From April 8 to 9, the United Nations Economic and Social Council Youth Forum 2019 was held in the headquarters of the United Nations in New York. Zhu Chenxi, a post-95s native of Zhejiang, delivered her 3-minute speech titled "Inequality between Countries" on the forum. As a child born into an overseas Chinese family, what stories does Zhu have?

As an activity of the largest scale and highest specification organized by the United Nations for the youth, the ECOSOC Youth Forum has been held since 2012. The forum provides a platform for young leaders from around the world to engage in a dialogue with United Nations Member States and to share ideas on how to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The forum this year took place under the theme of "Youth: Empowered, Included and Equal", with specific focus on the SDGs under review at the 2019 High Level Political Forum. It was attended by over 800 participants and 34 ministers from all over the world. Jackson Yee from Chinese boy band TYBOYS,as a youth actor and China Health Envoy of the World Health Organization, was also invited to attend the forum.

Zhu Chenxi participated in the sub-forum of "Reduce inequality within and among countries" held on April 8. In her speech video, you can see that Zhu, with confidence and fluent English, talked about the income inequality between countries and the importance of international cooperation and multilateralism. While expounding her views, she adopted a Chinese proverb, namely "when everybody adds fuel, the flames rise high". Her speech won numerous applauses.

Zhu said it took her two days for the preparation. On April 4, she received the notice from the organizer and knew she got the precious chance to make a speech. On April 6, she took the flight from Milan to New York. Thanks to her daily study and professional accumulation, she completed the speech draft in only two days.

"As soon as the forum was started, I was not nervous anymore. The atmosphere was friendly and people would listen to your speech, give their opinions, and exchange ideas," Zhu Chenxi said the experience strengthened her belief in her dreams. According to Zhu, the ECOSOC Youth Forum is open to youth all around the world. When she saw the application information on the Facebook, she decided to sign up immediately.

Zhu, 24, now studies for master's degree at Bocconi University in Italy. While in her childhood, her father went abroad to work; at the age of 12, she went abroad with her mother and younger brother to live with her father, just like many children of oversea Chinese families. 

At that time, Zhu Chenxi could only speak Chinese, and her knowledge of English was limited. "When I first arrived in Italy, I couldn't understand what the teachers were talking about. Later on, I gradually caught up," Zhu Chenxi suggested that a student newly arrived in a foreign country should communicate more with the classmates and should not be afraid of making mistakes in class.

Zhu would go back to her hometown in China during summer vacations. "Each time I came back to Zhejiang, I would be surprised by the rapid development of my hometown. I believe in my hometown’s future! " In her career planning, Zhu Chenxi hopes to work in an international organization and has been working hard towards her dream.

(Executive Editor: Yongliu He)