Day 5: Last Day! (by Spencer)

Nov. 9 2009

Suddenly the last day of the conference was upon us. The conference session opened with summaries of our plenary sessions, that detailed various strategies for making impactful change in society. Ralph and I prepared a summary of our groups advocacy session. I told my chocolate bunny joke. You could hear a pin drop. I’m lucky the guy with the cane took the day off. Luckily the presentation went very well with great participation and interest from the audience.

The presentations for our Regional Groups Action Plans were next. The detail and professionalism of the groups was very impressive. Ralph took North American, and I’ll be talking Europe. It was a pleasure to address the entire conference especially the time I took to speak about faith.

The evening finished with a surprise trip to the National Center for Biodiversity. It was pretty late so they might have just taken us to someone’s back yard for all we know. All jokes aside it was gorgeous. Take a look at this swiss cheese plant. I always though Cheese came from milk. Who knew?

The Costa Rican Minister of Peace wrapped up the conference with a heartfelt story from his child hood and his dreams that the children of the future be as fortunate as he was. Then it was party time! We were treated to a traditional Costa Rican dance and music, followed by a performance from a Youth Symphony Orchestra. The finaly was an incredible medley of Michael Jackson hits, absolutely unreal. As the hour approached 10pm and Ralph and my stomachs had nearly digested themselves it was time for a sumptuous dinner, followed by the premier of the disarmament campaign video. And if you can believe it even more entertainment. The night ended early for some and did not end for others, regardless a night to remember for all.

Europe team lead by Spencer

at the conference

Python snake

Swiss Cheese leaf