The Summit

The Leon H. Sullivan Summit started today in downtown Arusha, about a 20 minute bus ride from our lodge. Opening remarks and forums started at 10, but we missed all that.

It wasn't because we were late (we were actually on the first bus), but because the registration process was unorganized and crowded. Charter Delegates, which we are, had to get special name badges to allow us in to lunch and other events. We stood in a sweltering tent with the public for half an hour trying to get our passes. There was no semblance of a line, and it was taking forever. The heat and humidity didn't help matters, and we had an additional "Press" credential line to stand in. Four hours later and a lot of patience and direction from a number of people, we had our necessary credentials and badges.

Interestingly, the Summit is being held in the same building as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, proceedings there were being held while we were in the building.

We participated in the Youth Forum that afternoon, which invited school children from the community to talk about issues important to them and discuss solutions with world leaders and youth advocates. One child spoke about how he was especially talented in tennis, but there was no way for him to advance his talent and make something of it. He said it is often the same academically. Opportunities to better yourself are hard to come by, if not non-existent.

The evening was the opening ceremony, which we believed to be a short welcome. We were all anxious to have a meal at the reception which was scheduled for after the opening remarks. The opening remarks, however, were more like speeches, and lasted on the long side of three hours. By the time we were allowed to proceed to the reception, we were tired, irritable, and just wanted to sleep. it had been a long day, so we skipped the reception and its promise of dinner.