Excellency, Mr. Csaba Korosi President of the General Assembly?
Ambassador Marco Suazo, Head of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵITAR New York Office?
Excellency Ambassador Dennis Francis- Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago and President-elect of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly?
Excellency Ambassador Collen Kelapile, Former Permanent Representative of the Republic of Botswana to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, CDC elect of the OPGA?
Distinguished Permanent Representatives here present??
PGA Fellows, Team Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵITAR, team OPGA,?
Ladies and gentlemen, salutations unto thee,?
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It is indeed an honor, privilege, and manifestation of a childhood dream to be here today in the United Nations receiving this prize.?
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Ladies and gentlemen, from the outset allow me to indicate that we are here not only to celebrate our 7 months of training in the OPGA but here to celebrate the start of new possibilities for meaningful youth engagement in multilateral diplomacy.??
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At a point where the world is faced by multiple cascading challenges it is only fitting for us to expand our investments on remedial action with youth at the center.?
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Mr. President, I would like to take this moment to commend your commitment and visionary leadership of seeing great value in youth engagement hence continuing and integrating this fellowship program into commitments for this GA session. Still on the issue of visionary leadership I would like to thank H.E Abdul Shahid, president of the 76th session of the General Assembly who made this program possible.??
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Mr President, you offered me and all the fellows a chance to be part of your key engagements affording us unprecedented opportunity of learning and growth as diplomats. The OPGA offered the best vantage point of understanding the work of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, the diverse interests of the MS and the possibilities within multilateralism.??
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Coming to the OPGA I did not know what to expect but not long into the program, the level of professionalism, outstanding work ethic, cultural diversity and mentorship made realize the full magnitude of this fellowship.??
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On that basis I would also like to thank all the teams I served under as well as my mentor Mr. Shane Dowling and the fellows for all support and guidance offered throughout the programme.?
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Thank you Ambassador Marco Suazo and team Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵITAR for all the support you extended to us right from the day you notified us of our selection for this program up to this day of our graduation. The lectures you facilitated offered us an ideal gateway into this program. My welfare here and I believe for the rest of the fellows was in good hands.??
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Ladies and gentlemen, I want to take this moment to recognize and acknowledge the support from my government particularly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our mission in New York who have continuously nurtured my growth in diplomacy. I want to recognize the presence of Ambassador Collen Kelapile who have played a critical role in my professional development as young diplomat especially during his tenure as ECOSOC President.?
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It is worth noting that during the week of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Water Conference in March, I had the honor of meeting H.E Mokgweetsi E.K Masisi the President of the Republic of Botswana who was with the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affair Dr. Lemogang Kwape.??
He reminded me that youth empowerment is not only about what we can be given as youth but what we can do with what we are given to bring about meaningful change and progress. Further he highlighted the importance of multilateralism and the significance of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ in a rapidly evolving world.??
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I want to extend special thanks to the donors of this programme and I can confirm that this fellowship and other investments on youth capacity building are essentially sowing a seed of prosperity that shall blossom into a network of empowered young leaders with capacity to change world order.?
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Thank you, excellency Ambassador Dennis Francis, for having committed to carry on this fellowship. I was pleased to learn that one of your priorities is education. It is evident that without education we stand not only to face leadership deficit in the long run but also a future devoid of innovative solutions to global challenges.??
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In conclusion, my fellow fellows and youth across the globe, it our time to coordinate our efforts to augment what is already in place. It is incumbent upon us to redefine youth engagement and take initiative to contribute towards accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. As famously stated by the 35th President of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy in his Inaugural Address of January 20, 1961, ¡°ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.¡± It is the right time for us to ask that question.?
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Congratulations colleagues.?
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Thank you all.?
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