Biography:
I am in a senior in North Carolina State University in the United States, majoring in Business Administration with concentration in Finance, International Studies with concentration in International Relations and minor in Chinese. I was born in the United States but grew up in Korea. I was the president of the 1st Asia Pacific Youth Parliament on Water (APYPW) and now am a youth delegate to the World Water Council (WWC). I am also pleased to partner with various youth organizations such as Water Youth Network to take part in the International Youth Steering Committee (IYSC).
What is your motivation in water sector?
What excites me most about the water sector is that the issues are so complex. Because of the complicated nature of the issues, it requires numerous discussions across various people from different regions, fields and backgrounds. I saw that water related decision making processes, while they involve multiple stakeholders and must consider variety of issues, were not undertaken in a very comprehensive manner. This disturbed me, at the same time allowing me to see great potential in what could be achieved through engagement in different levels and types in deciding our future when it comes to something we all share, water. Meeting all kinds of people along the way is also very exciting!
What project/campaign/work related to water sector you are leading (or you have lead)?
I was the president of 1st APYPW. As president, I took a leading role in drafting and approving the declaration of the parliament. Now as a Youth Delegate to the World Water Council, I represent youth at the Council as I attempt to communicate the desires and initiatives of youth to the Board of Governors. Along the way, I made valuable relationships with other young water leaders of the world who all had a vision to make this world a world with better future. We have come together to form IYSC, a committee which is intended to be a bridging body between the youth and organizers of the World Water Forum. We are still at a beginning stage, but many of our members made it to the 2nd Stakeholders Consultation Meeting, which is a key event in the 7th World Water Forum process. Our members have attended sessions, served as reporters summing up the various sessions and presenting it to the plenary session. We also presented our vision in a separate presentation during a plenary session for the civil society forum. We hope to stay as engaged as we can with the entire World Water Forum process and allow better involvement of youth throughout the process. I am also planning to take part in the domestic effort to increase awareness of the Forum and water through mobilizing Korean youths to carry out activities and workshops off and online. I also plan to take part in the planning process of the 3rd APYPW so that the parliament can better facilitate the discussions and initiate actions.
What are your success, failures and learning?
My greatest success has to be the network I have been able to build. Acting as president of APYPW and especially being the Youth Delegate of the World Water Council has allowed me to meet people that not only allow me to achieve much more than what I would have been able to achieve by myself, but also have a lot of fun. Solving water issues cannot be done without talking to many different people and I am glad I really enjoy this process. My biggest learning is that I need to learn and study a lot more, not simply pertaining to water but about geography, culture, history, politics, and many different things which all come together in solving water related issues. Without knowledge of relevant facts that need to be taken into account, it is very difficult to make a good decision. This also means that the more I know, the better choices I will be able to make. I hope to continuously improve my knowledge so that I can continue to contribute to building better future for this world.
What do you think is greatest water related challenge in your region and how can it be addressed?
I can speak for Korea and the United States. Fortunately, both of the nations have ample supply of clean water. However, the issue that arises from the abundance, which is lack of awareness. Because people are able to receive water simply by turning the tap, they do not need to think about where the water comes from and what happens to the water after being consumed. They cannot relate to the water scarcities other nations are experiencing. When it comes to awareness, education is one of the most effective tools. The biggest factor in the lack of awareness seems to be due to the fact that people do not have a comprehensive understanding on the importance of various water issues. Effective education will deeply affect the awareness of the issues and the way people consume water.
What message you want to share with other water youth leaders?
The first step to solving any water issue is to gather people and discuss the issue. I hope the various connections we build lead us to learning ways of cooperation and partnership before any other expertise and principle so that we can build a better future together. And I hope all of us will stay committed so that we don’t just talk about what will be going on in Stockholm World Water Week this year or the 7th World Water Forum next year, but truly be the future people say we are by planning and building coming 20, 30 years.
