Over the course of the past summer, Baha'i communities around the world organized a total of 114 youth conferences attended by tens of thousands of young people, including 7 from right here in the Gorge. The purpose of the conferences was to foster consultation on themes such as "the characteristics inherent to the period of youth, the historical contribution of young people to the transformation of society, the responsibilities of the present generation of youth, the society-building power of the Bahá’í Teachings, and the importance of faith and tenacity to a life of service."
After the conferences, the participants returned to their homes animated with a new sense of purpose:
The response of the youth has been remarkable - they have wholeheartedly embraced this goal, now extending their conversations beyond the conferences, and implementing the plans formulated together, to effect the material and spiritual transformation of their own neighbourhoods and villages.
(see: Youth arise to serve)
The conversations that began at these conferences are now being revisited in a series of videos which are being distributed through the Baha'i World News Service. The videos are available at http://news.bahai.org/community-news/youth-conferences/video.html and it is possible to sign up for email updates as new videos are posted.