Iona Pacific Youth
Iona Pacific Youth is a diverse group of action-oriented university students co-creating solutions through inter-religious collaboration.
DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS, SHARED VISION:
With different backgrounds from countries all over the world, including Canada, the United States, Mexico, India, Dubai, Tanzania, and Greece, Iona Pacific Youth share a common vision and a deep commitment to come together as one for the purpose of addressing and engaging society’s struggles head on.
Iona Pacific Youth (IPY) are determined to bring about positive change through social justice projects.
By promoting inter-religious collaboration and engaging in pluralistic thought and discussion, we aim to bridge a diverse range of communities. We seek like-minded, post-secondary students to join us in making this a better world.
Scope of IPY Programs: We think globally, but we act locally.
- Educational
- Fundraising
- Advocacy
- Leadership Development
Current Initiatives:
- Inner-city public schoolchildren’s breakfast initiative
To find out more about Iona Pacific Youth and our initiatives, contact ipyouth@ionapacific.ca
Inauguration video
Playlist run-time: 50 minutes
IPY Inauguration Statement
Iona Pacific’s inauguration marked a very special day for not just the Centre, but for Vancouver and its various ethno-cultural and religious communities. It was extremely inspiring for us to see leaders from the Aboriginal communities, Rabbis, Imams, Ministers, Priests, and the City of Vancouver come together and speak as one voice: the voice that believes in mutual collaboration between different faiths to serve the community as a whole. We found ourselves touched by the mutual acceptance and respect everyone had for one another. The energy and excitement in the room was electrifying. How that energy was building off each other’s energy and passion is what really stood out for us the most. As the Iona Pacific Youth group we are constantly learning and growing. After the inauguration, we grew closer together as a group and it became clearer how important our role is going to be in inspiring others to bridge differences and work towards common goals.
This day marked the beginning of what is going to be a long yet exciting process of bridging communities. It was a tremendous first step because the first bridges between ourselves and everyone at the inauguration were built. As young leaders it was very reassuring to see that everyone embraced our initiative and wanted to help in whatever way possible. Iona Pacific Centre provides us with the opportunity to use our skills and enthusiasm to engage in various projects aimed at social justice issues. Through Rabbi Dr. Daum’s guidance and support we will be co-creating solutions as an inter-religious group. We hope our inter-religious approach to complex social issues can become a model for other undergraduate students. The Centre is going to play a big role in shaping our lives as future leaders as we have so much to learn and work at. Knowing that we have a strong foundation behind us allows us to stay confident that we are being steered in the right direction.
IPY Bio’s
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Paul Davidescu
School:UBC 4th Year Commerce
- Life outlook sentence: “Everyone was created on this earth with a purpose to improve the world. How you do it is up to you, just make sure that you do it in a way that you love, find fulfillment in, and could do a million times over”
- Profile: Paul is a driven individual who takes on leadership roles that align with his various passions. Keeping an open mind, a good attitude and a burning desire to challenge the status quo to learn how to improve the various gaps in todays society, is the life formula that guides his actions. Paul has been involved in various initiatives in the community, such as roles in the Commerce Undergraduate Society (CUS) at the Sauder School of Business as the CUS Third year representative, REC UBC Intramurals volunteer staff, coaching youth, and fund-raising. He has particularly been involved in entrepreneurial passion projects centered around philanthropy such as the “Canada Wide Charity Hockey Playoff Pool” which he has been running for the last five years with 14 universities and over 330 submissions. Besides Paul’s involvement in Iona Pacific Youth, Paul is currently focusing his efforts on obtaining his degree in Marketing and International Business at Sauder and getting exposure to the world through going on exchange to Barcelona for a study semester abroad and working for the adidas Group in Germany in the summer of 2011.
- Current Iona Pacific project[s]: Social Actions Projects, Bridging Communities.
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Ale Castaneda
School:UBC 4th year Commerce
- Life outlook sentence: “”The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
— Dr. Seuss - Profile: Ale is a friendly and passionate UBC Commerce student that loves to be constant interaction with people. She has played many roles within her Undergraduate Society (CUS) and held leadership positions such as President of her High School’s student council. Ale is driven by a desire to give back to her community and other social initiatives. This can be seen through her various roles in church youth groups, social justice fundraisers and the Iona Pacific Youth. An avid soccer fan and athlete, Ale loves playing soccer and participating in UBC’s recreational events. She aspires to combine her love for business and people in order to contribute to social initiatives.
