It is rightly said and I quote-

?We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build youth for the future?                                                                                                

-Franklin D. Roosevelt

     In my view, these were the golden words which were reflected in each and every event and activity  at the Global Youth Eco-leadership 2016, from the bright questions raised by children and youth at the GYEF lectures and team-building activities to the individual and group presentations.

      From 25^th-29^th of January, greenie-minded youth from such a kaleidoscopic diversity of regions across the globe came together as one to find viable solutions to environmental problems-problems that even our world leaders seem to ignore and  struggle to solve-through negotiation, speech and discussion. This very fact declares the massive success of the GYELS?16! :):):)

       Why do I think so, dear readers?

This is because you will arrive at a similar conclusion once you delve into the wonderful Summit yourself-

Jan 25^th

    The first jerk of the flight as we landed at the Incheon International Airport gave me a thrill-I was at last in Korea! The thought was a relief for a passenger who had a long 8-hour flight.                                                                                           

     We were right in time to meet Haeun Park ma?am and Sophie ma?am holding a banner which read ?Global Youth Eco-leadership Summit Global Delegates?, right after baggage claim.

   I was glad to know that the delegate of Bahrain had also been in our flight and to meet Peter, the delegate from Kenya. Little did I know that I would foster an unforgettable friendship with many other delegates like Peter at the Youth Summit.

    Making our way out of the airport with our baggage, a very, very,VERY cold winter welcomed us to Korea with the chilly breeze literally refrigerating our cheek cells.

      We quickly reached the Korea Green Foundation bus, a bus that we would depend on for the next 4 days for all travels. Once the luggage was loaded into the lower deck of the bus, we sat down in the warm bus.

     For many of the global delegates, it had been a long journey from their respective home countries and hence, many were fast asleep during the two-hour drive to Seoul from Incheon. Like a few delegates in the bus, I was awake the whole time, watching Korea as it went about its daily activity from the window.

  We only stopped until we reached a mall called GS Tower where we would all dine, meet up and introduce ourselves.

       We were all covered in at least four to five layers of warm clothing to defend ourselves from the freezing cold. When we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by our chairperson Luiz Bispo, Erika and Christy and some other global delegates who had already reached and started dinner.

  The food was excellent. After a short while, once everyone finished eating, Christy asked all of us to introduce ourselves. The introduction session was great and it gave us the opportunity to get an insight into all delegates? personalities.

At about 9:30, the global delegates left for the hotel and all of us had a restful sleep.

Jan 26^th

 The next morning, after breakfast, we set off to the Seoul National University for the 5^th Global Youth For Environment Forum.

For the first time,  many delegates including me got to experience snowfall that day. At the SNU, a crowd of people was organized into different queues dividing them into Korean delegates, Global delegates and Chaperones outside the auditorium.

 All global delegates were then handed out translators for the Korean lectures. All lectures were amazingly presented with topics ranging from green construction and transport to green jobs, energy-efficient products and renewable energy industry. These intriguing lectures kept us engrossed throughout GYEF?16.

It not only kept us abreast of current issues relating to energy but also about the current status of energy use and climate change. After lunch, we had a lecture by Julian Quintart which was my personal favourite. The final lecture was from a representative of the European Union and Danish Ambassador to whom I raised a question on the CER policy of Denmark.

All in all, the GYEF session was great and provided us a learning experience. On the way to our hotel, we stopped for dinner and many went shopping once we reached the hotel.

Jan 27^th

 The day I was looking most forward to came at lastthe GYELS MUN. Why?  Well, I truly love speaking and negotiation.

We once again reached at the SNU but this time at the Graduate School of Environmental Studies (GSES). All delegates were given the sky-blue GYELS Hoodies when we arrived. I really admired the look of the hoodies.

GYELS Session commenced with team-building activities that included making the team flag and deciding the team name and leader. I was (democratically) chosen as the leader of Team A. Post-lunch, we had a stakeholder discussion and then continued with the inter-stakeholder discussions. During discussion, we prepared our presentations and resolutions. At the end of the session, the Individual Presenters for the final session scheduled for 28^th was announced.

My heart was pounding away at exhorbitant rates as the presenters were announced. ?Thailand delegate Jingle Jing?. ?Korean Delegate?.?. Finally, the name I waited in impatience for came?UAE Delegate Manav Jha?.

My joys knew no bounds even though I had not prepared for the presentation. I was met by a series of congratulations as I exited the premises. Once again, we got into the bus, stopped for dinner and back to the hotel. That night, many of the delegates were preparing for their respective presentations for  the next day.

Final Day 28^th Jan

On the final day, we were more punctual while reaching the bus. The reason being—the most fun part of the trip was going to begin-Everland!

The negative temperatures dwindled even further when we arrived at Everland. However, the freezing conditions did not dampen our spirits and surely, all of us took full advantage of all the thrilling rides at the venue. The delegates were grouped into teams, hence, ensuring no one got lost.

By mid-day, we broke for lunch in Everland itself. We met up at the entrance after two hours and then we headed to the Samsung GEC. At the global office, we took the Engium Tour that informed us about all the aspects of Samsung, its CSR initiative and its working in various countries.

After the tour, we went to the upper floor of the building  in a conference room where the final session took place.

  First of all, we were addressed by the chairperson Luiz Bispo and then we had spectacular presentations from the various teams. Everyone had brainstormed great ideas for addressing sustainable energy as a whole and its various aspects.

 There was a short refreshment break and soon after, we had the Individual Presentations. I honestly loved  the 2 other individual presentations  because each had a new and unique concept to share with everyone. I was immensely glad that I had the opportunity to present and address children and youth from so many regions at the global level.

 We had our dinner and then the last part of our summit cameSecret Angels Gift Exchange.  I gave my secret angel a souvenir from Dubai while my Korean counter-part gifted me Korean chips and chocolate (Ghana) which I truly relished :D The Secret Angel Gifting, in my belief, out of the entire summit had the most number of clicks and pictures.

I  bid my farewell to Erika and Christy, the backbone of not only this successful platform but also the wonderful summit.

We bid our goodbyes and farewells to each other (sniff :( ) but promised to stay in touch via whatsapp, which was a great idea. We now have a whatsapp group called ?GYELS?16? :D

If I were a computer, the GYELS will remain etched and fully downloaded in the memory unit of my operating system for a lifetime under a saved file

?IN MEMORABILIA GYELS?16?! XD