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| Youth to Challenge World Leaders at World Economic Forum |
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| Tuesday, 22 January 2008 | ||||||
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Under the patronage of the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and selected through the British Council’s global network, six young activists from 6 different countries travel to the World Economic Forum in Davos to take part in a major session with world leaders. 60 young activists from over 40 countries gathered in Guildford near London last week to work together on a challenge for the world’s leaders. Six of them were selected by their peers to travel to Davos to participate in a major session at the2008 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. They will be the youngest ever delegates. The young people, each active in an area of social, environmental or political activism, will take part in Future Shifts: The Voice of the Next Generation, on Thursday 24 January at 15.45 in Congress Centre - Sanada 1+ 2. The session will be moderated by Becky Anderson, CNN International. The six are, in their own words: Gillion Bosman from South Africa “I am 19 years old. I work with young people aged 13-19 in poor communities in and around Cape Town. We focus on issues of identity and human rights, using the arts as an educational and relevant yet fun methodology. I focus specifically on South Africa's history and the struggle for identity.” Rhadeena De Alwis from SriLanka “I am 18 years of age and I work with street and slum children on the outskirts of Colombo. These children are marginalised by society and have low self confidence. This is why I choose to spend my time with them, giving them the confidence they need to branch out into society and carry on with their education. I believe that young people have to put themselves out in the rain and face the thunder if they intend to make a difference and that is why I do what I do.” Nick Henderson from Scotland “I am 19 years old and grew up in Glasgow. The group I work for, Youth End Poverty (YEP) Dundee, seeks out the most marginalised young people in society, those that cannot access services because of the barriers of poverty. We feel strongly about ensuring that those who face multiple barriers, young poor people who may be lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, HIV+ or sexually exploited, have the same opportunity to hope that other young people have.” Juan Nascimbene from Argentina “I am 16 years old. My activism is found both inside and outside school. We go twice or three times a year to different and humble schools and communities and our main focus is that of raising awareness of the value of education. At the same time I have an independent group which involves the setting up of a library and community forum in a shelter home to provide a space for young people to interact and share ideas. I believe that the voice of youth should be heard, not only because we represent the future but because we can produce a transformation in our present society.” Whitney Burton from the USA “I'm an 18 year old university student at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia and I’m from Houston, Texas. I started an initiative at my high school called 'Building Futures' to raise money to build a school in Sierra Leone. We also worked to empower youth to understand their power to make a positive difference in the world. I now work for a charity called 'Free the Children', the largest network of children helping children through education, helping young people get involved in global issues.” Yunan Jin from China “I am 17 years old and come from Beijing. I focus my activism on environmental issues, especially on climate change. I started out 4 years ago when I initiated a program called 'A Tree a Day' in which volunteers head to Inner Mongolia for 2 weeks every year and every person plants 365 trees during that period. 20,000 trees have already been planted, covering approx 1 square kilometre. I've focused on promoting climate awareness in my school and community through lectures and documentary showings. I founded www.sco2.cn, a website that aims to help people develop eco friendly lifestyles. I also hold 3 patents in the field of biomass briquettes and IC enzymes.” The Road to Davos, is a British Council programme involving discussions about activism and global issues such as climate change, intercultural conflict and the impact of poverty. See more on www.roadtodavos.net The Road to Davos project follows 2007’s success, when the “Greenwich 7”, a delegation of young talents from around the world, participated in the Wisdom of Youth WEF session alongside Gordon Brown and Queen Rania of Jordan, proposing a Global Fund for Education. Upon invitation from Gordon Brown, the Greenwich 7 went on to present their project at the Donors Conference in Brussels this same year and one of the participants then followed an invitation by the Clinton Global Initiative where he made a strong argument for the cause of education for all. Source: British Council Press Release  Quote this article on your site | Views: 1068 | Print | E-mail
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