NYLC Supports International Service-Learning

During the past few years, service-learning has been expanding rapidly
around the world, and NYLC has been committed to supporting
service-learning's global adoption, offering technical support and
trainings in such far-flung places as Ghana, Switzerland, Argentina,
and most recently, Singapore and South Africa.

NYLC Deputy Director Jim Pitofsky recently traveled to Beyond Six
Hours, Singapore's national conference on service-learning, June 7,
2005. In addition to giving a keynote address, Pitofsky led a training
workshop for 180 practitioners and gave a two-day Training-of-Trainers
session. The "TOT" training follows a model NYLC is currently
developing to train master trainers who, in turn, can train other
practitioners, building the capacity of organizations and even
countries to implement successful service-learning. Twenty-one
practitioners attended the TOT session.

The conference was also the site of Singapore's first-ever national
service-learning competition, X Marks the Spot, which Pitofsky helped
judge. From 75 applications submitted by schools and community-base
organizations, 13 finalists were invited to present their projects at
the conference, from which the judges selected winners in a number of
categories. Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's Minister for Community
Development, Youth and Sports, recognized the winners. The conference
and the competition garnered significant media attention in Singapore,
and Balakrishnan and Pitofsky were both on the national news that
evening.

"All this is particularly exciting as service-learning wasn't even on
Singapore's radar five years ago," Pitofsky says. "Schools, the
government, and the community-based organizations are all very
supportive of service-learning efforts in Singapore."

Balakrishnan also sees the ownership young people take in their
service-learning projects as a tremendous resource for Singapore. "I
want every young Singaporean to feel that Singapore is his or hers," he
said, "and that [their] ideas and actions makes a real difference to
our society. That really creates the future we are talking about."

Pitofsky also represented NYLC in South Africa, July 5-8, 2005,
accompanying former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Richard
Holbrooke and a delegation from the Global Business Coalition on
HIV/AIDS. During the trip, Pitofsky met with many corporate executives,
mostly from African nations, and worked with NGO leaders in Cape Town
and Johannesburg who were conducting service-learning and
peer-education efforts among youths. Ambassador Holbrooke and members
of the delegation also met with Nelson Mandela.

The GBC and NYLC are currently developing a partnership to assist GBC
members supporting HIV/AIDS education of youths and youth peer
educators. This alliance compliments NYLC's Y-RISE: The Service-Learning and HIV/AIDS Initiative,
which is developing an international network of youth peer mentors to
fight the pandemic. NYLC has already partnered with the Straight Talk
Foundation, a community-based organization in Uganda, to organize a
conference on youth, service-learning, and HIV/AIDS in Africa.