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​Syezd 2018
Melbourne, December 27–31 

Organising
The organisation of Syezd began in late August 2018, it took four full months in total (16 weeks) to organise. The committee, consisting of seven people, took part in Skype meetings on a weekly basis. 
 
Rewarding
The most rewarding aspect of being on the organising committee was seeing the attendees engaged in spiritual discussions throughout the conference, hearing their positive feedback and finally feeling a sense of energy and enthusiasm among the next generation of Orthodox Australians as the conference ended.
 
City Life
Syezd was held in the Melbourne CBD. Accommodation for attendees was at The Victoria Hotel (Rydges), 215 Little Collins Street. The lectures were held at 'The Cluster' (on Queen Street. We held a fish and chips dinner at the St Kilda Botanical Gardens. Vespers and Divine Liturgy were held at Holy Protection Cathedral (Pokrov). 
 
Who attended? 
There were 66 attendees of the Youth Conference from a very diverse cultural and ethnic attendance. In addition to those of Russian Orthodox background, we had attendees from Greek, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Romanian and Australian backgrounds. One of our keynote speakers was Fr Milan Milutinovic, a key figure in the Melbourne Serbian Orthodox community.
 
Best Moments 
Syezd highlights included being witness to the positive energy around the group; the open and frank discussions on spiritual issues, and seeing friendships form, all which reiterated the importance of holding these annual conferences and in particular, striking that balance between spiritual and social when organising these events.
 
What did I enjoy about Syezd?
The lecture sessions at 'The Cluster' appealed to me the most (the panoramic views of the city and barista-made coffee made it even better!) It was nice also to break these sessions up with less serious, fun activities (e.g. the scavenger hunt in the city).
 
 by Ross Karipoff

Orthodox blogs and resources for young people
Death to the World: A ‘zine to inspire truth seeking and soul searching amidst the modern age of nihilism and despair, promoting the ancient principle of the last true rebellion: to be dead to this world and alive to the other one.