okay age is overrated quote by my dad
why do we accept the misconception that
age is the most important indicator of
success of maturity of experience what
difference does it make if you start
startup company or join another company
when you’re 1645 or even 80 ideas and
achievements are less valid because of
an individual’s age or perceived
maturity what do I mean by this well if
I was standing on this stage today and
look differently than what I did with
your thoughts on me change what if I was
a girl wearing on neon pink dress and
mismatched socks what if I was a man
wearing a tux with a tie and everything
if I was older would your thoughts on me
changed then whatever the man in his
mid-50s or a woman in her 80s now a lot
of you will be quick to answer no to
these questions and defend yourselves
my thoughts aren’t as fickle to change
based on age or appearance and I will
blame you I would have sent the exact
same thing but when faced with the
situation firsthand
I can guarantee you some of your
thoughts would change earlier last year
I was able to participate in the global
network of religion for children’s fifth
forum that was held here in Panama or
Jean RC for short but the TRC is it’s a
company that holds conferences and
forums in a bowl in two places in Iraq
around the world in order to address and
find solutions to problems that face the
youth this fifth forum was held in order
to address the staring
staggering the amount of children around
the world who suffer food violence what
was unique about this forum though and
compares it to all the others is that
for the first time in the company’s
history they were letting his 60 of us
to be exact become active purchase
in the span of this three-day conference
out of the 60 kids 30 were chosen here
in Panama and 30 internationally I was
one of the lucky 30 kids chosen here at
Panama I initially got involved when
members of the GRC came to my synagogue
and asked them to send kids who could
represent the religion the idea was to
have the most ethnically and religiously
diverse conference in order to spread
the messages and ideas we learned not
only through the typical conventional
communicational methods like social
media and the newspaper but through the
religious ones as well at first I was
spectacle II scratch that I was freaking
out I didn’t understand why a group of
500 plus adults who were all successful
in their own ways who were heads of NGOs
created their own companies and worked
for the UN wouldn’t want to listen to a
15 year old at a time who had no PhD new
masters or any degree for that matter
and quite friendly I didn’t have a clue
what to do all these questions are
running through my head what if they
didn’t listen to me what if my
information was incorrect what if I
humiliated myself see I with a lot of
other people in this world both youth
and adults alike fell prey to the idea
that my age makes me unworthy compared
to others see I figure well there’s this
unseen timeline kind of dictating what
we should do in our lives and when for
as long as I could remember
I’ve had this timeline and printed into
my brain graduate high school with
decent grades hopefully get into a good
university become a lawyer and then be
successful only when I was older more
matured and more experienced could I be
successful
this timeline was the exact reason why I
was so scared to participate in this
forum accept this reasoning is flawed
human lives aren’t linear there’s no
prerequisite for every action we go
through or definite order in which they
should be completed see human lives
aren’t Christmas cookies we aren’t cut
out to be perfect shapes or have the
perfect ratio of sugar and butter it
doesn’t work that way which is why
despite my invisible timeline I was
filled with this power this sense that
maybe for once I could change the world
or at least influence it in some way see
sorry okay out of the multitude of facts
that I learned in this conference –
stuck one youth empowerment is
double-sided there’s the youths
perspective and then there’s the adults
perspective and two youth isn’t an age
it’s not defined by a specific range of
numbers rather it’s the idea of change
it’s the idea of living being driven by
optimism it’s the idea that the world is
filled with endless possibilities just
waiting for you to grab them see youths
should be treated as peers as partners
not subordinates the adults can learn as
much from the youth as the youths could
learn from them which brings us to the
question how can you be empowered well
firstly you could try to listen and I
know this seems quite simple but just
sit back on your conversations that you
today how many times have you been
interrupted how many times have you
interrupted somebody else see when you
are having a conversation with someone
you need to be able to actually hear it
and understand what they’re saying and
what better way to do that than listen
be interested ask questions and be
respectful – you have to be able to
relish and other success and not launch
your own see when you’re having a
conversation with someone about their
ideas and their achievements don’t try
to stick in your own because you think
they’re better because you don’t know
how hard it could’ve been for that one
person to get where they were and lastly
which in my opinion is probably the
first one is to empower yourself which
goes hand-in-hand with believing in
yourself see if you don’t believe in
yourself you don’t open yourself to the
