The World Youth Forum 2019 was certainly one for the books. Held in one of Egypt’s touristic capitals, Sharm El Sheikh, the event hosted over 7000 people from 164 countries around the world. Over the course of the 5 days, there were a variety of different workshops, activations, sessions, and celebrations that took place, creating an enriching environment for learning, development and cultural exchange.
 
Some of the most notable speakers included Egyptian actor, Ahmed Helmy, motivational speaker and author, Elizabeth Velasquez, Li Yong, Director General of UNIDO,Dr. ZahiHawass, Egyptologist, President of the National Council for Women in Egypt, H.E. Dr. Maya Morsy, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, H.E. Yousef Bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, and Sophia the Robot. The youngest speaker at the WYF and 4-time cancer survivor, Zein Youssef, stole the hearts of everyone, who concluded his segment with a dose of inspiration stating, “I embraced a motto in my lifethat I repeat daily in everything that I do called NEGU— Never Ever Give Up”.
 
I interviewed one of the WYF’s attendees, Mohamed Okasha, who thought the event was “successful when it came to uniting peoplein the same spirit of exchanging culture, spreading peace and building strong connections. The Freedom.e 2.0 experience was extremely unique—it included different artistic activities, exposure to eco-friendly startups along with WYF Labs, which gave the opportunity to local & international startups to showcase their ideas and efforts.” He also told me about the roundtable workshops, which grouped teams of 5-6 people from varying countries in an intimate and personal dialogue to be able to gain insight and learn first-hand from an industry professional. “The theatre particularly was an incredible experience. We had the chance to interact with the 7 civilizations that make up the spectacular Egyptian character. Aside from the participation of many international artists and speakers, I also made a lot of lifelong friendships from people of different cultures and walks of life. You get to work with and experience the company of so many amazing people, and it’s truly one of the biggest rewards of this conference.”
 
To conclude this massive event, President Abdel Fattah El Sisiannounced 10 major decisions that will help drive Egypt forward within the coming years, and drive the conversation and action towards peace, development and innovation. Some of those decisions included: “1) Aswan is declared as the new capital for African Youth, 4) Egypt’s adoption of the principle of protecting life and fighting terrorism and its direct and indirect impacts as a basic humanright, 6) The launch of an international initiative to train 10,000 young Africans and Egyptians to become electronic game, software and application programmers, and 10) Egypt’s implementation of a campaign to raise awareness amongst youth about water security issues”.