One of the best aspects of the Global Youth Conference is that it is run by young people for young people.
Each year, a group of intern facilitators from across the world come together a month before the conference to research, plan, prepare and eventually facilitate the workshop topics they are assigned. It is a challenging and demanding task, and one that requires leadership, teamwork and the ability to take initiative.
Despite not being professional event facilitators, the GYC interns who contribute their time and energy to ensure the GYC workshops are engaging, informative and inspiring never cease to impress.
This year’s facilitators come from Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and Colombia, and look to be no exception.
Juliana Ceballos, 28, is from Medellin in Colombia and first became connected to the Y back in 2010. A friend recommended her to take part in the YMCA International Camp Counsellor Program (ICCP) and the rest, as they say, is history.
“Through the ICCP I worked at a summer camp in America, where I was able to have a new cultural experience and improve my English,” says Juli.
“Since then I have worked and volunteered for various YMCA programs and camps in Medellin, all with the aim of empowering members of the community.”
In Medellin, Juli even coordinated a camp for 70 participants, saying that this experience will surely be to her advantage at the GYC.
“I am excited about the job we are doing, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous. It’s a different environment to what I’m used to, but I think it’s the challenge of what we are doing that has made it so exciting and fun.”
Juli will be facilitating the Global Warming and Climate Change workshop alongside two other facilitators.
“We aim to make the workshop as interactive as possible so that participants feel comfortable to share their opinions,” says Juli.
“We want participants to leave knowing they can do something in their own community… that they can do better. Consumerism here (in Japan) is really big. We need to be thinking about the stuff we buy, and if it is really fulfilling us and making us feel good inside…”
Global citizenship is something Juli believes in strongly, another reason the GYC appealed to her. The GYC brings together participants from around the world so they can learn from one another’s cultures and gain new perspectives on global issues.
“Global citizenship is not about the things we do for our own individual benefit – our jobs, our responsibilities, our homes – it’s not so much about that. It’s about realising the beauty in the world and recognising that we are all human and that we can help others – not just ourselves.”
“The GYC will show that we can move forward together…and that we can do it.”
The GYC is held on 7-11 August, 2017.