To dream big may be common for Solomon Islanders today but stepping up into a new world ambition is something else.
Solomon Islands student Belyndar Maonia Rikimani, a law undergraduate, was awarded the 2021 Young World Ambassador from Solomon Islands. The presentation summit was held in Munich, Germany from July 22 – 25 this year.
Ms Rikimani didn’t make it over to Munich due to the globe’s stringent travel restrictions but that didn’t stop her from participating in the virtual celebration of the event.
The 23-year-old was part of the hundreds of young ambassadors from all over the world who converged for the three-day summit.
The event focused on global changemakers all over the world and discussed the importance of youths in the current times, as well as giving the participants tools that will help them persist in their work as changemakers.
“The summit was set virtually for those of us who did not make it over to the host ground but it was an amazing day of nothing but inspiration.
“It was fun and filled with aspiration that even though we had weird hours, it was worth that energy to continue every session.
“I had the time to interact with alot of my fellow delegates, especially those that are part of my passion as climate activists around the globe.
“I had a lot of takeaways from those powerful speakers and it really pushed me from the level I had been before.
“We had this pacific spirit amongst those virtual walls that are there but it was interesting seeing everyone participating on this great platform,” Rikimani said.
Rikimani encourages young people to apply for such an opportunity to pursue nature passion and become a changemaker inside the community and the country.
“I call on every young Solomon Islander not to think down of themselves and take this opportunity as a stumbling block but to try because every thing in life is worth trying.
“One Young World Ambassador is very simple to reach and it is worth your lifetime experience and you will not regret it.”
Rikimani is also the president for Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change and she was very vocal for the Climate Change over the past years though she was a student and now she set foot on this platform to raise her voice for frontier islands especially Solomon Islands.
“Climate Change is real and it is not the time we make policies to address these issues but to start to act and implement and our simple action can bring change to the policy makers to act upon.
“Young people, is this our time to speak up for our islands or not? It will be too late and forgotten,” she said.
During the summit, Rikimani met some of her favourite speakers such as Luis Hamilton, Roberta Domingues, Diego Tabares Puerta and Gabriela Jaeger.
The next Young World Ambassador will be in Tokyo, Japan next year.
Looking ahead, Rikimani will be part of the COP26 delegates traveling to Glasgow, Scotland, UK later this year.
By Jeremy Gwao
