DPI/NGO - stories from the participants- Youth the way forward

Youth – the Way Forward for Our Organisation?

This was my first UN DPI/NGO Conference. What a great event to be part of and thank you to Soroptimist International for allowing me the opportunity to go. What was absolutely fascinating for me was the large numbers of young people who attended, young people from NGOs or those who had formed their own based on an idea, a vision, or looking to make an improvement in their world. They participated fully, were able to get their point of view across succinctly– unlike several of the older members in the conference, who spent their minute of question time telling us about themselves in great detail, and also get their question out to the panel. One of the most interesting sessions that I attended was the one where it was run by delegates from the youth NGOs – such as Oaktree Foundation and YEAH! Listening to them and how they view the world is a real eye-opener and perhaps if we understood how they operated we would find a way to turn around our organisation into a positive force that welcomes these younger people rather than turns them off!

The current CEO of Oaktree said that young people are anxious to be involved, they see that if they don’t the world they know will not change and therefore the mistakes of the past will continue to haunt these younger generations. He also stated that young people are activists, they like to rush in, do the job and then move on. However, he also conceded that they made mistakes, after-all how do you learn if you don’t make mistakes. He also stated that if they are going to make a mistake they like to do it quickly so they can move on, rather than dwell on what went wrong. He also spoke of the importance of the older generation working with the young people, mentoring them into roles that would not normally be open to them, again how do they get experience if we do not allow them to try. The Founder of YEAH also spoke on the need for organisational structure which would enable the NGO to have a form and substance but also freedom to do what they as young people felt was necessary to achieve.

The vibes in the room during this session were fantastic. What positive energy flowed from all the young ones in the room – we need to harness this energy and enthusiasm and find a place for it in our Organisation and Clubs – these young people are the life-blood for the future, and if we don’t find a way to use them in our Clubs, then our organisation will wither on the vine and die.

Theresa Lyford- Delegate
SISWP Federation Assistant Programme Director
SI Victoria Inc - President

DPI/ NGO- UN Conference in Melbourne Day 1- WE ARE ALL CONNECTED

"We want to bring our people at home with us to this conference through frequent blogging, facebooking "...these were the words of one of the 16 bright, enthusiastic WAGGGS women coming from all over the country of Australia to participate in this historic UN event- the first UN Event ever in Australia! The Soropimists shared that same interest knowing that it is such a privilege to represent our world organizations at this historic conference. Our combined WAGGGS and SI delegation met at the World Trade Center on Sunday afternoon to strategize our activities and plan for the three day conference that officially starts 30 August 2010. This conference focuses on Global Health and Achieving the MDGs - our joint mission is to promote the reality that no part of society can be healthy nor achieve the MDGs while violence against women and girls rages in every corner of the world.

Today we will be giving a workshop called 'Women and Girl Power: Uniting to build healthy societies particularly through ending violence against women and girls.' We will share several citizen strategies undertaken by three different groups - SI, WAGGGS and that of our new friend Lyndal Trevena from the Australian Federation of Medical Women.

UN Events are never all work....and very often include opportunities for experiencing unparalled cultural experiences. Last night's Opening Concert brought just that kind of magic. The delegates were welcomed by Honorable Tony Lupton,Cabinet Secretary Victoria State Parliament, and Mr. Kiyo Akasaka, UN Under Secretary General for Communications and Public Information. Mr. Akasaka reminded us of the importance of the work in health for society using several crucial statistics about maternal mortality and disease in the southern hemisphere as critical markers of concern. Following these sober thoughts the entertainment emerged......starting with the explosion of a one person laser show that touched every corner of the auditorium!

The orchestra was an assemblage of ancient and modern instruments from cultures around the world. The concert featured a grand explosion of examples of diversity - from Maori ceremonies from New Zealand, Aboriginal dances of smoke and mystery, Break Dancing, to Bollywood..... haunting Arabic chants to the most amazing sand paintings that emerged throughout. The finale featured 130 drums of every culture - woven together through a billiant direction featuring each group with their solo and then finally - playing all together while the audience joined in a joyous singing melody - We Are All Connected!

The evening set the stage for the work of the week. It challenged us to remember our connections- our "pangea" to the land mass of this globe.... "WE ALL NEED TO BE CONNECTED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE"

Dawn Marie Lemonds, International Programme Director Soroptimist International