About IANYS
The
goal of IANYS is to stimulate and facilitate
the
History
IANYS was formed in 1996 at the 3rd biennial global conference on national youth service (global conferences are held every two years in a different country). Since its inception, IANYS has grown to include participants from 50 different countries on six continents. IANYS is the only network of its kind actively working to encourage every country to consider the implementation of policies and programs to support youth civic engagement. IANYS also works to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas surrounding youth civic engagement policies and programs.
Leadership
The
Global Council, the governing body of IANYS, is
made up of experts in the field of youth
service from around the world. Currently
thirteen countries are represented on the
Global Council. Dame Elisabeth Hoodless,
Director of the UK’s Community Service
Volunteers and organizer of the 4th global
conference of IANYS, serves as the Global
Council Chairman. ICP serves as the Secretariat
of IANYS and Susan Stroud (ICP’s Executive
Director) is the Director of IANYS. Don Eberly
is the founder and Honorary President of the
Association.
Click here for more information about members of the Global Council.
IANYS Network Participation
The Association welcomes the participation of anyone involved in national youth service, service-learning and other youth civic engagement programs who agrees with the IANYS charter, goals and principles. We particularly welcome people from countries where national youth service is under consideration or just getting under way. Membership in IANYS is currently informal and there are no membership fees, but this may be reviewed at a later date.
Primary IANYS
Activities
- Collecting and
disseminating information about National Youth
Service (NYS) programs throughout the
world;
- Providing
assistance
to countries and organizations interested in
establishing NYS programs;
- Fostering
the
development of National Youth Service programs
through exchanges and training
of both staff members and young people in
service;
- Organizing Global
Conferences on NYS;
- Helping
to arrange
multi-National Youth Service teams;
- Collaborating with
the United Nations and other international
bodies in activities of common
interest;
- Sharing
information
with NYS participants regarding progress in
meeting human and environmental
development goals and the role to be played by
NYS participants in meeting
these goals; and
- Conducting NYS research, monitoring, and evaluation
Expanding IANYS to Meet NYS Needs
Innovations in Civic Participation (ICP) in Washington, DC, has been the permanent Secretariat of IANYS since March 2007. As Executive Director of ICP, Susan Stroud serves as the Director of IANYS.
Building on the momentum of the groundbreaking 8th Global Conference in an effort to create a more robust global network, IANYS intends to undertake several activities designed to strengthen the field of youth civic engagement globally, including researching and publishing an in-depth report on the state of NYS throughout the world, developing a network of consultants to advise and offer technical assistance on youth service program and policy development, creating an exchange program for policymakers and practitioners to gain first-hand knowledge and experience through fellowship projects, and building an online community of practice and resource center for the IANYS network.