The conference also popularly known as `Youth Forum’ is organised by the Youth Department of First Assembly of God in Wortmanville, Georgetown. It is scheduled for July 28 to August 2 at Le Meridien Pegasus, in Kingston, according to Ms. Annette Alkins, Secretary of IYC.

Now in its second year, IYC will target 75 churches across the country plus members of 20 organisations that are non-religious.

Alkins said IYC sessions will be conducted between the hours of 09:00hrs and 12 hrs, 13:00hrs and 15:00hrs and 18:30hrs and 21:30hrs to accommodate working adults and students.

Since 1997, the church has been hosting National Youth Camps across the country with an aim to help enrich the lives of young people spiritually, socially, academically and physically, while giving them an opportunity to visit different parts of the country.

In 1997, teenagers were taken to Camp Alpha on the Linden Soesdyke Highway. In 1998, it was President’s College at Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara. In 1999 the youths went to Goshen in Essequibo, and in year 2000, they visited Skeldon, Berbice.

Last year, the leaders in the Youth Department of First Assembly of God decided to switch from camp to conference.

In 2002, the venue of IYC was also Le Meridien, where the participants were instructed in personal development, youth purpose and vision, technology, healthy living and were given talks on political, social, legal, economic and spiritual issues based purely on the Bible.

Alkins said the upcoming IYC is split into four parts: Management Leadership Conference; a Community Project where persons will, on August 1, help repair the children’s playground in the Botanical Gardens. Sports recreation will be held on August 2 when a team from the East Coast will compete against a team from Georgetown in a cricket match, followed by a basketball match in which Linden will compete against Georgetown, both at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue. There will be a Festival of Arts from July 28 to 31 featuring songs, dances, cultural items and drama at Le Meridien Pegasus.

Topics at the conference include: Personal Management and Diplomatic Protocol; Power of Relationships for Management Success; Management Ethics; `I have been chosen: Managing the Mind and Emotions’; and `Handling the Rejection Syndrome’, Managing Money and Making it Work for You; Leadership for Growth and Development and Managing Personal Conflicts.

Speakers at IYC will be Reverend Raphael Massiah, Senior Pastor at First Assembly of God, an international leaders trainer qualified at the Haggai Institute in Maui, Hawaii; Rev. Medroy Brandt, a University of Guyana-trained social worker, a national youth director and senior assistant pastor at First Assembly of God; Rev. Selwyn Sills, a senior information officer and systems analyst at Omai; Phillipa Lee, Project Management Trainer and Country Project Manager of the Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO); Rev. Chetram Lall, a senior financial officer and specialist in Financial Management, and Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Major Wilbert Lee, the officer-in-charge of the Air Corps trained at the Haggai Institute in Hawaii.

Alkins said persons wishing to attend IYC must register at the IYC Secretariat located at First Assembly of God church at L & P D’Urban Street, Wortmanville and pay an overall conference fee of $5,000 or without full registration pay $2,000 to attend only four IYC morning sessions and a small additional fee to attend the sports matches.

For further information persons may visit the IYC website at www.geocities.com/iyc02 or drop their comments or questions via email at iyc02@yahoo.com. (Esther Elijah)