- Current Iona Pacific project[s]: IPY Breakfast Initiative
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Zach Segal
School: UBC 4th year Political Science
- Life outlook sentence: “We cannot build our own future without helping others to build theirs”-Bill Clinton
- Profile: Zach is a dedicated, concerned and passionate Political Science student fascinated and interested in local and international issues. Recently, Zach has shown his involvement through his volunteer work in; local politics, on campus, and in the community. In recent years, Zach has become involved with Awareness Committees on campus, Jewish organizations in Ottawa and community initiatives such as the Iona Pacific Youth. Zach would like to continue to channel his interest in politics and world affairs into helping his community as best he can. Zach is looking forward to working with his community through Iona Pacific Youth programs such as the Breakfast Initiative.
- Current Iona Pacific project: IPY Breakfast Initiative
- School: UBC 3rd year Science
- Life outlook sentence: “Your life feels different on you, once you greet death and understand your heart’s position. You wear your life like a garment from the mission bundle sale ever after — lightly because you realize you never paid nothing for it, cherishing because you know you won’t ever come by such a bargain again.” -- Louise Erdrich
- Strengths, passions, beliefs, hobbies and interests: Mohammad is an energetic, outgoing and dedicated Science student interested in socially beneficial activities as well as local and international politics and science. Since becoming a UBC student he has improved his social and philanthropy involvement through dedicating his hours towards volunteer work and planning a number of fundraisers on and off campus. He has recently applied for a volunteer position as social worker assistance and is looking to further improve his experience in medical and social fields. Mohammad is planning to continue to direct his energy and enthusiasm towards helping his community under The Iona Pacific Youth program banner. He looks to fully assist programs and events such as the Breakfast Initiative as efficiently as possible.
- Current Iona Pacific project[s]:IPY Breakfast Initiative
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Tariq Kassam
School:UBC 3rd year Commerce
- Life outlook sentence: Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever -- Mahatma Gandhi
- Profile: Tariq was born and raised in Vancouver British Columbia. He graduated from the rigorous International Baccalaureate Program where he acquired an intercultural understanding of the world as well as a core academic foundation. He is now pursuing a degree in commerce from UBC where he has developed an interest in Real Estate and Finance. Tariq served as the Vice Chair for the Annual UBC Charity Golf Tournament which contributed towards Canuck Place Children’s Hospice bringing joy into the lives of children in palliative care. He is an executive for the International Business Club, has represented Canada at the Global Young Leaders conference in New York, and frequently engages in debate over global political and economic issues at the Model United Nations. Tariq enjoys traveling, playing soccer and the bass guitar, as well as spending quality time with family and friends. From speaking with Tariq, one can immediately identify him as a dedicated and approachable individual and sense the passion he has for helping others.
- Current Iona Pacific project[s]: IPY Breakfast Initiative
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Derek Mascarenhas
School:UBC 4th year Commerce
- Life outlook sentence:”History will be kind to me or I intend to write it.” -- Winston Churchill
- Profile: Derek is an outgoing individual who is ever ready to take on new challenges, and all with a cheerful sunny disposition! His background as a training audio engineer and his ‘no-frills’ approach to tackling challenges often help him find the most simple, beneficial and unconventional solutions. An avid fan of the world at large, it is evident that his opinion focuses on an international perspective: he has lived in Dubai, UAE (where he grew up),western New York and now resides in Vancouver, B.C, a place he is proud to call his new home. Derek was an executive and founding member of the Help Humanity foundation in Dubai and has had numerous other philanthropic experiences worldwide. He looks at Iona Pacific Youth as a chance to take the next step in giving back.
- Current Iona Pacific project[s]:IPY Breakfast Initiative
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Sara Eftekhar
School:UBC 4th year Nursing
- Life outlook sentence: Sara believes in seeking knowledge, practicing compassion and fighting for human dignity.
- Profile: Sara is an Iranian-Canadian activist and community worker. Sara is inspired by her faith to act on her social justice values. Starting at a young age, she has volunteered and taken leadership roles in her community. Locally, she has lived and worked with an Aboriginal community in B.C designing a health program for Aboriginal children with disabilities. Globally, Sara has worked and volunteered in sustainable global health projects in Ecuador, Iran, Turkey and Tanzania. She was a workshop presenter and volunteer supervisor at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna and was chosen to represent Canada at the World Youth Congress in Istanbul. Last year she was one out of eight Canadians awarded a fellowship with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation where she mobilized youth of different faiths together through action projects in Ottawa. This year she will be representing British Columbia at Ship for World Youth Canada, a prestigious program gather youth from around the world on a three month cruise ship to learn about international cooperation. By being involved with IPY, Sara hopes to bridges between communities together through social action and learn about the diversity that exists in Vancouver.
- Current Iona Pacific project[s]: Social Action Projects, Congregations Act
