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Media Room News UNAOC In The News Report from 6th Annual Youth Assembly at the United Nations
Media Room News UNAOC In The News Report from 6th Annual Youth Assembly at the United Nations | Report from 6th Annual Youth Assembly at the United Nations |
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UNAoC Youth Partner, Maja Warnstam, discusses her experience. Attending the UN Youth Assembly in New York City was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I had the privilege to share with hundreds of other young participants from around the world. As a professional in the field of intercultural training as well as working with the Intercultural Communication and Leadership School (ICLS), an organization that promotes intercultural cooperation and active citizenship among young leaders, I found the Assembly an optimal forum for exchanging ideas, experiences and aspirations with other young people. Focusing on UN’s Millennium Development Goals, the Assembly gives young people an opportunity to meet and discuss how they can make the world a better place. It is often said that young people are the leaders of tomorrow, but in fact, we are already the leaders of today. In my work with ICLS, I have experienced the power young leaders have when cooperating beyond cultural boundaries to improve their shared community. In the past, intercultural communication was considered to occur mainly between different nations on a global scale. However, due to migration and globalization, such communication now exists just as much on a local scale, between people sharing the same city or neighborhood. The youth have the power to ensure that through this intercultural communication, cooperation is made possible. We learned at the Assembly that each and every one of us must find our own way of contributing to a better world by discovering what our passion is. Leaving the Youth Assembly, we all felt empowered and willing to take on that personal responsibility of doing what we can to improve our world, on a global as well as on a local level. We assured each other to continue cooperating on our endeavors after the Assembly, despite everyone returning home to different corners of the world. Concluding the Youth Assembly, we were inspired by Arun Gandhi quoting his grandfather Mahatma Gandhi and encouraging us to “become the change we want to see in the world.” By Maja Warnstam 18 August 2009 |