One Young World 2018 creating change for young people

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One Young World 2018 creating change for young people

One Young World 2018: creating change for young people

Syifa is a Project Coordinator for the Young Health Programme (YHP), a global initiative run by Astrazeneca, of which Plan International UK is a founding partner. Here, she reflects on the 2018 One Young World Summit, a global event which brings together young leaders from around the world, empowering them to create positive change.

The One Young World 2018 opening ceremony took place at the iconic Peace Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Queen Maxima welcomed global luminaries and young leaders, and Pauline Krikke, Mayor of The Hague, encouraged delegates to do whatever it takes to make the world a better place, no matter who you are or where you come from.

“Dare to differ, dare to act,” she said.

Syifa at the One Young World Summit 2018 — I was so proud wearing Lambung at the opening ceremony. Lambung is my traditional dress from Lombok, Indonesia. We usually wear it at cultural events and ethnic ceremonies.

Together, Margianta and I are the representatives of Indonesia for One Young World 2018 through the Astra Zeneca scholarship. I am working for the Gagas Foundation and Margianta with the Lentera Anak Foundation. We are local partners of Plan International Indonesia for their Young Health Programme.

After the pre-summit meeting, I met with all of Astra Zeneca’s scholars. We shared stories, experiences, and what we do in our own countries.

This meeting was very important, because we got to know each other and made connections to improve our performance, especially in working for young health.

Syifa and Margianta — My photo with Margianta. We took this photo after the opening ceremony in front of The Peace Palace. I wore a jacket because the temperature was 6°C and for me it was so cold.

This year, four of YHP’s scholars had a chance to be speaker delegates, including Margianta, who talked about tobacco control in Indonesia.

For the past few years, he has been involved in advocating tobacco control with young people, and in 2015 he co-initiated a Youth Movement, with the help of the Lentera Anak Foundation.

The movement was intended to support the Indonesian president to sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), and enforce any tobacco control measures to protect Indonesia’s young generations from cigarettes.

Syifa with other delegates at breakfast — This was our last breakfast. We usually had a breakfast together and shared the previous day’s stories. We laughed together and inspired each other.

On the last day, I had lunch with the delegations from Japan. We introduced ourselves and shared stories.

They knew about the earthquake that damaged Lombok and asked me about the current conditions there and in my hometown.

I told them that Lombok is getting better and is ready to welcome tourists next month. After lunch I gave them each a post card and wrote a warm greeting from Lombok.

Syifa and other delegates with the postcards she gave out at the One Young World summit — The post card was really special, because I printed it by myself and chose some of the best photos of tourism destinations in Lombok.

Before leaving the One Young World forum and going back to our countries, we took a final photo. I gave a souvenir to each friend, like a bracelet, a key chain, or a post card as a memory.

I hope we can meet each other next time and collaborate again at the Young Health Programme.