Issue 10 - Final Edition – Wednesday 9 August
Only the beginning...
Julie Thorpe
So our time together has come to an end. The time has passed so quickly with not enough minutes in the day to cram in all the activities, entertainment and friendship-making.
At the Opening Ceremony we listened to a message from Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, urging you as young people to become the generation which really makes a difference.
Our world faces so many problems that often it feels that anything we do is just one tiny drop of water in an overwhelming ocean. We are only 5000 people in a world of 6 billion.
But we have shown how it is possible for people from all over the world – from different backgrounds and different cultures – to live together peacefully and to build an image of the world as we would like it to be. At Global Village everyone has made a contribution and every contribution has been valued.
We have worked hard to learn from each other and we have strived to keep our footprint on the earth as small as possible. We have debated, argued, sometimes even agreed to differ. We have smiled, danced, sung, laughed and played together too. Everyone has learnt a lot and many young people here have developed their self-esteem, self-awareness, and self-confidence to the point that their parents might not recognise them when they get home!
Now we leave the camp behind, we still have work to do.
How can we bring about a peaceful world when many of our leaders seem intent on fueling conflict and war? How can we feed the world when trade rules manipulate world farming? How can we stop climate change when some deny that it exists? How can we give children everywhere free education when developing countries are saddled with un-repayable debts?
5000 young people in a field. No political control, no financial influence, no media power, no armed forces… just 5000 committed minds, 5000 pairs of hands, 5000 caring hearts.
But those hearts and minds can be a most powerful force for change.
Each one of you can make a difference. You can lobby your political representatives. You can organise campaigns. You can set up projects in your local communities.
You can choose to put fair-trade products in your shopping basket.
Set up a mediation scheme in your school. Get the Coke vending machine kicked out of your Sports Centre. Boycott Nestlé. Demonstrate against the arms trade. Help raise money for health and water projects.
Challenge prejudice in your home town. Switch lights off.
Build on the international friendships you have made here. Start your own Fear Brigade… keep on keeping on. Remember – this is only the beginning!