It is an absolute honor for all the Nepalese to have a young Nepalese women leader leading young people around the world at the United Nations. We wish her the best in her future endeavors!
A young Nepali woman, Jolly Amatya has been appointed as the “Youth Chair” for the Youth Assembly at the United Nations. She is the first and the youngest Nepali to be appointed in such a high position leading young people around the world at the “Youth Assembly at the United Nations“.
The Youth Assembly is the largest and the longest running youth conference at the United Nations. It is a unique platform which fosters dialogue and generates partnerships between exceptional youth, UN high officials and staff, the private sector, and civil society. After being appointed as the Youth Chair, Amatya successfully led her whole team to gather more than 1000 youth representatives from 97 countries at the UNHeadquarters from August 10-12 with an objective to empower youth leaders and young professionals in the implementation of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The event concluded on the International Youth Day.
The 2016 Youth Assembly is made possible through Friendship Ambassadors Foundation and lead endorsements by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the UN and the Permanent Mission of Thailand to the UN. Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Office in Belgrade H.E. Simona-Mirela Miculescu is the honorary chair. As the newly appointed Youth Chair of the Youth Assembly, Amatya addressed the historic United Nations General Assembly Hall filled with hundreds of youth delegates who represented more than 97 countries on 10th August. “ I’ve always believed that when your passion and your purpose collide, there is an explosion that ignites the light in you forever. I want you to find that passion and your purpose! “ she said. Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki Moon extended a special message to the youth delegates as well.
She initially joined Youth Assembly in 2013 as a youth representative of Nepal. In a short span of less than three years, she has been successful in being promoted to the top most coveted and prestigious leadership role. She worked as the Co-Chair for the Youth Assembly in 2015. As a r
esult of her tremendous hard work and resilience, this year, she has finally been appointed as the Youth Chair, the biggest leadership role any young person can hold at the Youth Assembly.
In her professional experience gained over the last seven years in the United States, she has worked with diverse administrations and bodies such as the United Nations, UN Women, WFUNA, the World Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Actionaid International. Over the last seven years, Jolly has worked with many organizations in the United States as well as in Nepal for the betterment of the status of women and youth.
She believes that young people in Nepal have amazing potential and they need the right exposure, guidance, and mentorship. Young people if given the right skills and knowledge, can be the key agents of change. We are not the leaders of tomorrow, we are the leader of today, she says.
She has been serving on the board of US National Committee for UN Women in the Executive Finance Committee for the past three years. She has represented Nepal at the White House AAPI Youth Forum, White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders. She was also nominated to attend the United State of Women Summit in 2016 at the White House.
She has been recently internationally recognized as the “Young Global Leader Achievement” Award by Global Connections for Women Foundation in New York (2015).
She is also a Young Professional at NGO CSW. She feels privileged to have worked as an Ambassador for organizations such as WPPC (Women Prevention and Prevention Center, Nepal/Seattle), and Heal a Woman-Heal a Nation, USA. She represented Nepal at the United Nations CSW (Committee of the Status of Women) at the UN Headquarters for four consecutive years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. She has been invited by the United Nations in many events as a speaker, mostly representing the youth and women.
Jolly was born and raised in Nepal and did her schooling in St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School. She was also awarded “Voice of Women Top Ten Women Award”, Nepal 2007 when she was in high school. (Awarded to top ten girls selected from Nepal with excellent academics and extracurricular community involvement). She pursued her undergraduate studies in Finance/Accounting from Coe College, Iowa and from Harvard University, Boston.
She believes that even though many of us, young people are abroad for studies and employment, we can still contribute a lot back Nepal in many ways, more than we can ever imagine. She plans to visit Nepal the end of this year.
It is an absolute honor for all the Nepalese to have a young Nepalese women leader leading young people around the world at the United Nations. We wish her the best in her future endeavors! Source : thenewyorkcitypost
