Currency Collaboration

"Every generation has its own worries - the things that really get us." -- Emma Thompson, award-winning actress and campaigner against human trafficking. Click here to read Thompson's post.

Growing up in post-apartheid South Africa and being part of the privileged generation has allowed me to look at things through a different lens. In the year 2003, I became an Unboxed ambassador for anti-racism and human rights, when I saw how we as South Africans are still a very discriminatory society. This propelled me to influence my peers to advocate for change. It is my belief that we, as youth, can only develop ourselves if we learn from each other.

I would describe my "road to Davos" as one of the most exciting experiences of my life. I have challenged myself and allowed my peers to challenge me.

Leading up to Davos, I attended a meeting in Horsely Park near Guildford, UK. Organized by the British Council, the theme of the Guildford conference was "Our Future, Our Activism, Your Challenge." The gathering was a celebration of young activists from 43 countries, which gave me the opportunity to interact with my peers and build relationships across cultures and countries. The people I met in Guildford challenged my views and proved my stereotypes wrong. My view on the Middle East was changed almost instantly when I met the young people from those countries and realized how much I could learn from the others. The week moved from sharing our activism efforts, to slowly building all of our networking abilities, which provided us with the skills necessary to present our ideas and to boost our confidence. Facilitators Linda and John were wonderful at bringing out the best in each of us. I am grateful for the group activities that allowed us all to exhange information and understanding about what we are all trying to do to make the world a better place.

I presented my pitch in Guildford and my peers selected me, as one of six, to represent them at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (WEF), one of the biggest gatherings of the world's political, business and cultural leaders. After the overwhelming experience of being selected, I spent a weekend with the other five representatives. We were to fly to Switzerland on the Tuesday. The time I spent with the Nick, Whitney, Yunan, Rhadeena and Juan was amazing. I was convinced the 60 had selected the best possible team.

I was really nervous in preparation for our session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting. In a pre-session meeting, Emma Thompson, who was also on our panel, talked about her own concerns when she was 16. Her words helped ease my nerves and convince me I was ready to help the next generation by lending my voice to the Davos panel. I was proud of the way all of us spoke openly about what we do in our respective countries and what we feel are some of the important issues that affect us and other youth around the world.

After the session we were inundated with comments and responses. It was official: our voices had been heard. After spending time at Davos and with my world counterparts at the Guildford fourm, I am confident we are all ready for the future. I am also grateful to the British Council and the WEF for the opportunity they gave to us all. We are the future of this planet and we will not let them down.

See more on www.roadtodavos.net.

To see the entire "Road to Davos" series, click here.