volunteers of his project, has started his
own project in Mathematics, and encourages
young people through motivation and leadership
initiatives.

When asked to give advice for someone willing to
follow his steps as a youth agent for change, he
suggests 'find your passion, focus on it, find a
mentor, pursue his wisdom, and put words
into action. Just keep doing it.'

Students perform a dance at the P.E.A.C.E project.
Students create artworks at the P.E.A.C.E project
Issue 4, 2011






















































Acting Out for Peace

Youth Empowerment


Renowned French existentialist philosopher and playwright, Jean-Paul Sartre considered the theatre to be beyond
art. For him, it was a vehicle, an effective machine to spread a message.

If you ask over 2 000 children in Nepal what do they consider theatre to be, the answer would prove the
philosopher right. For those Nepalese children, today, theatre means peace.

When we talk about Nepal, it is important to remember that the country is currently at a political transitional point.
Its decade long armed conflict (1996 2006) has badly damaged the countries infrastructure, with consequences
and repercussions up to date.

One of these consequences is the fact that mutual cooperation among people has been shattered by the recent
conflict. People, especially children do not like to express their views freely.

This is the framework in which Shree Krishna Thapa has worked to bring about peace. Willing to change and
improve the situation in his country, he applied and received a grant from Youth Action for Change though
Forgotten Diaries project. This grant made it possible for him to organise three theatre workshops, each one
followed by a performance, in three community schools.

The theme of the theatre performances was Peace. But peace in its broadest sense, that is by also showing the
invalidity of war. The children were urged not to engage in any violent activity. The message was sent and received
by the youth, who literally turned into actors of change in Nepal.

The general appreciation of the project, alongside with its huge success led Shree to form a group of young people
into a social organization, which remains active. Today they have already worked in 20 schools, while still forming
children theatre groups.

Even though the success of the project is immense, Shree Krishna Thapa points to the lack of resources as one of
the problems his new organization faces. f you can help Shree's organisation please feel free to contact him
through www.spacenepal.org.

Various street and theatre performances from Shree
7KDSDVSURMHFW
Issue 4, 2011


Announcements, Awareness Campaigns & Acknowledgements
&
Forgotten Diaries Website Launch

Forgotten Diaries launches its website with new opportunities. Hereinafter youth from forgotten
conflict zones and the global audience have a new space for interaction, a forum section. A newly created
section "Others under country blogs gives the chance to youth from any conflict zone of the world to share
their forgotten stories. Register here and make your voice heard:
http://wip.lenuslab.com/forgottendiaries/wp-login.php?loggedout=true

Join the Forgotten Diaries Yahoogroup (forgottendiaries@yahoogroups.com) and the new
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Forgotten-Diaries/180851485295546 and
we will always keep you updated.
Call for bloggers

Forgotten Diaries announces a call for young bloggers from Caucasus; East Timor; Ethiopia,
Somalia, Somaliland; Nigeria, Niger Delta; Serbia, Kosovo; Sri Lanka; Turkey Kurdistan; Uganda;
India, Pakistan, as well as from Latin America, new conflict zones in the region to be covered by FD.
Bloggers from any other conflict zone of the world who consider their conflicts forgotten and would like to
raise awareness about them, are also welcome to submit their applications. The selected bloggers will have
the opportunity to report to the world about their life growing up in a country affected by conflicts, while
raising awareness of the issues they face and potentially in the future assisting in raising money from the
international community for community projects in their country. We encourage you to visit the FD website
(www.forgottendiaries.org) and get acquainted with the blogs created by our young participants from
different conflict zones.
Any youth is welcome to join the project, and we will select young people based on their blogging
and writing skills, community commitment, engagement with youth projects, reason for interest in this
project and their ability to commit at least 2 hours per week to the project. Please send your CV and a
writing sample to an.hayrapetyan@yahoo.com, cc-ing to leticia.zenevich@gmail.com by June 25, 2011.

