Which story would you like to read? 

Katharina Stafania Ade Jaro, 18 yo, Management Step, Source Of Life Program, LPC Cilincing, Indonesia

Paul Tongson, School Manager at the Asian Institute of Management, shares his insights on LP4Y action in the Philippines! Paul Tongson, Asian Institute of Management Metro Manila, Philippines I've always believed in the importance of giving back and of making a difference in the lives of others. That's why I am truly happy to have come across Life Project for Youth. Not only do they make a difference in the lives of Filipino youth, but they do so with compassion, commitment, and competence. I am truly impressed with their pedagogy and their overall approach to societal development. It is truly admirable how they are able to equip the excluded with the necessary tools to make it in the world of work, and in life in general. The LP4Y team is simply amazing. They tirelessly work to educate, care for, and advocate for the Youth. This is evident with how motivated, respectful, and curious to learn the Youth I've had the chance to meet were. Their progress under the organisation's stewardship is admirable. Last November, I had the pleasure of attending the LP4Y online meeting where the organisation presented updates to partners. Amidst the pandemic, LP4Y did not waver in their mission to help their beneficiaries; in fact, they stepped up the assistance even more, recognising the fact that those under their stewardship are some of the most affected by the abrupt quarantine, which affected livelihoods. Through the meeting, I also learned other ways through which interested partners can work together with LP4Y to create further impact - whether it be to provide financial support, internship and work opportunities to LP4Y graduates, or to volunteer one's time and talent by helping to train the youth. I look forward to continuing my work as an LP4Y volunteer, providing training via communication skills workshops and conducting mock interviews. I hope that in my own way, I am able to make an impact in these Youth's lives.

Paing Soe Thu, LPC Hlaing Thar Yar, Myanmar When I’m at home, I love to read a book, and to study the evolution of humans and the environment. Sometimes I like to write poems about it. Here are 2 inspiring poems that my coach really liked! She thinks it can inspire other Youth! I wrote down my thoughts- Do not feel that you have failed miserably in life If you keep trying, you will surely succeed If only I could get the job done today The next day you will be able to enjoy work without heat It is the businessman's job to get rice and oil He works hard for You but he also has to pay a lot of money If both sides work hand in hand, They can look forward to a long-term partnership Be thankful for education in your life It will guide you to come up with good ideas Read in your spare time We need to study after school Love the forest and the trees- Trees are being replaced by modern buildings It takes years for a tree to grow, and it takes about an hour to cut it down. In a developing country, over time, the landscape becomes a desert of concrete and towers. Trees no longer cast their shadows for the people. It is not easy to find a tree on a road. The trees were lost due to the pillage of the forests to build overcrowded houses, dormitories and line rooms In my country, if you want to see a tree, you have to go to the Yoma forest It is far from my home. I am frustrated. If I want to see trees for the future, I need to plant them now! The coolness, in the shadow of a tree is an incomparable feeling, I miss it ........... (Love the forest and the trees)

Sabitri Basnet, 20 yo, batch 1, Stars Ambika Humagai, 18 yo, batch 2, management Arpana Khadka, 20 yo, batch 2, management Mamita Sunar, 18 yo, batch 2 Management Rhythm Khadka, 20 yo, batch 2, Management Shilpa Tiruwa, 18 yo, batch 2, Management Subina B.K, 18 yo, batch 2, Management Suvadra Tamang, 19, batch 2, Management Srijana Tamang, 20, batch 2, management Nishu KC, 21, batch 2, management

