The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday July 16, 2008 - 17 Oakville students at global leaders conference in Europe A trio of T.A. Blakelock students and an Oakville Trafalgar High School graduate will return home later this week -- not from the beach but Vienna, Budapest and Prague where they took part in the Global Young Leaders Conference (GYLC). Morgan MacInnes, Louis Progosh and Quinn Durrant of Blakelock, and Stephanie Fox, an Oakville Trafalgar High School graduate, joined the international gathering of leaders from July 5 to 17 to take part in the unique leadership development. The Blakelock students were nominated by former Blakelock principal Stuart Miller to represent Canada at the conference. The three grade 11 students were selected for their strong leadership potential and overall academic excellence. Fox was sponsored in part by the West Oakville Rotary Club. The theme of GYLC was The Leaders of Tomorrow Preparing for the Global Challenges and Responsibilities of the Future. The conference brings together outstanding young people from around the world to hone critical leadership skills in the global context. The students left prepared to learn from and exchange ideas with today's world leaders in the exciting environments of Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic. They were to meet with top business leaders, policy officials, lobbyists, journalists, diplomats and academicians -- and they were to be encouraged to analyze issues, form and advocate positions, and influence decision-making. The local scholars also had the chance to visit foreign embassies and retrace the footsteps of former rulers during visits to historic seats of power. GYLC culminates with the Global Summit, in which the students apply what they've learned throughout the conference as they debate, negotiate and build coalitions dealing with issues such as foreign aid, global warming, co-operative efforts in space, terrorism and human rights. "The Global Young Leaders Conference aims to provide scholars with the opportunity to collaborate with their peers from around the world to both study and resolve global conflict," said Mike Lasday, Executive Director of the Congressional Youth Leadership Council (CYLC), the organization that sponsors GYLC. "When ideas and points of view are shared, the true results of the conference are realized," said Lasday. Students from more than 100 countries participate in this year's event. CYLC is a nonpartisan educational organization. Founded in 1985, the council is committed to fostering and inspiring young people to achieve their full leadership potential. SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER GLOBE TROTTERS: From left, T.A. Blakelock High School students Morgan MacInnes, Quinn Durrant and Louis Progosh await their flight to Vienna, as they headed to the Global Young Leaders Conference. Stephanie Fox, a graduate of Oakville Trafalgar High School, also attended the conference. WIN ONE OF 4 PAIRS OF TICKETS TO THE Complete a ballot to enter to win 1 of 4 ticets to the Canadian Open this July 21st-27th at the Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville. To qualify, enjoy a Labatt Premium Beer at The Niblick Pub. 1011 UPPER MIDDLE ROAD, OAKVILLE · 905.815.9632