NEW ORLEANS (ELCA) -- A journey of a thousand miles, and almost as many definitions of technology was the order of the day for 5,000 teens who attended "Trek 2001: A Technological Odyssey." They gathered in the Louisiana Superdome, where the Western States Servant Band lifted spirits and gave the kids an electric send-off to embark on their journeys.
"Trek 2001" was part of the triennial Youth Gathering of 30,000 high school students held here June 23-27 by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Thousands of teens were engaged in designing graphic computer slide shows, videos, web sites and fliers. One display depicted a family of mannequins trapped behind bars. Eyes intent on the television screen, pizza boxes tossed about, and the tired eyes of children produced a sobering scene.
On the bars were attached statistics or challenging questions. "The typical American spends nine years watching television." "Do you live life or just watch it?" Participants walked up to the display genuinely surprised. One teen marveled, "Wow. I had no idea."
Technology in developing countries was also given a spotlight. Lutheran World Relief (LWR) demonstrated how to operate machines built with rudimentary parts, such as a manual water pump, a sunflower seed press from which women get their oil for cooking, and a corn shucker powered by pedaling a bicycle. The kids also had a chance to try out these machines and many were surprised at the effort it took to operate them.
"I didn't think it would be that hard to press such small seeds" said one young man of a job women usually have in developing countries.
LWR used an entire room in the Superdome for the purpose of educating young people about the effects of land mines on innocent people. A blank sheet of paper was strewn across the floor for kids to sign, demonstrating their dissent with any land mine activity such as stockpiling, and the white space quickly disappeared as the participants were eager to show their concern. The paper will be sent as a petition to the President of the United States.
In addition to the petition, a rough drawing of a typical landscape in a developing country was spread out on the floor for daring volunteers to venture through. If they survived, they received a sticker prounouncing them a survivor of land mines.
If not, they played dead for five minutes.
Another popular station for participants was the NASA station. Besides the model space rocket on display, a wealth of information was available. NASA executives came to speak with the young people on the technology of space crafts and the life of an astronaut in the craft.
Other sections of the Trek included educational stations on container gardening, used by many developing countries in their efforts to preserve resources; interactive and informational musical jam sessions during which kids could try new and different instruments; video production tips from the Evergreen Youth Television team; and several computer stations for kids to explore the web, graphic design, publishing and much more.
The Trek concluded when 800 young people went on "Odysseys" into the community to learn about behind-the-scenes technology in the Aquarium, the Steamboat Natchez, Street Cars, Tulane Medical Center, Television Stations, the Architecture in New Orleans, and the Superdome itself.
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For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director, News and Information
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
