‘Dream the future’ was the slogan for Serve the City’s first Youth Forum, a phrase that carried the weight of hope and promise as volunteers gathered in Brussels for the weekend. The forum brought together volunteers from cities across Europe to discuss how we can navigate Serve the City’s unique challenges today and shape a vision for its future.‘
The forum began with ice-breaker games and conversations over a warm, tasty meal, made by Lynn from STC International. We had the chance to get to know volunteers and Serve the City members from across Europe, and a bond formed simply because we were all there together, ready to contribute to and engage with topics close to our hearts.
On the second day of the conference, we were treated to opening talks by Serve the City founders Carlton and Shannon Deal. It was amazing to hear how the organisation was formed and how it still holds dear the same values it began with. One unique aspect of Serve the City is that, despite being spread far and wide across the world, it still feels like an organisation compact enough for volunteers to meet, get to know each other, and make an impact. The day was packed with discussions and workshops on topics exploring what challenges volunteers face, how we can build a more sustainable environment with STC, and how to grow the volunteer base in our respective cities. Ideas abounded as everyone had their unique perspectives and experiences to share. That diversity made for rich conversations, and we ended the day with clear objectives for what we envisioned for STC’s future.
Of course, the weekend wasn’t just about discussing what we could do, but also about putting our plans into action. We took our ideas and objectives and turned them into a youth manifesto, the main goal of the third and final day of the forum. The manifesto was made up of 5 aspects: collaboration, visibility, accessibility, belonging, and sustainability. We didn’t just consider how STC could improve; we also outlined a practical approach to bringing our vision for the organisation’s future to life. Another main objective of the last day was to vote in our youth representative to the board of STC, the person who would take our ideas forward and be the voice of our manifesto. Serve the City Paris’s very own, Zuzanna Houjeiri, won the election and was voted in as the youth representative! (We’re all very proud).
All in all, the youth forum lived up to its promise of dreaming the future. We went back to our respective cities with fresh ideas, new perspectives, and a drive to put into action everything we discussed. With our new manifesto as our framework, it’ll be incredibly interesting to see how each city moves forward to bring about the future of STC we envisioned together.
By Amina Waheed
