Thought Provoking
Challenges for the New Millennium !
This conference was made possible through support by the "Yukon Millennium Program" made available through the Yukon Government. Significant effort went into assembling the application. Key words outlined in the application requirements were: "new, exciting, innovative, challenging, compelling and relevant". The project also had to show that it would bring significant benefits to the community and had to "honour the past, celebrate the present and welcome the future"
One of the program categories is "Millennium Speakers". "Groups or organizations looking for insight, inspiration, or leadership may qualify for funding to help bring special guest speakers to address Yukon audiences on millennium-related themes. The goal is to attract speakers who are recognized leaders in their fields, who can provoke thought and capture the imagination of the Yukon people." (Of course people from outside of the Yukon will be more than welcome.)
The requirements for the approval for funding through the "Millennium Program" appeared to be consistent with a UFO Conference. The text below is largely based on the submitted application that was filed on January 14th, 2000:
Yukoners have seen strange sights in our northern skies in recent history. In the Yukon, over one hundred UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) sightings have been documented in the last 32 years of the second millennium. Over sixty of these sightings have occurred in the last 4 years. It is likely that the dawn of the third millennium will bring even more exposure of this phenomenon to Yukoners.
Some of these UFO encounters have been at very close range and intense in emotional aspects and therefore have affected Yukoners deeply. Unfortunately there is an element of ridicule surrounding the UFO subject that prevents these witnesses from discussing in an open manner what has changed their lives, forever. The scientific community has interest in devoting serious study but the negative stigma also causes reserved inquiry. It is largely left up to private individuals to carry on this work but with limited resources, more questions than answers are a result.
It is the belief of our collective group, that the greatest story of the New Millennium will be related to the determination of what the UFO phenomenon really is. It is therefore appropriate that Yukoners not only celebrate the dawn of the New Millennium but also be proactive in its unfolding. If successful, the project will help establish an element of respect around the UFO topic in the public domain. This will leave a legacy of support for the entire Yukon Community by establishing lines of communications between the Yukon People, the Yukon Scientific Community, and various government departments with regards to the UFO topic. It is important that the veil of ridicule be lifted in order that progress is made in this area.
To help create an atmosphere of legitimacy, provoking thought and to capture the imagination of the Yukon people, we propose to hold a conference centering on Millennium Speakers addressing the UFO topic. All speakers are guaranteed to be "compelling" as well as "exciting".
Our featured speaker will be Stanton T. Freidman world-renowned speaker on the subject for the past 30 years. Stanton Freidman is a nuclear physicist and his track record proves that he would put on a truly inspirational talk and visual presentation.
There is no official non-profit UFO organization in the Yukon. However, the Project Administrator for this project, Martin Jasek is the Yukon Representative for non-profit organization from the Province of British Columbia, UFO*BC. Members of this non-profit group will be invited to attend and speak at the conference. Their president, Graham Conway has devoted 50 years of his life to the study of this topic. The group has worked closely with Yukon UFO investigators and provides a web page for Yukon related UFO material as well as publishing Yukon UFO articles in their Quarterly Publication. Thus they will be providing a source of advertising for the event. The group is one of the most active of its kind in Canada. The cases that they will cover will be truly awe inspiring, informative, and very visually oriented. They hold frequent guest lectures and will bring with them experience of hosting such events.
Helen Neufeld, a Chartered Psychologist will speak on the application of hypnotherapy with regards to this topic. She has presented a similar presentation at the St. Paul (AB) UFO Conference in 1998 and was truly one of the highlights. There may be an opportunity to present her discoveries as it relates to a Yukon UFO sighting.
Peter Davenport is the Director of the National UFO Reporting Center located in Seattle, WA. The Center's primary function over the past two decades has been to receive, record, and to the greatest degree possible, corroborate and document reports from individuals who have been witness to unusual, possibly UFO-related events. The Center receives more than 5000 UFO reports/calls per year from all over North America. Peter will present some highlights of these reports, one of which will be the famous Phoenix, AZ sighting. He is an experienced and an "exciting" lecturer on the topic.
Martin Jasek is a local UFO Investigator and will present Yukon UFO accounts from across the territory. There will be photographs of UFOs taken by Yukoners presented, a case describing a giant UFO sighted by 22 witnesses in the Yukon, and a multitude of other UFO events that have changed the lives of Yukon people. He will speak as to what is needed to advance the state knowledge and acceptance of this topic in the Yukon as we head into the New Millennium. Yukon UFO witnesses will also take to the podium and present some chilling and awe inspiring accounts.
The conference will be "innovative" in that the scientific community in the Yukon will be encouraged to attend the lectures. This will be "challenging", as there is some resistance among professionals to have a look at this topic. Various government departments will also be approached for their participation.
The UFO topic is "relevant" to Yukoners. A poll was conducted in August of 1999 asking Yukoners 6 questions regarding the UFO topic. The results indicated that 9% of Yukoners have seen a UFO and 15% of Yukoners know somebody in their family who has seen one, 38% think that some UFOs are alien spacecraft and another 47% are open to the idea (not sure). The complete poll results can be viewed here.
This venue will "honour the past" of the Yukon People by telling the stories of those who are hesitant to come forward publicly. It will "celebrate the present" transition to a more open atmosphere regarding the UFO phenomena, and it will "welcome the future" in anticipation of societal disclosure and new discoveries.
The content of the conference is certainly going to be "new" to some people. It will be an "innovative" conference designed to bring about awareness of many truly awe inspiring UFO accounts in the Yukon to the general public, as well as government departments and the scientific community. The "challenge" of the conference will be to bring about a change in perception about the subject so that more rigorous scientific study can begin in the New Millennium.
The event would be held on Saturday October 14, 2000. A short follow-up workshop/meeting is tentatively scheduled for the following Monday October 16 between the invited speakers, local investigators, the local scientific community, and interested government departments.
