When we met the world
Stepping out of the airport, the first things to grab my attention were the gigantic banners all over the city saying 'Welcome OYW delegates'. Every corner of the city was filled with the white and blue of OYW, welcoming young minds from all over the world. There was no doubt that the biggest youth summit was taking place in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland.
On October 15, I had the privilege to be a part of Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus' delegation to the One Young World Summit 2014 held in Dublin. I was accompanied by nine brilliant young minds of our country. The team included Tanzila Mazumder Drishti from Volunteer for Bangladesh-Chittagong district; Shapla Koli from Grameen Caledonian Nursing College; Shwazeb M Khairul Islam, the CEO and founder of Social Business Youth Network; Nazmul Islam Apu, entrepreneur and a BUET student; Kazi Rubaya Islam, online entrepreneur; Kazi Zaowad, student of Chittagong University and a brilliant debater; Habibur Rahman, social business entrepreneur; Meghna Alam, founder of Ekotro Foundation; and Syeda Lammim Ahad, a student of EEE in BUET who is also involved with various youth organisations.
Enter the biggest auditorium of the city. Personalities like the former president of Ireland Mary Robinson, Sir Bob Geldof, Poul Polman, Hans Reitz, and many more One Young World counsellors, sat on the stage, welcoming us to the ceremony. David Johns and Kate Robertson, founders of One Young World came to the stage and gave their welcoming speech. Their enthusiasm brought a smile to everyone's faces. At that moment, we knew that the next four days would be unimaginably gratifying.
The highlight of the opening was the flag ceremony, which everyone was dying to see. When our flag bearer Habibur Rahman stepped onto the stage, people all around globe started to cheer for the red and green flag. It was the one of many proud moments in the summit for us. Afterwards it was time for the cultural programme that began with a performance by tap dancers and the famous Irish instrumental group Toss the Feathers.
The first day of the summit focused on topics such as climate change, circular economy, sustainable development, leadership and government and global business. Each of the sessions was taken by prominent personalities. Dame Ellen MacArthur told us the story of how she sailed all around the world and got inspired to work on circular economy to help save the environment. Circular economy is using recycling materials to create products such as cell phones, washing machines and other products that could firstly, help the environment, and secondly, bring down the prices of such products. After hearing her, everyone from our delegation had only one question on our minds –Why aren't we funding this in our country! She ended her speech saying, “We are only the 2% of the world; when you do something do it for the other 98%.” The biggest part of the first day was the special session, conducted by Mary Robinson and Kofi Anan, called 'Now, Not Tomorrow.' They talked about 'The Elders', an organisation founded by Nelson Mandela, and how young leaders should step up and take the reins.
The second day covered sessions on topics such as ensuring employability, bridging the gender gap, human rights, peace and conflict, etc. Another special session conducted by Kofi Anan drew everyone's attention. He spoke about how today's generation should take charge and the summit could be the first step towards that. Paul Polman, CEO at Unilever, also spoke about sustainable development and how as a corporate, one can still make a difference.
On the same day, my teammate Drishti and I attended the external breakout session about Mental Illness. Renowned documentary photographer Robin Hammond showed his photographs about asylums in Africa and how people are tortured there. The session was an eye-opener for all when Tony Bates, founding director of Headstrong Ireland, shared his experience working in Ghana with mental health sufferers. The day ended with dinner and entertainment at the world famous Guinness Storehouse. Needless to say, Irish people know how to party!
The best was saved for the last. The auditorium was packed as nobody was planning on bunking any of the sessions that day. The second peace and conflict session which focused on international insights got everybody's attention as Yenomi Park, a delegate speaker from North Korea spoke about her escape from the Kim regime and how people are suffering in that country. Her passionate speech about the tortures and sufferings of North Koreans grabbed everyone's attention and later became one of the viral topics at the summit.
The proudest moment of the day was when one of our own countrymen took the stage and the crowd could not stop cheering for five whole minutes. Professor Muhammad Yunus took the stage and talked about social business with Hans Reitz. The crowd went wild when he ended the speech with the statement, “Together let's make the word 'unemployment' unemployed!”
That day marked 25 years of the fall of the Berlin wall, and we celebrated it with a balloon release ceremony. The summit came to an end that night as the delegates promised to go back their countries and make a difference in society. As David Jones said in his finale speech, “The summit is not the end, it's only the beginning.”
For me, the OYW summit was one of the most valuable learning experiences. Trust me when I say this, I literally met the world in this summit. We, the Bangladesh delegation, made new friends, talked about starting projects worldwide, discussed world policies with the world, and to say the least, we can now claim to know someone from every corner of the planet. It was truly an honour and I think I can vouch for everyone in my team when I say that we all went as ten individuals but came back as one, trying to make a difference in the society.
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