Youth from Digi'Women1and Digi'Women 2, TDC Bengaluru, India Hello everyone, we are the Digi’women in Bengaluru and we wanted to tell you some Information about the community trainings we are currently giving for the community in DJ Halli, the neighbor where our LP4Y center is located in Bangalore : What? In LP4Y we are giving basic computer training like Gmail, drive, PowerPoint, typing, google apps, google slides etc., we also train youth to communicate in English because all our training is given in English. Who? We provide training to the Youth from the community, only women Youth give computer training to improve their skills and the public is only women from 17 to 80 years old, who are educated or uneducated. Why? We receive knowledge in LP4Y, that’s why we choose to forward this knowledge to the community women who are interested in. We help them to develop their skills to build a better future, we help them to manage their time in a proper way as well. When? We give training Thursday and Saturday twice in a week from 3:00 pm to to 5:00 pm Where? In LP4Y center near Dj Halli Street, block bangalore-45 What are our challenges ? * to motivate people to join * to be professional * to be on time * to teach training to the community * to make them understand clearly * to do a good promotion and to explain to the community * To make the center professional in terms of decoration and display. Conclusion LP4Y is the first step to achieve our goals! Thank you coaches for teaching us computer training, we will now share the knowledge with the rest of the community.

Roxane Durand, LP4Y Labs Coordinator Monica Jahangir Chowdhury, representative at the United Nations for ATD Fourth World Stacy White, activist with ATD Fourth World USA In October 2020, Life Project 4 Youth, as a foundation, was officially granted the special consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) . In order to understand what obtaining this status enables, Roxane Durand, LP4Y catalyst in charge of the development of the LP4Y Lab in New York, asked Monica Jahangir Chowdhury and Stacy White, to answer some questions. Stacy is an activist with ATD Fourth World USA who directly experienced poverty, an experience she was able to share during UN Commissions and Forums, and Monica represents the International Movement ATD Fourth World at the United Nations. INTERVIEW : Roxane : Hello Monica ! Thank you for being with us and answering our questions. Can you please give us a bit of background about ATD and its ECOSOC accreditation? Monica : Hello Roxane. The International Movement ATD Fourth World is a non-governmental organization that works to overcome poverty by seeking out people living in the worst conditions of poverty and exclusion. We are active in 34 countries, and our objective is to bring together people from different cultures and social classes in order to think, act, and live together differently to end poverty. In New York, we have a small but very dynamic team running community projects with children and adults, and involved in UN advocacy. I have been representing ATD Fourth World at the United Nations since 2017 Roxane : When did ATD get the ECOSOC status, and why is it important according to you? Monica : We obtained the General ECOSOC Status in 1991. The ECOSOC status is crucial as it allows accredited NGOs to follow all Commissions and Forums organized under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council, which is the UN body coordinating the economic and social fields of the United Nations (social development, poverty eradication, status of women, youth, indigenous peoples, the elderly, people with disabilities etc….) During these different ECOSOC Commissions and Forums, NGOs with ECOSOC status are able to submit written statements, to take the floor orally in front of Member States (governments), to share policy recommendations to UN agencies and Member States , to showcase the work they do on the ground etc. Members of your NGO for example, will be able to go to the United Nations to attend specific Commissions, speak at side events and connect with fellow NGOs! Roxane : Our team at LP4Y has started to look at ways we could engage into the next commission on Social Development, in February 2021. All the actions you mention are indeed very in line with LP4Y goals to connect with as many actors of change as possible, share best practices, and allow the youth who are the most excluded to make their voices heard and participate in the decisions that concern them. From your experience, what are the most important perks of having the special consultative status ? Monica : For ATD Fourth World , the most important objective, in our advocacy work at the United Nations, is to create spaces for the participation of people living in poverty and facing discriminations or injustices so their life experiences, knowledge and recommendations are heard by the UN system and Governments. By bringing the voices of ATD activists, our aim is to change the power dynamics at play at the UN, by showing that the most vulnerable individuals and communities also have a seat at the table, and that their experience and knowledge do matter. By doing so, we try to change who is legitimate