[ Don't forget to join the Virtual Summit in the morning for Jeffrey Sachs and our panel on environmental sustainability in the afternoon. See the posted items on the event page on Facebook to download a guide on how to join. ]

Opening Session - Tuesday 19th August

Sarah-Jo Dawson - IYPF and IYPS organisaing committee

• Delegates from over 25 countries, including Engineers, IT professionals, Journalists, Educationalists etc.
• Idea of conference is to be really interactive - use all the keys skills and experience of delegates, develop peer-to-peer culture
• Having a more specific topic for the conference was considered but was decided to keep it more open to include all the varies skill of professionals in the network
• The teams feels that the geographical and skill breadth of young professionals involved means we can offer much to help

Professor Tony Ridley - Commonwealth Engineers Council, Patron of IYPF

• The Commonwealth Engineers Council has held meetings at the same time as CHOGM since 1997, when 25 young commonwealth engineers met hosted by CEC so that young engineers had an outlet to decision makers of the world - send a declaration to the heads of government
• Important to find potential political outlets in order to achieve what you wish to achieve
• CEC continued the tradtion of hosting young enginners every years in the same city as the CHOGM, and in 2001 young commonwealth professionals met. In 2001 IYPF was created from this Brisbane meeting
• 25 engineers has morphed into a network of young professional from over 100 countries and diverse backgrounds, but retains a focus on poverty, sustainability and advocacy
• 'Never be afraid to demand to be heard'

Cameron Neil - IYPF CEO

• IYPF was launched in 2001 to carry forward the dreams, ambitions and goals of the young professionals involved in the Summits
• Aims to keep people involved in making the world a better place after they leave university and join the real world of employment and families. Realise as you get older you colleagues and peers are doing increasingly amazing things - aims to tap into these skills and resources
• Together have impact to make significant impact on the world
• Theories of change, need Awareness, Action and Association - more powerful when working in a group
• The IYPS Dream. Signed by 120 delegates in 2001 to represent the world we want to live in
• The Summit outcomes - some documents - primarily about delegates getting what they want from the summit
• The Summit is kept intimate to give everyone a chance to interact and connect - get involved

--
Compiled by Susan Long, IYPS 08 Volunteer

Edited and published by Cameron Neil

God didn't promise days without pain,
laughter without sorrow,
or sun without rain,
But He did promise strength for the day,
comfort for the tears,
and light for the way.

If God brings you to it,
He will bring you through it.

A little girl and her father were crossing a bridge.
The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter:
"Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don't fall into the river." The little girl said:
"No, Dad. You hold my hand."
"What's the difference?" Asked the puzzled father.
"There's a big difference," replied the little girl.
"If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand go. But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go."

In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond..So hold the hand of the person whom you love rather than expecting them to hold yours...

I know that this blog was supposed to be about my road to the marathon, but today's entry is not really about running--more like my lack of running these days.  At the moment I just feel so overwhelmed, useless, and all round tired (emotionally and mentally more than physically).  I haven't slept more than two nights in my own bed since July 29th and won't sleep in my own bed again until August 25th.  My diet is thrown off and I can't eat where or when I want.  Am just worried about if I will actually fulfil my goal and my dream at this point.  Agh am way too emotional.

I run away when faced with things I don't want to understand. I literally run away, taking my shoes off and dashing down a street to cry somewhere where people can't see me. I have done all my life. I am determined, however, that tonight will be the last time I literally run away because it never solves any problems and always causes me more.



I get angry at silly things and when I'm tired and/or stressed my anger gets out of control and I do things that hurt other people. I also do things that hurt myself. Neither of these are good situations and I don't want to be this person anymore. I was telling Adam last night in an email how much I need to learn patience and I think possibly self-control needs to be added to that too.



I am passionate and intense and while this can be a huge positive in the areas I want to work in, it's been hugely draining for the other person in many past relationships. I don't know how to deal with this.



I expect a lot from certain people and am easily upset when they're not there for me. This makes me a nightmare friend sometimes. For other friends I am scared of letting them in because they have so much else to deal with - it feels like my problems will only weigh them down.



I like to think I'm strong and mature but often I feel the complete opposite.



I try very hard to be perfect and fail miserably all the time and seem to take this failure far too personally. If I was meant to be perfect, I wouldn't be going through the mess of being human, right God?



I let people take advantage of me because I'd rather do that than compromise friendships and this makes me a bit bitter sometimes. I need to be a little more careful and almost selfish sometimes.



I guess this list could go on but I wanted to write what I was thinking so I'd have marker in the sand for this . . . and maybe one day someone will look at it and realise they're not the only one who screws up and occasionally feels like they fail at life.



Tomorrow I go to Paris for the beginning of my second summer holiday but these are the thoughts that are clouding my mind. I wish I had all the answers for being happy, and strong, and slow to anger, and everything else, but I guess it's the learning these things through a slow, and rather painful, process that makes us the people we are.

If you ever find yourself in Austin, Texas definitely check out Zilker Park for its great running trails. Beautiful routes, great water fountains, and even a couple of showers to wet your head if you are too hot! Fantastic! Did my 10km tempo run there (although not too sure if it was really tempo...)

