SOCRATES OLYMPIO
GHANA

My day started at 4:00 a.m. after only two hours of sleep. Nevertheless, when we finally arrived in San Francisco at 12:00 p.m., I was awake, alert and ready!

I travelled with two other participants, one from Chile and the other from Kazakhstan so I got a little taste of what was to come. Still, when we were all together for the first time, it was pretty incredible. Thirty-five young people representing twenty-nine countries!  I still can't quite believe it.

We introduced ourselves and then shared our reasons for participating in the Youth Summit.   The answers were really diverse, but I learned that youth from all over the world are concerned about and want to change the state of the world. I guess that's not too bad for one afternoon on no sleep!

In the evening, after doing some work in small groups about our hopes and dreams, we gathered around a bonfire on the beach right next to the Golden Gate bridge. We ate, sang and shared our cultures with each other. Magic is really the only word to describe today. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?