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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. [Volume 39, Issue 8. April 1976]

The Assembly — Organisation:

The Assembly

Organisation:

On my return to New Zealand I issued a controversial press statement in which I described the Assembly as "a circus and a shambles." This is a description which is particularly aptly applied to the organisation or lack of it, of the Assembly.

The conference centre was two miles from the hotel the delegates stayed at. On several occasions no transport was provided. At other times it consisted of one VW Combie for 150 people - rather a tight fit!

Some delegates walked the distance, until several got mugged and robbed and one got run down by a car.

There was a shortage of interpreters, office staff and organisers which meant that many reports were presented orally and not received in written form, and the conference was constantly running late.

Photo of World Assembly of Youth General Assembly

I'd just like to say we're no longer funded by the CIA. However. I met this very nice man from Lockheed."

The hotel facilities were poor and the food of such a substandard nature that many delegates got food poisoning and spent more time in the toilets than in the conference rooms.

The conference was only five days long - an absurdly short period to attempt such a weighty agenda. Yet the entire first day was taken up with the opening ceremony.

During each day the proceedings of the conference were interrupted as we were called together to hear innumberable guest speakers. These in the main consisted of representatives of the United Nations, Environmental and family planning agencies and various running dogs of [unclear: Jano] Kenyatta (Kenyan President).

Consequently the actual number of hours spent on the concrete work of the conference was very small.