Prairie Summer

The YouthCaN Med 2006 Conference was Monday, April 10th at The American Community School in Beirut. We had 13 schools presenting 29 projects from across the country on everything from solar energy and magnetic fields to water pollution and the impact of tourism on environment.

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During the conference we had several ongoing activities including creating souvenirs from recycled materials, a group banner for everyone to sign a ‘create-a-slogan’ board designed to raise awareness and help keep Lebanon beautiful.

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Several representatives from the U.S. Embassy and the Ministry of Education attended the event and presented certificates to the students during the closing ceremonies. The students also prepared several skits, a video montage recounting the evolution of YouthCaN Med and a Debke (the traditional Lebanese dance).
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We also had live videoconferences with the YouthCaN conferences in NYC and Cairo. I was the Master of Ceremonies and was so busy running around I didn’t see many of the presentations but everyone had a lot of fun and I hear the workshops were great!

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YouthCaN Med had our first 2006 hike on Sunday, March 26 to the Ehden Nature Reserve in northern Lebanon. We had the most beautiful weather and three buses of students from all over the country (I think about 50-60 in total). I was excited because it is the first time I have been in that region and I got to see the famous Lebanese Cedars!

We left on the early side, especially since that day was the same day we turned the clocks forward and hour for Daylight Savings Time, so although we met at 8:30 it was really 7:30. Luckily everyone REMEMBERED to change their clocks and we left on time!

Two of the buses left from Beirut and drove about an hour and a half north, where we met with a third group of students and headed to the trails. We hiked up for about an hour, encountering one cute lizard, tons of beautiful flowers, trees and assorted mosses and greenery. Spring is well underway here and there are sprouting flower bulbs and buds everywhere.

Once we reached a high enough altitude, we also began to see the Cedars. And snow! Which of course resulted in several snowball fights. Along the trail there was also a natural spring where fresh water flows right out of the mountain and they say it is clean (I hope so, since we all drank from it!)

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As the H5N1 ‘Bird Flu’ virus spreads around the world, people are wondering how concerned to be and what precautions should be taken to be safe. There are many myths and fears surrounding the virus and the cautions of a pandemic and to address these issues head on, the HBS Ecology Club in Saida, Lebanon, organized a seminar at their school.

The active YouthCaN students prepared a PowerPoint presentation and invited three doctors to discuss the realities of bird flu. The guest speakers presented and then held a lively question-and-answer session.

It was also Teachers’ Day and the students surprised the teachers with a song and mugs containing a “Happy Teachers’ Day” card.

While the seminar was conducted in Arabic it was good practice for my listening skills and after the session I met with a few groups of YouthCaN students from different schools. We discussed their projects and it was neat to actually meet them. I think it helped them to be able to ask questions and put a face with my name, plus get them more excited about the upcoming conference (April 10!)

Here are some pictures from the seminar, which was held at the Bahaa Hariri Complex in Saida.

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Excitement is growing as we continue to plan and there were 19 people at the latest meeting.

The first hike will be to Ehden Preserve on Sunday, March 26, moved one week so it will not interfere with exams in some schools.

Earth Day activities will be focused on Saturday, April 29 because April 22 is Easter weekend. We will initiate national awareness actions and campaigns that schools across the country can unify behind and participate in to promote NO SMOKING INDOORS. This project will be presented at the YouthCaN conference but activities will continue throughout the year.

Valley International School (VIS) has decided their local river clean-up day will be held Friday, March 31. The river along their school has become polluted and they want to clean it, but a similar campaign was undertaken three years ago and now the river is again in need of a clean-up initiative. To combat this, the other key aspect of their YouthCaN project is going to focus on awareness. This information campaign will help everyone at their school understand the impact they are having on the river and how to maintain it once the cleaning has taken place.

The Hajj Bahaa School Ecology Club is hosting a seminar on bird flu and its impact on our food and eating habits. It will be held Friday, March 10 at the Bahaa Hariri Complex in Saida from 10:00 to 1:00 and everyone is invited to attend.

