Five people were chosen to attend the meeting by the British Council, that is: Chanda, Aida, Gillion, Oumayma and I, Asanda. It was clear from the start that we all stood for one VOICE and that was the Youth Voice. But we all had different topics that we wanted to participate in at the meeting.

I had already drawn out my objectives for the meeting and they were on access and sustainability in education, youth involvement in policy formation or public decisions and social responsibility and entrepreneurship in Africa. But aside from these objectives I also had my expectations, and they were almost exactly as I had anticipated in reality. A whole lot of business people, the most men I had ever seen under one roof, women in stilettos, global elites rubbing shoulders and shiny business card holders. It was astonishing.

 But I was not a pessimist, if you can't beat them join them, I thought, and make sure it benefits you. So I got to work and handed out my roadtodavos post cards with my details and information written on the flip-side- to ensure that the person would not forget the time and place they had met me.

My favourite sessions in the meeting were the two on Education- Empowering young minds and the Healthy Body/Healthy Profit session. Of course, I supported the former strongly and opposed to the latter with more or less the same emotion. This is considering the current health and disease status on the continent, widening gap between private and public healthcare and the adversity people are faced with.

 I can say that I could evidently and gladly see the skills that we learned at Guilford/Greenwich come into play during the meeting. As a team we would secure safety in numbers by all attending sessions we perceived to impact us directly or needed youth contribution. Some of us almost bit the mic on topics close to heart or home. Some networked like there was no tomorrow, whether over lunch or in the elevator.

By the end of the week I had people who came up to me and wanted to know what it is that I was doing. People had observed this group of young people who are not totally opposed to everything but want to see a positive change taking place in private and public initiatives. People like Jacqouline Tong of Ernest and Young, Kerishnie Naiker who has a Welfare Foundation named after her, Dennis Karpes of Dance4Life Netherlands, and a few others. All of whom wanted to know about the project, my thoughts on the role of youth and possible partnerships.

I can honestly say that we had a good time because we were able to be ourselves. No false projections or pretences. We stood up for what we were opposed to and encouraged and supported what we believed in, and which was in the interest of the public and youth. After evaluating the event we were able to see the objectives we had achieved and whereto go from here.

 Amongst our achievements is unconsciously initiating a night of dance at the wine estate dinner at Spier. We were the only ones dancing but before we knew it other participants took to the stage. I think it inspired a bit of competition amongst them, and any uncertainty about which company or organization is better was soon demystified by the battle on the dance floor.

Truly a memorable experience

- Only corporate ppl were there, except for a few exceptions like us, the toilet guy etc etc..But wat intrigues me is that they talked a lot abt youth, civil society but none were directly involved...

Possible proposals could be:

To get us involved with the World Social Forum, rather than just betting on the WEF. Then probably, our proposals that we came up with during the week as to what should be brought ffwd ie corporate social responsibility, quality education (including moral values in our curriculum n addressing the issue of brain drain by being more professional in their approach) n Youth Participation and Involvement on policy matters can be addressed.

Overall, i was satisfied with my journey, mainly because it was just not work work work. British Council, Cape Town including Gillion and Asanda have been perfect hosts and there was the fun part as well!! Even working with them was fabulous! It was a get away from work at home, wedding preparations and my dissertation..God, gota go back to those responsibilities now!! Btw, ur all invited for my wedding due on the 13th of July this yr! Dt ask me for the plane tickets though!! Im broke! (Nick, please no remarks on my shopping mania)..

Love
Chanda
Mauritius

P.S: do get on facebook, for those who aren't!! N do add me!!

Over the next 2 days, we utilised many different participatory methods to discuss the issues of Poverty, Health, Equalities and Climate Change. Once such method was a tool called Open Space, where you can discuss whatever you want for as long as you like! It was disappointing however to see that all our hard work would barely be given a 2 minute slot at the World Assembly. As full delegates to that though, it was our responsibility to ensure that they did listen to us.

The problem was that the World Assembly failed to be the mechanism for engagement that the Youth Assembly was. The sessions were like lectures. It was sad to see an Assembly that began under the headline of People, Participation and Power marginalise the young people, dismiss effective participation tools and ensure the power remained squarely with those who had it already.

It is estimated that 22 people died in the attacks, many of them enduring torture and abuse before death. Hundreds of foreign owned shops looted, people taking food, portable appliances and clothes amongst others. Less than a hundred arrests were made, tens of thousands of foreigners displaced and more than a million South African Rand worth of goods looted.

