The course explores themes such as identity, transforming conflict and forgiveness and aims to help participants find a path and purpose for life. A public presentation on the final night enabled the participants to share in songs, dances and speeches, what they had learned. The following are some of their experiences and convictions. Yue from China: The biggest thing I learned is 'Life Matters'. We [the participants] lived as a family in a big house, and worked together as a community; We went to the Maya Healing Centre to discover and learn from Aboriginal people in Australia; We heard inspiring speeches by some community leaders and joined in soup-van service to the homeless; We created a movie, poems, songs, a magic show, about 'Life Matters' and deeply touched the 100 audience sitting watching; We shared our life stories and could not help crying for those sufferings and growing. Life matters to everyone. Every choice we made, every moment we spent matters. And that makes change. Another thing I learned is how to open myself to others and try to understand each other better. We were 17 people from 14 different cultural backgrounds. It was huge for me to show myself or my care to them without holding back. But I did feel the freedom of getting into this big family and the love we shared. There are two most important decisions I made at the end of the course. One is try to do what I need to do, but not I want to; the other one is try to jump out of my comfort zones, that is, try things that I don't like to do. For instance, to make reconciliation with my uncles; to write down the life stories of my grandparents; to write and share my experiences in Tibet, in Caux, Switzerland and here in Melbourne with friends; to build up relationships in my own family... Aashni from Fiji: I am from a Hindu background and from an early age I was told by my elders that I should not trust people who come from the Muslim Community. This led to a barrier in the way I treated any person who comes from the Muslim Community. I came to realize that I have been finding faults with other communities when I believe there are plenty of faults in my own community. I have decided, after going back to my country, I will apologize to Muslim people and share my thoughts about the issue. And from there I will start a friendship with them with new hope of trust. Jasper from Solomon Islands: During the Life Matters course I have learned about how to find a purpose in life. The course helped me to understand how to deal with community building and to strengthen my relationships with people around me. It helped me understand the choices I made and will make. Also the most exciting part of this course was to serve food from a soup van to disadvantaged people. In the Solomons I have decided to work with people in the public service to fight petty corruption in the government system of my country. I have a clear idea as to how to improve the next Clean Election Campaign in the Solomon Islands. I have learned to make sure my hands are clean before doing the two proposed programs. Also I have decided to quit some things like smoking and alcohol. I have decided to be an agent of change for the good of humanity. Lana from Melbourne In the whirlwind of the 10 days that was ‘Life Matters’ words cannot begin to describe how significantly valuable the entire experience has been to me. Overall, the most important lesson that I have gained from my time spent in the course has been an utmost appreciation of the lifestyle and opportunities that I have living in this lucky country we call Australia. Because of this, I now feel that I have the responsibility to actively participate in the wider community to bring about a positive change not only on a local level, but also hopefully on a global level in the future. My hope is that people can share this happiness and optimism I now feel. ‘Life Matters’ has motivated me and equipped me with the knowledge to bring about a positive change in my own life so that all my experiences may be enriching and rewarding. At this present moment, there are a few things that I have already taken action over since the course ended a week ago and these are listed below.

• More active involvement with community work (I am continuing the St. Vincent De Paul’s Soup Kitchen and have interested some friends to take part as well. I have also applied to volunteer at the new Royal Women’s Hospital near my University.)
• Establishment of a career goal (Whilst I could attain a comfortable and well-paid job in Melbourne upon graduation, I now feel a civil engineering work placement overseas – most likely in a developing country like Indonesia – would be such an incredible and unique opportunity to practically apply all education and knowledge I have been privileged with. I have since joined Uni Organizations that can make this a reality.)
• Looking for a new part-time job (For the past few years I have kept the same job because I felt safe in its environment and people. However, I now feel like I have the courage to seek new challenges!)
• Plans for traveling (I plan to travel to World Youth Day in Sydney in July 2008 with some IofC members. I hope to rediscover my faith and the relevance of the Catholic Church in the modern day. I also hope to travel to Japan – or North Asia in general - in the near future.)
