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ACTIS|Activating Talent in Sustainability
Youth Encounter on Sustainability (YES)The Challenge of a Sustainable World
Living for 10 Billion People
Courses for upper level undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines and all nationalities
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ACTIS|Activating Talent in Sustainability
The Sustainability Challenge
The world is facing a severe global crisis: current
patterns of economic and social development are
putting an unbearable strain on our naturalenvironment and cultures. Can young people
begin to move our society towards the ideals of
justice, equity and sustainability? Our goal is that
after you participate in YES you will be able to say:
YES, we can, YES we will, YES, we MUST!
The Vision for the Future
In June 1992, the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development adopted Agenda
21, calling for all nations to develop and put intoeffect their own national strategies, plans and
policies for sustainable development, and to be
prepared to deal with the common challenges
facing human kind. The tenth year anniversary of
the Rio Conference was marked by the 2002
World Summit on Sustainable Development in
Johannesburg, South Africa. The Rio Conventions,
signed by 150 countries, and other such global
initiatives, were supposed to help us chart a
course for the 21st
century. The reality is that
workable solutions to the environmental, socialand economic imbalances in our world are yet to
be devised and global conversations about
sustainable development continue to wrestle with
how to put these visions into action.
YES is inspired by a set of questions arising from
the gap between the principles in Agenda 21 and
the potential for putting these into action in the
21st
century:
What do the individuals pursuing careers andleading lives in the 21
stcentury have to say
about issues of sustainable development?
What are the views, concerns and freshapproaches of tomorrows leaders to these
problems?
What progress has been made in makingsustainable development a reality and what
remains to be done?
Young people of today constitute an important
group, the cradle of tomorrows leaders andthinkers, whose decisions will have a growing
influence on markets and styles of living.
YES brings together such young leaders from all
around the world to explore the challenges of
sustainable development and the state-of-the-art
research developed to address them. Theyexplore economic, social and technical
complexities in meeting the sustainability
challenge and gain better understanding of the
need for multi-disciplinary perspectives for
problem solving.
The Youth Encounter on Sustainability YES
In the year 2000 the Alliance for Global
Sustainability (AGS) first created the course
concept for the Youth Encounter onSustainability-YES to help develop the leadership
capacity for a sustainable future. The first course
was held in Braunwald, Switzerland that same
year and from then on continued to be held twice
each year, attracting highly diverse groups of
students to discuss global challenges and
opportunities for sustainable development.
Building on the resounding success of the YES
courses in Switzerland, YES courses were
expanded to other world regions. Courses have
since been held in Costa Rica, Slovakia, Kenya,Japan, Austria and Australia in collaboration with
local course partners. At the start of 2009, more
than 1000 students from over 98 different
countries have been trained in the YES course and
form the core of the strong and active network of
YES alumni located all around the world.
Types of YES Courses
YES Basic Courses
The YES basic courses include the original YESInternational course held bi-annually in
Switzerland, and the courses with a regional focus
(hosted in Costa Rica, Slovakia, Austria, Japan,
Kenya and Australia). The framework for the
courses is based on the basic framework
developed over the years of successfully running
the YES International course in Switzerland.
Typically 2 weeks in duration, the course trains a
maximum of 40 students per session with a focus
on basic sensitization to the multifaceted
concepts of sustainable development. The
regionally focused basic courses aim to connect
regional priorities and challenges to the global
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ACTIS|Activating Talent in Sustainabilitycontext. Regional courses are developed with a
thorough understanding of the regions culture,
history and social development in order to
effectively prepare students to take effective
action. Participation in the courses is open to
upper level undergraduate and graduateuniversity students from all disciplines. In both
the international and regional courses a
multicultural and multinational and gender
balance is maintained.
YES Special Courses
The YES Special courses are open specifically for
YES Alumni individuals who have already
attended a YES basic course. The special courses
focus on one particular subject or theme and
incorporate many of the pedagogical anddidactical approaches of a YES Basic course. The
courses are typically 7 to 10 days in duration held
in collaboration with local partners in a location of
great interest and relevance for the course theme.
Elements of a YES Course
A typical course incorporates academic work, field
trips and experience, workshops, cultural and
social activities in some of the worlds great
natural settings. Students participate in:
An in-depth investigation into key issues in thesustainability debate with leading faculty and
special guests from world renowned
institutions and organizations
Discussions on the role of science, industry,civil society and public institutions in moving
societies toward sustainable development
A values and responsibilities component,which considers the role of the social sciences
and discuss the individual behavior changesand ethics in promoting sustainable
development
A unique opportunity for close collaborationwith an international multicultural and
multidisciplinary group of peers in small
working groups on specific projects
Field experiences in the form of excursionsunique to the location providing opportunities
to learn first hand from approaches to
address sustainability challenges
Unique Social and cultural activities among theparticipants
Outcomes for Participants
Enhance your understanding of the principlesof sustainability in a dynamic world, across
geographic and disciplinary boundaries
Unique personal and professionaldevelopment that will open up furthereducation and career opportunities
Inspiration from interacting with like minded,motivated young individuals from all around
the world with interesting and valuable
experiences to share
Provide you with methodological and systemthinking skills to develop holistic and
appropriate solutions to sustainability
challenges
Develop your interdisciplinary, intercultural,and leadership competences
Stimulate your creative thinking about local,regional, and global issues on sustainable
development and broaden your perspectives
Connection to the YES alumni group andassociated communication platforms, a strong
and expanding international network of over
1000 young scholars and professionals from
around 100 countries supporting one another
with follow up activities
Practice in presenting, facilitating and workingin groups in English in a relaxed and
supportive environment
Feedback from Alumni Students
YES provides an extraordinary opportunity for
young people from all over the world to come
together; to learn from one another and to set
the stage for a better world.
