New Global Youth Service Day season!
Hello everyone!
My name is Liya Khalikova, and I will be your new Global Youth Service Day assistant this year! Elina Mukhametdinova has done an amazing job with this blog last year, and from now on I will continue working on it.
At first, I want shortly
introduce myself. I was born in Kazan, and currently I am studying political
science at Higher School of Economics in Moscow. I am a Future Leaders Exchange alumna of 2010, and I
have spent my year in a very small, but friendly and very sharing community in
the town called Leland, MI. I did a lot of
community work and took part in different projects, and I loved the idea and
feeling of it. That is why I have continued doing it after coming back home,
and now I am working as this year’s new assistant and will help you throughout
your projects! Also, I love photography and traveling, and I would love to come
and take some pictures during your projects if it is not that far from Moscow
region :)For those who are reading this blog for the first time, I would like you to briefly describe the main objectives and goals of the Global Youth Service Day. It is the largest service event in the World, which is going to be held on April, 11-13, 2014. GYSD encourages young people all around the World to improve their communities and feel the joy of volunteering! It grows every year, and last year it had record-breaking 135 participating countries and 5434 projects registered! Our goal is to involve as many people as possible into this amazing event, so don't be shy and take part in it :)
Also, there is an amazing opportunities to apply for grants and fund your project! It can be either one of the GYSD sponsor's grants or FLEX GYSD Matching Grant and recieve up to $500 to support your ideas. Basically, the idea of the matching grant is that you find a sponsor who will provide you with needed money for the project or some equipment (for example, cleaning bags and gloves for the clean-up), and the matching grant will award you with the equal amount of money. In order to apply for FLEX GYSD Matching Grant, you have to be FLEX alumni (or team up with one of the alumni :) and register at American Councils web-site , go to FLEX 2014 Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) FLEX Alumni Matching Grants Initiative Application and fill it out! Keep in mind that the deadline for the application is February 17, so you have only less than a month left!
I hope you are exited for the upcoming Global Youth Service Day as much as I am! Don't miss a chance to make the world a better place for everyone :) For some insparation, read more about last year's winning projects in our past blog entries and check out GYSD's web-site. Also, keep up with this blog and see how amazing projects transform communities all over Eurasia!
Leave comments or send me an email at GYSD@americancouncils.ru, and I will be more than happy to help you!
