Cape Town, South Africa— RYS Joins Global Parliament on World's Religions
When: December, 1999
RYS participants joined the World Parliament of Religion's and shared the intercultural and interfaith experience with some of the 7000 participants. They were treated to traditional Japanese drummers, American folk singing, African choirs and Indian chants. Later in the day the International Director of RYS, Rev. John Gehring presented to the youth leaders at the Parliament a brief history of the RYS and a glimpse at its future plans.
RYS worked with the Parks Department on the closing days of the RYS in a natural reserve. At the park an alien (imported) plant form was taking over much of the park. It had originally been brought to the Cape to protect the beaches from erosion but it spread too quickly and was destroying all other plant life. To prevent the plant from wiping out two endangered species the participants had to cut and pull thousands of the dominant plant. Through clearing the area of the Invading plants the seeds of the local plants can grow again for they remain in the soil and can germinate for twenty-five years. The work of RYS also served as a preventive for it kept many of the 'invading' plants from seeding.