Voice of the Youth Himela Bahadoorsingh 29 September 2000 Revered Chancellor, respected elders, and fellow youth. Good Morning. I am honored today to present before you - not only one voice of a youth, but collectively, the voices of all the youth present here before such a prestigious gathering. The youth forum consisted of over 40 youth representing more than 15 countries of the world: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Venezuela, Uruguay, Mexico, America, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Slovenia, and Qatar. Altogether, we were identified as private investigators - The reason for this title, is to examine "Who Am I?" before we figure out "where am I going?" We need to reflect before we respond. Look inwards before searching for the answers outside ourselves. Hence, the first day of the youth forum was spent on self-introspection and asking the question,

What is the purpose and value of my education?

One of our first missions as private investigators was to integrate values into modern music. The creativity and energy generated was a clear indication of "information to transformation" in action.

No longer should we, the youth, be referred to as "generation X" an unknown variable. For we have an identity. No longer should we be referred to as "generation Y" because we have access to have unlimited sources of information.

We are a generation accountable for our actions and our actions speak louder than words.

We are, generation SMILE!

Our first of three talks emphasized transformation of oneself through service.

This is accomplished through 3H - The unity of Education for the head, love from the heart, and using the hands to serve.

It is only when these three, head, heart and hands are brought together with love, that we can inspire.

The next speaker inspired us by sharing his experiences on how he himself was transformed through acts of Love and Kindness.

Through this transformation of Love, He illustrated how he was able to use past experiences, to in turn, give back to the community.

As the first speaker spoke about Service, the second about Inspiring through love, the final speaker introduced the concept of SMILE - An acronym for Serving mankind inspires love everywhere.

With this concept in mind, the youth made action plans with the hopes that we will return to our respective countries and apply our knowledge, skills, and talents towards serving our communities and being an inspiration to others.

Therefore, the concept of SMILE is to Serve and Inspire.

Wherever we go, whatever we do, we should always remember to smile.

When we think of SMILE, we think of serving, motivating, inspiring, and loving in order to attain human excellence.

The ultimate goal SMILE, then, is to encourage all youth to set up service projects in their respective countries.

Through our small discussion groups, we came to the conclusion that whether aspiring as doctors, computer engineers, musicians, creative writers, educators or as students, we must learn to infuse values and love in all we do.

On the final day, we shared our action plans, and our commitment and dedication towards giving back to our communities.

I would just like to share a couple with you:

Coming from the west:
A group of youth came up with the plans to integrate music and movement for motivating the elderly.

And from the East:
Three youth proposed plans to assist overexploited construction workers by providing nutritional food and clean clothing.

In conclusion, the motive for this platform was for us to inspire one another through the basic concept of SMILE.

Keep in mind, plans are only dreams until they are put into action…

Remember SMILE - Serving Mankind Inspires LOVE Everywhere.

To the Chancellor, I would like to offer on behalf of the youth, 46 SMILE action plans.

To the world, We offer you ray of HOPE through the notion of SMILE.

Thank you.