Youth participation is not an end in itself, but a means of achieving positive changes in young people’s lives and of building better democratic societies. Participation is a fundamental human right recognised, among others, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Participation is also a core principle of human rights and is a condition for effective democratic citizenship for all people. The aim of the Council of Europe’s youth policy is to provide young people with equal opportunities and experience which enable them to develop the knowledge, skills and competencies to play a full part in all aspects of society. Youth participation is at the core of youth policy in the Council of Europe, which includes co-management as a form of sharing power with youth representatives. Youth participation is promoted across the various sectors of the Council of Europe. The revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life, adopted in May 2003 by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, is a standard-setting instrument for youth participation. It supports young people, youth workers, youth organisations and local authorities in promoting and enhancing meaningful youth participation at local and regional level across Europe. The manual “Have your say!” was produced to support local and regional authorities, youth organisations and young people who want to give young people a real say for a meaningful democratic youth participation. According to the Charter, participation is about having the right, the means, the space and the opportunity and, where necessary, the support to participate in and influence decisions and engage in actions and activities so as to contribute to building of a better society. The manual “Have your say!” is an educational and practical tool to support all those committed to making that right a reality for more young people in the Council of Europe member states.

Have your say: Influencing public policy in New Zealand is a straightforward guide for New Zealanders who want to understand how the public policy process works and how they can engage in it. Few people realise that they have the power to influence government policies. Have your say gives practical advice for individuals who want to make their concerns heard, as well as for lobby groups, political activists and community groups. It shows how we all can get involved in shaping government policies that affect everyone. Frances Hughes and Stephanie Calder have extensive policy experience. They have brought together all the essentials in a clear and concise format. This is an excellent resource for professional organisations, undergraduate and graduate students, junior policy analysts and anyone who wants to have their say.

Because we're blessed with the gift of not knowing the future, life isn't just what happens. It's enriched by the cloud of possibilities, what might happen, what we expect and hope for. This novel is a showing rather than a telling of the stories of Troy, restoring the immediacy of the moment as experienced by Cassandra, Helen, Clytemnestra, Iphigenia, Polyxena, Andromache, Leda, and Hecuba. Your familiarity with the traditional stories will prompt you to anticipate, only to be surprised by depths of personality and motivation, consistent with the original, but unexpected. And you'll savor the ironic differences between what you know as a reader and what the characters know. Rather than tediously proceed from one event to the next, you leap ahead from one dramatic moment to the next. The action takes place in dialogue and inner dialogue (thoughts in the making) rather than narration/exposition.

Does it matter what my name is? I am a woman. Does it matter what my religion is? I believe in God. Does it matter what country I come from? I live on earth. I am talking to you. Specifically, I am talking to your mind. Do you agree or disagree with all my philosophical, psychological, and logical thoughts? Some of my thoughts might probably be nonsense and illogical. Sometimes when I think profoundly about a matter, I often come to the conclusion that there is no universal definition for sense or logic and that they vary from one person to another. My thoughts are unsettling for most people and adequate for fewer people. My words can be enticing and eerie but detailed with metaphors you can abide by on the darkest yet most hopeful times. Read me. In this book, I have quite precisely changed the modus operandi in the writing of a novel. www.rima-jbara.com

The Claremont Women's Oral History Project has collected hundreds of interviews with Mormon women of various ages, experiences, and levels of activity. These interviews record the experiences of these women in their homes and family life, their church life, and their work life, in their roles as homemakers, students, missionaries, career women, single women, converts, and disaffected members. Their stories feed into and illuminate the broader narrative of LDS history and belief, filling in a large gap in Mormon history that has often neglected the lived experiences of women. This project preserves and perpetuates their voices and memories, allowing them to say share what has too often been left unspoken. The silent majority speaks in these records. This volume is the first to explore the riches of the collection in print. A group of young scholars and others have used the interviews to better understand what Mormonism means to these women and what women mean for Mormonism. They explore those interviews through the lenses of history, doctrine, mythology, feminist theory, personal experience, and current events to help us understand what these women have to say about their own faith and lives.