Lauren Prather participated in the Shinhidaka, Japan student exchange in 2016. She also participated in the Sister Cities International Youth Leadership Summit in 2017.
My Experience at the Youth Leadership Summit
As a kid, I had always felt a magnetic pull to the globe and its vastness. Last summer I was lucky enough to visit Shinhidaka, Japan with the Lexington Sister Cities. A year later I sat on a plane taking a leap of faith once again to participate in the Youth Leadership Summit in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The
Summit focused on fish and wildlife sustainability in a global world. We
learned that business and the environment are a constant balancing act. With
none of us knowing the exact right way to work though the problem of sustainability we met
different conservationists who helped us fully understand the issue and different ways of addressing it in a global society.
Armed
with our new-found knowledge we headed in to our State Department based
negotiation, where we got placed into random groups. I ended up in the U.N more specifically The Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which in my slightly biased
mind was the best group. We worked together as a team to negotiate between the
groups to come to a fair and rewarding conclusion for each of the parties
involved.
The
whole event concluded with a lovely dinner and dance party; where I was able to
meet the Sister Cities Kentucky delegation. We danced
late into the night, happily losing our voices. Together we watched how the different
delegations participating had bonded, my roommate from the Bahamas and I
dancing alongside our friend from Italy.
The
Summit showed me that a Global mindset starts locally, and being involved in
your local Sister Cities is a great way to effect real change in your
community. I believe that my experiences with the Sister Cities have already
changed me for the better, and I can’t wait to see how they will shape me in
the future.
Giving Tuesday begins tomorrow if you would like to donate to help students like Lauren participate in the student exchange program.
Please visit our website to learn more and make a donation.
