Once back home from the Korea AYC everyone was bent upon not loosing the fun and fellowship they had discovered and the result was the formation of a youth club. Two more youth clubs have come up since then in Japan and the one in Kyushu area came up right after the Hong Kong IYC. YC experience is definitely not to be missed and it feels great to be part of the excitement and get to know the YC ‘heat’.

The happy gang at Taiwan

hough it's been 6 months since we said ‘bye at IYC Hong Kong memories help me get back time and again to the nice days we had at Wu Kwai Sha. On my way back home, I dropped by Taiwan with a few Japanese friends of mine. We stayed with Roger and David Lin in Taipei, and Johnson and Danny Lee in Taichung. There were many Taiwanese youth friends who came to say ‘hello’ and we had parties almost every night.

We had Karen Gordon from New Zealand who came to Japan and stayed with my family for more than 3 months. Though we had both attended the 1998 Helsinki IYC we didn't know each other before. As time went by we realised that both of us had the same great times in Finland and Estonia and were equally excited about it. It was a great learning experience to have a foreigner living with us for more than a month.

Then, I went to Korea with my father for the RDE training. Here I met Enoka Fernandopulle's father from Sri Lanka. I had met Enoka IYC 98. It was amazing that although Enoka's father didn't attend IYC, (of course!!!) I was able to share my YC memories with him! I think this shows how strong the YC experience remains in each of our hearts. 25 days after Karen had left, I was still missing her, but Patrick Fai from Hong Kong and his cousin came to Japan. We went sightseeing together, and I could find another Japan from their point of view. I met Panda Wong from Hong Kong and Wu Yiling from Taiwan as well. Yiling stayed at my house for 5 days. We've known each other for 3 years and I am so happy that she could make it here. And, I am very happy for my STEP sister Anna Wargren who is coming to Japan for studies in October. Our family was one of her host families during her STEP days. We were roommates in Helsinki as well! I can never forget how hard it was to say good-bye to her in Hong Kong.

Nobuko, Patrick and Sara

Despite all this fun I cannot avoid writing about the sad news that hit my family towards the end of January. My father’s first brother club friend Mr. Chang Yingchieh from Taiwan passed away on 29th January. He had been one of the closest friends of my father for well over 20 years. My father went to Taiwan to attend his funeral. At his funeral the body was covered with the Y’s Men’s flag. Many of his friends from all over Taiwan and abroad had come to bid him farewell. I had only seen my father crying once in my life. But I could see him crying at the funeral. Losing a good friend is sad indeed. But the strong relationship between Mr Chang and my father has very much impressed me. I hope to continue my present good relations with all my friends for all my life just like Mr. Chang and my father. Thus, my life after the IYC days has had lots of great joy and one big sorrow.

Farewell to Mr Chang Yingchieh

The best part of being in a YC is the exposure to diverse cultures, races, and languages. I sincerely hope that the future AYCs and IYCs will turn out to be great too, offering opportunities to make life long special friends. Let me give wings to a few of my thoughts which I believe will be relevant for the planning of future YCs. (Youth Convocation accepts participants in the age group of 15 to 25 years). Considering Y’sdom’s geographical spread there will definitely be some people at IYCs who are not able to catch up with all the English information. It is true that even with little or no English we are able to somehow communicate with each other through body language and lots of courage and can thereby share great moments with foreign friends. However, in order to have a more meaningful time I think it is important for ALL the participants that EVERYONE can participate in the same activities at the same time. I also hope that the next IYC scheduled to be held in Sydney, Australia will provide facilities for simultaneous translation.

Lastly, I really appreciate the opportunities I have been given by and through Y's Men International. Thank you very much and see you again my friends, some day, somewhere in the world!

Otsuki Nobuko

Come the end of March and it is vacation time for schools in Russia. The time when young minds look around for some thing to do and a place to go! Last March, we at the Y’s Men’s Club of Neva decided to arrange something exciting yet useful for the children from YMCA Neva scouts and the guest scouts we had from Moscow. The idea of organising a long outdoor trip was thought about. The support offered by the Neva YMCA was instrumental in our taking the decision to set out on an “exploratory” trip to northern Europe!

The last count on D-day showed 50 excited minds, excluding the two able -bodied men who were to drive us through the Russian tundra. Off we went! Despite the 48 hours it took us to reach Stavanger in Norway none of us lost any of the excitement. Once the travel - weary bodies were refreshed the focus shifted to learning more about the oil capital of Norway. Our visit to the Oil museum taught us the inside out of oil extraction and also made us realise how difficult the job was. Next was a visit to the Aquapark which was thoroughly enjoyed by one and all. It was the right kind of break for our brains which had got crammed with oil related stuff during the early part of the day. We sang songs with the Norwegian scouts and even took part in a Tensing performance.

Aslaug Gilje (2nd from right) and Peter (3rd from right) with the participating
school children and their new found friends.

Peter Kurnygin
Neva Y’s Men’s Club

You can't believe that you've made it this far. If it wasn't for the cheering from your teammates below, you probably would not have taken the first step up. But you did. And here you are, standing 35 feet in the air on a wooden platform. Your eyes level with the canopy of the trees, you inched across a cable bridge, crawled like a spider across a cargo net, tightroped across a wood beam—all the while clinging to your harness.

Your mind is buzzing with fear, pride, and exhilaration. But this last step, this may be the most challenging. A step out into nothingness. You've been clipped in, your gear double-checked. You ask for a triple. Just one step and gravity will do the rest. But only one person can choose to take that step: You.

