Amanda Ashton from dosomething.org (USA) gave a talk to Nilai University College students during the Youth Empowerment Symposium on the importance of youth activism.
Nilai University College (Nilai UC) in collaboration with Universiti Putra Malaysia and the World Youth Foundation recently organised the Youth Empowerment Symposium. The event was designed to prompt youth into action by increasing their sense of awareness and responsibility. ?Alongside workshops and discussion panels, speakers such as Dato' Anwar Fazal (Director of Right Livelihood College) and Dr Lin Mui Kang (United Nations Coordination Specialist, Malaysia) gave participants various pointers on how they could set an agenda for making a positive change in society.
Amanda Ashton (coordinator of social entrepreneurship of dosomething.org, USA)
was also in attendance. Dosomething.org is one of the largest organisations in North America helping young people "rock causes they care about". The organisation has been described as a driving force in creating and promoting a culture of volunteerism, and is expected to activate two million young people this year alone.
It reaches out to its target audience by leveraging on the web, television, mobile and pop culture.
Dosomething.org was formed in 1993 by actors Andrew Shue and Michael Sanchez with the aim of making community service 'cool' and as 'normal' as any other teen activity
such as watching TV or surfing the Net. Ashton hopes to continue the momentum started out by those two trailblazers by spreading the word and speaks about what drives her.
She also hopes to encourage youngsters to check out the organisation she
represents and be motivated to become an agent of change.
Tell us how you got the activist bug.
I had read a lot about the civil war in Sudan and became very interested in the subject. I took a class about the history of the region, including the conflict in Darfur and became involved with student organisations such as STAND. I helped organise several fund raisers to help the people who were suffering from this war.
How did you get involved with dosomething.org?
I first became involved in Do Something by participating in the first ever Teens for Jeans campaign (see more here:www.dosomething.org/teensforjeans). I had heard about it and decided to donate a pair of jeans (which would be one of over 1 million pairs of jeans we've collected in the last four years). Then in the summer of 2008 I started as a full time summer intern in the grants department. I really loved the experience of working with such inspiring young people, and enjoyed the atmosphere of this really unique non-profit organisation and so I was luckily enough to continue as an intern through my senior year at university. I then started as a full time staff member in the grants department after I graduated in the summer of 2009.
Why do you think this organisation has been so successful in connecting with young people?
I think that DoSomething.org is so successful because we understand the position of young people and so are able to provide them with the tools and resources to take action that are customized to their needs and interest.
What is the primary message you have for the participants at this Youth Empowerment Symposium?
There are so many problems in the world and youngsters can feel overwhelmed and may be tempted to just shut off the constant stream of bad news. I hope to show them that there are many other young people out there who are passionate about causes and have succeeded and bringing about change on their own ¨C and hopefully this will serve as a resource to inspire and empower the attendees.
In your travels, do you find differing attitudes among young people?
Of course, experiences differ based on cultural settings and unique experiences. But I have noted that many of the strengths of young people ¨C inspiration, idealism, boundless energy, enthusiasm ¨C are universal and these are the traits we want to tap to get youngsters to start their own thing.
One of the usual complains you hear about youngsters today is that many suffer from an unrealistic sense of entitlement. Do you agree with this and, if so, how can parents, guardians and educators combat this?
Teens can be perceived as entitled and apathetic. I don't think this is true though as I said sometimes youngsters may turn off when faced with scope of problems from so many different mediums ¨C from mobiles to the Net. In my experience, I find that youngsters are very motivated to help bring about change. It is thus very important for parents, guardians and educators to ensure these youngsters are aware of the problems that exist and also show them the resources and ways that they can take action to make a difference for what they believe in.
You are responsible for funding projects in Dosomething.org. Can you give us some examples of some of the more successful projects?
A very inspiring example would be Maggie Doyne who won dosomething's grand prize of an award of US$100,000 for her cause. Maggie had noticed many orphans when she was backpacking travelling in India and found that they were mainly from Surkhet, Nepal (due to the then insurgency that was going on). She travelled to Surkhet and felt she had to do something. Using her own savings, she purchased land which an orphanage was built. Maggie may be an extreme example of a person dedicating her life to a cause but it shows what can be done if a person is determined to make a change. Dosomething's grant has helped her care for 24 orphans and put 60 other children through school. (For other examples, please go to:www.dosomething.org )
Any examples of projects that required little or no funding but had a big impact?
A lot of projects have been very successful with little to no funding. This is primarily done by finding resources that are readily available, as well as working with people in their community to get in-kind donations for things that would otherwise cost lots of money. Some examples of this include: programs where students are able to get supplies donated from their university; a community park clean up where a local hardware store donated supplies and over 200 children from the community now have a safe play area.
How do you make the participants at this conference understand that they have the power to make a positive change?
Besides showing them examples of successful projects done by young people, I hope that by providing the resources and suggestions on how they can start, that they will go for it and accomplish many great things!
Nilai UC's administrators are firm believers in the ¡®Total Student Experience'. This is the sum total of a student experiences at university, both inside and outside the classrooms. By providing first class facilities alongside opportunities to participate in programmes and events such as the Future Leaders Camp, 1World Culture and this Youth Empowerment Symposium, the administrators aim to produce well-rounded graduates who will be a boon not just to their future employers but to society as a whole. For more information on Nilai UC, please go to www.nilai.edu.my or call 06-8502338/07-2262336/03-70603089.
