YOUTHS AND SUICIDE PREVENTION        

 STRATEGY- UNITED STATES 

  SEPTEMBER 20^TH  _23^RD , 2006 

&

 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

ON CHILD LABOR- SENEGAL

SEPTEMBER  26^TH  ------ 30^TH , 2006

We invited youths, individuals, members of civil society and representatives from governments and non-governmental organizations to explore this sites of our  “ International conference on Youth’s Suicide Prevention and strategy “ taking place at Global Youths Welfare convention Hall,  3074 St lucie Orlando Florida State , US.,  and the  “International conference on Child Labor” at  Madina Conference Auditorium in Senegal to learn more about the complex issues surrounding Youth’s Suicide Prevention and Child Labor  – and see what national and international actions are being taken to address the issues.

Why hold a conference?

Suicide among young people is a growing problem in modern societies. But by international standards, youth suicide rate is one of the highest in the world especially among the youth.
In 2000, 96 young people died from suicide in New Zealand.And aslo look at the one that took place at Indonesia in the year 2002   were alot of Australians lose their lives. This was the lowest number of deaths since 1986 and showed a large drop in the number of suicide deaths. However, for every completed suicide, there are a far greater number of attempted suicides.
Suicide is not a disease that can be cured. Rather, it is a complex problem for which there is no one causes or cure. Instead, there is a range of biological, cultural, economic, social and psychological influencing factors. Most suicides, however, can be prevented.
The   US Government has responded by producing a national strategy to signal the way forward to deal with the challenge of preventing young people from considering suicidal behaviours. However, the Government cannot reduce youth suicide on its own, as it needs the support and involvement of individuals, families, communities, services, and businesses.
The US Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy, published in March 1998, has two parts In Our Hands, which is the general population strategy, and the strategy specifically targeting needs and approaches. In March 2001, the Ministry of Youth Affairs took over responsibility for leading and co-ordinating the US Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy.

Why an International Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy?

The purpose of the Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy is to provide leadership at an international level by outlining the key interventions that need to be in place to prevent suicide.
The Strategy was published in March 1998 and has two parts 'In Our Hands' which is the general population strategy, and the strategy specifically targeting needs and approaches.
The framework of the strategy is broad enough to be long lasting and inclusive enough to guide interventions from a range of sectors, from government, local government, professional groups, non-government organisations, service providers, community members and private individuals.
An intenational level strategy recognises the complexity of the problem and the need for a co-ordinated and collaborative response both across government agencies and out to non-governmental entities.
Development of a national strategy also allows for the identification of existing interventions and gaps that need to be addressed.
Finally, a national strategy provides a recognisable and consistent strategic approach to suicide prevention. It is essential that youth suicide prevention programmes be well designed in order to ensure that they do no harm. The national approach aims to ensure that best practice is pursued in the development and delivery of youth suicide prevention.
       Objectives of this conference
Getting young people involved in discussions and decision-making on the issue of Suicide prevention
Reviewing the progress made to date in suicide prevention.
Intervening to reduce youth suicide

The Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy as a whole draws together a full range of interventions spread across the two parts of the strategy. The general population component In Our Hands takes a public health focus and the specific component draw strongly on a community development approach. Suicide prevention requires a multi-faceted approach which focuses on, Building resiliency of the whole population Providing ongoing support to those who may be suicidal or who have long term needs Support to those that have been affected by a suicide or serious suicide attempt and improving our knowledge and understanding the causes and rates of suicidal behaviours. The higher rate of youth suicide and the Global commitment to improving health is being addressed in part by specific component to the strategy. Prevention initiatives need to be well co-ordinated and engage a range of sectors, including central and local government, community, professional groups and families. Suicide prevention initiatives must take into account research and best practice to minimise the potential to do harm. Range of interventions The range of interventions which contribute to the prevention of suicide are generally derived from reducing the impact of identified risk factors and by increasing resiliency by promoting protective factors. In many ways, they attempt to interrupt the pathways, which can lead to suicidal behaviour. The Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy as a whole draws together the full range of interventions spread across two parts of the strategy. Both merge within one core intervention approach as follows: Strengthening families, young people, whanau and communities Providing early intervention Providing intervention/treatment Providing post crisis support. All of these are supported by research and information.		Youth Suicide Prevention   UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  SEPTEMBER 20TH  _23RD , 2006  BE PART OF IT      SAY NO TO SUICIDE AND SAY YES TO LIFE YOU ARE USEFUL TO YOUR FAMILY, YOUR NATION AND THE ENTIRE WORLD GOD LOVES YOU