This might be what you have heard in the news reports you have encountered, but in making sense of all of it, this is what I say: South Africa is a country that has endured decades of suffering. It has faced tribal occupation, colonization and Apartheid. 14 years ago we got our democracy and were all finally regarded as equals and dignified humans on South African land.

However, I cannot ignore the fact that the newly found freedom has laid ground for new divisions. People are looking for particularistic identities, becoming particularly smaller in their thinking and breeding a discriminatory and racial conception. I choose not to judge those who have carried out the attacks though, as being a citizen of this country has made me part of the violence and shame that later followed.

To an immensely large degree, I would correlate the attacks to the psychological conditioning of South Africans, black South Africans that is. After Apartheid it was expected that we would all live together in bliss in the land of milk and honey, seeing no color or class. I am one of those who attended a multi-racial school during and after the year we had our first democratic elections, not knowing of any racism or ethnicity. I was happy. Until I grew up to realize the opportunities I would have been privy to had I or my parents been a lighter shade of brown-white. But, truth is, in many black communities, the darkness of the teargas bombs from the oppressive regime is still as dark as the garbage-filth filled streets they walk through whilst choking from the air of industrial exploiters in the townships to their homes. See, truth is, reform has not yet fully taken place in South Africa. This is evident in our living standards and everyday interactions.

As a large number of the country has continued to live in dehumanizing and self-diminishing conditions, they have developed a hatred for themselves and one another; and xenophobia has become this comfortable cloth that everyone wants to put over the problem without looking at the root causes of it.

We cannot speak of "re-integrating the foreigners into our communities" President Mbeki, as integration is still to take place amongst fellow South Africans, and that includes fair and monitored economic and social inclusion. Our movements are free in this democracy, but to a large extent our minds are still in chains.

The starting point is in helping people appreciate themselves more, and this involves treating them like humans. In South Africa people still need to learn to tolerate each other and live together. Secondly, the media propaganda needs come to an end. The media must stop portraying Africans and Muslims as horrific people. Yes, I believe that culture does play a part in war and conflict. But most of it is about acknowledgement, legitimization and representation of different identities, ways of being and conducting relationships. Humans cannot be replicated and the media needs to stop displaying the actions of a few individuals as a cultural or national norm. People need to be aware of this and strive to change it, which brings me to my last point. Africans themselves must not view Africa as a place of consternation and shame. We need to be proud of who we are and where we come from. We need to accept that cultures are dynamic and ever-changing, then we can draw from them for common sense, guidance and unity. It starts with the individual becoming aware, proud and responsible for what they stand for.

Complete reform and integration probably cannot be achieved within 14 years, but with a common responsibility, social consciousness and movement, we can mobilize this country for the better. Let us not fail ourselves.

Asanda Dodi

The Climate Witnesses were brought to Geneva by the British Council Switzerland. Some of them are Climate Champions, some work with environmental organisations with their countries. All of them have experienced that climate change is not an abstract issue, it's not just statistics about rising sea levels and temperatures. It's about the dramatic change on how people live. And, as so often, while it's mostly the rich countries that have 'contributed' most to climate change, it's the poor countries that are facing most of the consequences.

You can watch a short version of the Climate Witnesses' session (moderated by British Council CEO Martin Davidson)  here; for the full-length video, click here.

The British Council is proud to welcome these Climate Witnesses into its family of young activists and changemakers.

AFRICA'S FACE IS CHANGING

I had the privilege to participate in the World Economic Form for Africa in Cape Town as one of the co-chairs last week and I was encouraged to hear from the African Presidents that attended including President Mbeki that over the last fifteen years countries like Ghana, South Africa, Botswana and others have been more successful in laying a solid foundation from the seeds of democracy, and in extending the benefits of economic development to the most vulnerable in society, arguably not sufficiently given the magnitude of our legacy from the past, with massive socio economic disparities . What was also evident from discussions I attended, comments and questions raised, we have the West to thank for the condition of the African continent, whose own so called established democracies continue to leave many of their own citizens frustrated and disempowered. This therefore begs the question, who gives the West the authority to be the voice of law and order, to be the judge of Africa and to systematically marginalise the visible gains that enlightened African leaders have achieved over the last 15 years by reducing their contribution towards reversing the enormous psychological and emotional damage for which they are responsible?

