Youth Conferences

[arthra]

This past summer has seen a number of youth conferences around the world...there's a lot of diversity and enthusiasm:

The following photo is of the Youth Conference in Almaty Kazakhstan a few weeks ago:

http://news.bahai.org/community-news/youth-conferences/almaty.html

 

[danieldemol]

Awesome

 

[arthra]

Under the banner of “Spirit of Service Stimulating Purposeful Action”, the youth conference began. Inspired by the vision of Bahá’u’lláh, 800 young people from 12 localities across the island came together to consult on the ways and means of community building. The gathering was remarkable for bringing together youth from ethnic groups that have been embroiled in armed conflict for the last two decades in an environment distinguished, instead, by unity.

Kadugannawa, Sri Lanka Youth Conference - Bahá'í World News Service
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[arthra]

Addressing the youth of the world as “light bringers” with the aim to “raise up hope and the younger generation”, the song Gemuruh Belia with lyrics composed by a group of young people from northern Malaysia enthused the 350 participants gathered in Sungai Seput from 30 August to 1 September. Friends speaking English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil came together in this youth conference—to strengthen their common vision of how they could work with members of their communities towards progress.

Sessions began by considering the responsibility and potential of youth to contribute to the prosperity of their communities by aiding the social and spiritual development of those younger than themselves. “Young people are inherently good,” one young woman said. “The period of early adolescence is the time when we begin to investigate our reality and see the world with new eyes,” another participant said. “It is important that younger youth have positive influences in their life as they are making new choices.”


For more read:

Seberang Perai (Sungai Siput), Malaysia Youth Conference - Bahá'í World News Service

 

[arthra]

After months of preparation, the expectations of the organizers of the youth conference in Brasília were pleasantly exceeded when nearly 800 youth from the Central-West, North, Northeast and Southeast regions of Brazil arrived at the venue, a conference centre surrounded by lush greenery.

The spirit of collaboration that characterized preparations for the conference was demonstrated by one group from a neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro. Some of their youth were not able to afford the cost of travel, but others in the community helped to raise money by selling crafted purses, organizing movie screenings, and celebrating Festa Junina, a Brazilian folk festival.

Read more at:

Brasília, Brazil Youth Conference - Bahá'í World News Service

 

[arthra]

They came by train, filling seats and hallways, and perching on rooftops with bags and guitars in hand. The hearts of more than 1,500 young people overflowed with eagerness as a network of rail lines swiftly shuttled many from their homes in the regions of eastern and western Kasai to converge at the youth conference in Kananga, Democratic Republic of the Congo, from 23 to 25 August.
Organizers commissioned trains from the Congo Railway Company to transport youth to the conference, and signs were posted indicating all the spaces were reserved for participants. Such an arrangement provided an opportunity for many to share with curious passers-by the reasons that had motivated them to attend the conference.


Read more at


http://news.bahai.org/community-news/youth-conferences/kananga.html

 

[arthra]

 

[arthra]

The cold auditorium of a public technical school in Santiago, Chile, was warmed for three consecutive days by the energy and spirits of some 500 youth from Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Some had travelled by plane, as border crossings over the mountains during the winter time are unreliable; others had travelled by land for almost three days, crossing the snow-capped Andes and picking up friends along the way. All had one thing in common: they were joyful, excited, and eager to discuss with their peers the true meaning and potential of the period of youth.

Santiago, Chile Youth Conference - Bahá'í World News Service

 

[danieldemol]

It is delightful to see such light infused gatherings from all around the globe.

 

[arthra]

Filling a gymnasium at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, were about 770 young people, from Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon in Canada and from Alaska in the United States, who had gathered to consult about how they could contribute more devotedly to the needs of their communities. They had come in groups by bus, car, ferry, and plane, and some combined several of these modes of transport. One group from Alberta arranged for a bus to travel from Calgary to Vancouver, and to pick up youth along the way. The 1,000-kilometre journey was long, with some delays, but filled with entertaining stories and heart-warming songs shared by both the travellers and the bus driver.

Vancouver, Canada Youth Conference - Bahá'í World News ServiceYoutyh

 

[The Boogeyman]

Tis, A beautiful site to see. I always thought if I was ever going to convert to a religion, I'd go back to my childhood religion. The Baha'i Faith. A beautiful religion.

 

[arthra]

Thanks for your post "boogeyman"...!

 

[The Boogeyman]

Thanks for your post "boogeyman"...!

Your very welcome friend!

 

[arthra]

Youth from over 20 states spanning all of the regions in Mexico made great efforts to attend the youth conference held on a ranch some 25 kilometres north of the city of Aguascalientes. For some, preparations had begun months earlier, with efforts to raise money for transportation to the conference so that as many youth as possible would be able to attend. The majority of the participants travelled to the conference by bus, many having journeyed for almost 30 hours.

Aguascalientes, Mexico Youth Conference - Bahá'í World News Service

 

[arthra]

At a convention centre on the shores of the Brisbane River, 550 youth from Queensland and northern New South Wales gathered from 14 to 16 September for the first of three youth conferences to be held in Australia. The remarkable diversity of those present was notable—a diversity that was reflected in many languages in which prayers were recited during the morning sessions and by the variety of cultural dances that were performed in the evenings.

http://news.bahai.org/community-news.../brisbane.html

 

[arthra]

Bhopal, located in the heart of India, is the capital of the state of Madhya Pradesh, lying just north of the Vindhya mountain range. It is known as the city of lakes, most famous for Bada Talab and Chota Talab, two beautiful lakes that frame its edges. It was here, from 6-8 September that over 730 youth gathered from the province of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh to reflect on how they could join hands on a path of service to their communities.

Bhopal, India Youth Conference - Bahá'í World News Service

 

[arthra]

The diversity of Ethiopia—a nation comprised of 80 ethnic groups and languages—is truly remarkable. The conference held from 22 to 24 August in Addis Ababa, its capital city, and welcoming 573 young people from across the country, was representative of the unifying power of the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. Those gathered were inspired by that vision to consult on ways they could contribute to the advancement of society.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Youth Conference - Bahá'í World News Service

 

[arthra]

https://www.facebook.com/YouthConference.Tonga

 

[arthra]

On a clear winter’s morning in Manukau, South Auckland, 500 youth from across New Zealand and the Cook Islands began to arrive. They converged at the conference venue, a striking building shaped like a waka, a Polynesian canoe, symbolic of a journey and the Pacific Ocean, an area of the world all of the participants call home.
The conference opened with a traditional Maori haka: an expressive and powerful dance that is used to demonstrate welcome, challenge, power, determination, courage, awe, respect, and honour. This was followed by the waiata, a traditional Maori song. The opening devotions also included an ancient Hawaiian chant, shared with the participants as a gift and a response to the honoured welcome of the haka.


Auckland, New Zealand Youth Conference - Bahá'í World News Service

 

[arthra]

Close to one of the largest open market centres in the city of Accra, a densely populated area filled with the sounds of buyers and sellers bartering goods, is located the Accra Academy Secondary School, surrounded by 30 acres of beautiful gardens, where 670 young people from Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone came together from 6 to 8 September to discover the ways in which they can prepare themselves for a life of service.

Accra,Ghana Youth Conference - Bahá'í World News Service