More than 200 young people from Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Labrador, and Nunavut participated in a conference in Montreal from 5 to 7 July.
Held at John Abbott College in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, a town located at the western tip of the Island of Montreal, the Montreal conference was among the first of a series of 114 youth conferences to be held around the world over the next four months.
See an official site of the conferences here.
The heat wave that hit Montreal during the weekend was reflected in the spirit of the young participants, ablaze with the feeling that came from being part of a global movement, demonstrating a camaraderie and exhilaration that was palpable. The transformative effect of the conference led quickly to participants developing an impressive number of concrete plans to better serve their communities after the conference.
Participants discussed the crucial period of youth, the importance of mutual support, the role youth play in community building, and ways they can contribute to the advancement of a global society. A twenty-five-year old from Drummondville found that the workshops provided a better understanding of the current problems of society and how young people can help meet those challenges. She added that the activities helped her develop a coherent view of all aspects of her life. An eighteen-year-old from Prince Edward Island particularly appreciated the role of the arts in the workshops, which gave him a better grasp of the concepts discussed. His group felt they learned a lot by performing skits.
The participants were grouped according to where they lived to enable them to analyze the realities of their communities, to plan as a team, and to promote the development of lasting friendships. A group from Montreal expressed their perspective that true friendship means encouraging others, serving together, and engaging in meaningful conversations. A participant from Longueuil said that “the conversations should be heart to heart and soul to soul in order to have any effect.”
The insights and reflections of youth from different groups were shared in plenary sessions every morning; evenings were devoted to artistic presentations that reflected the diversity of the participants. Songs were presented in English, French, and Inuktitut.
The youth from Nunavut had to surmount considerable difficulties to get to the conference, but their determination certainly helped them traverse the thousands of miles that separated them from Montreal. The experience of a fifteen-year-old from Rankin Inlet at the conference transformed her vision of society. She said: “When I return home, I am going to talk about everything [I learned at the conference]. I’ll share my experience with my friends and family. I will try to involve some younger kids in our group. We can get together and make Nunavut and the world a better place to live.”
It was striking how quickly the youth apprehended the concepts presented during the conference and how they immediately devised plans to apply them in their daily lives. A fifteen-year-old participant remarked: “I feel that my lifestyle has changed. I will live with service as a lifestyle.”
Two days after the conference, the Montreal community could already see the transformative effect of the event on youth. Some forty young people who had participated in the conference were present at the Montreal Baha’i Centre for the 9 July commemoration of the Martyrdom of the Bab. More than 20 conference participants attended a devotional gathering in downtown Montreal, an event that normally attracts no more than a dozen people. The gathering continued into an evening meeting of youth making plans to put into practice what they had learned at the conference.
The spirit of love, brotherhood, and mutual support that characterized the conference will continue to influence young people upon their return to their homes. Networks created during the conference will allow them to continue to support each other to help serve their communities and contribute to building a just and prosperous global society.
For many, participation in the Montreal conference was part of a process of individual and collective transformation. These young people, who are already involved in community building, had made meticulous preparations prior to attending the event. For example, dozens of young people from Montreal and other parts of Quebec spent several days together before the conference to intensively study Ruhi Institute materials.
As part of this global initiative, Toronto and Vancouver are also preparing to host youth conferences. Hundreds of young people and their communities across the country are currently making arrangements for them to attend these events. Toronto will host the conference for the youth from Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories from 26 to 28 July; Vancouver’s will take place 3 to 5 August, for youth from British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, and Alaska.