Indicators that are used by the World Bank and others who believe they have the divine right to measure the performance of Africa must be challenged by Africa's leaders because these measures are not a correct reflection of what is being achieved on the ground. We continue to be a victim of the assumptions of the West who set different standards for themselves. For example, an educationist and entrepreneur from Ghana, Fred Swaniker has established a world class academic institution to build ethical leadership capacity for Africa, various countries are providing free education up to the age of 16, the contribution of remittances to the GDP of African countries by Africans living abroad is growing and providing new flows of investments with most of them returning to re-build their nations. These are the indicators that prove to me that the face of Africa is changing and that seeds of hope are growing.

The looming food insecurity challenge could prove to be a unique opportunity for Africa to reposition the agriculture sector to be one of the major drivers of economic breakthroughs. Africa must focus its investments in raising agricultural productivity with a focus on small farming which can be scaled up for effective rural development. This could provide an opportunity to create linkages between consumption and other sectors of the respective national economies.

An audit of the major drivers from both the public and the 900 delegates from 50 countries attending the World Economic Forum rated a number of key drivers that they believe will contribute significantly towards changing the face of Africa and on top of the list were the socio-economic empowerment of women, children and people with disabilities through significant and sustainable investments in quality education that ensure that these three vulnerable groupings in society are productive and functionally literate when they finish their schooling, at whatever level.

Secondly, African countries need to focus on developing responsible, ethical and visionary leadership as the ultimate force to bridge the gap between Africa's daunting challenges and unprecedented opportunities. Thirdly, Africa should systematically integrate entrepreneurship and technology in her education system to enable Africa to quantum leap her development impact and competitiveness.

In conclusion therefore, the ingredients for Africa to become successful have been laid out, the rest is for all of us to go beyond intellectualising our challenges and become activists for effective solutions. Africa heeds to revolutionise the minds, ideas and capacity to convert our robust policies to a better quality of life.

Big challenges require enlightened leadership to pioneer big solutions and effective leadership over many generations to build sustainable capacity for execution. We should therefore prioritise investment in building institutional capacity as well as Leadership and Human Capital development over the next 20 years, we must do whatever it takes to change the face of Africa because we can, and it is possible. We must become architects for a more cohesive voice on trade matters, make better investments in growing the assets of the poor and accelerate investments in infrastructure to reduce transportation and communication costs.

Wendy Luhabe
Chairperson, Industrial Development Coorporation, South Africa; Co chair of the WEF Africa

Africa will be the continent hardest hit by climate change, facing losses estimated at between 1.9-2.7% of GDP, unless significant mitigation measures are agreed upon. What is the best strategy Africa can adopt in the current negotiations on climate change? What opportunities does climate change create for Africa? How can African businesses take advantage of these inconvenient opportunities and play a role in shaping the negotiations? This was the questions posed to the delegates at the session on climate change, Kuseni Dlamini, Executive Chairman, Richards Bay Coal Terminal, South Africa, Monty Jones, Executive Director, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, Ghana, Kiyoshi Kurokwa, Science Adviser to the Prime Minister of Japan and the moderator Caroline Lambert, Southern Africa correspondent, The Economist, South Africa.

This panel was tasked with discussing the issues that face us on the African continent and as a young person managing a climate change project and also as a representative of the Guildford group, I feel that it is my duty to share with you the session and also to put the conversations that we had at the WEF into context. I was very disappointed at the discussion that I took part in. The session lacked content of how we can clearly fight climate change and what the panel lacked was answering the questions that they were posed. Most of the panellist took the bottom down approach where the business and government sector is expected to take the lead on addressing climate change. But some agreed with me that there should be a bottom up approach and the people that are worst affected by climate change should be involved in the way it is handled.

The private sector perspective felt that there should be a clear strategic issues outline on the burning agenda. They also felt that climate change presented business with the opportunity for entrepreneurship. What they were reluctant to focus on was public education and although some felt the private sector should be heavily involved in raising awareness they agreed that government should lead this drive. One of the biggest questions that I had was where we as Africans are placed in the debate? Are we active participants or are we just in the background and taking instructions from the West.

The session was very clear in terms of what they wanted government to do and they felt that African governments must invest in more research and there should be more postgraduate and masters studies. There should also be a greater focus on adaptation as well as advocating. We need to start looking at how we can adapt the changes to our climate this can include agricultural management.