to speak about poverty eradication, and who has the power to shape decisions that directly affect the lives of the poorest members of society. A good example : today, we cannot imagine a UN panel on women’s empowerment with men panelists only : it would be politically unacceptable ! And yet, so many panels on poverty eradication happen without any real persons having the experience of poverty ! Most panels are composed of economists or experts who are very much detached from the reality of living in poverty. Our objective is therefore to ensure that the voices and experiences of people living in poverty be acknowledged and taken into account when discussing and designing policy solutions. We do this by organizing regular events during UN Commissions and Forums, and more importantly, we have been in charge of organizing, with the support of our UN partners, the yearly commemoration of the UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. A unique Day during which adults and children come to the UN to share their life experiences and their own recommendations to eradicate poverty. This year we had to go digital. We usually get a full room of 300 to 400 individuals coming to listen to powerful messages from our ATD activists. You can watch here the last commemoration we held online. Roxane : What are the events that are really essential to attend ? Monica : Because ATD Fourth World is focused on poverty eradication and social development, the main Commissions we tend to follow very closely are mainly : The Commission for Social Development (each February) The Commission on the Status of Women (each March) The High Level Political Forum (each July) Then from September to December, the UN General Assembly works in various committees that we try to follow (especially some resolutions adopted by these committees, such as the Resolution on the Rights of the Child or resolutions related to poverty eradication). Since your organization focuses on Youth, I would highly recommend that you follow the Youth Forum, and all Commissions as youth voices are always welcome on all social issues. Roxane : How can NGOs participate in these events in this time of covid ?” Monica : NGOs with accredited status can follow these Commissions and organize their side-events online these days, because of the pandemic ! Roxane : As the co-chair of the NGO Committee for Social Development ( here to know more about it) , how do you support the NGOs to take part in this committee, and what is expected from them ? Monica : The NGO Committee for Social Development is a space for all NGOs interested in following the UN Commission for Social Development Committee members engage in advocacy around social issues, submit position papers, make oral and written interventions, serve in Expert Groups, collect examples of best practices from constituencies, publish studies, create and submit petitions. My responsibility is to support NGOs to realize these tasks and to coordinate our joint advocacy during the Commission for Social Development. Roxane : Thank you Monica for all this information. We also are with Stacy White, who is an activist with ATD Fourth World USA. Stacy, when did you join ATD and what does it mean for you to be an activist ? Stacy : I joined ATD Fourth World in 2017. It means a lot for me because it feels like I am making a difference, I feel that I am being heard and it gave me a chance to challenge the way I have been treated the last couple of years in my life when I lost everything. Roxane : Can you tell us about how you have been involved in the UN ? Stacy : I started attending Fourth World People’s University, which is a space where people experiencing poverty, practitioners and academics come to share their knowledge on topics related to poverty. Soon after, the team in charge of UN advocacy proposed me to take part in different civil society conferences at the United Nations, either to observe or to take the floor. My highlight was to speak for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17, 2018 (rediffusion here , with Stacy speaking starting at 56:05) . Roxane : How would you describe the impact of your participation ? How did it personally impact your life ? Stacy : The experience of speaking at the UN was WOW ! As a child going to the UN to visit, I would never have imagined speaking there, sharing my experience with other people that I felt had an impact on their mindsets and on their feelings about people living in poverty. I can only say that the feedback I have received was overwhelming, but in a good way. That solidified the fact that I had an impact on people, especially people working at the UN on poverty issues. Today, I feel more confident about speaking out about my rights and my life. And I feel that I am more open to sharing situations that I have dealt with and listening to other situations, I feel that this whole experience of participating and speaking up has made me a better me. Roxane : Thank you Stacy, and thank you Monica! LP4Y is looking forward to participating in the work of the NGO Committee for the Commission on Social Development. See you soon. → To know more about ATD Fourth World , visit the websites: ATD international & ATD US

