A decade ago Natasha Maimba was a child refugee living in a mobile home in a sprawling direct provision centre in Athlone.
“It’s like being stuck in a cage,” she said at the time, in an interview with The Irish Times.
She worried about fitting into her new secondary school, getting bullied and whether she’d get the chance to go to university with her best friend.
Today, the 22-year-old is one of the State’s two youth delegates who will represent the young people of Ireland at the UN’s general assembly in New York this week and at other events over the coming year.
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The holder of a law degree from Dublin City University and currently a master’s student at King’s College London, Maimba says she feels honoured to represent Ireland.
“Being able to stand on the international stage as a UN youth delegate is a testament to Ireland’s commitment to inclusivity, where people of all creeds, cultures and backgrounds can call this place home.”
Maimba, whose family are from Zimbabwe, moved to Ireland at the age of nine and spent several years in the direct provision system until, eventually, securing refugee status.
As well as advocating for migrant rights and gender equality, she says she aims to emphasise the importance of peacebuilding, hope and collective action on issues such as sustainability and climate change.
“This is all about making sure that young people are in the room when important decisions are being made, so their voices are heard and that they can contribute on an international stage,” she says. “Where better to do that than at the UN ... It’s a powerful responsibility.”
The other UN youth delegate for Ireland is Lauren Jones Brennan (22) from Dublin, a final-year law student at Trinity College Dublin.
“I grew up in Blanchardstown – a wonderful, diverse, multicultural area – in a single-parent household,” she says. “It’s kind of bred into me; that empathy and desire to bring an inclusive voice. It’s an honour to be that voice for other young people.”
She says she plans to work to advocate for a future where “justice, inclusivity and sustainability are at the forefront of our efforts on the global stage”.
The UN youth delegate programme is in its 10th year and provides an avenue for young people to become more involved in international co-operation.
As part of their role, they will engage with young people across Ireland about foreign policy issues and represent them at UN events.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said he looked forward to engaging with them. “It is essential that young people are equipped to be effective global citizens, contributing to policy and decision making at local, national and international levels,” he said.
While young people’s forums are sometimes dismissed as PR gestures, Jones Brennan insists this programme is effective.
“It’s far from just a photo op,” she says. “Behind the scenes, we’re making sure we’re in the room where things are being discussed and important decisions are made. We’re meeting ministers, high-level stakeholders ...
“Both Natasha and I are very passionate and very honoured to be a part of this. It’s a wonderful programme and we’re just at the beginning. We’re both very ambitious young women. We just want to give it our all, do the very best that we can for the young people of Ireland, and make some meaningful change.”
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