International Summer School

August 15-21, 2006 Gloucester,
Great BritainVoices for Change 2006,
International Summer School,
Franklyn Koroma, iEARN Sierra Leone Youth Representative had the honour of attending the Voices of Change 2006 International Summer School from 15-21 August, 2006 in Gloucester, Great Britain. Following the success of the 2005 Voices for Change event in Pune, India, Voices for Change returned to the United Kingdom from the 15 to 21st of August. Located in an outdoor environmentally sustainable conference center called Green and Away near Gloucester, the event was home to 150 young activists from around the world between 16 and 25.
Franklyn Koroma was able to attend due to securing a competitive full registration scholarship as well as financial support from iEARN Sierra Leone and Cafe Society in England. The conference aimed at supporting, inspiring, motivating and increasing skills of young people involved in running community projects, social enterprises, campaigns and youth organisations and to create an international support network of young activists. The week-long summer event combined skills and culture sharing events and workshops run by a mixture of participants and professionals from all over the world. The 2006 themes were Environment, Peace and Conflict, Trade Justice, Minorities, Refugees and Asylum and Health.
Franklyn also had the privelege to meet with and live in the homes of partners at Cafe Society in Hull, England. The film-makers Jon Robson and Murray Clark, together with writer Matt Stephenson, welcomed Franklin to their homes and taught him digitial video media. The trio visited Freetown on May 5th to work with young people in iEARN Sierra Leone on a major digital media project: developing children's skills and helping them to tell their stories.
Franklyn returned to iEARN Sierra Leone feeling more inspired more engaged in social change and looking for more roles to play in making the change and ultimately wanting to 'Change the World! Supporters of Franklyn's participation include Rachel Laurence, summer conference host, and Andrew Benson Greene, Director of iEARN Sierra Leone.