My Experience at the Humanitarian Affairs 3rd Global Peace Summit at the United Nations in Bangkok, Thailand

In January 2024 I was given the opportunity to attend the Global Peace Summit for Emerging Leaders at the United Nations in Bangkok, Thailand which was hosted by Humanitarian Affairs Asia. As one of the delegates from the University of Technology of Sydney I joined 350 young people from 47 countries in learning how to cultivate a more peaceful world. 

I arrived in Bangkok a couple of days before the conference as I was selected to be part of the Leadership Team at the conference. My roles including welcoming the delegates at the registration desk, helping with the coordination of activities, and taking part in an interview on why it is important for young people to engage in peacebuilding.

Throughout the conference we listened and asked questions to several extremely remarkable and passionate people who shared their stories and their messages of how we can strive for peace in an increasingly divided and complex world. Some of the speakers included Nivine Sandouka who is a Palestinian Peace Activist and Regional COS of Middle East Peace, Hassan Akkad who is a Syrian refugee rights activist and filmmaker and Loung Ung who is a Cambodian Genocide Survivor and author of ‘First They Killed My Father’. Their resilience and dedication to promoting peace was extremely inspiring and made me feel empowered that I can make a positive difference. I learned about the importance of promoting active listening, understanding and empathy in order to have meaningful dialogue and support peacebuilding.

Connecting with other young people who want to make a positive impact on the world was an amazing and special experience. Outside of the conference I had fun exploring Bangkok with other students I met, including students from Singapore, Australia, USA, Canada, China, and lots of other different countries! I also celebrated my 21^st birthday with the other delegates I met by exploring the infamous Khaosan Road in Bangkok which had loads of stalls, pubs and an amazing energy.

Following the conference, I went solo travelling in Thailand for a few days which included Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands. I spent my time exploring, eating delicious Thai food, taking boat tours around the islands, snorkelling, swimming and relaxing.

Overall, I had an amazing experience at the 3^rd Global Peace Summit, and I also made some great friends from Sydney and Adelaide who I’m looking forward to catching up with. I would really encourage everyone to take up this opportunity as I have learnt so much about the mechanisms and tools which support peacebuilding and it was amazing to meet so many other passionate students. As a delegate I will also be taking on the role of a Humanitarian Affairs Peace Ambassador during 2024 which involves undertaking peacebuilding initiatives in my wider community, and I am excited to see what other delegates do to promote peace in their communities. 

Zara Horton
Faculty of Law
Faculty-Led – BUILD – Peace Summit of Emerging Leaders in Bangkok, Thailand
BUILD Global Ambassador Grant recipient