Senegal Hosts Global Youth welfare Conference on Child Labor
Global Youth Welfare is a signatory to and a leading participant in international agreements to protect children, the most important of which is the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention recognizes a range of rights related to children and child protection, and calls upon countries to honor their obligations to uphold these rights. The Convention is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world, with all but two countries having ratified it.
To make further progress on these commitments, Global Youth Welfare is hosting the International Conference on Child Labor in  Senegal from SEPTEMBER 26TH   - –30TH  , 2006 The conference—the first international gathering of its kind in Senegal—builds on the growing international momentum emerging from recent inter-governmental, non-governmental and regional meetings, resolutions and declarations on various aspects of the issue of Child Labor. The Senegal conference is being co-hosted by Youth Affairs Minister Engineer  and Minister of social affairs.

What are the objectives of the Conference?

To bring to an end human trafficing, Child prostitution, child exploitation etc,

President Kennedy once said, "A child miseducated is a child lost." Around the world today, we have more than 100 million children between 6 and 11 who will never attend school, in what UNICEF has accurately labeled a "silent catastrophe." Many of these children are toiling right now in dingy sweatshops and enduring backbreaking labor.
It is said that the future is written on the faces of children. If so, that future is full of both hope and despair. To see the bright eyes of a young girl attending school for the first time is to see the prospects of an unlimited horizon. To see the world-weariness in the tired features of a twelve year old who had already known a lifetime of work is to understand the crushing burden poverty places on children.
It takes but a glance to understand the truth: child labor is simply wrong. Child labor is wrong because it robs children of their potential, swapping the meager wages of menial labor for any hope they might experience a brighter future.
Child labor is wrong in the eyes of the world, because we know that children should be in school rather than at work. Child labor is wrong because it undermines the very core hope of securing lasting social and economic progress in the developing world.
It is our responsibility -- national governments, non-governmental organizations, and donors alike -- to act to right these wrongs.
As the head of a development agency, I believe deeply that development is a critical issue for the future of all the world's citizens, rich and poor alike. Understanding that fact, it is imperative we speak to the threat to this future posed by child labor.
Over the long run, a nation's greatest asset is human capital. Human capital does not simply materialize, nor can it be conveniently purchased. It must be cultivated over the long term. Human capital is not a commodity, but rather a distillation of our deepest values, our hopes, and our dreams. A healthy, educated, well-trained citizenry is development.
How is human capital generated? Through education and the intellectual growth of our children. We all recognize, and this conference's Agenda for Action makes explicit, that child labor and basic education are deeply related. They are opposite sides of the same coin. Children who are at work cannot be at school. Children whose parents see the value of education, and who are afforded the possibility of learning in a safe and appropriate school, will not forced to make the devil's bargain of sending their children to work before their time. However, in too many places, this remains an empty hope; far too many parents see no option but to try to generate enough income to keep the wolf away from the door for another day.
This year, toward the goal of combatting child labor, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) formally adopted basic education as one of our five fundamental goals in support of sustainable development. We have now made explicit what has been implicit in United States policy for many years: our fundamental principle that no person should reach adulthood without the basic skills that come from a decent education.
This is more than just rhetoric: this year, we plan to invest more than one hundred million dollars in basic education in developing countries around the world. Moreover, we expect to maintain this commitment over the years to come.
We will focus our education resources on those countries, particularly the poorest countries of sub-Saharan Africa, in which a high proportion of the children who will be entering adulthood early in the next century do not currently have effective access to primary education. In addition, under a commitment made at the Social Summit by the Former First Lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton, we will invest heavily in assuring that girls receive full and equal benefit from educational opportunities in their countries. I urge our partners, both in the donor community and among national governments, to do the same.
