Hundreds of youth gathered from 25 to 27 July in Montréal and Calgary to participate in two of the ten regional youth conferences to be held in Canada this summer, convened by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Canada, their national governing council.
The role of youth in society, mutual support, and true friendship were among the themes of the discussions. Some of the participants had the opportunity to examine those themes for a second consecutive year, since they had participated in one of the 114 conferences held around the world last year, under the direction of the Universal House of Justice, the international governing council of Baha’is. Three of those conferences were held in Canada — in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver.
This summer’s ten Canadian regional conferences will give youth involved in community-building efforts across the country an opportunity to improve their understanding of their own undertaking, as well as a chance to invite other friends to join them in working for the advancement of civilization.
Half of the 170 youth who participated in the Montréal conference had not attended last year’s conference. Among them was a youth from Gatineau, who had heard a schoolmate talk about the conference. Inspired by a discussion with his friend about social progress, he enthusiastically accepted his invitation to participate in the conference. He will be moving to Montréal in the next few weeks to attend university, and intends to help form a small group on his campus to have “elevated” discussions, and he plans to get involved with young teenagers in his neighbourhood to help them become spiritually empowered.
Two young women from Québec were pleasantly surprised by their friends’ positive reaction when they talked to them about the goals of the Montréal conference. They then realized that they should include more of their friends in a conversation centered on the betterment of the world. “After all,” they concluded, “it is a natural sentiment to want to serve one’s community.” During the three days of the conference, they also became aware of their responsibility as youth to work in their neighbourhood with their friends for the betterment of society.
In Calgary, 45 per cent of the 130 attendees were taking part in a conference of this kind for the first time. Discussions similar to the ones at the Montréal conference led to reflections on the impact that service to others and mutual support can have on society. “To create real social change, money is not essential, all we have to do is help one another,” said one youth. Another youth reflected that “to help others is good for personal growth and it gives us a feeling of peacefulness.”
Most of the young participants returned home with renewed spiritual energy, ready to become involved in their communities to have a positive impact on society.
Five other conferences will be held in the next few weeks: in Waterloo and Kelowna this coming weekend (2–4 August), and in Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto before the end of the month. Other youth gathered in Halifax, Saskatoon and Victoria in mid-July.
For more information about the conferences, please visit www.conf2014.ca.