The Durban University of Technology (DUT) student, Ntuthuko Mchunu is excited to be selected as one of the young emerging leaders to participate in the One Young World Summit, where he will share best international leadership practices with fellow young global leaders.

The One Young World Summit is scheduled to take place at The Hague, Netherlands, from 17 to 20 October 2018. In attendance will young leaders from 196 countries. The summit is a platform where the most valuable young talent from global and national companies, NGOs, universities and other forward-thinking organisations are joined by world leaders to formulate and share innovative solutions for the pressing issues the world faces.

Mchunu heard about the One Young World Summit while he was attending the USAID Young African Leaders Initiative in Kenya last year. “When Yusupha Jobe from the Pan African Parliament told me about the One Young World Summit, I was immediately interested to be part of it because I thought it would present me with an opportunity to learn about ideas and solutions from other young global leaders. I then applied and went through a rigorous selection process, and luckily I was selected as one of the participants,” he said.

The DUT Btech Human Resources Management student said he is looking forward to learning about other cultures and interacting with other young global leaders. “This is an opportunity for me to learn more about fundraising and civic leadership broadly,” Mchunu said.

The young student leader from KwaMashu is very passionate about issues relating to eradicating crime and creating environmentally sustainable communities. Currently, he is part of the International Centre of Nonviolence (ICON) which is based at the ML Sultan campus of DUT. The centre is led by Crispin Hemson.

He said he is already working on a case presentation that he will present during the One Young World Summit together with Hemson. The case presentation will be based on a “Peace Forest”, which is a concept that was conceived by ICON for the community of Lindelani.

The Peace Forest aims is to address both social ills and environmental challenges faced by the community of Lindelani, through transforming the forest from its current state as a crime hotspot and environmental hazard, into a place that is a sanctuary for both people and nature.

“I’m hoping that we can use the platform provided by One Young World Summit to lobby for financial support for the Peace Forest, which will go a long way in eradicating crime and other social ills within the community of Lindelani,” said Mchunu.

Pictured: Durban University of Technology (DUT) student, Ntuthuko Mchunu will participate in One Young World Summit in the Netherlands later this year.

Nduduzo Ndlovu