When child labor is replaced with universal basic education, when intellectual growth and curiosity replace the closed box of repetitive drudgery in countries throughout the world, we will see a flowering of the human potential and the human spirit that will lift even today's poorest countries. Moreover, if we fail to act, and allow labor rather than learning to continue to be the norm among poor children, we will sow the seeds of generation after generation of dispossessed with little recourse but desperation and violence.  Our former First Lady Hillary Clinton recently said, "No nation can hope to succeed in our global economy if half of its people lack the opportunity and the right to make the most of their God-given promise."
Let me be clear: we can never end child labor without offering in its place universal and high quality education. However, education alone will not be enough to end this scourge.
Throughout much of the world, we see children at work within a stone's throw of a public school. If education is available to them, why do they not take advantage of it?
Two words alone answer that question: poverty and exploitation.
We know that many families believe their children must work. They live at the margins of the economy, barely able to generate enough income or grow enough food to survive. Many, especially the youngest children, do not survive.
The answer to this problem is solid and sustained economic growth which is also broad-based, so that the fruits of the economy are widely shared among the poor. Without this growth, grinding poverty and the attendant need to act for today rather than plan for tomorrow will remain the reality for millions. In addition, children will remain at work and without a viable future.
This is why the United States invests heavily in support of economic growth in our development assistance programs. It is why we have made global food security a basic issue of both foreign and domestic policy. And it is why we believe that the growth of fair and open global trade offers the best opportunities for the entire world's people to prosper.
By reducing poverty around the world, we will reduce the pressures that drive parents to send their children to work. But that in it will not end exploitation.
We hear transparent arguments that children are employed because they have such nimble fingers, or other unique capacities that come from their size and agility. This is a lame excuse for an inexcusable truth: children are employed because they are more easily controlled, more readily exploited, and more handily discarded than adults who may be coming to understand the concept of their human rights.
The most egregious forms of exploitation -- child prostitution, slavery, work in life-threatening activities -- demand and have received universal condemnation. The United States government applauds efforts to bring these dark practices into the light of day where they can be seen by the international community for they are: a denial of everything that civilization values.
The truth is devastating: in many cases, children are exploited because some adult can strip-mine these children's inner resources for wealth or for pleasure, until there is nothing left of value. The shell of that child can then just be discarded.
This is not hyperbole; we know first- hand it is true. Organizations funded by my agency work with young prostitutes, boys and girls, some as young as ten, to get them off the streets, away from their pimps, and into schools. We have sponsored programs to get children out of bonded labor and, again, into schools. We have worked with street children to provide them with alternatives to begging and stealing.
In numerous meetings, the international community has spoken out against the most intolerable forms of child labor. The United States believes that we have an obligation to do more than speak. This is why we support the programs I have described, why we fund the International Labor Organization's International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor, and why USAID is supporting programs totalling more than six million dollars that work directly on issues of child labor.
It is also why the United States moved this year to enact into law a provision that bans the importation into our country of products made by forced or indentured child labor. This issue unifies the American public like few others: we will not make use of such tainted goods, at whatever price.
We are not naive about this. We recognize that only a small percentage of the world's child labor goes into products imported into the United States. But this is at heart a moral issue, and while we cannot speak for other countries, we have the right and the obligation to speak forcefully for ourselves.
All of us are here because we share the belief that child labor is wrong, and that we must all do our share to end it. We have before us an Agenda for Action that speaks to this belief, and that provides us with a common road map. Let us travel that route. Again, to quote former First Lady Hillary Clinton, let us "work together to provide the tools of opportunity so that every girl and boy ... can look with confidence toward the future. That should be our promise to our children for the next century."

Who is participating?

