World Peace

Things have been so busy! Right after Festival ended here in Rexburg, My mom and I went to a week long IOV World Youth Congress conference in Bountiful. We didn't know what to expect. There were people from all over the world there making presentations about international folk art. Most in the form of dance but there were also presenters there sharing information on handicrafts, film, music and art. We were invited because of our involvement, of course, with our festival here in Rexburg. The IOV stands for International Organization of Folk Art. Our festival has long been a member but what I didn't know was that the IOV falls under the umbrella of UNESCO, which is an arm of the UN. Anyway, the cool thing that happened to me is that this International organization choose a youth (good thing I'm still under 35) representative from 5 regions of the world and I was chosen to represent the Americas. I am excited, I am not 100% sure of all my obligations but I do know it will involve more traveling around the world and my simple way of contributing to world peace. This picture is of me and my friend Etienne from Belgium. He was just in Rexburg and I traveled with him in China last year. He is the co-founder of IOV and currently vice-president.