Monrovia – The International Youth Federation (IYF) has held a three-day conference in the auditorium of the main campus of the University of Liberia to enlighten young people on how to contribute positively to their community and their country at large.
The IYF since its establishment for more than two decades has been engaged in developing the lives of youths to live meaningfully and contribute to their country.
The conference is dubbed the “Clean Mind, Clean City ”. For the three-day, Young-Soub Joung, a South Korean, was able to lecture over 500 young people in Liberia about the power of the mind.
Speaking to journalists at the event, IYF Liberia Victoria H. Wollie, IYF Liberia Head said her team was pleased to have a lecturer from South Korea who she says has vast knowledge when it comes to mind education.
“Today, we have received guests from South Korea who have come to deliver a special lecture called Mind education. We expect to reach out to 500 to 600 Liberian youths so that they can benefit from these kinds of lectures,” she said.
Madam Wollie said: “Our guest speaker is talking about the power of the mind. The speaker is also talking about being able to stop an engine. That is, for our youths to be able to have a break in their hearts -for them to be able to make informed decisions for their lives.”
According to the IYF Liberia Head, the over 500 youths participating in the conference were recruited from various communities, university campuses, and grade schools.
“As you know, nowadays we have many problems in Liberia when it comes to the youths. Many young people are growing up, they have the mind to become doctor, engineer, farmer –they have that kind of mind but at settle time there is a mind which drags them to a negative side and then their dreams that they have term to die,” she said.
Madam Wollie furthers: “All of these happen because they have not developed a strong heart for discipline, to be able to have a break in their hearts and so they are led to different negative things.”
“No one grows up with the mind that I want to be a drug addict, or an alcoholic, or a criminal but at a time in their lives especially during adolescence, their minds drag them,” IYF Liberia Head said.
Madam Wollie is not a youth but she is heading IYF in Liberia. She told journalists that since she joined IYF in 2010 she has been inspired by the mind education.
“Through the mind education, I am motivated that everything is possible,” she said.
Also, Benny Diamond Paye is a member of IYF Liberia Chapter. At the conference, he told journalists that since he met IYF, the group taught him how to compose himself, how to be a leader, and in all, they changed his life for good.
“Today’s conference, the Clean Mind, Clean City” is meant to clean up our minds. Not to use physical things but emotional things, using things that are abstract to go inside the mind to mode it to a better one. And so, at the end of this program I expect to achieve to build up my capacity level as a young person,” Paye said.