Chandigarh, May 5, 2021-On Saturday, the 1st of May, a nation-wide event was held by the Emirates Youth Platform (EYP) which promoted conversation and collaboration amongst the youth of the UAE: ‘Ctrl Alt Delete: A Fresh Start’.
The Emirates Youth Platform is a student-led organization that was co-founded by three students from schools across the UAE: Baraj S. Kohli from Repton School Dubai, Ishan Maheshwari from Jumeirah English Speaking School, and Krish Sanklecha from Emirates International School Jumeirah.
These three students first met each other during an international competition at Yale University, and they instantly became friends. Despite being in different schools, they stayed in touch. They felt that there was an absence of such a platform dedicated for students in the UAE where they can collaborate on a national scale. Inspired by the ideals of the UAE. With this shared vision, they formed the Emirates Youth Platform, aiming to promote conversation and collaboration amongst the youth.
The Emirates Youth Platform had their first event on Saturday, the 1st of May, titled ‘Ctrl Alt Delete: A Fresh Start’. Looking at how the world is now changing, their event saw through this lens via 5 topic areas: Environment, World Markets, Technology, Mental Health and Social Inequality.
The event witnessed 25 student speakers from over 20 educational institutions across the UAE, and was structured where students spoke regarding topics of global significance, after which the discussion was opened up to the panellists on the stage and the wider live audience, with the purpose of encouraging debate and conversation between students. Sponsored by the Ignite Training Institute and Digest AI, the event was held in-person at the Taj Hotel Jumeirah Lakes Towers and was streamed on YouTube Live to engage with the community of the UAE.
The Emirates Youth Platform’s first event was a huge success garnering over a thousand concurrent viewers and a current total exceeding 20,000 views throughout their various platforms. The event, in of itself, was a beacon of spreading positivity during these trying times and received international acclaim. Throughout their live stream, they received amiable feedback from attendees tuning in from across the world, as well as beginning conversations on such issues within households across the nation.
The event began with the topic of the Environment, where the Speaker looked through the lens of the detrimental effects of overuse of plastic, climate change and how pollution, overfishing, and excessive carbon emissions affect the world we live in. Alongside the Panellists, they dived deeper into the consequences of our actions on marine life, the environment and the overall environmental effects due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The World Markets Speaker then spoke regarding how the political economy is shaping our world, as well as analysing the impacts of the increasing digitalization of our financial systems. The panel then went on to discuss this further, talking about the adoption of this infrastructure in countries around the world, as well as touching on topics from blockchain and decentralisation to increased financial inclusion and education.
Next we had the Technology Speaker, who began by looking through our technological history and informing the audience on how technology has adapted and improved industries from finance to healthcare. The panel then went on to discuss specific technologies such as artificial intelligence, evaluating the ethics behind it and its broader consequences on society. They then shifted to more general aspects of technology, such as Moore’s Law, and concluded with an optimistic estimate that the world will likely experience a fourth technological revolution.
The Mental Health Speaker presented an enlightening speech on the importance of protecting one’s mental health, focusing on the impact of the pandemic and how we as the youth can deal with these negative repercussions. The panellists followed this theme by discussing various topics, from the creation of safe spaces to further destigmatisation of mental health problems.
Finally, the event concluded with the Social Inequality speaker, who gave an impactful speech on the need for the youth to take action and raise their voice against these vast inequalities, reflecting on both experiences from her personal life as well as recent events from around the globe. The panel then further elucidated on a wide range of social issues, from gender stereotypes to worker exploitation internationally in sweatshops and oppression against ethnic minorities in nations like Myanmar.
After the event, Baraj S. Kohli stated that, “the experience has been nothing but rewarding. We would like to thank all of those involved in making the event come into fruition. We are grateful for having the opportunity to open a platform to brilliant students and the wider community at the EYP. Hopefully, the first event marks the beginning of new ideas towards innovation and perhaps most importantly, new friendships”
Ishan Maheshwari discussed the immense effort that went behind creating the Emirates Youth Platform, “Starting the EYP in November, we have spent months expanding our network, from spending days reviewing applications, conducting meetings and organising the event itself, it has been a tireless but rewarding journey for us. However, our event would not have been a success if it wasn’t for our incredible speakers and panellists, who not only were outstanding public speakers, but more impressively, excellent collaborators.”
“From us three first becoming friends a few years ago to now founding The Emirates Youth Platform, it has been an amazing journey. Now, we are proud to say that our inaugural event fulfilled our initial aim; giving the youth a platform that facilitates their voice on topics of global significance. A big thank you to the Executive Team for their immense support throughout the event let it be from late night posts to early morning meetings they were there 24/7.” added Krish Sanklecha.
With the success of their first event, all three of them confidently stated that the EYP will only grow from here, as they strive to have more events in the future. They now want to focus on growing the student network and engaging more students for different topic areas whilst still maintaining their core aim of increasing collaboration and conversation amongst the youth.
