2019/10/11 / Published in 2019年報導, News, 联合国青少年外交官2018训练营系列报导, 聯合國SDGs/SE4ALL青少年外交官培訓營

外交官們的「新」故事︱Messages from Africa

2018屆聯合國青少年外交官
Mr. Zimichael Damtew Gebeyehu

Mr. Zimichael Damtew Gebeyehu ，他是我們2018年度的青少年外交官，2018年度的中國學員們都認識他。他來自非洲這片大陸，他是個勤奮繼而優秀的人。近日，我們收到了一封來自他的信，這份信讓我們產生了跨越地域的共情——喜悅！

他的來信

Dear WOSL:
I wanted to tell you that I have been invited to be a delegate for the Space Generation Congress 2019 happening this October on the 17th – 19th at Lockheed Martin Global Vision Center in Virginia, USA. It is organized by Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) in support of UN and sponsored by Lockheed Martin, NASA, ESA, and other space industries. I have competed for only 150 spots from more than 13,000 applicants. I am excited to be part of this global space industry-focused conference and also I will be able to promote the prominent uses of space technology to the fulfillment of the SDGs.

我想告訴你，我已受邀成為10月17日至19日在美國弗吉尼亞州洛克希德·馬丁全球視覺中心舉行的2019年空間世代大會的代表。它是由空間咨詢委員會（SGAC）組織的，以支持聯合國，並由洛克希德·馬丁，美國太空總署，歐空局和其他太空工業贊助。能從13，000名申請人中最終被選拔成為幸運的150人之一，我非常的興奮。我很高興能參加這次以全球航空工業為主題的回應i，既能夠促進航天技術的廣泛應用，也得以實現可持續發展目標。

SGAC與SGC

SGAC（The Space Generation Advisory Council）空間咨詢委員會是支持聯合國空間應用方案的一個全球性組織。

SGC（The Space Generation Congress）是SGAC最主要的學術會議。來自世界各地的頂尖青年每年聚集一堂，就重要的空間議題與各聯絡點進行交流。大會與國際宇航大會（IAC）聯合舉行，是IAC的一項重要活動。

他的故事

“The Journey: from strong passion to future space leadership”

“Be the change agents”, a quote from my instructors at the UN Junior Ambassador 2018 summer program, guides my endeavors to take initiatives and help others to reach a common good. When I was ten years old, watching the Apollo 11 documentary ignited a well-fortified passion for space travel and rockets. That moment gave me the ultimate purpose to contribute to mankind’s efforts to explore outer space by advancing rocket technology.

To upheld this passion, I started to sketch my own spacecraft designs and engines. I was fifth grader when my general science teacher advised me to join the elite scientific society: The Ethiopian Space Science Society, a community which fostered my passion for space travel. On the first day I joined, the society gave me the chance to present my own design of a “Spy UFO spacecraft”, which at that time I was engrossed with ufology. I was really obsessed with new technologies and speculations about UFO’s flight systems. I even had a “UFO” as a nick at 5^thgrade due the fact that I presented my own articles about UFO’s at class presentation and morning sessions. My presentation at the 5^th General Assembly of the Ethiopian Space Science Society opened a new window for my space science career to grow. From that day, I am a prominent member of the Ethiopian Space Science Society and presented more than 13 researches in aerospace engineering and propulsion for the past 9 years. My reputation and involvement on community outreach activities at the society led me to win The Youth Leadership Award, which is organized by the World Organization for Sustainable Development (WOSL) in collaboration with the Ethiopian Space Science Society (ESSS). The award enabled me to be part of an intensive research summer program at Claremont Graduate University in CA, USA as UN Junior Ambassador for Sustainable Development. The program changed my whole career to professional level. With multidisciplinary lectures focusing on implementing UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), I got the opportunity to work on goal #9: Innovation, Industry, and Infrastructure. The independence nature of the program enabled me to connect the SDGs to space exploration and elimination of space debris in the end.

After the summer program, I continued my work in spreading the voice of the SDGs and the importance of space science in fulfilling those goals. Through this leadership program and my success at the Ethiopian Space Science Society, I was honored to be the Youth Space Ambassador, promoting and creating awareness about the uses of space science in my country. In conjunction with the responsibilities as a UN Junior Ambassador for Sustainable Development, I have been giving public lectures about my research on SDGs and the importance of space exploration to achieve those goals. I have travelled to universities outside the capital, Addis Ababa, and presented research experience on the SDGs and the significance of space exploration to students in the countryside. The UN Junior Ambassador program taught me teamwork and success can be easily achieved through collaboration and partnership. I used this principle to engage the youth in space activities, because I believe that the overall contribution of the youth in space science is crucial to support our space program. I have been able to bring the leadership skills I got form UN Junior Ambassador Program to my internship at ESSS. Overall, the UN Junior Ambassador program is a life changing experience that widened the glasses I used to view the world, and it gave me hope and fortitude to strive and solve global problem. After all, we, the youth are the change agents and future leaders that the world has been waiting for.