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Moving on to conference planning, we outlined plans for the opening including a video presentation, speeches and a skit. These activities will each be coordinated by different schools and students. The skit is building on the internationally selected YouthCaN logo, which is a crystal ball, and will feature a fortune teller looking into the future of the earth. We also began planning the closing ceremony, which will hopefully include a presentation, awarding of certificates, announcements and a folk dance.

Videoconferences with Egypt and the U.S. will also be a part of this year’s conference and we discussed designing a combined activity with students in New York that students can discuss during the live videoconference. Topic ideas for this will be discussed at the next meeting.

I have also designed and distributed registration forms for the conference, which for the first time will be all electronically submitted. This will make the process much easier and save trees too!

Saving the *fun* for last, we also voted on the eight T-shirt designs that were submitted. The winning logo is this one….

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And our next meeting is March 23!

We had our first planning meeting for the YouthCaN Med conference in April and it was a very energizing hour! It was great to finally meet some of the people I have been participating in the online course with and to start building ideas for the conference.

We had 16 people at the meeting (Ramsey, Simon, Zena, Mohammed, Mahmoud, Eliane, Prairie, Heba, Majid, Rosine, Hiba, Salwa, Ralph, Leila, Jenni, Seroun) and after introductions we got right down to the exciting planning agenda.

The hikes were first on the list. Simon and Ramsey have agreed to coordinate the first one and it will be on Sunday, March 19 in the North. I have not been anywhere in the North yet so I am excited and I am really looking forward to these activities!

The second date I told everyone to put on their calendars is April 22, which is Earth Day. We discussed possibilities to commemorate the date and are going to discuss ideas again at the next meeting and the teachers from Valley International School suggested doing a river clean-up near their school that day. It is possible that we could coordinate several activities at different schools.

Teachers and students shared where they were in the planning stages of their projects, then we discussed the conference. It is possible the date will be an Islamic holiday so we had to address what we will do if that happens. Most people said they would be willing to come but teachers are going to check with their students and we will revisit the issue at the next meeting.

We then talked about the design for YouthCaN Med T-shirts that will incorporate the global YouthCaN quote that was selected for this year, which is “Be positive be alive. . . make a change and see it with your eyes”. Student design submissions will be accepted until March 2 and then we will vote.

Ideas for the conference opening were also discussed. Four of the students are going to work on an overview of the previous YouthCaN conferences either in the form of a video or PowerPoint presentation. Other ideas are still needed for the rest of the opening.

During the conference students have a ‘free’ session that is devoted to working on some form of ongoing activity. What should it be this year? We discussed a range of ideas including an arts and crafts project that uses recycled materials to make keychains/souvenirs and we will build on this idea at the next meeting. Rosine proposed to take the lead on this activity.

We also talked about conference and presentation application forms and potential seminars, including one on bird flu and food safety tentatively scheduled in March. More details are coming. I am sensing a theme. Looks like we have a lot of work to do before our next meeting, which is Friday, March 3, but we made a lot of progress too!

Lebanon has been an active participant in YouthCaN and has hosted a yearly YouthCaN Med regional conference with regional and international participation, including a live video-conference with the NYC YouthCaN conference participants, since 2001.

YouthCaN is a project for students to engage in and discuss environmental issues and solutions. Students select topics of their choice to research and implement local action to address those issues from awareness campaigns to river cleanups and recycling programs. They discuss and collaborate with their peers in Lebanon and around the world throughout the year and present their projects at the annual conference.

In 2006 we are planning to restart some of the ongoing activities, especially the hikes, which were disrupted by the Cedar Revolution and instability that dominated the country throughout the last year.

The YouthCaN Med online course began in January and will run through March 16th. I am participating in the course, which has 22 active participants, and I have also met with several of the teachers at their schools. Many schools that have been participating in YouthCaN for years are continuing to be active this year and quite a few new teachers and schools are planning their first projects. The combination offers a great dynamic; and if the enthusiasm of the teachers is any measure the projects are going to be excellent.

This year’s annual conference will be on April 10 at the American Community School in Beirut. I am in charge of facilitating the event, which is entirely coordinated by the students, and the first major planning meeting for is Friday, February 17.