Rejoicing in our successful awards presentation, I headed to the hall downstairs for dinner after the Global Collections Ceremony and I immediately felt a bit dazed yet awestruck. I was nervous and apprehensive to talk to people as all I saw were a sea of serious looking adults. As a young 18 year old, I was a bit intimidated to just come up to people. My head was racing with the question, “What would I have to say and contribute in the face of all these accomplished and experienced people?”
I distinctly remember sharing a table with HundrED team members, Anna Paula Herrera and Jamie Lee, during the dinner for a short while, telling them about my apprehensions. They reassured me to simply go up to people and chat. After all, this was a celebratory night. Safe to say, I steeled my nerves and began a conversation with someone nearby and later on, I had fully loosened up.
Being one of the youngest faces in the room, I was asked a lot of questions - and sometimes, young people like me have the answer.
Little did I know that the night was simply the start to a fun and enlightening event. From meeting my fellow Youth Ambassadors and all these amazing people so incredibly passionate about education, bringing change to their communities, I came home each day being incredibly inspired by the people around me.
Innovation Summit participants mingling
Coming to Helsinki, frankly, I had no clue what to expect. After all, I had very little experience in education initiatives. I am just a regular student. Nonetheless, listening to the panels and through the conversations I had with the other attendees made me appreciate my own education. It was a full circle as I finally understood why my curriculums were set up that way. Seeing education from so many educators’ viewpoints instead of a student’s helped me acknowledge the work that our teachers do to give us the necessary skills to succeed. I grew up in the IB system and seeing the similarities between what everyone envisions to be the future of education and the curriculum makes me incredibly grateful and privileged to have the skills necessary for the future. It is my hope that every child is able to love learning as much as I have and see school and learning as important.
Knowledge is not age restricted. We only need to listen and break down the generational barriers.
For me the path towards the future of education is complicated, yet simple at the same time. Children need two things: fun and learning put together. There is no perfect educational system yet but there are many ways to ensure that students are supported in systems that complements their skills and needs for the future. Education must be tailored to the culture and environment of their target students. Being student centred, emphasising on (as fellow Youth Ambassador Oliver Dorogi said) ‘being more’ and helping them reach their fullest potential intellectually, psychologically and socially is a big first step.
HundrED Youth Ambassadors at the Innovation Summit
As a global society, education has come so far but we are not there yet. There are still many issues that need immediate attention. As Larry Cooley had said “A bad system will defeat a good intervention every time.” Case in point is the ongoing mental health crisis of students. Effective solutions are needed. Now.
But while schools are encouraged to be truly inclusive, students also need to be open about their struggles. The stigma of mental health as being weak still looms in the air. Many remain quiet. As a Youth Ambassador, I suppose that’s our role - to encourage peers to open up and seek help.
How can I help bring even a little change just as everyone else had? I feel empowered and I can't wait for my turn to be one among the esteemed ‘Innovators’
The end of the summit is bittersweet. My chance to listen to inspiring people has come to an end but the work, intrinsic and extrinsic, begins. Their passion for their communities and their work has also led me to reflect on what else I can do for my own community. How can I help bring even a little change just as everyone else had? I feel empowered and I can't wait for my turn to be one among the esteemed ‘Innovators’. Hopefully in the future, I’ll return to the HundrED summit.
Lastly, my final takeaway is the fact that learning is a lifelong process. Being one of the youngest faces in the room, I was asked a lot of questions - and sometimes, young people like me have the answer. There I was looking at adults in awe, and they were looking at me the same way. Knowledge is not age restricted. We only need to listen and break down the generational barriers.
For others, it may just be a normal three days but for me, it was the most important three days of understanding why we need to learn, why we need to move forward in education, and why we need to keep dreaming of a better, more equitable world. Being a youth ambassador, I am forever grateful to the staff at HundrED, especially Jamie and Anna Paula, for giving me and the other Youth Ambassadors a seat at the table.