Why do we care about people that are so far away from us, that we’ll never meet?” These were the opening words of Prince HKH Haakon of Norway, which drew me closer as he so passionately spoke about global dignity. That question is essentially the reason for the One Young World gathering- for individuals who care about what is happening around them. For me, it simply means giving people respect in the form of giving people my full attention when they speak to me and realising that a human soul is fragile but very powerful in its own right, and it is vital that people are well taken care of.
People and social media
I could not have been at the summit had it not been for people, and social media. This was a highlight for me as I could relate with the Egyptian revolution starter, Wael Ghonim ; “the magic is not in the tools, it’s in how we use the tools.” Wael Ghonim and Oscar Morales spoke about social media and the power of its influence in the world. My campaign platform for winning the Clearasil competition was Facebook, thus I could relate. But most importantly, we need to remember the people behind the social media activity, because the cause being driven lies in the people.
Fixing World Health
One of the projects I will be starting is inspired by Jamie Oliver, who spoke about world obesity. He spoke about a subject I know all too well; because I myself am testament to this, as well as being someone who has had a life long struggle with weight loss, which is a journey I conquer daily, and I did not disagree with a single thing he said on the platform. I love his zest for food and nutrition. Because of his talk, I want to implement a nutrition programme for enhancing academic performance for students at universities, especially at res and local schools, and nutrition education:
“You won’t die young if you don’t do your maths homework. If you don’t learn about food, you will.”- Jamie Oliver.
Women up
An aspiration of mine is also to instill and maintain confidence and self-empowerment in young women and to equip them to live up to their full potential and simultaneously building their leadership skills, particularly reiterated by a statement made by a OYW councillor, Fatima Bhutto; that whatever is given to a woman is multiplied. I am going to start a programme which does this, while participants of the programme give back to the community through volunteer work and fundraising for various organisations. My vision for women in the world, is for every single one to be the best that she can be, with what she has been given by God.
What does this mean for Africa?
This means that there are live change agents roaming the streets of Africa. I was not the only delegate from Africa. African presence was loud and proud at the summit, with the second biggest delegation following Europe! Because of the statistic, you can be positive about the future. It is not
only an honour to represent the continent, it is a responsibility we take to heart and my own personal agenda to do the best that I can in the world, for the greater good.
The One Young World Summit brought 1200 young people together representing 170 countries, each bring a superpower of some sort to the conference. We really all want to save the world! We all see that change is possible, but we know that we cannot do it alone and we know that it will not be easy, but the essential property in us is that we believe in our causes and they are not for selfish gain. I was privileged to have travelled over Africa to 170 countries in one city, for this experience and inspiration- but I promise you that inspiration is sitting right next to you- it is in all of us.