[October has
been quite a roller coaster month for me… I'm going to dedicate the next few posts on
the happenings of my birthday month and why it’s been one of my favourites…]
First on the
list…
One Young World Summit 2013.
I attended
the One Young World Summit from the 2nd - 5th of October.
For those of
you who are awkwardly not in the know this is a summit that hosts young leaders
from all around the world where they get together to debate and formulate
solutions for the pressing issues the world faces. I was chosen as part of a delegation of 20
exceptional young minds to represent the City of Johannesburg and Executive
Mayor Cllr Mpho Parks Tau, after being shortlisted from over 300 candidates-
impressive right? It was the first time the summit was hosted in
Africa.
Delegates had the privilege to engage in talks with world leaders and
pioneers such as Kofi Annan, Sir Richard Branson, Professor Muhammad Yunus, Sir
Bob Geldof, Francois Pienaar and Jamie Oliver.
One of my
favourite experiences during the summit was a breakout sessions on Leadership
and Governance to Constitution Hill with DA Parliamentary leader Lindiwe
Mazibuko where delegates shared their thoughts on Africa and its role in the
global village and on the last day of the summit we had the amazing honour of
meeting mama Winnie Mandela who was kind and warm and truly embodied the grace
and strength of an African Leader… an African Woman!
What I valued
most from the summit is the change in mindset and hunger to work harder that
you cannot help but take with you after being exposed to so many amazing people,
I wake up with the desire to be better than I ever was the day before and the
thought of being anything less than extraordinary is simply unacceptable- for
that I can only be eternally grateful.
