Swarnima is a Development Communications specialist and women’s rights advocate from Nepal currently serving as an Atlas Corps Fellow at International Action Network for Gender Equity and Law (IANGEL) at Oakland, California. She was one of nearly 150 participants in the 2019 Global Pathfinder Summit.
If I had to summarize the experience at the Global Pathfinder Summit in a sentence, I would say – “it was one of the most remarkable five-days of my life.”
I have been to other bigger and smaller summits and conferences in different parts of the world; I call this one remarkable – not only because of what I was able to learn or because of the content of the Summit; but the experience as a whole was ‘beautiful’.
The Summit had the participation of 100 international delegates from about 50 countries and 50 amazing young people from Virginia. And what a mix we were! It was an honor for me to be the only person representing my country Nepal in the Summit. Getting to know these amazing leaders from across the globe was definitely one of the best aspects of the Summit for me. It was just so astonishing to witness how easily and effortlessly we got along and got connected with each other despite coming from diverse backgrounds. At the end of the very first day of the Summit, there was a nice dinner planned for us and I happened to sit at this awesome table.
We were eight people from seven different countries – four different continents meeting for the first time, and about half an hour later, we had inside jokes, nicknames for each other and were laughing so hard and having times of our lives! So does diversity create a barrier for people to get along with each other? No, it definitely doesn’t!
On the second day, we were divided into groups and taken to different places in the community at Charlottesville, Virginia where we volunteered for a couple of hours at different places. This was an opportunity to give back to the community as well as learn about the joys of volunteering – also we ended up having a great time. It made me reflect on my own love for volunteering and how it had actually shaped my life.
The evening on the second day was free, which gave us time to explore the area. Charlottesville is a beautiful town with a charming little downtown with amazing vibes and ambiance. There were people playing music on the streets to which we danced, had a nice Thai dinner at a local restaurant, few of my friends sang their hearts out on the streets and got a bad review of their performance from a straight forward local – it was an eventful evening and having this evening free provided us with a chance to explore the area.
One of the highlights of the Summit for me was being able to visit the presidential home of the third president of United States: Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. During this whole trip, I learned so much about Jefferson and his works and ideas. From his contribution to writing the Declaration of Independence to establishing the University of Virginia, to his love for books and knowledge – the Summit made me learn so much about him. It was an amazing experience being able to witness this historic place which was Jefferson’s dream project. It was an extraordinary experience visiting a place where he used to sleep, dine, conduct meetings, make strategies, and write hundreds of letters.
It was also notable that the darker side of Jefferson’s personal life – the fact that he kept enslaved African Americans to work at his house and plantation was well acknowledged during the tour of the Monticello. Jefferson was an exemplary political leader who made a remarkable contribution to various aspects of American history – but was he perfect? No, the leaders that we idealize are human beings too and are not free from flaws and definitely make mistakes – but that doesn’t always necessarily make them bad leaders. This was one of the most important lessons for me from the Summit, which was discussed in some of the sessions as well. Sometimes, as leaders, we strive to be perfect and flawless or expect our leaders to be like that which actually is not possible. Rather than striving to reach the impossible, it is more important that we embrace our humane qualities, learn from our flaws and mistakes and just work on becoming a better version of ourselves and help others do the same.
The dinner that was planned for us on our last ‘night’ of the Summit was beyond words gorgeous. The venue, decor, food, music, games, fire, barbeque – everything was just perfect including the weather. We ate together like a family, we sang together, we danced together – it was just so perfect. An experience that will make me smile, every time I think about it. Having these informal events during the Summit provided us with an opportunity to bond with each other, catch up on conversations from the sessions and have a good time. For the international delegates, it was also an opportunity to learn about and enjoy the American culture. The dinner that evening couldn’t have been more American or more awesome!
Then came our last day of the Summit. Everyone was expressing how quickly the time went by and how intense and dynamic the last few days had been. After a few amazing sessions, it was time to say our goodbyes. The participants gave a standing ovation for the organizers – American Evolution and the Presidential Precinct – for doing such a great job and taking such good care of us all. It was an incredible and emotional moment. At that moment, I just felt blessed to be a part of that space – to be one among this group. And before we all went our separate ways to try to make this world better – we took that last picture together, we hugged each other again, we exchanged numbers, made promises to keep in touch and hoped that someday somehow our paths will cross again. Many of our eyes were welling up and there was this little ache in our hearts – saying goodbye was hard. It was pure love, good vibes, and only best intentions – for people that we met just a few days ago! And just with the existence of this love, I do truly feel, we made the world a little bit better place already. <3
