Eisenhower himself said it best, in his remarks to the United Defense Fund in 1954.
“You have got to have something in which to believe. You have got to have leaders, organization, friendships, and contacts that help you to believe that, and help you to put out your best.”
Proving this to be true, EF Youth Leaders have gone from strength to strength since their debut at the Future of Work conference in Malaga last year. Guided by their EF mentors and led by co-chairs Alberto Niego and Mihai Toader-Pasti, this impressive group of young people is taking full advantage of what EF has to offer and integrating into the EF network. Here we highlight just a few of the 32 young men and women selected to be part of EF’s inaugural Youth Leadership Network. You can get the full story on them all on the EF Youth Leadership website.
Inspired by the Future of Work conference, the three Youth Leaders from Argentina have joined forces to host a day of talks for 300 local high school students. To be held at Universidad Católica Argentina on May 30th, the focus will be on education, entrepreneurship, public and private sectors and intergenerational workspaces. With strong support from ICANA, the EF chapter of Argentina, Sofia Terrile, Carolina Zaccato and Jose Sanchez will also offer practical workshops such as job interview role playing, a short introduction to programming and resume building. Terrile, a journalist, also shares her thoughts in an essay on the value of the Youth Leadership network here. She starts “Narcissistic? Lazy? Maybe not. Generation Y is demonstrating it has the same stamina as previous generations to act towards a positive impact in their communities and the world. Meet the Youth Leaders that can lead the way.” Read the rest here.
Nominated by her EF mentors, Bernadine Vester (New Zealand 2002) and Sanchia Jacobs (New Zealand 2015), Alexia Hilbertidou represented New Zealand at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad late last year. After a further nomination by Vester, she was also selected as a 2018 Queen’s Young Leader, which recognizes and celebrates exceptional people aged 18-29 from across the world. As CEO of GirlBoss New Zealand, she runs New Zealand’s second largest young women network with nearly 8000 members nationwide. Girlboss NZ inspires and empowers New Zealand girls to develop their STEM, leadership and entrepreneurial skills in order to become the change makers of the future.
Diana Ciobanu (Romania) was recently selected, along with 19 other young Romanian lawyers, as part of a national leadership program. Now in its 9th year, the main purpose of Leaders for Justice is to create a network of motivated young legal professionals, eager to develop their leadership skills, but also with the capabilities and actions to become true agents of change. Inventor and composer, Perttu Pölönen (Finland), took home bronze at the 2017 UX Awards, which took place in Palo Alto, CA last November. Pölönen’s invention, Musiclock, won bronze in the ‘best interactive learning app’ category. Learn more about this innovative app here. Chloe Lee, CEO of Trinalog, was just nominated as one of Chinese Taipei’s 40 under 40 Girls in Tech and says “Don’t underestimate your potential anytime and anywhere, especially as a woman!”
Dami Makinde (UK), a social activist and campaigner, has written an extraordinary piece on her struggle as an immigrant for equal education rights. Supported by her mentor, Shauneen Lambe (UK 2015), Makinde says;
“I have had the opportunity of being mentored through Eisenhower Fellowships and it has been incredible. I’m excited and honored to have a mentor help me in my journey as I delve even deeper into my current work and develop in my career path. The entire Eisenhower Youth Leaders, CLASS 2017 have been a supportive network hub and we are currently developing ways of working together from across many countries. I look forward to seeing what we will all create, and the lifetime of support we can offer one another.” You can read the full piece here.
You can learn more about co-chair, Mihai Toader-Pasti (Romania), in recent profiles in Biz magazine and Forbes, Romania. Toader-Pasti is co-founder and strategically responsible for energiaTa, a project which aims to make household renewable energy feasible in Romania. He says; “By focusing on environment and education, towards creating a more resourceful future, I realized how important frameworks and consistent progress by small steps are towards a bigger purpose: a life with meaning and happiness for communities as a whole and individuals alike.”
With the generous support of their EF mentors, the 2017 Youth Leaders are proving to be a strong, resourceful and ambitious network. Stay up to date on their #efjourney by keeping up with the website and by liking EF’s facebook page.