Asia-Pacific Youth Conference

30/08/2007

The 13th Asia Pacific Youth Conference (APYC) took place 20–28 July in Pagadian City, Philippines, organised by IofC with support from local businesses, Rotary and the local government.

The 60 delegates from 11 countries were presented with garlands and welcomed by children lining the streets waving national flags and a drumming band.

The theme was, Change begins with me: Who I am today will make a difference tomorrow. The conference challenged delegates to bring change in their own lives and to live out their faith and values in their own community and families. Each morning started at 7am with a reflection and time in silence. In the afternoons participants met in small groups to share their life stories with each other. Morning plenary sessions and afternoon workshops explored family relationships, art therapy, traditional dance, corruption, music and the environment.

Many participants shared the decisions they had made during the conference. A Fijian participant vowed to ‘stop complaining about the problems’ and instead to ‘become the solution’, while an Indonesian teacher promised to ‘start addressing the issue of hopelessness among youth, starting with my own students.’ At the end of the conference the newly formed Pagadian IofC team heard that they had been offered use of an office for their regular meetings.

The next APYC will be held in South Korea in 2008.