Newspaper Article from Delegate Shitij Bhargava

GYF Delegate Shitij Bhargava of India wrote this article on his experience at the GYF; the article was published in a local Indian newspaper.

The Global Youth Forum or the GYF is one of the events organised annually by the People to People International (PTPI) which is a non-governmental organisation based in Kansas City, USA. The purpose of the organization is to foster peace through understanding with educational, cultural and humanitarian activities.

At the GYF, young achievers ages 13 - 18 from around the world explore various perspectives and skills while also experiencing an exciting new group of diverse people and cultures. This year, the GYF witnessed the participation of about 250 students from more than 16 different countries, and I represented India.

The theme of the GYF this year was "peace and conflict", and we focused on the African country of Uganda. First, we learnt about all sorts of conflicts - individual, social and international. The most interesting thing I noticed was, that all these three levels of conflicts are very similar and sometimes interconnected. In addition, I found that all conflicts are a consequence of lack of proper communication during a misunderstanding. I even made a definition of my own for conflict - "magnification of trivial misunderstanding due to lack of purposeful dialogues".

Then we analyzed the conditions in Uganda, which like some other African countries, is plagued with conflicts for the past 18 years. Even though a plethora of peace talks have been underway, the situation doesn't seem better. So, we tried to think of new ways to stabilize the situation. More specifically, we concentrated on the issue of child soldiers in Uganda, which is the most dreadful part of the conflict. The dispute involves children directly, many of whom have been abducted and forced to serve as soldiers or sex slaves by one of the parties to the conflict. We addressed the problems these children face, and chalked out strategies to help them reintegrate in the society. The most important aspect of the strategy was that we must not treat children as weak, but should cultivate their vigor and inherent optimism, as they can play an important role in rebuilding the society. A former child soldier from Uganda herself came to the GYF, and delivered a speech encompassing all the problems she faced, which was indeed enlightening.

We were also assigned as members of non-governmental organization (NGO) or Civil Society Organization (CSO). We, in groups, made an in-depth study of our respective organizations and its works, and displayed it on a poster. Then we analysed how these works can be synchronized for the most effective results.

Mr. Arun Gandhi (grandson of Mahatma Gandhi) also gave an enlightening speech, highlighting anger as one of the major causes of conflicts, and the importance of patience in peace talks. He backed his views by giving interesting examples from Mahatma Gandhi's life. I felt very proud when I asked a question in hindi to Mr.Arun Gandhi on stage and when I wore the kurta pajama. I appreciated the Indianness within me only when i was away from my motherland.

I had a lot of stereotypes about Americans. I thought that all of them are filthy rich, and very extravagant. I also believed that they are very sophisticated, with an i-pod in one hand, a laptop in another and a fancy mobile in the back pocket. But the reality seemed quite different. Americans seemed to be very friendly, accepting, simple and fun-loving.

The impressions of India were quite good. They considered Indians intelligent and hardworking, and India as a swiftly progressing country. The most surprising thing was that they even knew a few names of Indian actors and films. They knew the name of Aishwarya Rai, though they couldn't pronounce it. A girl from Kazakhastan knew a bit about bollywood films and tried to mimic the dance shown in them.

One of the things I'll never forget is the way people tried to pronounce my name. With the exception of a few, no one out of so many people was able to pronounce my name correctly even after rigorous practice for 4 days. In spite of a scientific, psychological explanation given to me by one of the students, this inability was very hard to understand till I came across it myself, and failed every time to pronounce the name of the girl from China correctly.

In a nutshell, the GYF was a terrific learning experience, strengthening my beliefs in peace, which otherwise were very natural. I learnt a lot about India's image in the world, which I noticed, is very good. I came to know about other countries' cultures and customs, and in the end I have emerged as a more sensitive and confident person determined to make a difference.