Without any doubt, youth are the future of the world. For any nation which hopes to thrive and develop, it is necessary to commit significant resources in facilitating youth development.

This book is a collection of papers presented at the International Conference on Youth Empowerment over the last four years. It explores the relationship between youth volunteerism and empowerment which is considered as an inherent cornerstone in the social and psychological growth for youth. Written by a team of experts on issues about youth, the book presents the various theories, models, paradigms and concepts related to youth empowerment and volunteerism. With selected examples in countries around the world, it also reveals to us how different cultures infuse their own history, language, mores, laws, policies, demographics, and socio-political infrastructures in facilitating youth empowerment and volunteerism.

Youth hold the key to the world of the future, and empowering youth is actually a human empowerment toward a better world of great hope. In this collection, one clearly sees how youth are empowered through volunteerism; given the chance to serve their communities, youth can indeed become responsible citizens of tomorrow.

Contributors
Monit CHEUNG, Dan FERRAND-BECHMANN, Michael J. HOLOSKO, Melissa HUM, Guoping JIANG, Ping Kwong KAM, Marc LANGLOIS, Elaine S. C. LIU, T. Wing LO, Allen M. OMOTO, Malcom PAYNE, Edwin RISLER, Mark SNYDER, Songxing SU, Ngoh Tiong TAN, Michael UNGAR, Xiaodong YUE