• Having the courage to repair broken friendships (Overcoming my hurt and pride has been a BIG deal for me. As cliché as it sounds, I didn’t realize how much a friendship/relationship meant to me until I lost them. I truly value all my present relationships and look to the future with bright hope.)

Filline from Cambodia: I have benefited from hearing the life stories of people from different cultures and countries on this Course. I have especially enjoyed getting to know Nhung from Vietnam. As you may be aware, our countries have experienced centuries of conflict. But we hope the future can be different from the past and we two through our friendship can help build the relationship. I learned how to apologize to and forgive other people. After the course I will come back to my country and share all my knowledge and experience with my family friends and all the people that I know. I am willing to work harder to improve my country. Nhung from Vietnam: The Life Matters Course is my great experience where I met friends who come from different countries. I learned a lot of things from each of them. These friends make me believe that human beings could live together in peace and happiness. The Course gave me tools to deal with difficulties I met. To me, four absolute values of love, honesty, purity and unselfishness are guiding stars on the journey of life. After this course, I find myself more confident and having more courage to continue following my dreams Sothavoth from Cambodia: I am a policeman in Cambodia. One decision I have made here is to stop giving and receiving bribes. I would like to be an honest man in the future. John from Melbourne (Sudanese background) With the Life Matters course I managed to gain the heart of forgiveness/apology. I made wonderful friends who had an impact through sharing their life with me. I decided to take care of those who can not help themselves by giving 25% of my time to voluntary work. And I decided to build relationships with other people and especially young people from the community. Esita from Fiji: This course has been a great opportunity for me. An opportunity to learn from other cultures and traditions and how to respect them. I also experienced the importance of a quiet time (listening in silence to the deeper things in our hearts) and how it helps in our daily life. I gained confidence in sharing my thoughts and ideas with my family group and I learned from what they shared. I also gained courage in community building and how this can happen in Fiji. With other young people from Initiatives of Change we will do workshops about Life Matters around the villages of Fiji. Chris from Melbourne I learnt to trust in others with my deepest secrets so as to find love and support, to aid in my battles overcoming the dark forces in my life. Further, I learnt to embrace the culture of 13 others and to experience their every nuance as if I was overseas. Now that is real magic! To bond as a group with 17 strangers and feel like family in such a short time will be one of my most treasured memories. The skill I will be actively using the most will be community development. What an incredible lesson to learn just by helping a soup kitchen operate. Community development will now always be at the fore of my life with all my adventures in our troubled society. I have quit most of the negative influences in my life, namely prescription medication and cigarettes. Through the application of a cleaner and healthier lifestyle I will be able to allocate my time more efficiently to help areas of our community that are in need of not only help such as the soup kitchens, but areas that are lacking inspiration such as our community welfare program for our marginalised youth. Clearer thoughts will facilitate constructive ideas that I have experienced in my quiet time at Armagh and my own home on how to revolutionise the cycle of violence and dependence our society perpetuates amongst our young. Ariya from Sydney In theory we know to accept other people as who they are. We know to have compassion for others for whatever they may be going through in their life. In Life Matters 08 I began to learn and experience this to a closer degree. We were able to share stories and learn about the various challenges each of us had gone through, or were going through. From this my heart began to slowly understand that we all go through various struggles and are always trying to do our best. There’s no need to push or pull anyone to change; rather, we need more communication (which involves making yourself heard as well as active listening!), understanding and unconditional love in the world. All in all, I’ve learned that our hearts need to open greater than our judgements, but also that this is a constant process which we must continue day by day. I’ve decided first and foremost to listen more. While it is important in leadership roles it is definitely not an easy task. It means watching our ego and attachment to our own views and desires so they don’t take over. It means sacrificing our own potential gains because we realize the importance of relationships with others. In my community I have decided to promote a central attitude of Initiatives of Change: 'To build bridges across the world’s divides.' Coming from a Buddhist faith, I wish all those who learn the Buddha’s teachings to come to an understanding which goes beyond religious divisions; an understanding that goes straight to the heart. With such an understanding I think we can truly live in harmony with those around us and, further, the whole world. Hopefully I can pass this on through the attitude I take and express within my Buddhist community.