Jean-Luc Vildé and his crew LP4Y Ambassadors from UK, Belgium and US DONATE FROM FRANCE DONATE FROM BELGIUM “Passionate about sailing since I was very young, I have always had the ambition to cross the Atlantic Ocean. I tried the adventure at the end of my studies in September 1990, I went to the Canary Islands hoping to embark as a crew member on a boat leaving for the West Indies. But the boats were waiting November to benefit from the favorable weather conditions of the trade winds! So I came home “empty-handed”, to start my professional life. It's finally 30 years later that I finally realize this dream! For this project I have formed a crew with friends, motivated and competent. For Pierre, Patrice, Olivier, Isabelle and I this Transatlantic will be the first. It is both a collective and an individual challenge that awaits us. Despite our differences, we have common goals: to embark on an adventure, form a team and trust each other, dare to undertake, prepare and train and finally accomplish a project that respects nature. I am a member of Life Project 4 Youth (LP4Y), a movement of international organizations that develops innovative solutions for the inclusion of young people, aged 17 to 24, victims of exclusion and extreme poverty. By the accomplishment of this project, I hope to be able to allow many young people to realize, like me, their life project. "

Debajyoti Paul - Cubic Job - Designated Partner Arpita Gosh - Cubic Job - Coach Career Anirban Naskar - Senior Bartender Ankit Gupta - ECW - CEO Jack Fareday - Independent Journalist Animesh - Next is You - CEO Youth introduction When the partners are coming to our center (Anirban, Animesh, Ankit, Debajyoti and Jack) they are coming to give testimonies, they are talking about their journey, how could they achieve success, what are the steps ? How to achieve all the things ? They are trying to motivate us for the future, talking about how to give interviews, communication and ect. Debajyoti Paul - Cubic Job - Designated Partner _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Arpita Gosh - Cubic Job - Career Coach _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Jack Fareday - Independent Journalist "I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the young people at LP4Y Howrah: they weren't just receptive – they actively engaged in every activity. It isn't hard to see how much they will learn in their time at LP4Y, and how well they can do in life with the support of the organisation. Meeting them was an inspiring experience." _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Animesh, Founder- Next Is You "I have been connected with LP4Y for almost a year and I have been conducting skill training classes for the youths. The experience has been awesome as I get to know about the first-hand problem that is being faced by the youth from the underprivileged sector of society. This helps me structure my skill training startup Next Is You better. The coaches have been co-operative and friendly too! Hope we can continue the collaboration and take this partnership to the next level with some new projects. Eager to serve a bigger purpose. All the best to all the enthusiasts connected to the organization!" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Anirban Naskar - Senior Bartender "I am very happy that the young generation was listening to my speech with great enthusiasm. The main problem nowadays is that when you belong to an under-priviledged family, you want to do something immediately with a high salary. In this situation I am trying to understand, and explain to them the “step by step” process to improve their knowledge and fix targets. Don't lose patience! Right now the Youth need support for their future and to improve their knowledge ." _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Ankit Gupta - ECW - CEO "Life project for youth (LP4Y) is a treasure for the entire country and the world at large.Their selfless effort and unparalleled leadership to uplift the society by bringing out the best of the underprivileged youths is highly appreciable.I’ve personally felt enriched through my association with this esteemed organization."

Micelyn "Lia" Amelia Community mobilizer LPC Cilincing Jakarta Indonesia Lia brings us to her neigborhood, Kampung Sawah, and opened about her feelings in this community and on her mission as Community mobilizer.

Sunil, a young determined Entrepreneur, finished his training in the Green Village Raipur just before the wave of Covid-19 in India. At the occasion of the re-opening of the Green Village he came back to introduce the new Youth to the center. Sunil KARSH 20 years old Entrepreneurship step Green Village Raipur India “I liked all the change happening in the Green Village. It is nice to see the education has also improved since the last batch. All the youth now practice more in learning English, which is a good thing. I was happy to see youth again in the Green Village because lockdown was running for a long time.. I Enjoyed seeing the youth. They were motivated to come to the Green Village, included 6 members who joined from my district and that I talked to make them know about LP4Y. During their first week with joining Green Village, I shared my Green Village and personal knowledge with Youth : I told the youth about micro-companies, how a real company works and that by working here, we get the experience of real office. I told them about professionalism, told them about time management. And during that one week, I was also doing a job search, updating my resume. Together, we told the youth that a lot of improvement comes in us.