The role of young people were also highlighted when the panel included but this was only done when we questioned role that youth could play. In conclusion it was felt that we need to empower Africa's minds and start with civil society as they are at the core of Africa's ability to meet the stresses of climate change.

The preparation for the World Economic Forum (WEF) Africa was led by Asanda and I and we were guided by Jean September, Director British Council, Cape Town and Ms Fatima Swartz, British Council-Peace jam project manager. Working with such a capable team has allowed us to learn so much more and to equip ourselves with the skills needed for the work that we do. Putting together the programme has given us some indication of what the team in Guildford was going through. We really now understand the stress John and Linda went through. The WEF Africa presented us with an opportunity to engage other young Africans in a critical discussion about the state of our continent and the role that we as young people can play. On the Friday 30th May 2008 I braved the rainy weather to meet Nick at Cape Town International Airport and I was a little late after running around the construction. I eventually found him and took him to my house where he spent his first two days on African soil.
One of the themes that we discussed on the first days of the two day conference was about sharing our activism. We spent a great deal of time looking at what we do in the various countries and how our activism defines us. We set out our expectations for the week and also set personal and collective goals for the week.

The second theme that acted as an umbrella for many of the discussions that we looked, it was themed: What affects young Africans? We posed this question to open the discussion of where we come from and how Africa has been defined and who defines Africa? We felt that young people do not understand their role in society and this is one of the problems that they face. This also leads to a lack of youth involvement and participation and economic rights. One of the solutions we discussed was Education and what should be included into our curriculums- we should include moral values, diversity in culture, Identity, sexuality. We concluded that in order to educate Africa's next generation we need to make certain provisions starting with Free education- and working towards social cohesion. One of the suggestions could be international schools
The issue of health and HIV/AIDS were top on the list as well and we were joined by a young woman, Ms Thembi Zungu, who is a medical aid assessor at the biggest private health insurer in Africa- Discovery Health. One of the key issues that we looked at was access to health that is affordable. Young people should be entitled to better health care and access to this service should be one that young people feel comfortable to use.

On the second day we visited a community projects and discussed Sustainable development and we saw how a Cape Town community called Manenburg is creating economic sustainability. They are have set up Community led inniatives that allows them to incorporate social skills, development skills and also assist with providing a blue print for communities across the world. The Manenbergs people project showed us how this can be done. Ovwer the next couple of days we are going to keep you updated on the sessions at the WEF Africa and also about our opinions.

We have also been to the Slave Lodge, schools and communities in the townships like Mannenberg, where we can get to know more about Africa in its whole context. This is a great thing to do and I am happy to say Viva British Council!

Aida Jose, Angola

My beloved Friends and Global Family,

The Road to Davos no doubt offered us a unique opportunity to expand our activism and inspired so many of us to do even better. We made pledges, promises and commitments; we are now on the road beyond Davos. It is right about time to reflect on our pledges, promises and commitments on the Road to Davos......

"Let's see how our then ideas have turned to Possibilities"

However, it is very dissatisfying to note that despite all our efforts towards making things change for the better in the past years, the larger part of the world remains desperately impoverished, women discriminated, children's education jeopardizes, life generally uncomfortable and many of the development goals set by the government remain unfulfilled. This scale of human suffering dwarfs the achievements of the past years and makes more urgent the need for significant progress and change. The key constraint for change is generally not an insuperable shortfall of resources but a combination of misplaced priorities, absence of vision and insufficient commitment by leaders and the World as a whole as only our collective commitment can effect the change we aspire for.

This is why we must inspire the vision, commitment and the leadership needed to change the World for the better. We possess the secret of life, we see it from a very positive perspective, and for us nothing is impossible. Times are changing and if the world must grow and change for the better, the assets that must not be shuffled aside are the children and young people. It is our individual development and social contribution that will shape the country's future and it is through us that entrenched cycles of poverty, exclusion, intolerance and discrimination can be best changed and ended.

"We can do much better than ever"

Every morning, I get more inspired when I think of 59 other people around the world also taking positive actions towards making the world fit for all. My plan for an Intergenerational Dialogue turned out beyond my expectation; it is now going to run every quarter with more Leaders getting committed. The network we built is now giving birth to a lot more visible commitment with great passion.

Dear Friends,

"Our future in our hands"....The choice is ours!!!
Together we can make great things happen.
We can, we will and we must make a change!

Sincerely,
Ibrahim Adamu Abdullahi
NIGERIA