Few teenagers ever get to see the hallowed halls of a United Nations building, but MEI student Riley Orr recently made history by becoming the youngest delegate to ever attend a Global Peace Summit.
Recently, 17-year-old Orr travelled to Thailand to participate in the 4th Global Peace Summit, joined by three other Abbotsford students 鈥� one from Trinity Western University and two from UFV.
"Most attendees were university students pursuing undergraduate, master's, or doctoral degrees, so it was an incredible honour for me, as a 17-year-old high school student, to participate alongside them," Orr said.
Held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, this event brought together students passionate about humanitarianism and internationally renowned peace activists to help better prepare these influential youth to bring peace and harmony to their respective communities.
"I learned from genocide survivors, including those of the Darfur, Rwandan, Cambodian, and Bosnian genocides, as well as from global peace advocates and changemakers," Orr said. "These powerful stories and lessons have deeply impacted me."
"The survivor鈥檚 emphasis on finding joy and meaning within oneself before trying to create peace in the world was incredibly moving. It鈥檚 a perspective that鈥檚 easy to overlook in conversations about global conflict, but it鈥檚 so essential."
Inspired by what he saw and heard at the Global Peace Summit, Orr is now working towards bringing positive change to his hometown of Abbotsford. And he's doing so with a fancy new title, thanks to Orr being named one of the Global Peace Ambassadors at this year's summit.
"I am currently working on ideas for future events and initiatives to encourage peace and create meaningful dialogue in our community," he said.
One of these potential initiatives is bringing the famous TEDx series to Abbotsford, giving people with in-depth knowledge or passion about certain topics a place to share their experiences with others in an educational and motivational format.
"The goal of this event would be to bring together five to eight speakers to talk about various aspects of peace and what peace could look like in our local community," Orr said.
"By bringing in local thought leaders from Abbotsford and the surrounding areas, this TEDx event would give a voice to individuals who are already making a difference in promoting peace and reconciliation. My hope is that this event will inspire attendees to think critically about how they can contribute to a more peaceful, inclusive, and connected community. I鈥檓 planning to work on this initiative over the next year and hope it will become a meaningful step toward fostering peace at the grassroots level."
