Ikea Foundation’s Refugee and Youth Programs Create Sustainable Livelihoods
Annemieke Tsike-Sossah on the Ikea Foundation’s new portfolio strategy:
Under Ikea Foundation’s new Climate and Livelihoods Strategy, the ambition is to include refugee livelihoods as part of the target groups and as a cross-cutting opportunity.
Annemieke is leading the Foundation’s efforts to do this in the most meaningful way and also explore which systems-changes and global opportunities exist for the Foundation to engage with to push refugee self-reliance further along the development and humanitarian agendas. Annemieke has been with the Foundation for 8 years and took on the role of head of the humanitarian portfolio for 3 years until this new strategy started at the end of 2017.
She has a background in international law and has worked with the private sector before moving into the philanthropic arm of IKEA She has worked with organizations in South Africa and Ghana. She now lives in Sierra Leone with her family.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network is Empowering Youth as Change Agents
In 2015, the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) launched its official youth initiative (SDSN Youth) to empower youth globally to create sustainable development solutions. SDSN Youth educates young people about the challenges of sustainable development and creates opportunities for them to use their creativity and knowledge to pioneer innovative solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, SDSN Youth creates platforms for young people to connect, collaborate, and integrate their ideas and perspectives into national and regional pathways for implementation of the SDGs.
The Introducer is Launching A Youth Mentoring Project With Game Changers - by Mary Kurek
As the Founder and Producer of The Introducer, I get to talk with some of the most brilliant minds on our planet – people who are working on solutions to world problems with such passion that it humbles me to the core. Through the process of getting to know these global gems, a new phenomenon has started to happen. Lately, we have found ourselves more than once in the surprising and happy role of catalyst where action starts to form before we even get an edition released. It happened with the 12th edition, “Women Leaders in Blockchain” when the game changers we featured started self-organizing days before the publication was released. That was in January, and we are still facilitating monthly virtual meetups for these amazing leaders. This time, we discovered a need expressed by almost everyone with whom we interviewed for the “Developing Youth as Global Citizens” edition.
What became quite evident was that there is a serious need for mentors.
Living the Legends of Others by Meghan Gardner
Wizards and Warriors STEM Camp, our campers are Heroes who play a role in an ongoing live story where they battle monsters and solve mysteries, while “powering up” through learning STEM. It sounds like a computer game, but campers are actually wearing costumes, wielding foam swords, and running into battle with their friends at their side. However, at this camp, we don’t just learn STEM; we also explore the stories of a new culture each summer and then delve more deeply into it throughout the rest of the year. These stories can span from the oral histories of the Arawak and Abenaki Native American Tribes to the Sumerian stories and legends in Syrian culture.
Meghan Gardner is the Founder and CEO of Guard Up, Inc. summer camps and events. Wizards & Warriors Summer Camps and Zombie STEM/STEAM Summer Camps are based out of Burlington, MA and at Salem University, MA. Meghan is a Guest Lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education for Learning and a Curriculum Developer and Trainer for ST Unitas (parent company of The Princeton Review) for STEM Summer Camps in Seoul, Korea. In her life outside of her business, Meghan is a Hospice volunteer and runs an online group to encourage open discussion about end-of-life decisions. She is also an international speaker on the topic of Informal Education and Learning