Pearson Seminar on Youth Leadership

How can you be the change that you wish to see in the world?  To do so, whether you want to be a political activist or a doctor, an engineer or a mom, an artist or an architect you must become a leader.  The next question you may ask is who is a leader?  Are they the people that stand up on the podium and make the speeches?  Are they the most intelligent, qualified people?  Or can they be the people working behind the scenes to run an organization, or the professionals who fulfill their responsibilities each day?  What type of leader do you want to be?       

                “The Pearson Seminar on Youth Leadership is designed to strengthen the role that young people play as future community and world leaders.”  Utilizing a framework comprised of discussions, presentations, guest speakers, workshops, and interactive leadership training, 100 students from all around the work came together for three weeks, with the backdrop of the beautiful campus of UWC Pearson on Canada’s west coast, the land of big trees, salmon, bears, mountains, and the Pacific Ocean.   Broadened perspectives revolve around themes of “ecological sustainability, social justice, and international understanding.”

                Skill development is focused on “project planning and coordination, ecological education in a temperate rainforest setting, information on local and international social justice issues, indigenous ideas and traditions, public speaking and awareness-raising techniques, people management skills (group management, conflict resolution, mediation), cross-cultural and diversity training, personal reflection and self-awareness exploration, critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making, goal-setting, and ethics-based action.”  Forming these skills as part of life require confidence, the information and skills necessary, and the opportunity to practice.  The intentional community at PSYL seeks to develop a space where student leaders are nurtured, to create the impetus to enact change, in themselves, and in others.

                Facilitating, was a unique role, as part of a tight knit group of fifteen UWC students and several past participants – forming a bridge between the participants and educator coordinators, both teaching and learning.  A comparison would be the UWC experience without IB, and as a result of this experience I have become more of who I seek to be.

                From consensus based community meetings every morning, to Carpe Diem “seize the day”, Spirit Spot, to just chillin’ in the Fridge (the student common room) each day was stimulating and innovative.  You were never falling asleep in “classes,” because your classroom might be in the middle of the forest, or out on the bay in a canoe, just as easily as in an amphitheater.  Daily session topics include: power and privilege, conflict transformation, self-awareness and leadership, sustainability 101, gender dialogue, and ecological wisdom.  Throughout, the importance of ceremony, music and creativity were highlighted.       

                Each participant developed an action plan, detailing how they want to be a leader in their community back home, whether it is in Canada, Brazil, or even here in Mostar.  My hope is that we are all leaders in building a community here at UWCiM, focused on peace and conflict transformation, through education.

 “I have a dream….”  Fill in the blank, and then make it come true.

Fluss. Agape.  Real. Kai.  Pura Vida.

If you wish to apply for a position as a facilitator, or simply want to learn more about the program feel free to ask me, or go to www.psyl.org.

Adventure Crew: Rafting Trip

Rain pounding down on our heads, the boats, the river.  Everybody stroking in time.

“Everywhere we go!  (echo)

People stop and ask us.

Who we are, and where do we come from.

So, we tell them!  UWC in Mostar!

MIGHTY MIGHTY MOSTAR!”  The chant rang out of the mouths of the twenty paddlers.

We are the ADVENTURE CREW!

Created this year to incorporate hiking, biking, rafting, and skiing, the adventure crew embarked upon a rafting trip on the upper Neretva, as the first official adventure of the year, although just living in Mostar is an adventure in of itself.  Plans for the rest of the year include hikes to classic favorites like Diva Grabavica, and Veliki Vran, as well as some new routes, and overnight camping. 

Faces were apprehensive as the group gathered in Spanish Square in the morning for the bus ride to Konjic, to transfer to another van to go to the house of our rafting guides.  The ominous dark rain clouds did not bode well for our expedition, or so we thought.  Upon arrival at “base camp”, we were graciously welcomed as guests, with a hospitality that was incredibly generous throughout the entire day.  The laughter began as we dressed in sexy wetsuits and booties, comparing our newly discovered muscles.       

The crew was divided into five boats, five people per boat, with one guide.  Our only instruction was, “don’t fall in love with the skipper.”  On the van ride to the head of the run the guy (what is his name)  told us some history and folklore of the region – about the Neretva river as a woman, and the mountain Prenj as the obstinate and unpredictable man.

Stalling for time, to wait for the rain to cease, we ate a freshly grilled fish meal and plums, which we gathered from the trees.  Finally, the expedition started, with no let-up of the torrential rain, but we carried the boats to the riverside, suited up in wetsuits, helmets, and goofy raincoats.  And we were off!

The landscape was incredible, as the boats took us down the Upper Neretva, surrounded by soaring canyon walls, cloaked with greenery, and the river dimpled by the raindrops.  Each boat crew quickly developed its own sense of pride, and competition for the cherished first spot.  Code words were created, like cevapi, for a surprise attack on another boat.  Cheering, laughing, and stroking with our whole bodies, we sailed downriver, straight into the heart of the storm.

We all survived the thunder and lightning, the drop-off rapids, the fierce competition, and the belly aching laughter – and were welcomed back to the “base camp” once again for a huge traditional meal, warm dry clothing, and swapping stories.  Simply put, it was an epic day for those who chose to come out and accept the challenge of adventure! 

G. K. Chesterton said, “An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”  I challenge you to look for the adventure.

Over an out, Hilary Johnson reporting live from Adventure Crew Central.          

International summer School on the Anthropocene at UWC Adriatic

http://www.uwcad.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=231:international-summer-school-on-water-in-the-anthropocene&catid=48:highlights&Itemid=92

This is what I did at the beginning of the summer - a Climate Conference with 35 students from every single UWC.  Our final presentations will be published shortly.