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Munira Khalif, the 2017-2018 United States Youth Observer to the United Nations, has been in this role for only three months. She applied for this position because she believes young Americans should have a formal representative at the UN. Today the world has the largest generation of young people in history. Munira has two primary goals as the US-UN Youth Observer. First, she wants to make the UN more accessible to young people. Second, she wants to bring the concerns of the youth to the UN. She enjoyed the opportunity to attend the General Assembly last September. She shared she sensed magnetism in the air on the day: streets were shut down around the UN for the global leaders to gather at the UN. General Assembly week really inspired her not only because she was a part of the US delegation, but also because she was able to meet people of various backgrounds. For example, when she attended one of the UN side events, she met an Indian teacher who was advocating for education. That woman founded a school for girls from disadvantaged neighborhoods of India. That teacher had to persevere through difficulties to become an entrepreneur in education, which allowed her to empower many girls to follow her path into education.
Being a first-generation Somali-American made Munira aware of the great opportunities she was having in the US in terms of education, while also realizing that many young people struggled to get primary education in various parts of the world. Munira’s mother shared with her that there were girls of her age in Somalia who were not able to attend school at all. Munira felt blessed to have been raised in a family in which her grandparents invested in her mother’s future through education. Similarly, Munira’s parents invested in hers. When Munira was 14, she partnered with other people and founded a nonprofit organization, “Lighting the Way”. This organization sponsors teachers and students in East Africa. Munira believes that women magnify knowledge: “If you educate a boy, you educate an individual. If you educate a girl, you educate a nation.” (African proverb). She believes that education transforms people’s lives, helps reduce mortality rates, promotes education for future generations, and contributes to higher GDP levels. Therefore, investing in girls is the smart thing to do.
After founding “Lighting the Way,” Munira joined Girl Up, a UN initiative that encompasses more than 750 clubs of teenage girls in 44 countries. Girl Up raises funds for Peace Corps projects to support girls in marginalized communities. According to Munira, Girl Up is about mobilizing American girls to help girls in developing countries become the next generations of young leaders. She joined Girl Up to advocate for education and give advice to others about the ways to lobby Congress in terms of education. Munira advocated for the rights of children in Africa to have a birth certificate. She believed, children who did not have a birth certificate, were not visible members of their society.
Munira’s next step was to apply for the US-UN Youth Observer position, where she learned a sense of global citizenship. Growing up as a Somali American, she remembers that her family stayed connected with relatives in Somalia via phone calls. She reflected that those phone calls were always alarming, because her family never knew what to expect each time the phone rang. She remembered getting a phone call that brought the news of her uncle being killed by members of the opposition tribe. The people who killed her uncle proceed with brutally killing her uncle’s son by pouring gasoline over his body and setting him on fire. The fact that he was Munira’s age at the time of his death made her realize that this could happen to anyone anywhere in the world as long as a conflict existed. Munira understood that one should never take anything for granted. She realized that young Americans are priviledged to think and act beyond the borders. However, she urges young people not to take these opporunities and education for granted.
In addition, Munira talked about the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which range from gender equality to climate change. Because the SDGs are so broad and call for everyone’s involvement, the UN needs people with diverse backgrounds to mobilize and work together. The UN needs diplomats, data scientists, analysts, public figures, and representatives from civil society. Everyone needs to do their part in changing the world we all live in. After her inspiring speech, Munira took questions from the audience.
In summary, Munira believes it is necessary for young people to be a part of the global conversation, because today’s young people will be tomorrow’s leaders. For Munira, no challenge is too daunting. She believes it is necessary to develop consciousness and awareness to embrace formidable opportunities as challenges. One of her role models is Malala Yousafzai, who received the Nobel Peace Prize at age 17 for standing up for education. Munira highlighted the increasing number of young people around the world who do not have access to school. She hypothesized that geniuses like Einstein may be living in slums, but they cannot reach their full potential due to the lack of access to education in their communities. Munira believes education is the most potent weapon that can be used to change our future. When asked if she would re-do or change something about her past, Munira said she would neither change nor re-do anything. In her spare time, Munira enjoys binge-watching Netflix, especially Shonda Rhymes’ TV shows. Her favorite part of her role as a US-UN Youth Observer is being around people, bringing people together and being a part of the UN.
Patricia Zanini Graca is a first-year graduate student at the Seton Hall School of Diplomacy and International Relations. Patricia holds an MBA in Business and Marketing. Patricia is a media associate at the Journal of Diplomacy, and an associate at the Graduate Diplomacy Council. She specializes in International Organizations and Global Negotiations & Conflict Management.