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Students For Liberty alumna, Michelle Bernier attended the One Young World Summit in the latest cohort of One Young World Peace Ambassadors supported by the European Commission. As part of her participation in the summit, she shared her perspective on youth entrepreneurship and educational innovation.
The annual summit brings together the 2,000 brightest young leaders from across countries and sectors working to accelerate social impact worldwide. Delegates from more than 190 countries are mentored by influential political, business, and humanitarian leaders, including former Irish President Mary Robinson, Dr. Jane Goodall, Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, and the Duchess of Sussex, among many other global figures.
The One Young World Summit took place at the Manchester Central conference center from September 5-8, with the opening ceremony held at the internationally renowned Bridgewater Hall, home of the BBC Philharmonic.
Robertson McKay, CEO of One Young World, commented, “We are delighted to welcome this year’s European Commission Peace Ambassadors to Manchester. With each Ambassador joining our Summit and global community, we aim to open doors, create opportunities and help make an impact. The network at our Summit will provide this year’s fellows with knowledge and skills that will be invaluable to their projects.”
“Being selected to represent Colombia is something that gives me pride, but I also know that it is a great responsibility, and I know that I am up to what this commitment means. I hope I can inspire more Colombians to apply for this type of initiative,” Bernier said, adding that it is an excellent opportunity for young entrepreneurs.
Although she was born in Zulia, Venezuela, Michelle says she also feels Colombian, where she migrated some time ago with her family, became a citizen, and had the opportunity to continue with her personal and professional projects. She is a lawyer with a Master’s Degree in Law and International Business and a double degree from Universidad Europea del Atlántico and Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana in Mexico.
Her trajectory in social activism began at 14; since then, she has carried out various projects with her foundation Valoro, which seeks to recover the creative spaces of secondary and diversified education in Venezuela. Her activism has never stopped. She has lectured internationally in more than 10 Latin American countries, focusing on the fundamentals of free enterprise as a pillar of citizen empowerment, innovation, and economic growth.
In 2019, Michelle Bernier was selected to participate in the Global Undergraduate Program, an exchange in the United States, which allowed her to study and share international volunteer experiences. Likewise, she was a Local Coordinator at Students For Liberty, where she carried out different projects on political innovation, encouraging the struggle for civil and economic rights. She won the Student of the Year award in 2020.
As for her future projects, Michelle is working to reach the communities where the ideas of liberty are most needed, touring throughout Colombia and promoting entrepreneurship as a mechanism to build peace in post-conflict societies. In addition to inspiring many young people to embrace entrepreneurship and see solutions instead of problems.
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This piece solely expresses the opinion of the author and not necessarily the organization as a whole. Students For Liberty is committed to facilitating a broad dialogue for liberty, representing a variety of opinions.
