John, I’m excited to share an update about a wonderful new initiative from our Global Tobacco Control Program.
This past October, we held our inaugural Global Young Ambassadors Summit in Istanbul, Turkey. Twenty-seven young adults aged 20-30 from 17 different countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America came together to learn from one another and launch a global network of young leaders to take on the tobacco industry.
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The energy at the summit was electric. Over five days, the ambassadors engaged in a range of activities to build their advocacy skills – and, of course, a lot of team building. They shared resources, exchanged ideas, and learned so much from each other. The intelligence, dynamism, emotion and passion that the global ambassadors brought was palpable. |
The Global Young Ambassadors Summit was built upon and deeply influenced by our 26 years of experience leading youth advocacy programs in the U.S. Our global program has also been supporting youth-led or youth-oriented organizations around the world and understands the power of adding their voices as we work with local partners to fight for change.
During the summit, the ambassadors built the foundation of their network, which we will help to develop and grow. This network will be built and led by the young ambassadors themselves – to become an organizing point for skills sharing, collaboration and joint organizing. Moving forward, in partnership with the initial cohort of ambassadors, we will support continued knowledge-sharing and joint global actions while growing and recruiting new young advocates to join the network. Best Wishes, |