Testimony from Naw Aye Aye (Management step, Cotton 4 You), Naw Thiri (management step MyanMade), La Min Hlaing (Responsibility step, MyanMade), In Gyin Hlaing (management step, MyanMade) and Nan Lone Hlaing (Autonomy step, MyanMade). We met the CEO of Canal+ during his visit to the LPC on August 14th 2020. He came to the LPC with the members of the French Chamber of Commerce and the Ambassador of France in Myanmar. After this visit, the coaches contacted him to organize the best company visit! We visited Canal + company on August 27th and 28th 2020 (one day per team). The Canal + company bus came to pick us up in Hlaing Thar Yar and when we arrived, we were greeted by the CEO, Mr Erwan Luherne, and staff from many departments. They explained about the company and what it does. We didn’t know that Canal + is a paying TV channel for family, children and youth movies to make people happy! We listened to their speech, and some Youth asked questions. We learned about the HR department/ Finance/ Marketing/ programing marketing/ production and company responsibility. We visited the content management room and show room. They even took us to a Shan state tea shop and we had lunch together. Then the Canal+ company continued to surprise us. They brought us to the film studio and introduced Youth favourite actors and actresses. We were so very happy because they are friendly and handsome. They showed us the movie set for a Police movie, it was very strange to see how they make movies! It was an incredible experience!! Naw Aye Aye: “I liked the program marketing team because their work is to communicate with clients and I would really like to be in contact with clients in my future job!.Thank you Canal+ Myanmar company for inviting LP4Y Youth to visit you. I hope you will improve and be more successful.” Naw Thiri: “My favourite part was when they explained about the HR and Finances departments, because I am interested in this topic. I hope I can find a job in this company when I finish LP4Y because I find it very interesting and very diverse!” Nan Lone Hlaing: “If you work in this company, you will work with Passionate, Creative, Innovative, Connected and Team oriented people! I like the editorial department. It is the main department in the company and it has many actions in the whole company, because I like to be in contact with many other departments and other people.” La Min Hlaing: “I was very interested in Canal + work, what it is, what kinds of jobs we can do in this company. I learned that there are 10 main departments and in total there are 21 departments, in the company, so there are many opportunities! We sat together in the meeting room and Mr Erwan told us about Canal +. His assistant explained about her evolution in the company. She was first an HR assistant, then she became HR manager after a few years she became CEO assistant. This was very inspiring for me, because she had the opportunity to evolve in her job! I hope I can evolve in my future job too!” In Gyin Hlaing: “ In Canal+ they are a TV channel and they make movies! I loved the shooting in the studio because I met the makeup artist of the actors. I asked her many questions and she told me about her experience. First she started working in a make-up shop and then she learned how to be a makeup artist. She was very beautiful and confident. I hope I can become so confident and do the same job as her, this is my dream job!”

Elise Fort, Léa Tyburn, Marion Hébert, Nina Boursier, Loïc Bougaran LPC Payatas Philippines Team Payatas : Waiting to leave ! We are the 5 future co-catalysts of the Payatas center, in the suburbs of Manila in the Philippines. We applied for LP4Y a few months ago. We were supposed to leave at the beginning of August, but you know what happened after : The pandemic, the lockdown, border shutdown …. Then, we are still in France, waiting to take off in the first plane to Manila ! While waiting to join the field, we met the other volunteers during remotely welcome weeks, digital meetings and a great gathering in the middle of the Blanc Mesnil. We dived as much as possible into our missions through WhatsApp and live calls with the youth. After a few weeks of exchanges with the “Team Payatas”, we decided to meet up because, as LP4Y stands, “together we can”. We spent a wonderful time together in our beautiful region, Brittany, in community life, demonstrating once again the importance of the solidarity Spirit of LP4Y. Let’s hope our resilience pays off and we can leave soon to the Philippines together! Elise, Léa, Marion, Loïc and Nina, future Catalysts at the LPC Payatas.