Aakarshi Srivastava and Anubhava Singla, Millennium Fellows from the University of Delhi South Campus, were selected to join the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Investment Forum as speakers. This year, the UNCTAD World Investment Forum prioritized sustainable development investment to address global challenges. The two Millennium Fellows had the opportunity to network with world leaders and representatives from various organizations around the world. Speaking about her experience at the UNCTAD and World Investment Forum, Aakarshi stated, “It was a privilege to rub shoulders with world leaders. The conversations and sessions around the social impact sector inspired me the most. ” For Anubhava, the conference was, “a unique and enriching experience, where I interacted with policymakers, academics, and other youth delegates. I learned from their experiences.”
"Empowering change begins at the roots of society - Aakarshi"
At the conference, Aakarshi Srivastava had the opportunity to meet world leaders who inspired her to dedicate herself to creating social impact. The United Nations Secretary General's Youth Climate Advisor, Joice Mendez, inspired Aakarshi with her work and involvement in the social impact space.
"I had the privilege of meeting several world leaders, including the United Nations Secretary General's Climate Advisor. Her optimism and the encouragement she expressed left a lasting impact on my commitment to the field of social impact. During our conversation, I discussed both the Millennium Fellowship and my project. She was delighted to learn about my initiative .In fact, she recently did a webinar for my project.”
Aakarshi's passion is to advocate for public policy and social impact. She believes her journey in the realm of public policy reflects her unwavering commitment to addressing pressing global challenges. Aakarshi says she has had a deep desire to help reshape her world into a better place for all with impactful leadership since she was a young girl. “I believe that I am incredibly passionate, ambitious, and disciplined, with a strong desire to be a positive change-maker in the world.”
Millennium Fellowship Impact: A Transformative Influence
Intending to increase awareness about the social impact space among youth, Aakarshi founded her Millennium Fellowship project “The Conscious Capstone,” a web platform that provides opportunities for individuals engaged in the social impact space to share their experiences and access more information about it. She aims to make the social impact space more accessible for youths.
“As a university student, I noticed that a lot of people in my community don't know about social impact space and the opportunities that lie in this domain. I realized the problem lies in a lack of awareness. So we tried to raise awareness and help youth access opportunities and learn more about the social impact space through our platform, The Conscious Capstone.”
“The Millennium Fellowship has empowered me with knowledge in the domain of social impact. The necessary tools that the Fellowship provides, and the inspiration from the global webinar speakers has made me believe that I can change the status quo as well.”
Aakarshi says she believes the unique exposure and training opportunities provided by the fellowship have helped shape her project more profoundly. The valuable network and inspiration Aakarshi gained from interacting with others in the program, has helped Aakarshi in her journey.
“It is always inspiring to learn about social impact from the leaders around the world and in your community; the challenges that they overcome and their achievements. The Millennium Fellowship has given me a network of people who are trying to achieve similar goals. This collaborative environment within the fellowship helped us to make contributions to each other's projects. Being the campus director for my cohort was a cherry on the cake, as it helped me hone my leadership abilities. At the end of the day, these bonds that I have created within my cohort and around the world have given me much-needed motivation and inspiration.”
Expressing her wish to continue working on her project, she is looking forward to addressing more pain points by leveraging the idea of innovative simplicity. Aakarshi says, "I want to continue working on my project after the Fellowship and try to establish it as a credible source of inspiration for those looking to make a difference. My goal is to encourage more people to pursue impactful and meaningful careers, and I'm eager to see more youth engage in social impact initiatives. I'm committed to assisting in any way I can to help any individual make an impact.”
Anubhava Singla's Reflections:
“Real Impact cannot be measured tangibly, it lies in giving voice to the ideas and opinions of individuals dedicatedly working in the social impact space.”
Anubhava Singla, a Millennium Fellow from the University of Delhi passionate about sustainability and development economics, also attended the UNCTAD World Youth Form.
Sharing his reflections from the conference, Anubhava says: “I was excited to learn about energy transition at the conference. Many people are dependent on non-renewable energy resources for their daily income. When meeting energy stakeholders at the conference, I tried to convey why just transition should form an integral part of the complete energy transition process and through my project, I also hope to contribute to it.”
Anubhava started his Millennium Fellowship project “Vriksh” (Trees) which emphasizes the benefits of tree plantation in India. “I hope to explore the role of NGOs, the government, and the private sector in increasing forest cover in India. I recognize how ambitious this project is, but as young leaders ambition is all we have.
My project is divided into two halves. First I have written a research paper that explores the problem and the reason behind it. Secondly, I hope to build upon this research and try to address the information gap between the government and the NGOs/ Companies.
Inspiring Millennium Fellowship Experiences:
Reflecting on his time in the Millennium Fellowship, Anubhava shared how the program contributed to his growth as a leader by fostering introspection and providing valuable learning experiences from other young leaders.
“During our bi-weekly training sessions, the Fellowship curriculum invited us to think about what we have done and how we could make our projects better. Even though this was only a small part of the whole experience, it really stayed with me and because of that, I could say the Millennium Fellowship has been an inspiring experience for me. It has also provided me with the credibility that my project needed and helped me to form meaningful connections in the social impact space."
Millennium Fellows and alumni, want to share your story with the community? Email us here: fellowship@mcnpartners.org
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