Netherlands- Our Peacebuilders 2000 delegates set out for Monday morning's Hague Appeal for Peace Youth Day orientation at the Institute for Social Studies in Den Haag, and as usual, we spent a great deal of time searching for our destination. "Every time we go someplace, it's like an adventure for us. We seem to have major problems finding our destinations on this trip," said Tanya Dennis, the group's academic coordinator.

The first stop of the day was a visit to the city's Peace Palace (the World Criminal Court), where the tribunals are conducted for the world's war crimes. "I've never seen a courthouse like that in my life," said Berkeley High's Perry Pugh. "We walked right onto the grounds where hearings were being held for NATO's accidental bombing last week on the Chinese Embassy in Kosovo, and all of the European news stations were broadcasting live from the front gate. I was surprised that none of our news crews were there for the story."

When we arrived at the institute around the corner from the palace, the meeting room for the orientation was jam-packed with young people from around the world. Youths from almost every nationality are represented at the conference. Issues concerning world peace and how young people could help make a positive change were the main topics of the discussions. The Athletes United for Peace Peacebuilders 2000 delegation received a loud ovation from the gathering, for the group's efforts to promote peace through sports at the conference.

Once the group got settled in, I had to journey over to the nearby Netherlands Congress Centre to
finalize arrangements for the conference and sports exhibition before Tuesday's conference grand opening. I decided it would be a good idea to take a few of our youth with me to help navigate the journey and give them an opportunity to meet the organizers of the event. After checking in at the conference registration center, I was told that Cora Weiss, president of The Hague Appeal for Peace, was expecting to meet with me. As final preparations were being made to the huge center, we patiently waited for Cora in the lobby. I didn't realize the magnitude of this conference until I got a change to meet and talk with Cora Weiss," said Fremont High's Larry Guess. "She was very excited about AUP's basketball exhibition series (Which begins Tuesday night) at the De Houtzagerij Sport Stadium in Den Haag.

"The youth I met today at the Netherlands Congress Centre were very serious about their involvement with this conference. They all seemed to be very interested in our basketball exhibition tomorrow. During Doug's meeting with Cora Weiss, she told Perry (Pugh) and me that the young people were the main focus in this peace conference, because we needed to start preparing ourselves to become the peacebuilders of the new millennium." Around 4 p.m., jet lag from the travel finally set in on the rest of the delegation. The group had to return to the hotel in Rotterdam to rest up for Tuesday's official opening day of the peace conference.