10 Break-Out Sessions
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Meet the Leaders of Tomorrow
They may be called Leaders of Tomorrow, but many of the young people gathered each year at the St. Gallen Symposium are already leaders today – members of a young generation taking up prominent roles in politics, research, and civil society in the hopes of making a better world.
Oksana Matiias
It took Oksana Matiias three days to reach the symposium, hoping to tell her story. The 30-year-old leads Teach for Ukraine, which aims to eliminate educational inequality by providing opportunities to children who lack access to education, mostly operating in rural areas. Since the beginning of the war, the organisation has resumed online teaching and provides emergency response for its students, teachers and their families. Social, emotional and psychological support to children as well as teachers is one of the priorities, according to Matiias. However discouraging the circumstances, Matiias’ resolve to provide young Ukrainians with the education they deserve is adamant. “The future of a country lies in its next generation,” she says.
– Vlad Alforov
Emma Theofelus
When she was appointed Namibia’s deputy minister of Information, Communication and Technology in March 2020 at the age of 23, Emma Theofelus became one of the youngest cabinet ministers in not only her country but all of Africa. She took office at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, an exceptional situation that, she says, forced people to put aside their preconceived notions about the younger generation’s ability to govern. “Politics is just another area we had barriers in reaching, but we are ready to lead, Theofelus says. “The time for Africa to have young leaders is now, and we cannot wait any longer.”
Theofelus has at times felt frustrated with older colleagues struggling to accept new ways of doing things but knows that conversation is the first step to promoting understanding.
– Axel Koch
Victor Carmen-Lopez
When the pandemic hit, Victor Carmen-Lopez was in his first year at Harvard Medical School. “I wanted to do big things. I knew Indigenous people around the world were suffering and I realised I was one of the only Indigenous students here”, he says. “So I felt like I had a responsibility to do something”.
Carmen-Lopez chose to focus on language after noticing many Indigenous communities were lacking access to COVID-19 information in their own languages. He founded Translations for Our Nations, an organisation which translated accurate COVID-19 information into over 40 languages representing over 25 countries during the pandemic. Over 100 translators signed up to take part, and a grant from the University of Toronto meant translators could then be paid for their work.
– Elodie Phillips
Pictures by Markus Ketola
