From the 8 to 18 Aug. 2006 several events organized by W-CARP took place in Manila, Philippines. Among those events was the International Youth Day (IYD) including a service project, the International Educator Conference (IEC), and the Strategic Alignment Meeting (SAM). W-CARP leaders and members from all around the world participated, including 7 from Europe.

I was chosen to represent Italy for the International Youth Day convention in Manila, Philippines. The whole experience has been very special for me, and especially the time that I was able to spend with Hyun Jin Nim (HJN). Basically my mission here was to represent Italy and report back to my nation what was said and discussed about CARP and youth organizations, to be able to distinguish what information can be used in my country, and since I also have a mission as Jr. STF national field educator, any new directives regarding second generation education.

What I found most interesting here in the Philippines was how much VIP participation they had. One of the first events was the opening ceremony where the deputy mayor of Manila, accompanied by the Philippine Marines firing squad and marching band, officially opened the celebrations and greeted HJN. In all the big events, there was always a UN representative, and famous artists who performed. We even had a private performance by a famous local singer during our conference which was looking at the UN Millennium Development Goals. There was much collaboration between our church and non-church organizations, and I think that was essential for the overall success.

The service project was especially moving. We went to one of the worst slums of Manila to build houses with a catholic based volunteer organization called Gawad Kalinga, which means giving care. The evening before there was a presentation on what we were to do, and they told us that this slum area, before Gawad Kalinga started working there, had 30 unsolved murders per year, and the Philippine police force never entered the community, only the armed forces of the military. After Gawad Kalinga's first year of work in the community, the crime rate went down to zero, and now it's a normal community with many children that seemed to me not to show any signs of the most feared neighborhood of Manila. The organizers explained that they weren't just building houses there, but they were giving dignity back to the people, and I think we were really able to experience that. All the inhabitants were extremely friendly and did their best taking care of us, offering water, inviting us into their one room homes to get shade from the sun and use them for team meetings.

During the actual conferences I discovered many things about our movement in the South-East Asia area, and how much success they are having in places like Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, etc. It was really inspiring to see all these young members so involved, and they get really excited seeing older second generation from other countries get involved in their own country. For them it's a new phenomenon, just as CARP members who don't necessarily know much about True Parents and yet are so enthusiastic about CARP's message is new to me.

This gives me hope for our own countries, that we can follow the examples that are given to us by our South-East Asia brothers and sisters. Of course through the reports I could understand that all this success was not easy and it was the fruit of years of strategic investment initiated by just a few very dedicated people.

I had the opportunity to attend HDH with HJN august 11th, and I really appreciated this intimate meeting with just him and around 40 people in his private quarters. It was during this HDH that HJN gave a clear insight on what his vision is for the next few years until 2008. I personally wanted to use the time with him as a way to build a more personal relationship with him and the True Family in general.

HJN's speech was incredible in a stadium full of young people, around 20,000 people were present. The MC was even a presenter of a famous Philippine TV music chart show, probably at the level of MTV, and they had as guest performers a famous r&b singer Jay-R and then a famous Philippine rock group. The quality level of the whole event was really high and HJN's speech was very clear and simple, notably about family, living for the sake of others, and true love. It was well received and he already announced his intention of doing another rally by 2008, gathering 2 million people in the Philippines.

The International Educators Conference (IEC) was also an eye opener with many reports from chapters and an outline of their strategic planning and how they carried it out. Personally I have to still find a way to apply it in my country, but as a whole, I noticed that the action plan of the movements here in Asia seem to be to take form in a similar way to well-established NGO's, which is actually their goal. We need to be able to learn from successful examples and use it to our advantage.

The Mr. and Miss University pageant was also done with VIP presenters, a panel of VIP judges from senators, an ex-Miss Universe to UN representatives. Entertainment came from the international pageant candidates themselves. Personally I felt that it wasn't so clear how the votes were collated by the judges, but from further enquiries I found out that the candidates were actually evaluated from the very first day of their arrival in the country, in all they were doing, from their participation in the service project to the relationships that they built amongst themselves. This I found to be very interesting, and awards were even given in these categories: Mr. & Miss Friendship and Mr. & Miss Service.

Overall I've basically been blown away by the Philippinos in general; not only those who organized this whole convention, but especially by the carp members and the normal people we met on the street. They are so incredibly friendly and try so hard to make you comfortable that it really humbles me. Their sincerity is really clear and all the effort that they put into opening dialogue with us and wanting to get to know us was constant and came from the heart. I'm really grateful for this opportunity that I was able to receive to join this convention and learn so much from it. I hope to be able to take a lot of useful information and inspiration back to my country and I hope to relive this type of experience again.

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