Hi Everyone,

Just to inform you that the UK delegation safely arrived back in London Tuesday morning after 6 hectic but exciting days in Canada for the G8 and G20 summits.

The UK Delegation!

We would like to say a BIG thank you to all those of you who took the time out to fill out the surveys and express your views so they could be expressed in the communique, which was presented to the leaders. You made our job much better and representative.

We must admit the UK youth delegation did you proud, earning a reputation for being hard workers, who were diplomatic in their ways but firm in their positions. We got along with all those we came into contact with and now have networks across the world!

In our time theire we were able to make great contribution to the communique, working alongside, Germany, Russia, France, the United States, Japan and Canada. We were also able to learn a great deal about the key themes particularly food security, maternal health and climate change.

We had the priviledge of meeting with our PM David Cameron and the Chancellor of Exchequer, George Osborne for tea and bumping into President Obama on the escalators!

Everyone (senior leaders in society) was very supportive and encouraging, telling us many a time that we were not just the leaders of tomorrow but the leaders of now.

Whilst out there we soon realised the challenges leaders must experience when negotiating with other powerful countries and how far removed they can become from society when moving from meeting to meeting without being able to engage with the rest of civil society.

Nonetheless, I personally realised that change in youth participation and efforts to make it more inclusive and effective will not happen instantaneously. In order to effect change we all must dedicate to the cause long term in order to see the results.

For those of you that did not fill in the survey please continue to do so and pass it on to your friends as your opinion still counts for our follow up work.

Stay tuned for more!

All the G8 Youth Representatives

Ewurasi Brako

Advertisement