A message from Meeran

Tuesday, 24 February 2009 | posted by Matt_BC
Guildford 2009, WEF Davos 2009

It was amongst the thick snow and throngs of world leaders, that I realized who I was going to invite to my imaginary dinner party. No they are not Nobel Laureates. They are much more. Five young people, from the HIV AIDS activists in Malawi to the passionate climate change activist from England, have inspired me in less than a week. I, Meeran Karim, had the pleasure of being in their company, as we ventured through the mountains of snow to attend the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 in Davos, Switzerland.

If you had spoken to me about two years ago, I would have probably joined the protesters in Switzerland rather than attended the panel sessions in the convention centre. After all, it was only a talk shop comprising of elitists, drinking Champagne while discussing world poverty. But forward February 2009, while talking to Mohammed El-Baradei, the Director-General of the IAEA over lunch, Davos proved me wrong. Talk initiates a conscience. A conscience that is able to materialize itself in resolutions, treaties and legislations. The six of us cannot completely institutionalize young people’s role in the world, but we can make the men in suits listen. From former President William J. Clinton to UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon to the prize-winning writer Paulo Coelho, all were ears to our message. After our panel session with former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, eminent correspondents such as Christiane Amanpour and Tanya Beckett, wanted interviews and other opportunities to hear about our activism. One platform after another, we had the world for five minutes, and we made sure we used each minute of it, not forgetting the 52 other young people we met in Guildford, England.

We did get patronized by world leaders though, as we had expected. But we know it was not because we were naïve but because we are dangerous weapons of truth. Sarah Nkoma, from Malawi who was one of the Davos 6, has a sister who is HIV positive. Lubna from Palestine, who I met in Guildford, goes through 11 check-posts before going to school. In addition to meeting inspirational personalities including Mr. Koffi Annan and Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tvansgirai, I met the people behind the statistics and figures. Although the snow on my boots has dried and Davos has returned to the backseat, new numbers are being punched in the phone and a blue-print is being drawn. The road to Davos has ended, but the road from Davos, has just begun.

Meeran Karim