Regional youth conference in British Columbia welcomes the participation of many

At a conference held at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby, 476 youth gathered from across the province to explore how they can channel their energies towards building vibrant communities.

On the weekend of June 27-29, 476 youth aged 15-25 attended a conference in Burnaby, B.C., where they explored the contributions that young people are making towards the betterment of their communities. Participants came from across the province, including a group who travelled 780 km by bus from the city of Prince George, B.C. and the surrounding Interior North region. Many of these youth are part of moral educational programs that help them walk a path of service and understand their twofold purpose—to grow spiritually and intellectually and to contribute to the transformation of society.

There was a great effort to widen the circle of friends and invite them to the conference, and many youth were introduced to the community-building process for the first time. For example, a group of 15 Sikh youth from Surrey, B.C. attended together, accepting the invitation of their friend Japnam, from their Gurudwara, who himself was introduced to the process only a month earlier.

Japnam is also part of an organization called Humility, Kindness & Love, that encourages multifaith cooperation. As one initiative, its members attended events hosted by various faith communities. In May, Japnam attended a Bahá’í teaching conference in the Lower Mainland region. Moved by the environment, he commented, “This gathering has changed my understanding of what a conference can be. In most conferences, people go up and tell me what to think.” When he heard about the youth conference in June, Japnam rallied other young people from his Gurudwara to attend a facilitator training, where they were all eager to contribute to the thinking and planning aspects of the conference.

At the conference itself, these friends organized a video interview station and a personality quiz. Following the conference, they prepared a video that featured clips from the conference and a voiceover poem.

Some lines of this poem read:

You led each other with eyes that said I trust you to rise
You tended to your spaces with care woven into every detail
The chairs, the colours, the tone of your voices
Everything spoke of love

There is also a centre of intense activity in Surrey, B.C., called Guildford. Aditi Kumar, a small group facilitator at the conference from this neighbourhood, shared:

Some of the social conditions that the youth face include apathy, pressure to perform in school and sports, financial strain, and being judged for their culture and religion. In the conference we discussed three themes: “Youth and our true purpose,” “Youth as protagonists of education” and “Building vibrant communities.” One major challenge that youth seem to be facing is teasing and bullying for wanting to serve or make a positive change. But through the discussion on the twofold moral purpose and an analysis of the social forces affecting us, the youth concluded that by being positive role models for the younger generation, they can fulfill their twofold moral purpose. And when they see it in this light, teasing doesn’t affect them as much. In fact, they become an influence on their peers.

Overall, the participants were deeply moved by the open and welcoming environment of the conference, where they could dive into meaningful conversations with other youth, even if they had just met. Kenia, 16, from Prince George, B.C., shares a sentiment that was common among the participants: “The conference has brought a lot of confidence to me. I’ve learned to love myself and interact with others.” Another youth, M’mbungwe, 18, also from Prince George, shares, “Experiencing a space where you can have deep and meaningful conversations gives me a drive to create such spaces when I go back.”

The youth also felt a tremendous amount of support from the Bahá’í institutions and adults who guided the conference and committed their practical support. In the plenary, one youth described it as an “army of older people who have our backs.”

The conference was also an occasion of rich cultural celebration. During the conference, many traditional art forms were shared in the plenary sessions and in large groups, including Dabke, Bhangra, and Eritrean dance, as well as drumming and numerous songs, some of which were in the Bhutanese language.

Since the conference, the youth have started extending conversations from the conference to their communities and continue to build their capacity by studying the Ruhi sequence of courses. Some friends in the region began Ruhi Book 7: Walking Together on a Path of Service and trained as new tutors; others, new to the process, formed study circles and completed their study of Ruhi Book 1: Reflections on the Life of the Spirit. Among those who completed Book 1 after the conference is a youth who is learning to read, driven by his desire to read to his younger siblings. His tutors are now helping him expand this aspiration, as he not only helps his siblings but also a group of their friends.

Photos were taken by Yasmin Carmelle Vahedi, Allister Foster, Roya Khosravan, Nassim Pezeshzad, Neda Shadbakht and Jason Snyder.

-Written with contributions from Aditi Kumar