Both conferences will bring together a diverse mix of delegates, including Ministers and representatives from countries with high rates of youth’s suicides and Child Labor and interested governments, United Nations agencies, international organizations, youth, researchers, civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector.
INFORMATION FOR INVITED DELEGATES
Prepared by the Conference Secretariat
 DATES AND LOCATIONS
the conference on Youth suicide and prevention strategy  will commence on SEPTEMBER 20TH  
 Through 23RD , 2006  While the International Conference on Child Labor  (ICOCL) will commence on  SEPTEMBER  26TH   - through 30TH , 2006 in Senegal,  West Africa.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE: All participants will receive program schedule for both event by post before the date of the event.
Participants can also request for program schedule at the entrance of both events.     
                                                            Venue for   Youth’s Suicide and prevention Strategy

               
  Global youth Welfare conference convention Hall, 3074 St Lucie Orlando Florida state, US.

CROSS SECTION OF THE HTC CONFERENCE HALL      

                                         Key conference personels

Prof. Henrique Bengtsson France Chairman Advisory commitee	Dr. Nency Lee Chairman planing committee	ICOCL Chief host -: Eng.Filip Da Costa
Prof. Gilbert Richard. Jones – UK        Chairman organising Committee	ORGANIZING COMMITTEE:  Rev. Daniel Alison. Prof. Paul Simon Macdol. Miss. Jessica Linkvert, Dr.Mrs Marylene Sawford. Dr.Julian Solomon. Dr.Fernandez Lopes. Miss Tonia Brown, Miss Rachael Johnsons Miss Vicki Gerlurd. Miss Evelyn Kingston. For more information and updates Contact; Madam Rachel Hollingsworth. Secretary International Youth Co-ordination Council PO Box 3321,  St Lucie, Orlando Florida, USA, Fax    +1-915-200-7329 .  Dr. Johnson Lyndon   African protocol – ICOCL.
Venue for Child Labor Conference – Madina  Hall  Independence Conference Auditorium Senegal

ARRANGEMENTS FOR CONFERENCE FACILITIES
The Conference Organizers for both conferences has already made arrangements for all conference meeting facilities and rooms.  Participants will enjoy free accommodation in the US. Generally security, communications, hospitality, protocol, delegate services, and all other administrative support will be enjoyed both in the US and in Senegal.
SPECIAL INFORMATION: .For recommended and Invited Delegates Only:

Correspondence and enquiries on arrangements, please contact the organizers in the US.

     Mr, Martin Ronald
                                               Fax +1-915-200-7329
                                                E-mail; icorg2006@usa.com   
For information on hotels in Senegal, Please contact the conference organizers in Senegal.

Prof .Dr Johnson Lyndon

ENTRY AND EXIT REQUIREMENTS
International delegates must be in possession of valid travel documents for entry into United States and Senegal.  In order to facilitate visa issuance, delegates requiring the US visas should apply for them at their nearest US Embassy, High Commission or Consulate in advance of their expected departure date while the Senegal visas will be issued to delegates at the point of entry.

          Barrister Lawrence Hands.

