By Myles Pellegrini
With dozens of countries represented, the 2016 EF Global Student Leaders Summit in The Hague, The Netherlands brought together thousands of motivated young activists with origins in countless backgrounds, cultures, and upbringings. This Summit was meant to provide students with the tools and knowledge necessary to make a difference in the world in the areas of human rights and social justice. In the days leading up to the Summit, each group took an in-depth tour somewhere in Europe that allowed student attendees to better understand the historical context of human rights there and in other interconnected places around the world.
As I navigated our historic tour through Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as the three-day Summit, it became clear to me: an overwhelming passion for human rights and a powerful feeling of shared humanity had ignited a fire within every student, one that united individuals and fostered a certain potential for global change going forward. Keynote speakers such as Arun Gandhi and Ndaba Mandela aimed to harness this fire and motivate the youth of today to make a lasting difference for tomorrow.
And yet, the question remains: How can we, all of the students who attended the EF Summit on human rights, implement the various ideas we learned about during our travels by crafting actionable plans to bring about positive change? This was a question that pervaded all aspects of my Summit experience. So I decided to spend some time at the Summit finding out... This article is meant to highlight what individual students are doing to advance human rights in their own communities after leaving the Summit.
As an intern at the Summit, I had the honor of being able to personally interact with these aforementioned keynote speakers and delve into their respective policies regarding activism and human rights. As I spoke extensively with these inspiring men and women, I posed this essential question, and asked them to share the best piece of advice for young activists looking to make meaningful change.
Arun Gandhi, the grandson of the late Mahatma Gandhi, provided advice about setting reasonable goals. Claiming that we need to "always be introspective [regarding our role in both the problem and the solution], and find our weaknesses, and change those into strengths and ultimately become a stronger, better person, one who can then help those around you effect change." Gandhi believes that without self-awareness, one cannot make positive change in their community. Furthermore, Gandhi emphasized that in order to make change as a young activist, one must find an issue that he or she is intensely passionate about.
Ndaba Mandela a leader who is following in his grandfather Nelson Mandela's footsteps through business entrepreneurship and vocational training for young underprivileged Africans, punctuated the idea of setting ambitious, seemingly unreachable goals, so that from failure, progression and change can emerge. To him, failure was not something to be afraid of, but rather something to be embraced and welcomed, as there is no amelioration without the motivation of failure. For Mandela, no goal is too big, and even small impacts equate to monumental change.
These philosophies can make a substantial difference for young activists around the globe who long to make change, yet don't necessarily know the best way to do so.
So, how did young leaders attending the conference relate Summit ideas into actual plans for communal change? Below are several examples:
Sabrina (San Antonio, Texas)
Long before the conference, Sabrina had attended a summer camp for disabled teens as a counselor, and realized the impact that art could have on the lives of those with physical and mental challenges. Combining her love of art with her boundless compassion for those experiencing disabilities, Sabrina created her very own non-profit, Artful Start, to provide relief for disabled persons in her community through therapeutic art activities. After the Summit, Sabrina plans to try to internationally expand Artful Start, as she realized the global nature of the challenges facing people with physical or developmental disabilities.
Jenna (Los Angeles, California)
As Jenna was preparing for the Summit, she decided to ask people living in Los Angeles about their own perceptions regarding the topic of human rights. Unsurprisingly, the majority of people interviewed had little to no knowledge regarding their own human rights, a revelation that was deeply unsettling to her. Using the knowledge she gained at the Summit, Jenna plans to dedicate her efforts towards increasing public awareness about contemporary human rights challenges by launching a nonprofit focused on engaging young people in her community on this topic through volunteer and other outreach efforts.
Gianluigi (Monteroni di Lecce, South Italy)
For nearly a year, Gianluigi has been a member of Amnesty International, a non-profit committed to restoring hope and humanity in the most oppressed societies. His experience at the Summit helped him decide to continue enacting impactful change at University next year by continuing to participate in Amnesty International, as well as other non-profits.
Francine (Delft, The Netherlands)
One of several local leaders from The Netherlands, Francine is active in LGBT advocacy as well as in furthering women's education in western Asia. The Summit motivated her to take a more active role in the local LGBT movement, and attempt to organize a rally in her hometown advocating for equality regardless of sexual identity. Additionally, Francine plans to continue contributing to an organization that provides and promotes schooling for educationally oppressed children near Nepal, Tibet.
Sertan (The Hague, The Netherlands)
At the Summit, Sertan heard stories from former child soldiers, political refugees, and refugees displaced by civil war in their countries. He was deeply affected by these stories of redemption and suffering, so he decided to launch a nonprofit dedicated to providing refugees with a quality education called Edu4Refu. This non-profit plans to use political asylum centers, refugee centers, and school buildings as venues for providing an education to these refugees. Sertan plans to unveil Edu4Refu later this year, and hopes that it will help hundreds of refugees gain an education that could potentially improve their lives.
In reflection, the Global Student Leaders Summit has inspired countless people to enact change in their communities through the advancement of human rights. Through differences large and small, local and global, teenagers can work together to cement a peaceful and just society that respects the rights of individuals in the future.
Myles is a high school junior from North Eastham, Massachusetts.
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post and EF Educational Tours about the recent EF Global Student Leaders Summit, which explored human rights in the Netherlands. The Summit Series combines educational travel with a two-day leadership conference, and asks students to tackle global challenges in places where those challenges are notably present or well-addressed. To view all posts in the series, visit here.