Iorgotten Diaries supports the Zero Under J8 Campaign



Forgotten Diaries will be actively advocating the 'Zero Under 18' Campaign, which was
launched on the 25
th
of May 2010, by the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-
General for Children and Armed Conflict, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on
Violence against Children, UNICEF and the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.
This campaign aims to achieve universal ratification of the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict by
2012. It also aims to encourage all states to raise the voluntary recruitment age to a minimum of
18 years. Finally, it intends to raise awareness of state parties' obligation to criminalise the
recruitment and use of children under the age of 18 years in armed conflict.
Forgotten Diaries' work with youth in regions of armed conflict is directly relevant to the
progress and development of the 'Zero under 18' campaign.
For more information on the campaign please visit: http://zerounder18.org/

Forgotten Diaries work acknowledged by British Council

Following the UNAOC Rio forum in May, 2010 where the Forgotten Diaries was granted
the Intercultural Innovation Award handed by British Council as UNAOC partner, Forgotten
Diaries work was acknowledged and granted 5000$ to further the successes of the project in
voicing the youth from forgotten conflict zones and empowering them to bring a positive change
to their communities.

Issue 4, 2011









































Forgotten Diaries, finalist at One World Festival
The World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, the largest of its kind in
Europe, is held every year in Prague. It screens documentaries from around the world which
address human rights and puts a spotlight on the role young people play in these issues. This
year, the Best Film Award went to Cuchillo de Palo, (108) (Renate Costa / Spain / 2010), a film
which investigates the life of Rodolfo, persecuted because of his sexual orientation by the
dictatorial regime of President Alfred Stroessner in Paraguay.

Alongside with the documentary competition, this year the Festival also introduced a new section
New Media for Social Change. Based on the idea that the effective use of new media,
technologies and social networks is opening up a completely new space for information and
people's stories to be shared and reported. The jury looked for projects which went further than
just producing an attractive website. That is, projects that made full use of the potential of new
communication technologies and facilitated the sharing of information and active public
involvement, which would have been unthinkable or very complicated in the area of traditional
media communication.

A jury composed of experts on new media, communications and technology participated in the
selection of the winning projects.

Forgotten Diaries was selected as one of the finalists in the New Media for Social Change section
competition.

The project Help Map Russian Fires, which creates a network in order to link the requests for
emergency assistance with citizens providing emergency aid, was the eventual winner.

For more information of the festival please visit: http://www.oneworld.cz/2011/#
Awards & raising awareness
Scene from Best Film: Cuchillo de
Palo
Screenshot of Help Map-Russian Fires
Help Map-Russian Fires accepts award
Issue 4, 2011





About us
New Team Members!

Leticia Zenevich
Participants and Local Initiatives Coordinator

Letcia is a Brazilian Law student. Her interests range from conflict
resolution to gender equality. She has volunteered with women who
suffered from domestic violence in Brazil and has participated in
several UN simulations, as well as moot courts, such as the Jean-
Pictet Competition on International Humanitarian Law.


Tanya Sinha
Editor and Team Assistant

Tanya was born in India and currently lives in Australia. She is currently
studying law, and peace and conflict studies at university. Tanya is also
involved with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, and actively participates
in their national and local campaigns.

Tanya has participated in the United Nations Youth Association Conference,
where issues such as climate change, Darfur and global poverty were
discussed. This experience helped form Tanya's interest in the role of the law
and human rights in international politics.

Tanya is an activist and has great passion for social and environmental
justice issues relating to human rights and climate change.



Forgotten Diaries at UNAOC Pre-forum in Doha

Forgotten Diaries was invited to participate in the UNAOC
pre-forum consultation meeting with civil society
organizations held in Doha on May 3-4, 2011. Anam Gill,
our volunteer from Pakistan presented the Forgotten
Diaries experience at "Youth at risk: Economic participation
as a first step in fighting exclusion and discrimination
session.

Issue 4, 2011






















































Connecting
FD participants keep their
own 'digital diaries'; blogs
that allow them to share
their stories through stories,
pictures, and videos, and
ultimately, engage in
intercultural dialogue among
themselves and the world at
large
Empowering
Following training courses
offered throughout the pro-
gram, FD provides selected
participants with small grants
to design and implement a
development and peace
building project in their own
community.
Awareness
FD is an online initiative
which aims at shedding light
on the most unreported and
underreported conflicts,
crisis and issues worldwide
by involving those most
affected by these conflicts:
children and young people.
2 1 3

Forgotten Diaries (FD): Shedding light, giving hope!

What is Forgotten Diaries?
INTRODUCTION

Over 100 conflicts and crises
continue around the world today.
Despite the fact that some of these
have been continuing for over ten
years, claiming tens of thousands
of lives, they have received very
little coverage by the mainstream
media. Shunned by the
international community at large,
they have become the world's
'forgotten conflicts'.

Several millions of children and
young people are confronted daily
with war, and have no chance to
share with the world their, hopes,
expectations, and perceptions on
conflicts and their struggle to
survive.