Even a statue of Stevie Ray Vaughn to check out along the way...

Here's further proof that the simplest tools often make the greenest sense. For making woodstoves that save 43,000 tons of wood each year, the CEO of a green business in India won the top honors at the Ashden Awards held in London recently. Svati Bhogle helms TIDE, which makes efficient woodstoves and kilns especially for small industries, stoves renowned for conserving 30 percent of fuel. TIDE and its 10,000 products are also directly credited for having improved working conditions for 110,000 workers.

The Ashden Awards iis known as the "Green Energy Oscars" and recognizes and rewards local communities for utilizing sustainable energy. For her win, Bhogle received £40,000.

For more details of the story check out:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/080619/world/britain_india_energy_climate_environment_1

Training for this marathon will not only involve me doing a lot of running distance-wise, but will also involve me doing a lot of running in hotel gyms. Had my first hotel treadmill experience--considered running outside, but is super humid here in San Antonio and have no clue where to run, so just decided to bite the bullet and run in the hotel gym (Holiday Inn Riverwalk in San Antonio= not the best gym)....But I managed to do the 6m I was supposed to do tonight and also managed to calculate what 6kms is in miles...well, had some help with that...otherwise known as conversion calculator.

Apparently by the time this marathon training is over I will have run from Toronto to Quebec City which according to Google Maps is 796 kilometers. Kind of nuts.

I'm following the Guardian blog on the situation in Zimbabwe and thought it might be a good idea to post a link to it for anyone else interested - of particular note:

"While we wait for top table international action to grind into action, what practical steps can be taken? A British MP says this: customers of Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) should threaten to withdraw their business since HBOS and RBS are also clients of the German-based firm Giesecke and Devrient... which prints money for Mugabe."

There's also a really interesting article from the New York Times on some of the activist killings.

"In Chaona, a village in Mashonaland Central Province, a man named Fredrick said he was among 10 suspected opposition supporters tortured for five hours under a tree. One man was caught while trying to escape. “They tied his genitals with an elastic band and beat him until he passed out and died,” said Fredrick, who asked that his last name not be used in order to protect himself. He said a second man was killed after his tormentors dripped bubbles of burning plastic on his naked body."

[Edited at 12:30pm] New link - http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/

If you're someone who prays - then keep Zimbabwe, its opposition party supporters and governance in your prayers.

I never gave much thought to feet before I ran- just liked them to squeeze into pretty shoes. Now, have a lot of respect for my feet and what they are going through. They are now tired feet.

Sunday morning run through one of Toronto's trail systems. Felt a bit fast at first, but got into the pace more midway through. It is also nice to get on the trails as it is cooler and better for the joints.

Then when the run was over grabbed a bite to eat at Cfood which is awesome- great place to grab a brunch that lets you have the best of both worlds- you get to choose three items on their menu!

So, I'm only going to complain once as I figure why would I complain about summer and heat when I long for this season all year. Anyways, ran 10km tempo in the heat and it was hot. The group this year seems to be characterized by those who want to qualify for the Boston Marathon and those of who just want to cross the finish line. So, there seems to be a bit of a difference in paces!

Is actually kind of a good learning experience being towards the back of the pack! I spend so much of my time being concerned with being the best and in running I'm not the best runner- I just attempt to do my best which I have come to realize is also a great achievement. So, each time I'm on a run I really do admire those people that make running look so easy (you know those types that just fly by you looking like they could do this all day long and hardly breaking a sweat), but I'm also proud of me as I know that I am running the best that I can for my ability.

"Say NO to Violence against Women" is a global Internet-driven advocacy effort, organized by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). It invites people to sign their names to a virtual book as an expression of public support and a call to decision-makers worldwide to make ending violence against women a top priority. As a partner in the campaign, the International Young Professionals Foundation is urging more people everywhere to click and be counted. Over 225,000 people from around the world have signed on. We ask that you please help UNIFEM reach its goal of at least 1,000,000 signatures by November 2008.

How to help:

1) Visit www.saynotoviolence.org and sign the campaign’s ‘virtual’ book.


2) Add your group as a ‘Supporting Organization’ and be included on the global campaign website, receive updates and stay informed.

3) Utilize the Campaign Toolkit, which provides press releases, videos and more—most are provided in English, French and Spanish.

4) Add the campaign’s application to your Facebook profile: Log in to Facebook, click on applications, search for UNIFEM, and add “campaign” to your profile … and invite friends and colleagues to sign and pass on.

5) Send the campaign link and message to colleagues and friends.

Sign your name, spread the word, Say NO to Violence against Women.

Suggestions? Questions? Go to saynotoviolence@unifem.org.

First 6km run tonight with the group- feel excited and also happy that I stretched with the group. Am going to try and keep this stretching thing up although all I want to do is bolt after there after the run. Is so weird but I can run for ages but not be bothered to stretch for 10 minutes- mmm, think it is something to do with my impatient personality or just the fact that I have horrible flexibility.