Opening Session Recap

By Emerson Harned

HS KUNA 3 hit it off strong with Secretary General Demos Negash’s opening address. Comparing KUNA to the work of the Pixar films, he gave an inspiring speech saying that Kentucky’s students have the power to create change, and this conference is how we can do that.

Continuing through his speech, he talks about creating change through the comfort of our own home saying, “for the next two days, you can embark on your own journey.” Demos’ advice to embark on that journey is to embrace the change. These journeys can start today, or maybe they have already started, but a lot has happened in the world over the past year. The work does not stop.

Demos talked about how even through the Coronavirus, there are still people around the world who still do not have access to health services. He also talked about how inequality is an issue that is very prominent in the world right now. But, even through all of these worldwide issues, Kentucky’s teens are the ones that have the power to tackle these issues.

Something the Secretary General said that stuck out was, “this world does not deserve small steps.” Over the next two days, we need to be courageous, be ambitious, and figure out how to solve the problems most pressing in our world today.