Speaker 1: 0:11

Good morning, kalimera. My name is Ella Solomon. I am one of the Ideagen Global Youth Ambassadors. On behalf of the Ideagen Foundation, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all moderators and youth panel members participating in the Future Global Leaders Power Panel. We are gathered here today to engage in meaningful discussions and exchange valuable insights on leadership and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Ideagen is dedicated to nurturing and empowering future global leaders through initiatives like the Future Global Leaders Power Panel. Here we aim to provide a platform for young minds from diverse backgrounds to come together, share their perspectives and inspire one another to drive impactful platform for young minds from diverse backgrounds to come together, share their perspectives and inspire one another to drive impactful solutions for a better future. The youth panel members are assembled here today to represent a source of inspiration for us all. By sharing the experiences, ideas and visions for a more sustainable and inclusive world. It plays a vital role in shaping the global conversation on the importance of the UN SDGs.

Speaker 1: 1:12

Thank you for your participation and valuable contributions to the IdeaGen Foundation Future Global Leaders Power Panel, and with that I would like to welcome moderator Alexis Sifakis, university of Tampa. Co-moderator Lydia Piniru. Entrepreneur Lydia Pineru, entrepreneur. Panel members Abad Abdullawad, saudi MUN Association. Eva Sifakis, georgetown Visitation. Sila Dunn, georgetown Visitation. Naul Solomon, washington DC. George Sifakis II, gonzaga College High School. And with that I will let the moderators take over. Thank you.

Speaker 2: 1:43

Hello everyone. I am so excited to gather this group of incredible future emerging leaders, so let's jump right in and start with the first question. Anyone on the panel we can just go like. First come peers to take action towards achieving specific sustainable development goals within their local communities or schools.

Speaker 3: 2:14

Well, if you allow me to start off, Absolutely.

Speaker 3: 2:17

I think this question is also very relevant to what we do at SMA as well. To what we do at SMA as well, empowering our fellow students is one of our goals and we do it through the kind of nature of what MUN is and what we try and achieve. So one of my favorite things about what we do at SMA is we try and build passion. Passion is one of the things that we try to encourage in people who attend our conferences around Saudi Arabia. So, if I was to give myself as an example, model United Nations really helped me build a passion in economics, as it enabled me to research this type of or this subject specifically, and it's empowered me to build a passion in it.

Speaker 3: 2:57

So I think Model United Nations, or what we do specifically at SMA, helps our fellow peers and students in Saudi Arabia. They build passions that are relevant and global and international. They build important passions and important interests in various sectors of academia and whatever entails. So, for example, economics, finance, people who are interested in sustainability, people who are interested in politics, economics, finance, people who are interested in sustainability, people who are interested in politics. So this is definitely one of the things that I think we really do empower the youth by our organization in Saudi Arabia by helping them build their passions and helping them really go forth or really be active in their passions in a very social way through the Model United Nations.

Speaker 4: 3:42

Thank you, abad, great answer very social way through the model United Nations. Thank you, Abad. Great answer yes, I believe student leaders can do this by advocating for specific goals. An example of taking action towards specific goals is as simple as just going to a homeless shelter and providing food and supplies for them.

Speaker 5: 4:04

Wonderful, so we can move on to the next question. So what role do you believe student leadership plays in advocating for policies and practices that promote sustainability and social equity, aligned with the sustainable development goals?

Speaker 6: 4:20

Can I answer this one Great question? Student leadership plays a crucial role in advocating for policies and practices that promote sustainability and social equity, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals makers to push for changes that address environmental issues and social injustices. By advocating for sustainable practices and policies that student leaders can influence school administration to support the SDGs, leading to a more sustainable and equitable future for all.

Speaker 7: 4:59

Yes, and student leadership is very important to inspire their peers to step up and take action with the SDGs, and student leaders make an impact on others to drive them to the end goal. Thank you, Great.

Speaker 2: 5:20

Can you share an example of a project or initiative led by students that has made a tangible impact towards advancing one or more of the SDGs? What were the key leadership qualities that contributed to success?

Speaker 4: 5:34

Yes, so a project that I participated in this summer was an immersion trip located in Emmitsburg, Maryland, which focused on helping others who are not physically fit to take care of their own homes. So a key leadership quality which contributed to the success of this trip was taking initiative and showing your willingness to help them.

Speaker 3: 5:59

If I was also to add on to that.

