NAMI Programs


Advancing Public Awareness/Understanding
Facilitating Sustainable and Secure Trade and Development
Building Trinational Leadership through:
    North American Community Service


NORTH AMERICAN COMMUNITY SERVICE



"The NACS program epitomizes the increasingly diverse and complex relationship between the United States, Canada and Mexico. This program helps young adults recognize the value of being part of a larger North American community and teaches them the power and virtue of voluntarism and service."
—former US Ambassador Jack Vaughn

Mission

The mission of the North American Community Service (NACS) program is to enhance the capacity of young North Americans (Mexicans, Canadians and Americans) to understand and respond effectively to our shared cultural, environmental, social and economic challenges through cross-border exchange and voluntary youth service with community-based projects.

Organization

NACS has been developed by individuals from Canada, Mexico and the United States who are currently involved in designing and implementing community-based projects, cross-cultural exchanges, academic programs and international cooperation efforts. It builds on many years of experience from individuals and the organizations that they represent, and it takes advantage of existing resources within collaborating organizations.

NACS is a partnership among organizations involved in youth exchanges and community-based projects in all three countries. It will use their existing infrastructure to carry out its work. Primary responsibility for recruiting and overseeing the youth teams will be undertaken by Canada World Youth in Canada, Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico and the Student Conservation Association in the United States. With support from the North American Institute (NAMI), Canada World Youth will serve as the lead coordinating agency and contact point for NACS.

Rationale

The people of the North American continent share resources as well as problems that require cooperation to manage. Economic integration means that the well-being of people and the natural environment in our three countries are becoming increasingly interdependent.

The future of North America offers both promise and tremendous challenges. Our ability to succeed depends largely on our ability to develop innovative approaches to dealing with both our new and our long-standing problems. We must transform our way of thinking and acting. Young people are often best-placed to undergo this type of transformation, and cross-cultural experiences often provide the catalyst. Local communities are capable of the type of experimentation and innovation that may be difficult at other levels. By putting the two together in a spirit of volunteerism and cooperation, we hope to encourage a new understanding of our shared North American identity along with the sense of responsibility and the skills required to determine a future which benefits all of the people of our continent.

Goal

To raise awareness on the part of North Americans (Mexicans, Canadians and Americans) of shared cultural, environmental, social and economic challenges and to enhance their ability to confront these challenges in collaboration with one another.



NACS Partners

Canada World Youth is a national, non-governmental organization that provides young people from Canada and around the world with the opportunity to travel, live and work in different communities, to learn about local and international development, and to gain important job skills for the future.


The Universidad Veracruzana is the premier institution for Higher Education in the State of Veracruz, Mexico. Established in 1944, the Universidad Veracruzana has a strong commitment and made many research contributions to the study of the Arts, Humanities, Literature, and Philosophy. It is located in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.


Student Conservation Association (SCA) is America's largest and oldest provider of national and community conservation service opportunities, outdoor education and career training for youth. SCA volunteers and interns annually perform more than one million hours of conservation service in national parks, forests, refuges, and urban areas in all 50 states.


Cornerstones Community Partnerships works in partnership with communities to restore historic structures, encourage traditional building practices and reinforce cultural values.


The Columbia Basin Trust supports efforts by the people of the Basin to create a legacy of social, economic and environmental well-being and to achieve greater self-sufficiency for present and future generations.


For more information about the North American Community Service Program, contact:

Sharon Kelley, Director
The North American Institute
708 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
505/982-3657
Email Sharon