My name is Marigold, I am 9 years old and live in Calgary, Canada. I am very active and involved with politics and human rights. I am really passionate about education. I wrote a policy for the provincial government for Continuing Education, to help people who are struggling to return to school with a supportive housing community hub model. I believe education is the key to ending poverty. I am also working with Engineers Without Borders in Calgary on the Sustainable Development Goals and we met with a Member of Parliament on March 4th 2019.
When I was 5 years old, my mom read “I am Malala” to me. I was shocked to learn about the struggles of girls who just wanted to go to school and they were not allowed. It made me feel lucky that I am able to go to school. Malala also taught me that you can make a difference at any age. She was speaking out and making a change. I have met many girls here in Canada who were refugees from Syria. One friend, she attended one of Malala’s schools at a refugee camp in Lebanon. She met Malala when she visited the school and my friend gave a speech on behalf of her class. She calls Malala her biggest inspiration and she gives her hope that she can accomplish her goals.
I’m an Ambassador for the One Girl Organization and travelled with a group to Kenya in 2018 for a WE Organization trip. We stayed in Maasai Mara and helped to build a dorm residence for students. We toured the Kisaruni Girls school and I had the chance to really get to know the students. I found we had so much in common. One girl named Daisy and I bonded over our love of rap and even had a rap battle. Daisy won…I have decided to sponsor a girl through her 4 years of secondary school through sales of my unicorn headbands. I have had a business making and selling headbands since 2015. I hope to return to Kenya in 2022 to attend her graduation. Malala has also visited the Kisaruni campus and was a huge inspiration to me.
Education is very important to me and I am grateful for the chance to offer my input as a Youth Ambassador for hundrED. As we enter the fourth industrial revolution, it is critical to change and evolve to offer the best outcomes for the future of all students worldwide. I also strongly believe in having students learn about positive mindset, coping skills and character development. My school teaches these in our program. There are many problems with bullying, anxiety, depression and fear of failure. I think students need support to deal with extra pressures in society and from social media. It is hard to stay focused on learning if these areas are not managed and dealt with. I recently found out Malala would be a keynote speaker at an Art of Leadership for Women conference in my city. I of course begged my mom to let me attend. I felt very fortunate to be able to see her speak and she was very inspiring. I had the opportunity to meet her and I was completely overwhelmed to meet my hero and role model in person; someone who I look up to more than anyone. She is a real change maker and she inspires so many. I greatly admire her courage, bravery, determination and
kindness. She shows that its possible for youth to accomplish whatever they want, without limits. Thank you for allowing me to participate in the global community as a hundrED Youth Ambassador. I want to share my thoughts and ideas and make a difference, just like Malala.
Marigold Mioc
HundrED Youth Ambassador-Canada
HundrED Youth Ambassadors are an active community of students from around the world who are passionate about education’s potential and want to be a part of its change together.