Speaker 3: 6:01

One of the projects that I was a part of in the past years was I was the deputy head of finance for my school's student council, and it's a kind of student body where we help organize events for the school, and we worked on a couple of events, such as the TEDx and market day for our school, and one of the most beautiful impacts was at the end of the year, or by the end of the year, we had almost accumulated what would be equivalent to $100,000 in charity, gained by purely student initiative.

Speaker 3: 6:31

So if it was students buying and selling at school and then donating their profits to the actual student council, or if it was the student council actually conducting sales in the school with the hopes of gaining revenue, so we could really use this money for helping poverty Although I do admit it is a bit of a local goal, but it is an impactful initiative that we were able to take at the student council, and I know it's a bit of a cliche to say it, but teamwork is much more complicated than just working together, and I think that was one of the goals or not goals. That was one of the things that we really needed and we really developed in our or in my personal service to the student council and kind of generating this income and eventually being able to donate $100,000 at the end of the year to charity in Saudi Arabia. So I think teamwork but not in the cliche sense of the word is very, very, very important.

Speaker 6: 7:31

If I could also answer this question. One inspiring example of a project led by students that has made a tangible impact towards advancing the Sustainable Development Goal is the Plastic Free Campus Initiative, implemented by a group of high school students in our community. This initiative aimed to reduce plastic waste and promote environmental sustainability, aligning with the SEGs. By embodying the key leadership qualities, the student leaders behind the plastic free campus initiatives were able to drive positive change, raise awareness about environmental issues and inspire their peers to adapt more sustainable behaviors.

Speaker 2: 8:11

Awesome. It's great to see how all of these youth are just contributing to their communities. I can also speak on this as vice president of foundation for my sorority, delta Gamma. Our philanthropy is service for sight, so we made sensory friendly valentines and fundraising I mean $100,000, that's a really incredible accomplishment.

Speaker 3: 8:38

It was, yes, approximately $100,000, but it took a lot of effort to actually reach that number. And we hosted an event. The event that actually led up to that, let's say, surplus was attended by almost 3,000, 4,000 people and we had tens of sponsors. And it was really that's why people and we had tens of sponsors, and it was really that's why I really pushed on the concept of teamwork, and not in the cliche sense, but in the sense of putting people where their skills are, and that's kind of a large conversation or a large topic. But, specifically, these are one of the things that I say, or I like to say I'm proud of achieving it was very nice.

Speaker 2: 9:19

Yes, teamwork is so important. Yeah, that is a big achievement.

Speaker 5: 9:25

So, in your opinion, what are the most critical leadership skills that students should develop to become effective advocates and change makers for sustainable development?

Speaker 4: 9:41

In my opinion, the most critical leadership skill that students should develop is a voice. This is because it's important for your community to understand the issues so that they can solve it.

Speaker 2: 9:54

Yes, I agree, and I think also they should always stay positive and think creatively on everything.

Speaker 3: 10:01

Sorry, go ahead.

Speaker 7: 10:05

Communication is also very important for being able to pursue the goal that you're trying to reach.

Speaker 3: 10:14

If I was to add on to that, I believe initiative is very important. Initiative is kind of a prerequisite to developing any skill in any sector or any business environment. When you take initiative it gives you the ability to kind of delve into whatever skills you'd like to develop. So I think for having these successful events or for being a successful student leader in a community, I think taking initiative to doing something is incredible and I'm proud to say that, for example, sma took a wonderful initiative in Saudi Arabia in trying to develop this community of MUN. It took the initiative of building this kind of sector or building this kind of MUN culture or raising the standards of MUN. And that was a pure initiative taken by passion. And I think initiative is one of the most important qualities in a leader.

Speaker 5: 11:18

And it takes a lot of courage for initiative, to take initiative and have a voice. So that's very important.

Speaker 2: 11:24

Thank you, yeah, and even if you could just briefly explain, mun Model UN.

Speaker 3: 11:32

All right. The Model United Nations is a program where students or, yes, typically students have the ability to act as representatives of a country or a delegation. They are called delegates in committee and they have the ability to discuss some of these global issues, representing delegations in official or formal United Nations committees such as, for example if I was to name a few ECOSOC, or a committee that discusses economic matters, or perhaps Security Council and some of the other relevant United Nations committees in the real UN. So the Model United Nations, in its name, mun, model United Nations so the students act like representatives of these countries to kind of discuss some of the issues that are prevalent or relevant in the actual United Nations.

Speaker 3: 12:25

Personally, I've always had a passion for it. I think I've been part of my school's United Nations program for maybe five years and it's not only a great opportunity for somebody to build their research skills, their public speaking skills, their debating skills, but it's also very relevant for somebody to build a passion, and I've brought this up many times previously in some of the questions that I've answered. I built a passion through model United Nations. I remember I stayed in.

