As pupils from across the UAE pitched their ideas in a bid to make a change in the global humanitarian and refugee landscape, the American University in Dubai announced the launch of its Youth Engagement Chapter, in collaboration with the UNHCR.
"We want to have a tangible, practical follow-up to this conference," said Toby Harward, head of UNHCR Abu Dhabi.
"We want to continue the spirit of this conference by keeping students engaged, by UNHCR providing occasional lectures, workshops and training on refugee issues, in the UAE. It’s an outreach for UNHCR, for American University of Dubai (AUD), and it’s a vehicle to engage youth in what we believe is one of the most fundamental issues of our time."
Mary Mwende, youth advocate and AUD alumna, worked at refugee camps in Lebanon for a month.
"As much as it broke my heart, it uplifted me in ways that I could never even think about," said the 26-year-old Kenyan. "I had the chance to engage with children, mothers, men and women who had left their homes and didn’t have anything and I came out feeling more hopeful than ever.
"Engaging youth to be able to be agents of change to carry the positive messages we’re trying to spread to other people is crucial because, like they say, ‘there’s nothing for us like us’."

Source: The National