Collecting data can sometimes be very tedious and fatiguing, but in some cases it can also be quite exciting. ICP has the pleasure of working on a data collection project which is informative and fascinating at the same time. Collecting national youth service country profiles from people, organizations and government institutions worldwide is more than just a routine office task, it is an interpersonal process beyond email exchanges; a process of getting to know people and understanding the country they live and work in a bit better.
We collect the country profiles on behalf of the International Association for National Youth Service (IANYS) which was formed in 1996 at the 3rd bi-annual global conference on national youth service. Since its inception, IANYS has grown to include members from 48 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.
The national youth service country profiles provide us information about planned or ongoing youth service programs organized by governments or non-governmental organizations worldwide. We are very delighted to receive data from Africa, South America, North America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific region. ICP is in contact with experts, organizations and government institutions to obtain relevant data, whereby we gain insights in ideas and innovative projects based on national and social economic conditions. Sometimes language barriers can pose a challenge as many countries we contact communicate in their native language. Some other countries we are inviting to join our efforts are facing political unrest and instability, so that the provision of reliable and comprehensive data can turn out to be very difficult or sometimes impossible.
Nevertheless, we are receiving great support and lots of responses from people all over the world in supporting our efforts. People are excited to share information about youth programs, its challenges, and its great impact. If you would like to provide us information about youth service programs in your country or are interested in the information we already gathered, please visit http://www.icicp.org/ht/d/sp/i/4918/pid/4918 for further information.
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