To continue the long-standing
tradition of young people keeping a
diary of their lives and their
struggles in conflicts (as much as
those of Anne Frank and Zlata
Filipovic), the internationally
acclaimed organisation, Youth
Action for Change (YAC) offers a
platform though Forgotten Diaries
to voice their thoughts, feelings and
hopes while bridging a link between
young people from 10 forgotten
conflict zones and those in other
nations.
OUR AIM

Providing young people living in
areas affected by neglected
conflicts with the possibility to make
their voice heard in the media and
through the media, by reporting on
their daily life via an especially
dedicated platform for the
exchange of information and
analysis of critical situations,
expressing their right to peace
while engaging their peers and the
global audience into concrete
actions

OUR MISSION

x Give children and young people
the opportunity and the tools to
report on their daily lives and the
conflicts they live in

x Educate the global audience
about unreported and
underreported conflicts, crisis and
issues while giving them a
chance to get involved through a
host of activities (campaigns,
advocacy efforts and fundraising)

x Encourage the implementation of
youth-led, on-the-ground
activities in the countries and
communities targeted by
'Forgotten Diaries'

TARGET AUDIENCE

Our main target includes children
and young people living in conflict
and post conflict areas, aged 15-
29. We have identified ten of the
most neglected conflicts and crisis
worldwide (including Caucasus;
East Timor; Ethiopia, Somalia and
Somaliland; India and Pakistan;
Nigeria and Niger Delta; Serbia and
Kosovo; Sri Lanka; Turkey and
Kurdistan; and Uganda).

Other than young people and
youth-led organisations coming
from neglected conflict and post-
conflict areas, we also aim to
inspire and involve the wider global
audience, both youths and adult s.

CONTACT DETAILS
www.forgottendairies.org
www.youthactionforchange.org
info@youthactionforchange.org

FD on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r
GsUBo521Ls

FD on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.
php?gid=34108484008

FD on I-CNN:
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-
492683

ISSUE 3 YEAR 2010
About us
Issue 4, 2011






















































ISSUE 3 YEAR 2010
(ID's Partners & Sponsors)
Awards &
Endorsements

World Youth Summit Award 2010 in
the Category Pursue True

UNAOC, Marketplace of Ideas
2010, Award for Intercultural
Innovation

World Aware Education Award
2009, North-South Center

eContent Award 2008 Italy -
Freedom of Expression award

Takunda Award 2009 - Best
Humanitarian Project

Italian Ministry of Youth

Online Diary



East Timor

x Challenges in the Education
System
x Letter on issuing visas to U.S. in
Dili
x The Dili Village Telco


Ethiopia, Somalia, Somaliland

x Drought-displaced in "tens of
thousands
x SOMALIA: Children facing the
worst, says UN
x Women of the Year 2010: Dr.
Hawa Abdi & Her Daughters
x Amnesty International Somali
refugees in Kenya need protection
not abuse
x Kenya endangering lives of Somali
refugees, says rights group
x Somalis are desperate for a new
life, but refugees face a dangerous
road
x Refugees turn to State for help
x UN calls for humanitarian access
as drought hits Somalia
x MSF calls for medical staff's
freedom of movement to be
respected

Nigeria and Niger Delta
x FD Participant and URI Youth
Ambassador attends Global Youth
Summit in Nairobi, Kenya
x D2DYI Executive Director
Participates as Key Volunteer in
National Election Project.
x Students doing their dance





x Youth Governance &
Democratic Workshop in Aba,
Abia State, Nigeria
x FD Participant attends
Reception of Under Secretary
of State for Democracy and
Global Affairs

India and Pakistan

x Village Situation Case study
of NooPurShah Islamabad
x Anti-Corruption Day in Pakistan
x 2010 Year of Drone Attacks
x Media in Pakistan
x Twenty-seven Pakistani
languages may extinct soon
x 54% Pakistanis face 'multi-
dimensional deprivation'

Uganda
x History repeats itself: France
and Uganda

PROJECT TEAM

Selene Biffi
Founder
Anush Hayrapetyan
FD Manager
Silvia Raccagni
Projects Manager (YAC)
Shasheen Jayaweera
Strategy/Development
Manager
Michela Bettinelli Rossi
PR and Communication
Leticia Zenevich
Participants and Local
Initiatives Coordinator
Tanya Sinha
Editor and Team Assistant

The latest headlines from the blogs on the FD website are summarised
below. Detailed messages are available on the FD website.