August 11, 2005
Hello from Vancouver - Reporting on the
Canada-US Servas Conference
One of the things I do for the website is I continuously search
out individuals and organizations that have accomplished unusual
things or made special contributions. Through my research I had
come across an organization called SERVAS,
an organization of hosts and travellers world-wide throughout 130
countries that intends to foster peace through intercultural exchange.
Hosts throughout the member countries generally receive travellers
for 2 days (or longer if they wish) and accommodate them in their
home. Sometimes if they don't have the facilities, the hosts take
their guests on tours of their local city or have lunch or dinner
with them, in which case they are referred to as day-hosts. Many
times the travellers become part of the family, helping out with
chores around the house, or even being invited to participate in
family reunions or other local activities with their hosts.
The Servas Conference participants at UBC
The really unique thing about Servas, something that sets it apart
from other hospitality exchanges, is that the organization's stated
mission is to foster international peace, tolerance and understanding
through personal connections. Every traveller and every host is
interviewed by a volunteer to ensure that the individual's philosophy
is consistent with the organization, and that the traveller is indeed
prepared to undertake a cultural exchange with the hosts, rather
than just looking for free accommodation. Following the interview,
the traveller receives an official signed and stamped Letter of
Introduction which must be presented to the host as proof of the
screening process.
Travelling with SERVAS is definitely not a concept for freeloaders,
but a dedicated community of like-minded people who wish to establish
human connections across the globe and improve global relations
one contact at a time. After I completed my interview
with Patrice Samara from the US
Office of Servas, she suggested I might want to come out to
Vancouver to cover the first Canadian-US Servas Conference. I had
never been out to the Canadian West Coast, and I found the concept
of Servas very intriguing, so off I went and used my Airmiles to
get myself out to Vancouver.
The youth group presents at the conference
The conference officially started at 5 pm on Friday, August 5.
One of the first conference events was a welcoming greeting by a
local First Nations elder who symbolically welcomed us onto his
beach, using a metaphor for the ocean-front land that had been the
holy ground of his fore-fathers. As part of the ceremony a woman
was spreading eagle feathers on the crowd, sharing one of the most
treasured possessions among native people, a true welcoming gesture.
Other program points of the conference included a sharing of experiences
about peace and travel, personal experiences of hosting or being
a guest, a very interesting exploration of what it means to be from
Canada or the United States, as well as youth perspectives and experiences
in Servas. The organization is making a targeted effort to reach
out to young people to spread the message of peace through travel
to the next generation.
I spent the majority of my time at the conference interviewing
individual Servas members and will be completing more indepth interviews
with some of these individuals over the next few weeks. I had a
chance to spend 2 to 3 hours with 5 different people and I was truly
astounded, not only at their travel experience, but at their dedication
to this organization and to making a positive contribution to our
world in general.
One of the women I talked to, a marathon runner, volunteers by
taking a group of blind people out to run on a regular basis. A
young volunteer from Argentina is dedicating a huge amount of his
personal time and energy to build a no-cost language exchange program
for young Servas members in countries like Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico,
Brazil, Canada and the United States. Through this initiative young
people will have the opportunity to stay with other Servas members
free of charge and learn English, Spanish, Portuguese or French
at no cost from volunteer teachers who are also Servas members.
Patrice from US Servas and moi
Another very energetic Servas member from San Francisco volunteers
her time to help the local homeless community and to participate
in a variety of peace-building initiatives. I also talked to a nice
couple from New Jersey, both teachers, who spread the message of
peace to an audience of young people and they are also involved
in the Sierra Club, to help save our environment. Another interesting
person I talked to is a diversity consultant and she helps organizations
develop the necessary sensitivities for working with a multi-cultural
workforce.
Over the last few years I have been spending a lot of my time reflecting
on the state of the world, and in light of recent developments like
911, the War in Iraq, the Madrid train bombings and the recent London
transit bombings, it is painfully obvious that we are living in
very violent times. We are in dire need of people who dedicate a
good portion of their lives towards making this place a better world,
towards building peace and understanding, and exactly this is Servas'
stated mission.
I admit that I have been losing faith in humanity over the last
few years, but going out to Vancouver and seeing 200 people, all
idealists and active volunteers, was a truly wonderful experience.
It restored my confidence and my optimism, and I felt embraced by
these many wonderful enlightened spirits. The conference and the
people I connected with will remain in my thoughts for a long time,
and it goes without saying that I will be joining Servas myself.
I started the conference as a writer, but I left as a friend.
Useful Links:
Servas
International to direct you to more than 130 member countries
Servas USA
Servas Canada
Related Articles:
Presenting: Pablo Chufeni
- Servas member, champion of youth causes for Servas
Presenting: Mary
Jane Mikuriya - Servas traveller, volunteer for peace and social
justice
Presenting: Helga
Smith - Servas member, Marathon runner, conqueror of Mt. Kilimanjaro
Presenting: Robert
& Bette Allekotte - Servas members & family travellers
Preview: Robert
& Bette Allekotte - Servas members & family travellers
Preview: Gilbert
Sherr - Servas traveller & cultural researcher
Preview: Mary
Jane Mikuriya -Servas traveller, volunteer for peace & social
justice
Preview: Helga
Smith - Servas member, Marathon runner, conqueror of Mt. Kilimanjaro
Preview: Pablo
Chufeni - Servas member, Champion of youth causes in Argentina
Coverage of the first Canada-US
Servas Conference in Vancouver
Interview with Patrice Samara
from the US Office of Servas
An interview with another global volunteer organization: Doctors
without Borders
The story of Toronto woman Danielle Lafond who mortgaged her home
to start a community
development organization in Peru
The story of Mony Dojej and her 5000
km Walk for Peace from Rome to Jerusalem
My reflections on the day of the London
Transit Bombings
Here you can read my other travel stories from this
trip to Victoria and Vancouver
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