DD: Why did you become a youth advocate?

CB: I actually started as a child advocate. As a former refugee back in my country (Sierre Leone), I had a simple notion. Children had suffered a lot from war. We should be part of making the peace.

I went around making this point to my friends and eventually the authorities dared us to organize ourselves. We set up children's clubs all over the country and I was the Founding President of the first national children's organization in the country, the Children's Forum Network. In that role, I went around the country urging children to share their stories on what we want for the future.

Most of us said education for all! It's the foundation of my advocacy and it's what has guided me since. So, I became a youth advocate because I was uncomfortable with being left out of charting a future that should belong to us and I decided to do something about it. I have been doing it ever since.

DD: What messages do you have to share with children and young people about the importance of education and gender equality?

CB: My main message is really a reflection of the message that I heard years ago speaking to war affected children in my country and I have continued to hear from children and young people all over the world. Education is hope. Hope for a better life, hope for a better future. And everyone deserves a chance to hope—boys as well as girls—everywhere. 

On gender equality, the evidence is overwhelming. Our lives and our future are as bright as the prospect of girls and women in our societies. Equality is not only the moral thing to do, it’s absolutely the smart thing to do!

DD: How important is the Education First Initiative and what difference can it make to children’s lives?

CB: The Global Education First Initiative is critical because first it brings together different sets of partners, from United Nations agencies, governments, businesses and civil society, and young people, in an unprecedented partnership to focus on delivering on the promise of education.

It brings a new sense of urgency to education and helps put education on the top of the global agenda. It makes a difference because it is only when we are all working together that we can get every child in school, make sure they receive quality education and grow up to become global citizens, which are the priorities of the initiative. 

DD: Were there particular elements in your education that inspired you and shaped your worldview?

CB: The biggest thing for me was simply the joy of going to school when the world was falling apart around me. As a refugee or displaced person, my education was my hope. It made me believe that things will be better, not only for me but for my country. It’s what continues to inspire everything I do!