                                                                                   U.S Immigration Advocate                                                                    

                                                                               E-mail: barristerlawrence@lycos.com

US VISA ASSISTANCE: The organising committee will render visa assistance to all participants requiring entry visas to the United States pending if the visiting applicants return their forms along with the confirmation of their hotel reservation in Africa as evidence to prove that participants will proceed to Senegal after the event in the US. In this case, All participants are adviced to book for their hotel reservation for the conference on Child Labor taking place in Senegal .We will process your visas from the US Bureau of Immigrant Affairs by the special influence of top US officials and some US Immigration Lawyers who have all fought to see the reality of this events if we receive your forms togther with the confirmation of your hotel reservation booked in Senegal proving that you will be leaving the US after the conference. We shall fax to you the confirmation of your authorised visas and a copy to the consular section at the US Embassy in your country or the nearest US Embassy to your country. You will only appear at the embassy for the issuance of the visa seals in your passports. You must appear at the Embassy with the correct information forwarded to us during the processing of your documents.
 AIRPORT SHUTTLE: Delegates will be met on arrival in Senegal and US and escorted to their assigned hotels. Buses will be available for transport to conference hotels. Please be informed that delegates will thoroughly be searched at their arrival, and at the conference entry points. All delegates are advised in advance not to be in posession of dangerous weapons, sharp objects and metals, as they will be considered as terrorists both in the US and in Senegal.  The US special security force will be assigned to the conference venues both in the US in Senegal
PARTICIPANTS FLIGHT TICKETS: Our independent donors have also made available sponsorship for participant’s flights tickets routing from participant’s home country to the US, from US to Senegal and from Senegal to Participants home country. The organising committee will render visa assistance to all participants requiring the US with the aide of our Immigration Advocates and other US higher personels.. All participants will receive the all round tickets at the airline sales office in their country or at the sales office closer to their country after the processing of their documents. Although Senegal is served by some international flights, Air France has been choosen for the trips, in some countries where Air France do not operate, alternative Air Line will be provided for them. Many delegates arriving in US and Senegal from abroad will be required to complete customs and immigration formalities at the initial point of entry. Delegate transportation back to International Airport at the end of the conference will be provided by the Secretariat.
SPECIAL INFORMATION: At the end of the Youth Suicide and Prevention Strategy conference, tours and Picnics in the US, all participants’ will held for the ICOCL to be held in Senegal. Participants will be taken to the airport to continue their trips to Senegal on 25TH September  2006.
ACCOMMODATIONS IN THE US
Delegates attending the four days “Youths Suicide and prevention Strategy conference” will be housed in a number of hotels in the US.  Accommodations have been arranged in groups for all invited groups. Our dependent donors have made available sponsorships for the accommodation and feeding in the US.
ACCOMMODATION IN SENEGAL
The conference organiser together with the Senegal Ministry of Tourism  has selected Standard Hotels with cheaper accommodation rates and good facilities. Arrangements for the booking of rooms in Senegal are by direct communication with the hotel management. Participants will need to contact the conference Organisers in Senegal for contact information on the selected hotels in Senegal.No other hotel confirmation will be accepted for the processing of the US Visas apart from the confirmation issued by any of the selected hotels. Therefore, particpants are advised to book their hotel on time and forward the confirmation along with the conference registration forms for advance processing of the US by our colleagues in the US Immigration.
PARTICIPATION OF DELEGATES (BY GROUP INVITATION ONLY)
Participation is only by official recommendation. Only a group will be allowed to participate from a country and the group should consist of only two to  five persons. Two groups may be considered to participate from a country. One of the groups will be used to replace any of the country that will not be able to participate.
PRE-REGISTRATION
Registeration for both conferences is just by one process. All groups must pre-register by faxing to the Organiser in the US, names and passport numbers of the participating two to five delegates. When faxing their pre-registration, they should include their group’s official e-mail address, fax and telephone numbers. Pre-registration can also be done by e-mail.
FULL REGISTRATION
A group is not fully registered until their conference forms and confirmation of their hotel reservation booked in Senegal is received by fax in the US.
SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION AND WORKING DOCUMENTS
Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in English Language, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese.
TELEPHONE AND FAX SERVICES
International direct dialing is available in all hotel guest rooms, with charges added to the guest's account. Calling cards for international telephone calls are available for sale at a number of convenience and other shops and drug stores. During the events, telephone and fax services will also be available at the Delegates' Business Center.
DELEGATES' BUSINESS CENTRE
A number of services will be available to delegates at the Delegates' Business Center, located at the various meeting locations. These services will include: photocopying, faxing, e-mail, Internet access, message drop-off and pick-up, and changes to travel arrangements.
MEDICAL CARE AND HEALTH SERVICES
A nursing station will be available to delegates during meeting hours. Delegates may wish to check with their local health offices for specific recommendations. Delegates are responsible for paying their own emergency medical, surgical, dental and hospital expenses while in Senegal and in the US to medical staff at time of treatment.

Gregory Washington

President

Global Youths Welfare   

Thanks to some of our sponsorers

If you compare this "conference" to the "conference" in the YASPS story, you will see that the only difference is that they moved the dates 2 month forward. Even the George Washington signature in the bottom is the same.President George Washington died more than 200 years ago!