Nelson Mandela Youth Leadership Summit
On Monday the 18th of July, Abigail Grigg of Year 8, the Humanities Co-Captains Talia Meiri and Arwa Sharma and I attended the Nelson Mandela Youth Leadership Summit held in the Legislative Assembly chamber of the Victorian Parliament. This event was organized by the Centre for Optimism https://www.centreforoptimism.com/ and sponsored by Rotary to commemorate Nelson Mandela’s legacy.
We met a diverse range of speakers, such as Dr Steve Rametse, who knew Nelson Mandela personally and who fought against racial and social injustice in South Africa, as well as Ambassador of Ukraine to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko; Rotary Governor for District 9800, Amanda Wendt; US Consul General, Kathleen Lively; as well as many other inspiring leaders within our local, national and international community.
The event brought together Victoria’s youth to engage in conversations regarding various pertinent issues including climate change, social justice and how we can harness our power to create long-lasting positive change. Conversations provoked exciting ideas and opinions from youth participants. It was interesting to engage in such conversations, and be in the presence of such intellectuals, who encouraged us to persevere, be resilient, be adaptive and remain optimistic about our futures, despite the challenges we may face in the present. Our participation at the event created great opportunities for us to network with other students and speakers and overall, turned out to be quite a successful tool to use in our leadership executive meetings at school, to encourage MGC’s leadership team to adopt the mindset of great leaders, such as Nelson Mandela.
Monique Selcuk
College Captain
When I attended the ‘Nelson Mandela Youth Leadership Summit’ I was inspired by a range of speakers, all of whom had different interests and talents. Despite the differences between these incredible speakers, they all spoke to the same themes of resilience, courage, optimism, and perseverance. Having these role models from a range of fields of expertise show us that no matter where we shine, we can make a change and make an impact.
A few of the speakers really highlighted the advantages that come from being young. This gave us comfort because a lot of students feel as if our voices are not being heard. In fact, this whole summit gave me comfort in our voices as we got to finally ask some of the questions that have been burning in the back of our minds for ages. I feel that every question was answered candidly in great detail.
It wasn’t just the speakers that made the whole experience incredible, it was the atmosphere and the setting. Everyone there was ready and willing to listen, and all had in depth questions. The parliament building is old, detailed with 24ct gold leaf and beautiful. During the breaks, I was in awe of the intricate carvings on the roof and the walls. Being in the legislative assembly hall, where so many important decisions have been made, laws have been passed, made me feel so much closer to the political aspect of Victoria. It helped me to understand more about what happens and it also gave me a new respect for those who speak in that hall, because while I was speaking, my legs were shaking with nerves.
I could write pages on the eye-opening experience that was the ‘Nelson Mandela Youth Leadership Summit’ but to sum it up, this summit has given me a whole new drive to make my voice heard and fight for the change that I want to see. It was educational and inspirational.
Abigail Grigg
Year 8