Saudi female student chosen as UN youth ambassador

Alkhobar : An 18-year-old female Saudi student, Razan Al-Aqeel, has been chosen by the United Nations to be the Arab youth ambassador to the United Nations Youth Assembly in a session being held under the slogan: ‘The world that we want in 2030’. The sessions were held in the United States of America and discussed 150 global issues while also suggesting appropriate solutions.

At the conference, Al-Aqeel, a first year political science student at the Appalachian State University in North Carolina, talked about the volunteering emphasis in kingdom, ways of developing community work that benefits all members of society, in addition to global warming and its consequent environmental problems.

Al-Aqeel also discussed the role of youth in increasing social awareness through cooperation with the authorities in the Kingdom. 

Razan Al-Aqeel is the first Saudi and Arab girl to participate in the Youth Assembly at the UN. She has volunteered more than 250 hours in the Kingdom and 100 hours in the United States, which qualified her to represent her country in this international event.

She said, "I believe that the youth can make a difference in the world. The youth are the adults of tomorrow, so I’ll wait for the next ten years to see a whole new world."

“I like to volunteer and give back to my community. I believe that volunteering is the best way to show people that we can do anything. In volunteering there’s no I, there’s always us, and that’s what makes it special. Volunteering can create a kind of weird happiness in our hearts, and a spark of joy in our eyes.”

On her participation at the conference, Al-Aqeel said: “This participation is a great achievement, not only for me but for all young Saudis. I believe that we can make a great change in this world,” expressing her wish to exploit all that she has learned to serve her country.

She said that she seeks to represent Saudis at various youth events so that the whole world knows the persistence and strength of Saudi youth at the global and local levels.

Al-Aqeel is an an exchange student in the State of North Carolina, US. She is completing a bachelor’s degree in political science, and has received membership at the University Ambassadors Program, making her the first Saudi to participate in such a program.