Speaker 3: 12:53

I was in eco SOC committee I'm not sure what the abbreviation is, but it discusses economic matters, and I remember I had no interest in economics but when I started researching it and when I started understanding it and kind of seeing how deep it is and how interested I am in it, I was able to build a passion that lasted until today and it's not a lot of time. But it is interesting how the Model United Nations has the power to build passion and really empower the students to take initiative, to build interest or research their interests, even if they're kind of not clear about it. So that's what the Model United Nations is, and at SMA we work towards building this community and building this kind of sector in Saudi Arabia to be as best as it possibly could be, so ensuring that some of the Model United Nations conferences are of the highest standard in Saudi Arabia and globally. And these are just one of the things that we work on in SMA.

Speaker 2: 13:51

Yes, and I love to see the passion that you have for it. It's remarkable. Yes, and I love to see the passion that you have for it. It's remarkable. So, as future leaders, how do you plan to inspire your peers and younger generations to prioritize sustainability and social responsibility in personal and professional ways?

Speaker 4: 14:10

Well, yes, I believe it starts at the top, honestly, and it's a responsibility to hold other youth accountable in being the best they can be, for example, my high school, gonzaga College High School. Our motto is men for others. We hold each other accountable by actively volunteering to the homeless shelter which is located on our campus. This shelter provides clothes, sleeping arrangements, food and toiletries.

Speaker 5: 14:47

How can student leaders collaborate across different disciplines and backgrounds to foster innovation and creativity in addressing global challenges outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals?

Speaker 4: 15:04

Even if you don't have anything to give or offer somebody, anything as little as just talking to somebody can make a big difference in your day and possibly even change their lives. Just to put that out there.

Speaker 3: 15:17

If I was to add on to that. I believe and a previous point that I brought up was the point of initiative, taking initiative, and I have many examples for this but taking initiative is the first step and it's undoubtedly the most important. So I feel like I've been circling around this point, but it kind of does highlight and address how essentially important it is to doing really anything. So I believe taking initiative and it is a kind of broad term or a broad idea of taking initiative, but in a more technical aspect or a more applied aspect that can be, for example, working on a passion project or really taking initiative in attending some of these modern United Nations conferences and testing your skills or building them or honing some of the skills that you perhaps are weak in. So I feel like I've been circling around initiative, but it does highlight how important it is the point of initiative.

Speaker 7: 16:18

Yes, yes.

Speaker 2: 16:22

Wonderful, Considering the complexity of global issues addressed by the SDGs. How would you navigate challenges such as resistance to change or lack of resources in your leadership initiatives?

Speaker 7: 16:35

about the community. You're trying to persuade, and then you have to figure out why they are hesitant to change or adapt. So you have to find a way to ease the changes into their own personal lifestyle. Great answer.

Speaker 3: 17:04

If I was to add on to that.

Speaker 7: 17:06

Sure yes.

Speaker 3: 17:08

I think and this is just a personal opinion I think education is very important and it is kind of correlated with a lot of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The point of education, but education in its own, is a manner or a means of convincing or kind of really educating individuals of society on, for example, the importance of one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. If the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal is in the benefit of people in society, then educating them on it would make it of their utmost importance. So I believe education is a means of not forcing but helping people of society in reaching a conclusion together, and that's how you really convince them of something. So I think education or informing people about the benefits of some of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is perhaps the best means of informing people about them.

Speaker 5: 18:11

I think that's a great answer, and I think that when people are educated and when you start from, when you're younger and you know what's going on around you and you're not in a little bubble, then you feel more confident to take initiative, as you said, and to have a voice in certain things, especially something as important as the Sustainable Development Goals. So I think that was wonderful 100%.

Speaker 2: 18:34

Thank you. Yeah, just the power of coming together and, like Sila said, communicating is so important, so it just starts with the little things and obviously fundraising and community all of those things really contribute to the huge goal that we have. So thank you everyone for participating on this panel.

Speaker 3: 19:00

Thank you.

Speaker 5: 19:00

Thank you. Thank you for your great answers.

Speaker 3: 19:03

Thank you.

Speaker 5: 19:04

And I hope the best for all of you and that you keep taking initiative and having the courage to speak up about what you think is right and what you think you should do.

Speaker 3: 19:13

Thank you all, best of luck.

Speaker 5: 19:15

Thank you.

Speaker 6: 19:17

Thank you.