YES gave me motivation and hope, broadenedmy horizons, empowered me with new
knowledge and skills and helped me to
understand sustainable development from a
holistic perspective
The best educational experience I have had- the
fact that there were so many different countries
represented made the whole experience
priceless
YES gave me direction, connections and valuableresources for my future career
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ACTIS|Activating Talent in SustainabilityYES is very uniqueso many elements,
interesting topics, surroundings, different people
from all over, with different views. This makes
such a strong impact, it is great while you are
there, and I realize even more what an amazing
trip it was after getting back home
The teaching was exceptional an excellent pool
of experts, modules and presentations
Collaborating Institutions
The YES courses and programs are directed by
ACTIS, in collaboration with institutions and
organizations who form an international
collaborative network. ACTIS - Activating Talent in
Sustainability - is a Swiss organization founded inearly 2009 with the purpose of taking over full
operation of the YES courses and associated
activities. ACTIS was created as a special ETH
spin-off organization due to the strong
involvement of the ETH Zurich in the
establishment and operation of the YES courses
from 2000 to 2008. The ACTIS core staff have
been responsible for running the program since its
creation.
The main collaborating organisation for the YESprograms is the Alliance for Global Sustainability
(AGS), an international partnership created in
1997 between the ETH Zurich, MIT, the University
of Tokyo and Chalmers University of Technology.
The AGS brings together hundreds of university
scientists, engineers, and social scientists to
address the complex issues that lie at the
intersection of environmental, economic and
social goals. Read more about the AGS at:
www.globalsustainability.org
For more information on the AGS Partner
Institutions:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
http://lfee.mit.edu
University of Tokyo (UT)
www.globalsustainability.jp
Chalmers University of Technology
www.ags.chalmers.se
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH
Zurich) www.ethz.ch
Local Collaborating Partners
Regional YES courses are held in collaboration
with additional local partner organizations. In the
past, courses have been hosted in partnership
with UNEP in Kenya, INCAE Business School andCATIE in Costa Rica, Hosei University in Japan,
Egerton University in Kenya, the International
Water Center in Australia (an alliance between
the University of Queensland, Monash University,
Griffith University and the University of Western
Australia), the Wadi Environmental Science
Center in Egypt and the Sustainability Institute at
the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa.
The international group of Faculty for the YES
courses is drawn from the AGS partneruniversities, as well as from regional public and
private partner organizations.
Further Information
Please see the enclosed inlay for more
information on specific courses, the course faculty
and how to apply. For more information on ACTIS
visit the website: www.actis-education.ch
Actis GmbH
Bluntschlisteig 1
CH-8002 Zurich
Switzerland
P: +41 44 280 3306
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ACTIS|Activating Talent in Sustainability
Actis GmbH is an official spin-off organisation of the ETH Zurich
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Youth Encounter on Sustainability (YES)
Braunwald, Switzerland23rd
October 9th
November 2009
Course Details
ACTIS is pleased to announce the call for applications for the annual Youth Encounter on Sustainability course
in Braunwald, Switzerland.
Course Dates: 23rd
October 9th
November, 2009
Location: Braunwald, Switzerland
Participation Fee
ACTIS raises funds to significantly subsidise the cost of the course for participants. As a contribution to the
costs participants are asked to pay a total of1200 CHF as a participation fee.
The participation fee covers the following:
All local transportation from Zurich to Braunwald, Switzerland Full board (3 meals per day, tea and coffee breaks) and lodging at the Hotel Waldhaus, Braunwald,
Switzerland for the full 17 nights Documents and materials for the course Field trips and all course activities
Participants are fully responsible for their own:
International transportation to Zurich, Switzerland Health and travel insurance (which is mandatory to participate in the course) Visa expenses Any additional activities outside of the course program
Participants are encouraged to seek support for these expenses from their universities or sponsors. In the past
most participants have had success securing the necessary funding from foundations, corporations, their
university or professional associations.
A limited number of scholarships are available to students coming from low income countries. Please place
your request for a scholarship, with a brief explanation of why you should be considered, at the end of your
application essay.
Faculty
Faculty and facilitators for the program will be drawn from around Switzerland and abroad, from world
renowned institutions and organisations such as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich),
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Tokyo, Chalmers University of Technology, the
University of Zurich along with representatives from industry, the government and non-governmental
organisations.
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ACTIS|Activating Talent in Sustainability
Actis GmbH is an official spin-off organisation of the ETH Zurich
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Eligibility
The YES program will bring together and inspiring group of upper level university students from many different
disciplines, cultures and nationalities to learn in a unique environment. The YES programme welcomes
applications from upper level undergraduate (4th
year minimum) and graduate (Masters and PhD) students that
demonstrate a high dedication to sustainability issues and the potential to become a change agent in
academia, business, governmental and non-governmental organisations. A total of 40 places are available for
the course. The full program will be conducted in English and applicants must demonstrate a working
proficiency in the language. The course is open to applicants between the ages of 20 and 32 years.
Application Procedure
Interested students are requested to complete the attached application form (in Word) and return it via email
(with the requested attachments) to:
Dr Roger Baud: [email protected]
Please attach the application form (which includes space for a short essay) along with the following supporting
documents:
A short Resume / Curriculum Vitae (limit 3 pages). One letter of reference (professional or academic) which explains your skills, abilities, experience and
suitability for the program.
Application Deadline: 14th
August 2009
More Information
For further information please contact:
Mail: ACTIS Gmbh, Bluntschlisteig 1, CH-8002, Zurich, Switzerland
Email : [email protected]
Phone: +41 44 280 3306