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Youth Participation in the European Union: together we can make a real difference
Free Nelson Mandela
July 18, Mandela Day, the day that Nelson Mandela was released from prison, 28 years ago. I cannot say anything else than that Mandela is one of my heroes and biggest examples. It started in a very dark period in my life where I faced many and big problems. In my family, where there was no harmony and a big lack of love, I just broke up with the girl I loved and I studied in France where I got terribly depressed. Suffering mental illness is difficult. It feels like a trauma and you don’t know how to solve it. There is no positivity, it feels like someone has driven over you with a big car and...
Soaring to Global Heights
Using Video to Raise Social Awareness
This is my planet
…. degradation, deforestation, pollution - are largely caused by us, humans, and I want to talk to you about it now… It worries me to read, “The biomass of wild mammals has fallen by 82%, natural ecosystems have lost half their area and millions of species are at the risk of extinction”. Today the situation is critical; we have made many mistakes and caused problems like air pollution, water pollution, global warming… Before I mention a few solutions of how we can solve these problems, I want to highlight how we formed them. What happened in 1750 has changed the course of history - a year when...
Miami
We rode the morning metro heading to Miami Beach on the last day of school, which we had a little discussion and skipped it together. It was a radiant morning, and the excitement inside of us was in the brink of bursting. I smelled the perfume of fierce. Sam wore a pair of sunglass, looking perfect on her. Putting on her smiles only, Sarah looks stunning. Five of us sat on the smooth sand, hoping to get tan without peeling, which is highly impossible. Luisa was immersing herself in the transparent-blue ocean and facing toward the Bahama islands. She always wanted to be a sailor, which...
My Earth, My Responsibility
Migration, diversity, and tolerance in Europe
Words unspoken
Do not be the one to sound the alarm. Do not be the one to ask questions. Do not be the one to say such words. Do not be the one who risks everything for the sake of another. They said. In 1915. In 1932. In 1938. And again in 1975...1994… 1995... 2004… 2016. And again and again and again and again... History is the storyteller that holds all truth, and yet when she speaks, much of mankind closes their ears. Is it that we are too afraid or too selfish? Is it that our own worlds are all too small or too large–– that we are too consumed with ourselves to notice the pain of others, that we are too...
Change begins with a dream
Contributed by Diego Arreola Fernandez, Ocean Hero Bootcamp participant Do you believe in the power of dreams? If I told you that you could change the world, even as a kid, would you believe me? My dream came to life. When I was ten years old I participated in a National Public Speaking Contest, where I wrote a speech about global peace. In the speech, I shared my opinion about problems such as violence, wars, and indifference among world leaders. One night, after spending all day thinking about these problems, I had an amazing dream. I became a superhero and flew to the White House, Russia...
You have a voice, use it for good
I believe living in the United States is the greatest privilege. I have been so blessed to be able to claim the many constitutional rights of an American. I honestly believe that the first amendment is the most significant right given to Americans. Having the right to express myself makes me excited. The fact that I can speak my mind on any topic is also frightening. I need to be careful that I do not speak before thinking. ‘With great power comes great responsibilities’. Solely because I am able to say anything does not mean that I should. There are things I think that should not be said. As...
The change you want
As I am short of words and do not know where to start, if you are reading this, I implore you to type the phrase ‘Lazy Youth’ on the Google website. If you are a Nigerian, there is a high probability you can rightly guess the content of the resulting thread. Let’s leave it at that for now. As a Youth Delegate at the 2018 African Youth Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, I watched a screen-play on Jaha Dukureh’s achievement on the topic of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The documentary titled ‘The Girl Who Said No to FGM’ narrated Jaha’s Dukureh’s journey of triggering the law that abolished the...
A Conclusion For Poverty
Every day is a chance… to be selfish
Being selfish to make a change. I have lately worked at a summer leadership academy for international students aged 11 to 16. On the last day we wanted the students to write a “letter to self” as part of their reflections. Joining in on the activity and rereading the letter before slipping it into the envelope, I suddenly had a terrible awakening: I am living a very unhealthy lifestyle – and I would argue that many other young active people are doing just the same. My days are tightly packed: university, night shifts in the hospital, tutoring, teaching at the institute for anatomy, sports, my...
I want to change how society sees people with disabilities
How I became an ocean hero!
Contributed by Manar Elkebir, Ocean Heroes Bootcamp participant How often do you think about what your reckless daily behaviour may cause to our one and only planet? Or in other words, how often do you think about our oceans when buying plastic? Unfortunately, the majority of people don’t think about the future of the planet and the next generations, or at least that is what I noticed in my hometown Tunisia, a country in north Africa. I am Manar Elkebir, a 17-year-old student, theater actress, young environmentalist, and climate activist. I am also 5Gyres ambassador and the founder of EcoWave...
The individuality epidemic
At the beginning of 2019, I fell in love with myself. To who do I give the credit? Social media (and myself, of course). Social media has been viewed by many as a double-edged sword, the source of downfalls and plenty of problems, and while it is, if used correctly, it doesn’t have to be. This is my story of how I found light in the darkness. I like to call it “the individuality epidemic” or the 9 millionth social revolution and it is one that holds the story of a 17-year-old from South Africa. Hi, I am the 17-year-old from South Africa. I have been blessed enough to be part of a group of...
If a tree could speak
If a tree could speak, What would it say? Would it tell tales, From times long gone, When a little boy climbed and took its fruit, Or when a woman found shade, in the hot summer days. Maybe it would talk about its friends, Lizards as colourful as kaleidoscopes, Squirrels hiding as if they played hide and seek, Butterflies resting on its branches in mesmerizing grace. Perhaps it would talk about men, Suffocating it with their poisonous gasses, Trimming its limbs to mimic some sort of abstract perfection, Burning its body with hellish flames. What would a tree say? What would the Earth say, As...