Iona Pacific Youth
Iona Pacific Youth
Iona Pacific’s inauguration marked a very special day not just for the Centre, but for Vancouver and its various ethno-cultural and religious communities. It was extremely inspiring for us to see leaders from the Aboriginal communities, Rabbis, Imams, a Bishop, a Priest, a Minister, community leaders, and a City Councillor come together and speak as one voice: the voice that believes in mutual collaboration between different faiths to serve the community as a whole. We found ourselves touched by the mutual acceptance and respect everyone had for one another. The energy and excitement in the room was electrifying and building off each other’s energy and passion was what really stood out for us the most. As the Iona Pacific Youth group we are constantly learning and growing. After the inauguration, we have grown closer together as a group and it has become clearer how important our role is going to be in inspiring others to bridge differences and work towards common goals.
This day marked the beginning of what is going to be a long yet exciting process of bridging communities together. It was a tremendous first step because the first bridges between ourselves and everyone at the inauguration were built. As young leaders it was very reassuring to see that everyone embraced our initiative and wanted to help in whatever way possible. Iona Pacific Centre provides to us the opportunity to use our skills and enthusiasm to engage in various projects aimed at work on social justice issues. Through Rabbi Dr. Daum’s guidance and support we will be co-creating solutions as an inter-religious group. We hope our inter-religious approach to complex social issues can become a model to other undergraduate students. The Centre is going to play a big role in shaping our lives as future leaders as we have so much to learn and work at, but knowing that we have a strong foundation behind us allows us to stay confident that we are being steered in the right direction.
Please visit the Iona Pacific website for more information about the Centre.
