The
morning plenary session in the gym began with an
icebreaker and moved into a values auction, complete with
a fiddler and an auctioneer. Each delegate had a $1000 to
spend on their favourite values. A few of the items up
for auction were:
a
year with all of your needs being met
a
new car every year
knowing when and how you will die
finding a cure for cancer.
All of
the delegates were given an opportunity to participate,
and bid on the items that they most valued. The purpose
of this activity was to have fun while examining the
values that underlie bids. Each bidder had a bidding
limit of $1000 to be spent on at least three values with
a minimum bid of $50 required.
" The
auction was a lot of fun, it felt like I was in a real
auction with the auctioneer yelling out bids... I think
that it should have been a bit more organized, but it was
great".
The
results showed the top three are all global issues and/or
concerns, while the bottom three are much more
materialistic. Each of the top three were bid on by
40-50% of the delegates, however there is obviously still
a very wide range of values which were important to the
delegates.
This
activity stimulated a discussion within their breakout
groups about values, what their values mean to them, and
how they prioritize their values in their own lives.
The
afternoon session was filled with facilitators sharing
personal stories about the obstacles they have overcome
in their lives.
The panel
was composed of Lanny, Dan, and Kaitlyn. Each had very
different stories: Lanny talked about moving from one
country to another due to violence. Dan recounted how
others react to his unconventional family decisions, and
Kaitlyn spoke about sexuality. To get up on stage in
front of more than 150 people and to share such personal
experiences with people you don't really know took a lot
of guts, which makes us believe that the panelists are
very admirable and should be commended for their
contribution.
Lanny
spoke about her sadness for her people, and her anger
towards the people who made her leave her country, and
who hurt her family. Lanny said she is trying to stay
true to her values of love and forgiveness, but it is
hard when she harbours so much anger. She also shared
struggles of trying to explore what values are of
importance to her and why she finds them important.
Kaitlyn
shared a very personal story about her sexuality and how
she was not sure of how to classify it. She explained how
she explored different options of how to classify
herself, but none seemed to work. Sharing her experience
of having to tell her parents of her sexuality was
powerful and moving for many delegates. Kaitlyn inspired
a lot of young people with her speech which was evident
later on that evening when she held a workshop called "
Sexuality 101. Kaitlyn's workshop was an enriching
experience for people that attended the session. She
modelled bravery, and showed everyone that understanding,
tolerance, and education can overcome fear. Ultimately
this is a message that will impact on each
individual.