You inhale, step off the platform and feel the sinking sensation cut short as the rope on the zip line draws taut and your downward momentum quickly but gracefully changes into a flying sensation. The trees whizz by as your teammates cheer, hoot, and holler from below . . .

"It's not too bad"!

Don't do this every day? Well it's just one of the opportunities you'll encounter at the 2001 Area Youth Convocation in Minneapolis, MN. Youth ages 15-22 from all over the U.S. and Canada are invited to the convocation hosted at YMCA Camp Ihduhapi in Loretto, MN, 20 miles west of the Twin Cities for a long weekend filled with opportunities you don't encounter everyday.

The four days will include one day on Ihduhapi's Adventure Learning Course where participants will be challenged to overcome a number of obstacles, some on the ground, some higher in the air - all facilitated by Ihduhapi's well-trained staff to keep you safe and ensure a real team-building experience.

The program also includes a night camping on the shores of beautiful Lake Independence trading stories around the campfire, presentations and discussions, a day in Minneapolis exploring such sights as the Mall of America, the Science Museum, or perhaps a Twins game.

This year's convocation will focus on "the power of people." Youth will have an opportunity to put their thoughts and ideas into practice as they discuss, play, work, learn, and explore with other youth from across the continent to discover what community and teamwork can add to the strength and potential of a group of people. It promises to be a fun-filled 4 days for growth, adventure, and new friendships.

"Cool"? "Yes, if you have the guts"!

Only one person can take that first step: You.

Come, join us! The convocation will be held July 19-22, 2001. For more information or a registration form log on to http://www.YMEN2001.org. You can ring me at +1-763-479-1146 or e-mail me at ymca-ihd@mtn.org.

Andy Zimney
Camp Ihduhapi

I am sure that the title got you curious. I do hope that what follows will not let your interest down but make you more aware of a problem which Y’sdom has been facing since time immemorial. Yes, I am talking about the disappearance of those active Y’s youth of yesteryears who made the future of Y’sdom look so bright. Where are they? I for sure am an unhappy member of this ’club’.  

When we Y’s Youth advance in age we get involved in quite a few things and tend to forget how valuable was the experience each of us had during our formative years in the world of Y’sdom. As most of you know I was very much involved in Y’s activities during 1992 - 96 and 1998 as well. But since the Helsinki youth convocation I haven’t had much contact with Y’s youth or for that matter anyone from Y’sdom. Well, I was never good with contacts. Last month my parents got connected to the cyber world and I visited the Y’s Men home page. I sent a quick hello and something happened - my involvement changed. Internet is indeed a blessing. This gave me further impetus to look more into Y’sdom and think about things we can try.

Getting too old for the IYCs but staying a bit too young for the ICs is a major concern for majority of the 25-30 year olds. It wouldn’t affect me in a big way as I know most of the regulars at the international conventions. Thanks to my term as IYR. What about others? They don’t know anybody. It wouldn’t feel good when you are stuck for four days with a bunch of old people!!  

What if we were to change the old system a bit? As we all know, four days filled with meetings and nothing else is just no fun. Most of the people travel a long way to the meetings and they like to have fun whether they are young or not. What if the IC was also one week long? It is only a question of organisation and costs. What if there were some sight seeing and cultural experience included in the programme?

Getting to know new cultures, meeting new people and thereby enriching ourselves are certainly part of travelling. The idea should never be limited to sitting in a conference hall and listening to long winded speeches. We want to see the world, make everlasting friendships and not just stare at tourist attractions. They are indeed nice, but they mean nothing and are expensive. It is nice to show a picture of the Statue of Liberty, but I would love to tell a story which brought me there. As it is a long one, I won’t tell it now. But most of you know parts of it………That is something meaningful and inspires me for the rest of my life.  

What if we give more of the culture and experiences to the people involved? This way we might be able to preserve their interest in this fine organisation. There are many stories to tell ……..but we have to know what it is that makes some of them so interesting and meaningful. You have to seek a bit to find the truth. But, let me tell you……..you won’t find it in the conference hall. 

Now what? This part is up to you. See whether you have found anything which is true and meaningful in the thoughts scribbled above and if yes think again whether it is something we should or could discuss. And if your answer is yes again I hope you know what to do.

Teemu Koivisto

Contents

Creativity and Innovation

1. Novels are a waste of time. If you want to read something, read non-fiction books.

2. You have to admit that some crooks are very clever.

3. People consider me to be a fastidious dresser. I despise looking shabby.

4. I am a person of very strong convictions; What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong.

5. It doesn’t bother me when my boss hands me vague instructions.

6. Business before pleasure is a hard and fast role in my life.

7. Taking a different route to work is fun, even if it takes longer.

8. Rules and regulations should not be taken too seriously. Most rules can be broken under unusual circumstances.

9. Playing with new ideas is fun, even if it doesn't benefit me in the end.

10. As long as people are nice to me, I don't care why they are nice.

11. When a person writes he should try to avoid the use of unusual words and word combinations.

12. Detective work would have some appeal for me.

13. Crazy people have no good ideas.

14. Writing letters to friends doesn't make sense when there are so many clever greeting cards available in the stores.

15. Pleasing myself means more to me than pleasing others.

16. If you try long enough you will find the true answer to most questions.

Closing Lines of Thought

Tony

Contents

Contents