From 1985 – 19889 Legacy International offered a series of presentations and discussions on interfaith understanding, regional conflicts, and environmentally sustainable development known as the Global Viewpoints Forum. Over the years, Legacy President and Founder, J.E. Rash, has gathered experts, policy makers and religious leaders to discuss current critical issues of development in Washington, DC under the Global Viewpoints moniker. As part of Legacy’s 40th anniversary celebrations, we are happy to announce the return of the Global Viewpoints Forum.
On Thursday May 3rd, 2018 as part of the Emerging Young Leaders Award program, the Global Viewpoints Forum returned to Washington, DC with a facilitated panel discussion on youth engagement and volunteering.
Panel speakers included the Honorable Martin Lancaster – former member of congress, Antoine Battle of ServeDC, Darlene Slaughter of United Way, and Neka Anosika, – AmeriCorps Alum). In addition to the ten Emerging Young Leaders, attendees included local nonprofit leaders, AmeriCorps member, volunteers, and community members.
Panelists answered questions about best practices for engaging youth and community members, some of their professional successes and challenges, and how they prioritize their work. They also spent time taking questions from the audience on how to be successful in their own youth engagement endeavors.
Each of the speakers offered a final piece of advice:
- Nneka Anosike “Don’t lose sight of why you started – don’t stretch yourself too thin – don’t compare yourself to others – we are all just characters in a story, things happen without our control.”
- Antoine Battle “Aspire to inspire, we are not only here to empower people now, but to better civil society for future generations. You rise by lifting others. The important people you need to network with are your peers. Don’t lose contact with the people who are right in this room – plan to work and work to plan, go beyond a vision, and keep doing and don’t ever give up.”
- Darlene Slaughter “You have two choices in life – excuses and results, and excuses don’t count. Look at the world through the lens of love and know that you make a difference everyday, even as small as a smile. It may be small for you but large for someone else.”
- Hon. Martin Lancaster “Remember you can’t do it all yourselves. Highly motivated andaccomplished young people may be tempted to think you can do it all. Learn to delegate and engage other people in your passion and identify a mentor.”
Legacy International’s next Global Viewpoint Forum will focus on the Sustainable Development Goals on Gender Violence and will be held on Thursday May 10, 2018 at George Washington University.
Featured speakers include Dr. Karen McDonnell, Professor at George Washington University: “Behavior Change Communication Programs for the Prevention and Treatment of GVB: Examples of Evidence-Based interventions from the US and other Countries.”; and Dr. Amita Vyas, Professor at George Washington University: “Effective Storytelling and Media Campaigns: Girl Rising’s We Rise Social Media Campaign & Gender-Sensitization Program.”
Future Global Viewpoints Forums are scheduled throughout 2018 and 2019. Some will be open to the public or streamed online.