Approximately 372,000 people die from drowning each year –over half of them are young people under the age of 25.
This month global leaders and experts in drowning prevention came together to share ideas, experience and knowledge at the World Conference on Drowning Prevention (WCDP) in Vancouver, BC. I had the opportunity to attend this conference as an Emerging Leader with the Royal Life Saving Society of the Commonwealth (RLSS Commonwealth).
The Emerging Leaders Workshop took place October 16-21 in conjunction with WCDP bringing together youth leading in drowning prevention efforts from acrosss the commonwealth.
The Commonwealth’s population is 2.4 billion, of which more than 60 percent is aged 29 or under.
Throughout the week we were able to listen and learn to everyone’s experiences in their own communities.
By the end of our week we had all picked a project and had spent time developing a budget, identifying funders and supporters giving us the guidance to take action on achieving our goals.
With the friends and connections we’ve made at the workshop I know we are now stronger through collaboration in pursuing our goal of zero drownings in the commonwealth.
I look forward with great excitement to see the progress of everyones projects when we reunite in South Africa for the next World Conference on Drowning Prevention in 2019.
Credits:
Lifesaving Society of Canada & WCDP2017