This Sunday, March 8th is International Womens Day (IWD). It is an international celebration marking the achievements of women and their importance to our future.

The IWD website posts:

“IWD is now an official holiday in China, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother’s Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women’s and society’s thoughts about women’s equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that ‘all the battles have been won for women’ while many feminists from the 1970’s know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women’s visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women’s education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.

However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so the tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.

Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women’s craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more.”

Visit the International Womens Day (IWD) website to find an event in your community. Better yet, volunteer with an organization that supports women and girls. Keep up to date on issues affecting women around the globe and inform others. Post links to news stories on your Facebook or MySpace page, etc. Contact your government representatives to voice your opinions and learn more about legislation that affects women and girls. Finally, as authored on the IWD site, “Make every day International Women’s Day. Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.”

Statistics from IWD website: www.internationalwomensday.com.

Watch it ….30 Ways to Create Peace

Name: Andrew Murray

Nationality: Scottish

Attended GYV: 1994 & 1995

Education: B Ed (Hons) in physical education

Current work: Deputy Head Teacher of a special school for students with behavioral difficulties.

Biography highlights: After leaving Legacy in summer of ‘94 I drove right across the USA with Paul Harvey and Will Russell, also of ‘94, until there was no road left! Washed my feet in the Pacific and drove all the way back again. Saw some crazy things on that road trip! I came back in ‘95 stronger than before and didn’t complain once about the bugs or the food!  Spent the next 15 years teaching and getting the experience to do what I do now — helping young people re-engage with their life and education.   I met Julie and now have a 7 year old son called Lewis, who is a wee gem!  

My memories of GYV: So many, I still have flash backs! The mind can take years to analyze everything that happens at Legacy! I can still see the faces of the other staff as if it were yesterday. The children of Legacy, I imagine them all grown up now.  The zero waste days when I had to finish all my tofu.  Building the trim trail, I must have been fit when I was younger.  Reciting Burns poetry into a cassette tape for the Legacy archive.  I wonder who got the job of transferring all that tape onto MP3?  Sitting at Mr. Rash’s  fire and being poured mint tea.  Mostly though I remember the unconditional acceptance and humility of some of the best people I have ever had the pleasure to spend time with (Paul, Will, Linn, Cheryl, Celena, Rebecca, Arianne, Karl, Amir, John (the Navaho), Bob so many).   And then there are all the students….so many….peace to you all…don’t stop believing.

“Let’s Move” is a campaign geared to target all aspects of a healthy lifestyle including helping parents make better food choices, serving healthier food in school vending machines and lunch lines, making healthy food more available and affordable, and encouraging children to exercise more.

Here at the Global Youth Village, our daily activites and diet mirror what this campaign is trying to promote. Our menu is predominately vegetarian with tasty international foods and all of our dishes are prepared with natural foods and whole grains. The youth learn the importance of a healthy diet for their physical and emotional well being. Each day of our sessions we encourage our youth to get involved in one of the numerous recrational activities we offer!  So if your looking for a place to “Let’s Move” visit us at GYV!

Enter our Global Youth Essay Contest between February 20-April 10, 2010!  Your essay must answer the question “How can I use technology to change the World.” The winners will receive full or partial scholarships to this summer’s program. Click here for offical rules and details.

Contest Overview

• You must be ages 15-18 and a US citizen
• Essays should not exceed 500 words
• You must read the official rules
• Essays should be e-mailed to gyv@legacyintl.org
• Essays should be submitted between February 20- April 10th
• Your essay will be judged on
  • (a) overall creativity (20%),
  • (b) content for your proposal on how using technology can change the world (70%)
  • (c) overall grammatical and structural fluency (10%)