possibility that others can believe in
you and this problem is an age specific
let me give you an example my dad once
sent me emailed an email titled mediocre
man cuz even though my dad is involved
he’s older than me and he still uses
email and email he went into detail
about how he was a 52 year old man and
he hadn’t accomplished all that he
wanted and his eyes he wasn’t successful
but he wasn’t the worst and now I’ve
told him multiple times how proud I am
of him how I admire his achievements as
him and his personality in general but
he doesn’t believe me
because he doesn’t believe in himself
because if you’re not open to believing
in yourself you’re not open to others
believing in you let me give you another
example
one of my best friends is an extremely
talented graphic design artist despite
the fact that me and my friends
constantly tell her how to Helen tit she
is how gifted she is she doesn’t believe
us because she doesn’t believe in
herself and this goes hand-in-hand
empowerment if you can’t empower
yourself how do you open yourself to the
possibility of being empowered now going
back to the youth adults have been kind
of failing to empower us for a long time
but we’ve been failing to empower
ourselves how many kids in the audience
can proudly say that they have not a
single regret in their life or that
they’re proud of what they’ve done up
until this moment okay
so I was able to participate in one of
the three special panels that this
conference had where groups of
specialists would get together and talk
about solutions in front of an audience
in the panel I got to speak to one of
the members was thrown at me the third
having done that was Amina and for the
sake of my dignity and to not butcher
before the panel started she hunted
every single member a business card to
my surprise she even had to me one
somebody who quite frankly has never
received a business card from anybody of
importance she smiled and said in case
you might need it it’s a fact that she
thought of me and respected me as much
as she did the countless other adults
who were extremely successful
that was youth empowerment or another
individual who was at the panel his name
is mr. antique P again because I cannot
say that last name which I apologize for
because I’m actually quite friends with
his daughter he is um he’s a finished
activist that works around the world
trying to instill peace rather than
violence more specifically in Africa in
the Middle East
after the panel had finished he
approached me and said though my ideas
seemed optimistic he made sense and he
encouraged me to go through with them
which surprised me because I didn’t
think anybody had listened the fact that
he did that was youth empowerment oh and
doctor allow me to meet she’s an
international advocate for peace one of
the 12 individuals appointed by the UN
secretary-general to protect the 12
sustainable development goals and the
youngest nominee for the Harvard award
of woman
change invited me my friends to sit with
her at the lunch table now let me give
you the whole story moments before lunch
had started it was the general forum and
he had given this amazing speech so
amazing in fact that we need my friends
who were sitting in the front row fell
in love with her we fell in love with
her words with her personality we wanted
to be like her after his speech finished
we all stood up and claimed bare asleep
embarrassingly scram clapped and just
ignited a room with a whole bunch of
fancy businessmen and like adults and
then they’re just fighting yes that was
us so I’m really part of it finished and
it was lunchtime we saw her sitting at
her table and we desperately wanted to
go up to her except we weren’t quite
sure if she wanted to sit with a whole
bunch of fangirling kids we were
pointing at her every were talking quite
loudly in what I now call a field excuse
of stocking and we were basically just
point out of each other like no you go
you have to go up to her but in the end
the unexpected happen she invited us to
sit with her and you would think that in
the presence of such a wonderful person
we’ve talked about something of
importance like some poverty and it was
hunger or the topic of the forum and in
child violence but no no no as
embarrassing as it is we talked about
it’s time Mendez and music despite that
the fact that she invited us
that was youth empowerment to see youth
empowerment is about creating
opportunities for the youth to be
involved and following through on them
and in some cases it’s about believing
in yourself enough to create your own
opportunities and be brave enough to go
through with them these empowerment it’s
about handing out business cards to
those tho young and unexperienced have
massive potential and in some cases it’s
about believing in yourself and your own
achievements enough to create your own
business card see youth empowerment is
about inviting the youth to sit with you
at the lunch table but music Parvin is
also creating your own lunch table and
opening the seats for others to join you
it’s youth empowerment most of all is
about believing in your talents and your
gifts your ideas and achievements it’s
about empowering yourself so you could
empower others so youth empowerment is
about grabbing the opportunities you
create or the world gives you these
empowerment is about taking control of
your actions and your life in order to
achieve what I believe every individual
in the world can greatness [Applause]