[Upd-discuss] Is Lithuania restricting African youth voices on EU policy?

[Andrius Kulikauskas]

Petras Vaitiekunas,
Foreign Minister of Lithuania,

I and my laboratory for independent thinkers, Minciu Sodas, are hosting in Vilnius, Lithuania a history-making workshop funded by the European Union's thematic network COMMUNIA for the Public Domain. http://www.communia-project.eu  Our workshop is a debate of questionable practices that diminish the Public Domain.  With your help we can bring humans together to establish the primacy of Public Domain over copyright.  We can grant to human creators the stewardship of globalization as we take it back from human creations, the corporations.

I invite your leadership to send a representative (such as Gerardas Zalenas) to participate in our debates on March 31, 2008 at the ELTA press center, Gedimino 21/2. http://www.ethicalpublicdomain.org  You can critique any practice which you question.  We will find a way to relate it to the vibrancy of the Public Domain.  I also hope that you might provide a response, in person or in writing, to a critique which Fred Kayiwa of Uganda brings to us. 

Unfortunately, the Foreign Ministry of Lithuania has made it practically impossible for Fred Kayiwa of Uganda to attend our workshop.  He has qualified for funding from COMMUNIA and thus the European Union, and he has prepared to participate in our debates, but in order for him to get a visa to enter Lithuania he would have to first travel to the Lithuanian embassy in Cairo.  Even then he would have no guarantee of getting a visa.  

This fundamental injustice calls into question the legitimacy of nation-states.  Why are they the authority for matters of sharing, of human rights, of the commons, of the Public Domain and copyright?

Our workshop is greatly diminished by Fred Kayiwa's absence.  Fred excels as a social networker, both online and on-the-ground.  His activity has built up the assets of Minciu Sodas, a business registered and headquartered in Lithuania.  As an online social leader, he has responded to train the youth, to help refugees, and to avert genocide in neighboring Kenya.  As a 24 year old youth, he is especially concerned that youth be represented by youth.

Fred would help us look with the eyes of a youth.  Indeed, as we try to consider a youth or a child, our entire system of copyright seems absurd.  We dismiss their creative instinct is dismissed.  We presume that the youth or child is motivated by ownership, by the commercial potential of their work as capital in a consumer society and the value it will have for four or five generations of their descendants after their death.  Copying - which for the human mind is a highly creative task of empathy - as when a child draws a picture of Popeye - is equated to mechanical production. Curiously, some of the greatest supporters of the existing system are corporations (such as Disney) that reap their ideas from youth culture and produce films and music for the children and youth markets.  

What would copyright law look like if it was created by youth for youth? or by humans for humans?  The European Union will have trouble understanding because it is not allowing Fred Kayiwa and others to participate in person.  However, we will present and debate his statement below.  We will also hold a press conference to inform the press of responses which we did or did not receive.  

Please contact me for more information.  I hope that we might find ways to work together to make progress on difficult issues.  What is Lithuania's roadmap towards visa-free travel with the entire world?  

I share Fred Kayiwa's statement below.  I also share my letter with several online groups that care about the Public Domain.

Thank you!

Andrius

Andrius Kulikauskas
Minciu Sodas
http://www.ms.lt
ms@ms.lt
+370 699 30003
Skype: minciusodas

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Youths Representing Youths

There are no definitions of other terms used to describe young people
such as "adolescents", "teenagers" or "youth" in international law.
Some organizations have adopted working definitions to facilitate
their programmatic work. The World Health Organization, for example,
has adopted the following working definitions: "adolescent" refers to
any individual aged between 10-19 years; "young person" refers to any
individual between 10-24 years; and "youth" to persons between the
ages of 15-24 years.

Children's rights cover four main aspects of a child's life: the right
to survive; the right to develop; the right to be protected from harm,
and the right to participate.

But the fact is that they are not given chance to have their rights active.

Youth Participation in Government

It is important that today's youth be encouraged to take interest in
local government decision-making activities and that opportunities be
created to foster civic participation by young people. Nothing is more
important to the health of our democracy than the active engagement of
young people in representative government at the local level.

Youth in Community-Driven Development

Community-Driven Development approaches present an effective means to
involve young people in local development decision-making, giving them
voice and influencing power, with benefits for themselves and their
communities. This note highlights the potential of Community Driven
Development for young people and provides guidance on developing
Community Driven Development operations with a youth focus.
But this is done in very few communities due to the un friendly
policies of the governments about Young ones, they are not represented
by their fellow agements.

 Youth Development Project

Poverty traps youth with insufficient education, life skills or job
skills, making the transition from school dropout to the workplace
difficult, and perpetuating the cycle as their children are then
raised in poverty. Providing life skills, technical skills, an
internship, and a second chance at formal education can enhance the
employability of poor youth.

Many things I against youths that I criticize

Youths Getting Visa to European countries from Africa. This is one of
the hardest thing to achieve due to the lots of conditions they put on
embassies that discourage youths to travel to first world countries
and learn many things and how they are done.

They say that they will get lost from their so they recognize mostly
the aged people they say they are senior citizen so they have
responsibility like family so they will be back.

To my surprise youths from European countries are not denied visa to
Africa some come here and get visa on arrival which I criticize its
unfair. European Embassies here are one of the hardest place to
approach due to tight security, and due to the unfriendly policy of
non refundable visa fee of which no one has ever been confident that
he/she will apply and allowed a visa more so the youths unless the
senior citizens.

Youths/ Teenager representatives on councils

On many occasions I have recognized, the youths are invited to attend
and participate but to my surprise they are represented by the people
above their ages

One example is the youth minister of Uganda is coming to 50 years and
he has chirldren of 30s so I wonder why he should be the youth
minister when him self is not a youth and though he was once, it was
the past not present were things are rapidly changing.

Its true teenagers are on the development age at their level but I do
believe they  have ability to participate in the culture and community
development once given chance

They can have their talents developing the country whatsoever.
Thanks for reading and listening to my paper.

Kayiwa Fred
Youths and trains teenagers talent identification and development in Uganda
p.o.box 3490
Tel:256782371003


-- kayiwa fred OneReaching Another p.o.box 3490 kampala uganda 
+256782371003