In the area of the new services we want to give in this second year of the Portal, we are introducing –in this section- a space of “bibligraphic reviews on youth”, including small comments on the most recent books of more recent appearance (and that in general are not available in electronic format) together with the corresponding data to obtain them (editor, etc). It is not about –therefore- of a literary or academic “critique”; it is hardly another work tool, more limited, that can be helpful for those who work –from different angles- in public policies of youth.

This way, we are resuming and effort that throughout several years (between 1999 and 2004) maintaine from the CELAJU web (  http://www.celaju.org/noticias/publicaciones.htm) and that in its time it generated many comments and recognitions, for the utility of the service. Given that this task was discontinued during last year, we are resuming it here with the idea of including also –in retrospective terms- those texts edited in 2005 and that had significantly contributed to the generation of knowledge on young people and public policies of youth in Latin America.

In practical terms, next, we offer the list of the included texts, with the corresponding link in each case to have access to the corresponding review. This list –naturally- will go extending daily, with the inclusion of new titles and reviews, and as usual, we hope to count on your comments and contributions, to expand and improve this new service of the Portal of Youth.

In the last years a series of Institutional Resources Directories has proliferated, enabling to systematize, arrange, classify and widely spread the existence and characteristics of many of the existent services and opportunities in youth in many countries of the region and at an international level, among which we highlight the following for being available in digital format and having access from the internet:

http://www.joveneslac.org/portal/modules.php?op=modload&name=PagEd&file=index&topic_id=11&page_id=79

In Latin America, there is a large offer of E-Bulletins or Newsletter edited by many juvenile organizations, NGO specialized in youth, governmental institutes on youth, international organisms of cooperation and other entities. In this space we want to give information for those who are interested on them to be able to consult them and register according to the topics of interest of each person.

Furthermore, we offer this space for those who want us to spread information of their e-bulletins.

Without a doubt, in Latin America and the Caribbean there are many and much different job experiences with and for young people, that deserve to be recognized for their contributions and learning obtained; that is the main purpose of this section of the Portal. In some areas this experiences are characterized as “good practices”, while in other, are called “successful experiences”. In our case, we prefer to talk –in a more limited way- about work experiences, with no major qualifying, because it seems to us a more pertinent denomination.

In any case, in most of the cases we are talking about experiences that take place in limited local areas, but work around many different thematic spheres and are focused on juvenile sectors, also very different. Our purpose is that this section can show –in the best possible way- this variety and heterogeneity of situations, to the effects of being able to encourage the shared learning, among the different actors (young and adults) that work in this domains.

In all the cases, we try to offer presentations performed by the protagonists themselves, as well as evaluations and systematizations performed in each particular case, as a way of counting on derived versions of the sources. This does not intend to assure “objectivity” (something hard to obtain this way). Actually, what is intended is exactly the contrary. We hope to reflect the necessary subjectivities on the presentations, leaving to the users the generation of opinions and valuations on the matter.

The promotional chore performed with young men and women, every day has to deal with a large range of difficulties and problems. To face them, it is more useful to count on orientations and tools that offer solid basis in this sense. We count on a large range of guides and manuals that in diverse spheres and for very varied purposes allow to work with more solid arguments, and this way, the work is significantly eased.

In this section, we will try to gather all this tools –within the framework of a certain logical ordering- to the effects of easing the dynamic and effective access to the mentioned. In many cases, this tools have been prepared on the basis of specific work experiences in Latin America and the Caribbean, while in others it is barely about simple translations of materials produced in other contexts, but that anyway can collaborate with our own promotional work.

Probably, with the collaboration of everyone, we will be able to complete and systematize this importante service, that is why all the corresponding suggestions are welcome. We solicit –therefore- that you have texts arrive to us to incorporate, with the reference of the web site where it can be found, to the effects of making the corresponding link

There are many different Universities and Technical Entities in the region that put a lot of effort in the training of human resources referred to youth. Some of them are specialized in the training of young guiders, others in juvenile leaders, as well as some train investigators, policies planners and managemental levels in youth.

This offers grow progressively as the society and its institutions recognize the specificity of the sector and the necessary training that is needed to act with and from young people themselves. In the past years degrees of specialization in youth have come up and are starting to consolidate by several Universities, as well as every day the offer in specialization courses at a technical level and in sociocultural leadership is more systematic.

Assuming that young men and women have an intense and particular bond with technologies and audiovisual media, and trying to enlarge the reach of the “products” that the Portal of Youth for Latin America and the Caribbean regularly spreads, we have structured this new section, in which we intend to include –regularly- video productions on, about and for youth.

As usual, these will be gathered by topic (in the best way possible) in order to bring a friendly and agile service, thinking –specially- on the development of promotional actions with young people, that can lay on this kind of productions. As usual –also- we hope that our visitors and friends help us with their comments on this new section, as well as with the mailing of materials that could be included in the mentioned section.