The Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) Annual Meeting is held yearly. 2023 was the 15th edition.

When I received the email for my acceptance into CGI U 2023, it included the invitation to attend the annual meeting in-person. I was thrilled to attend for some concrete reasons, the main one being the opportunity to connect with potential partners and mentors for my project, Keep Hope Alive. Also, I enjoy traveling, and I have always wanted to visit other states in the US before the completion of my studies in 2024.

I shared the news and my intention to attend the annual meeting with a few people. The first was my professor and mentor, Dr, John P. Brown, who asked for more details about the program, and we exchanged a couple emails. His response(s) reshaped my perspective about attending the meeting: he advised me to write down my goals—which he later requested that I shared with him—before leaving for the conference, and to review them on my “return to Boston” to see if those goals were met. I am glad I did.

The second person, my colleague, was excited about the opportunity and supported immensely, even suggesting other ways I could get resources. A week before I left, I thought it was wise that I told my academic advisor about it. He was excited about it, saying it was “a good one” and asked if I needed any suppo rt from him. Oh yes! I did.

Following my professor’s advice, I set the following goals for the meeting:

• To learn from the insights that past and present leaders in the business, nonprofit, and public sectors who will be speaking at the conference will share about leadership and changemaking based on their experiences.
• To make new connections, and specifically, to connect with the leaders who are working on similar projects as mine to share ideas.
• To participate in the small groups, one on one meetings with the Founder, President Clinton, Hilary Clinton, and other leaders as they share their experiences which I can learn from.

I left Boston on Friday, 3 March, on an 8:00am flight to Nashville, via Orlando, Florida. We could not touch down in Nashville at the expected time because there was a strong wind that evening. That cost us an extra four hours.

I missed the in-person inaugural sessions of the meeting, because of the delay in my flight. I, however, followed online. One of the things that stood out for me from the plenary session for instance, was the courage of a young woman who shared her experience of standing up for her rights against a top politician who tried talking down her idea for change.

The second day, Saturday, 4 March, I got to the registration booth early enough and checked in. The breakfast and networking session was first on the agenda that morning. I met a lot of other participants—already, that morning alone; and many more later that day and the next—during the session. I was excited to share my idea with as many people that asked, using my elevator pitch, as my professor had also advised me:

My name is Jude Ayua. I am a lawyer, and current master’s student at Harvard Divinity School, majoring in Theological Studies. I am interested in working with youth to help them discover and maximize their potential.

My CGI U project is ‘Keep Hope Alive Nigeria’, which aims to awaken political consciousness among Nigerian youth and encourage their participation in the electoral process. The project is addressing the problem of political apathy among Nigerian youth, who have lost hope in the politics and electoral process, believing that there is no possible solution. A significant number of them abstain from political activities, especially voting during elections.

My proposed solution is the reorientation of this category of youth by offering sound, ethical leadership training and mentorship, through social media campaigns, webinars, and rallies. The target individuals and communities include students in secondary and tertiary institutions, and rural settlements. So far, since 2020 when the campaign kicked off, at least One Hundred youth participated in creating awareness on social media, and encouraging other youth to complete their voter’s registration to vote in the Nigeria 2023 general elections.

When sharing this with a speaker at the meeting, a CGI U mentor, or alumni that I had the opportunity to meet, I ended with a request for their email to contact them in the future for advice.

The responses of many people assured me that it is an impactful project, such as one who noted that youth everywhere are believed to be the agents of change. A participant from Singapore, after he had asked more questions about it—just like a few other people did—said that if I tried such a thing in his country, the government would strongly oppose it. That suggests how democracy is under threat in many countries.

The Town Hall with President Bill Clinton, Secretary Hillary Clinton, and Dr Chelsea Clinton followed after breakfast. Selected participants asked questions on issues relating to politics, racism, gender, mental health, education, and the role of students and youth in addressing these issues. The Clinton’s responded accordingly. It was inspiring to also hear them share lessons from their personal lives and professional experiences.

The Working Sessions—four in all—held next. I joined the “Expanding Opportunities for Alternative Education” since it was most related to my project. There were three panelists including Pashtana Dorani who is committed to educating girls in refugee camps in Afghanistan. I met her after the session and introduced myself, shared my project for out-of-school children in Nigeria (not the one for CGI U), and requested her email to contact her for advice. She expressed interest in it and her willingness to advise.

Next was the Office Hours during which participants had the opportunity to meet one on one with Mentors in small groups to discuss their projects. I had the privilege to share my project with a Professor who commended how precise I was about the “what” and “why” of my idea. The “how” however, [which was why I applied to CGI U] he admitted would take a longer time to be actualized, and gave me his email to follow up, so he could connect me with people he knew would advise me better.

Following were the Breakout Sessions, of which I joined “Step One: Planning and Organizing Your Big Idea.” Three alumni of the CGI U who were successfully implementing their own projects shared some foundational steps to putting ideas into action, drawing from their experiences. This session was really helpful to me in taking my project forward.

The Closing Plenary was held 5:00pm to 7:30pm, beginning with the testimonials of three alumni of the CGI U. President Clinton closed the plenary interviewing two young people who have accomplished significant feats in their careers: Allyson Felix, a 5-time Olympian and Mayor Jaylen Smith, Mayor of Earle in Arkansas, who became a mayor at the age of eighteen in 2022. This session inspired me in my leadership aspiration.

The day ended with the Fair where selected participants pitched their projects and ideas. The dinner was also at the same time. I was marveled, going round to see and hear about the wonderful, life transforming things that young people are doing in various sectors and different places across the globe. The most outstanding one for me was that of a team of two female undergraduate students in Sudan who are working on a project to end child-hunger in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. They manufactured a food product for this purpose.

The last day, Sunday, 5 March was a brief one for me. My flight was at 1:00pm, so I participated only in the rally which was held from 9:00am to 10:00am, featuring Dr. Chelsea Clinton, Nathan Green, Vice Chancellor at Vanderbilt University, Mayor John Cooper of Nashville, and President Clinton. Their messages centered on encouraging participants to be committed to their projects and put into practice what they learned during the meeting.

I am extremely grateful that I attended the CGI U 2023 annual meeting. It was beyond my expectation. Nashville is such a beautiful city, and Vanderbilt University has a great sight and splendid environment. The weather was warm and friendly throughout my stay.

Can I say I accomplished my goals for attending the meeting? Absolutely, yes. I sincerely appreciate my professor for advising me to keep this in mind. For my goal (3), although I did not meet any of the Clinton’s one on one, because they only participated in the large group discussions, I learned from those discussions, and I was able to meet one on one with other leaders whose insights were helpful.

I am grateful for everyone I met during the meeting, and I appreciate everyone that supported me in every way to attend. I look forward to the coming months to see how the program will impact my project and leadership journey.

I arrived in Boston at about 7:40pm on Sunday. My experience coming back was better than when I was going. I had a stopover at the nation’s capital, Washington DC, and it was lovely.