๐ฒ๐ผ My Week at UNGA: Elevating Malawiโs Youth and Voice on the Global Stage
This week, I am honored to participate in the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 80), following a formal invitation from the United Nations Youth Office. Iโll be engaging in high-level dialogues, forums, and commemorations around the 30th anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY30)โa moment that calls for bold recommitment to youth-centered development, globally and in Malawi.
As someone deeply invested in youth, innovation, and systems transformation, this week is more than just a series of eventsโit is a rare convergence of personal mission and institutional opportunity. Iโm attending not only as a delegate, but also as a builder and storyteller.
The Launch of Malawi Wathu
Perhaps the most meaningful highlight for me is the official launch of Malawi Wathu, a youth-led, AI-powered synthesis think tank dedicated to driving evidence-based policy, collaborative research, and civic imagination in Malawi and across Africa. This initiative has quietly lived in my notebooks for yearsโbut there was no better place, and no better time, to bring it to life than here at UNGA.
We’re launching this in collaboration with the Malawi Mission to the UN, with invitations extended to the UN Youth Office, UNDP, and key development partners including the World Bank and European Union. Malawi Wathu exists to ensure youth are not just spoken for, but are speaking, building, and leading.
Feminine Silence โ NYC Book Launch
On the heels of this launch, I will also be hosting a New York City launch of my second book, Feminine Silenceโa deeply personal yet politically resonant work exploring how systems of power condition women (and men) into silence, compliance, and complicity. Itโs an offering not just to readers, but to policymakers and changemakers who must reckon with the hidden emotional labor at the heart of development.
To host a literary gathering during a week often reserved for heads of state and policy circles is itself an act of soft resistanceโand Iโm proud to make space for that nuance.
Other Highlights
Alongside these key moments, my calendar includes:
- The High-Level Plenary Meeting commemorating WPAY30
- Exclusive roundtables on digital cooperation, Africaโs energy future, and SDG media innovation
- Panels hosted by the UN Office for Digital Cooperation, BBC Africa, WIPO, and more
- Private meetings with global youth cohorts, development agencies, and African leaders
Itโs a full weekโand I am equally full of purpose.
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