[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 2^nd - 5^th 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.