Post With Students’ Christian Federation

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30939, 21 December 1965, Page 2

Post With Students’ Christian Federation

A stimulating and challenging three years lie ahead for Miss Nancy Bell. In January she will become the first schools’ secretary of the World Students’ Christian Federation in Geneva.

“It’s an exciting opportunity,” Miss Bell said in Christchurch yesterday, “and I am delighted with the idea of more travel.”

For the last seven years Miss Bell has travelled to conferences all over the world, first as secretary of the Student Christian Movement in New Zeeland, and then as a member of the executive of the world federation. Meeting friends she has made at world conferences is another aspect of her new position to which she is looking forward. Although based in Geneva, she will travel to schools in many different countries. Arranging conferences, also an important task, she will begin almost immediately. “The first European allschools S.C.M. conference is being organised at present, and I shall have to take that over. I am sure so many things will be going wrong at the last moment—they always do,” she laughed.

Miss Bell attended Christchurch Girls’ High School, where she first joined the movement After obtaining an M.A. at the University of Canterbury she returned to teach at her old high school, and at Cashmere high School where she established an

S.C.M. branch. For the last three years she has been head of the English and French department at Taihape College. “I have always been active and interested in the S.C.M.. and of course during my teaching career I have been concerned with young people,” Miss Bell said. Giving young people the opportunity to "come to grips with life" and train them in leadership was one of the main objectives of the movement “It is an organisation of young people rather than tor young people,” she said. "We believe that they must help themselves and not

have things handed out to them.” During leadership courses, held in Christchurch recently with girts and boys from all over New Zealand attending, she had been particularly impressed by the imagination, good sense and enthusiasm shown. In developing countries, the movement had a special role in giving young people in high school the environment to discuss problems, which their family and contemporaries, who often bad very little education, were unable to understand. "It is at this age that they often lose theta- faith, because their childlike beliefs are not replaced by anything more mature,” she said. Miss Bell is looking forward to her new life, but is not "bursting with confidence.” “It is a big job, with a great deal of responsibility and I just hope I can manage,” she said. Her school teaching was a greet help when learning to cope with public speaking, and working for the movement in New Zealand and representing the country overseas had given her much valuable experience, she said.