Aragon’s LEOS club, a youth division of the Lions Club International, attended the annual Lions Day United Nations (LDUN) conference on March 8 at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, visiting from March 7 to March 10.
The event drew a variety of people, such as Lion International President Gudrun Yngvadottir, from Gardabaer, Iceland, as well as different LEOS clubs nationwide.
The LDUN visit is an opportunity available to all LEOS clubs, and Aragon’s club had gone in the past; however, they did not attend last year due to scheduling conflicts.
As LEOS club president, junior Philip Yuan wanted the club to have a new experience.
“We attended the Lions Day at the United Nations this year to provide our members with a greater understanding of the service objectives of the Lions and LEOS clubs,” Yuan said, “as well as to observe how larger organizations, such as the United Nations, work with members and partner organizations to achieve common goals.”
The LEOS club planned months in advance to address the financial aspects of the trip; much of this planning was handled by the club cabinet members.
“All the food expenses and stuff were bought by the members themselves,” said club treasurer junior Grace Gao, “but we did have to figure out the most efficient method of transport and what costs we would be able to subsidize using club funds.”
“[Lions and Leos are] working to make the world a better place for children”
The topic of the conference centered around the Lions club 2018-2019 goal: “Protecting our Children.”
“This year’s theme encompasses how [Lions and Leos are] currently working to make the world a better place for children because the future is on their shoulders,” Yuan said. “This includes childhood cancer and diabetes prevention and awareness, making vision more accessible through affordable eye care, and protecting the environment through service.”
This broad topic was broken down into smaller subcategories, such as diabetes and blindness. Presentations were offered for the various subcategories both by experts and children or relatives directly affected by the disease. In addition, there were performances, one of which was a reading of an essay from the Lions essay competition and a performance of the song “I am a Girl” by Tennille Amor.
In his event introduction, former Lions International Director Dr. Gary Anderson described the event as only a small step towards a much larger goal.
“By doing what we do best, helping others … we are global contributors to global initiative,” Anderson said. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
Some of the Leos who attended the event found it to be lacking in substance. Club member junior Michael Ko felt the points talked about were not original or entertaining.
“Even though the issues that were talked about are really important, I feel like all they talked about was stuff that we already know,” Ko said. “They just framed the issues around kids to make it seem more relevant, and we just sat there and did nothing the entire time.”
However, Yuan said he will likely continue to advertise the annual LDUN trip, as he feels that the conference still has promise given each year it focuses on a different topic.
“It was really unfortunate that the conference this year was a letdown to the Aragon attendees,” Yuan said. “However, the event itself was still successful and the LEOS members did enjoy the trip otherwise. The first time I went to the LDUN conference, the topic was much more compelling and the speakers were much better in my opinion. Hopefully next time the trip will provide the Leos with that same experience.”
