Meet 17-year-old Dubai student who addressed United Nations
A 17-year-old student who hails from Dubai however is on a different level as he has delivered a speech at the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Aritro Chatterjee, a year 12 student who attends Dubai College, was selected with other 24 students from different countries around the world and was the only representative from the UAE during UN Talks in September about youth representation for decision making within the institutions and the need to champion environmental issues.
Aritro noted: “I have had the opportunity to speak at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on issues relating to youth representation and decision making in institutions, the role they play in environmental issues as well as solving problems using applications of Math, Science, AI and technology.”
This followed shortly after he was announced as one of the RISE Global Winners, in a program initiated by Schmidt Futures and Rhodes Trust.
It is worth mentioning that the aim is to identify and enable remarkable young people who are already having a tremendous impact in their community and beyond.
“According to him, the RISE (The Research on Improving Systems of Education) picks one top 100 out of 50000 students across the world who pose as ’World’s Most Promising Teens as Named by Forbes’,” he said.
In the framework of my RISE project, I made a podcast where I interviewed young inspiring environmentalists from all over the world – entrepreneurs, scientists, and activists. By focusing on diversity in the environmental narrative, I showcased such countries as Nigeria, Lebanon, Poland, South Korea, India, China, the US and the UAE. After being named a winner of the RISE Global competition in 2024, I was invited by a UN representative to present myself at the General Assembly,” said Aritro, who, by the way, speaks about the History of Mathematics in his TED Talk as well.
Recalling the memorable experience
Remembering his past in New York, he stated that it was a breathtaking moment as stepping in the chamber over a thousand miles away from here was nothing short of moving.
I met delegates of different countries there. For example, one of the key delegations I met was the South African Water Commission. Addressing so many people at once, such as distinguished scientists, campaigners, businessmen, and people of state policy, it is quite easy to be overawed. At the same time, there is a realization that the upheaval that has been built over the years has finally found its expression on a world platform. Thus, I also was filled with so much pride that I had to address such a platform. What insolence, to go to a foreign country again!
He emphasized certain points of his speech mentioning that the Year of Sustainability, as well as COP 28 and Expo 2020 activities within the UAE, have deeply impacted his ambitions.
Aritro further expressed: “It’s the country’s progressive outlook towards dealing with environmental and sustainability issues which has had impact on my work.” Extrapolating the notion of sustainability, he noted which the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda defines as ‘social, environmental and economic facets’. “The area of focus, in my case, goes further than just the presence of social and environmental advocates, it also looks at how youth can be empowered to make change in their regions and communities with the help of local institutions and Governments.”
Applying quantitative methods
An Indian expatriate engaged in quantitative methods for environmental research, recounted how it all began, with an early childhood fascination with puzzles which later extended into him solving ‘them’ during his free time- as a time pass. As he moved to the later years of his education, this interest transformed into a passion for numbers and their applications in verses.
“Moving on to my senior years at Dubai College, there seemed to be a change amongst most of my peers, everyone around me started thinking about their future. Owing to the fact that I have a general inclination towards Maths, it made sense to go out and look at how research and facts can actually solve real-world problems. At the end, I chose to focus on geo-political and sociological themes” he said.
In the longer perspective, the young adult hopes to be highly placed as an environmental scientist or a geologist working closely with the government and other large organisations that are key in shaping up global policies and industrial breakthroughs. He elaborated on his objective, saying, “One of the most important aspects of this aim is that of trying to connect the seemingly unbridgeable gulf that exists today between the people doing the research and the policy makers, and that’s something which I find is a problem in the world today.” That is something which I’d like to work on in future.
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