In our days, and particularly after the industrial revolution, combustion of fossil fuels produces large amounts of CO2, an important greenhouse gas. To respond to the increasing concerns about the effect of anthropogenic greenhouse gases on global climate, international action has agreed to reduce these emissions. One of these actions is the Global Energy Initiative.
The Global Energy Initiative, in the locals of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Ben Guerir city in Morocco. IVolunteer International had an interview with the Nour Houda Sarf, the general secretary of The Millennium Moroccan Leaders, and Ayoub Benfdila, head of volunteers in the Global Energy Initiative
What is the Global Energy Initiative?
The Global Energy Initiative is a Leadership program organized by The Millennium Moroccan Leaders. The objective of this program is to build a team of young leaders through workshops, discussions, and debates on the importance of promoting shared values, seeking for local communities development, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on affordable and clean energy.
Elsewhere, for Ayoub Benfdila, the Global Energy Initiative is a gateway to meet new people, experience new cultures, to see how people think in different perspectives, and to learn from their experiences.
For Nour Houda Sarf, the event is also an opportunity to give Youth a chance to volunteer and learn new skills to develop themselves.
What did you learn in volunteering with the Global Energy Initiative?
“As a 20-year-old student, I still need to learn many things, and being a volunteer in a big international event teaches how to be a good leader,” said Ayoub Benfdila.
Volunteering gives you the opportunity to be positive as well by working with everything in your power to make the world better, and that’s the kind of positive attitude that leadership needs.
Through volunteering, you can challenge yourself to try something different, achieve personal goals, and practice using your skills and discover hidden talents. Nour Houda Sarf confirmed it by saying that “The first thing that I learned from volunteering is to never give up my dreams”
What does the word “Volunteer” represent to you?
“Being a volunteer is part of my personal identity”. For Nour Houda Sarf, volunteering gave her a great feeling, knowing that you are part of what makes this event a success and impact the society.
Having a volunteering experience is almost better than any degree. The volunteer experience gives you the chance to develop your leadership skills on the field, to know to work in teamwork, and to improve your relational skills. These are words said by Nour Houda Sarf.
Ayoub Benfdila defines volunteering in passion. It is the use of our passion for beneficial experiences. Therefore, we had better let our passion guide us while we decide to volunteer, then make it the source of our motivation for volunteering.
Do you have any advice or message you want to share about volunteering?
Nour houda Sarf’s first advice is to always have crazy ideas, because, from her perspective, a good project is the result of crazy ideas, and for that reason, you always need a little bit of insanity to do great things.
“You need to have a goal for everything, a goal the push you to develop your leadership and Impact the world”. Ayoub Benfadila confirmed that setting goals is the first step. Working hard for it is the key to achieve it, and volunteering can give you the chance to do that.
Finally, traveling and experiencing new cultures were Nour Houda Saraf’s last advice, specifically volunteering abroad. Having such an experience will change your life. It will help you meet new people from different parts of the world to make new friendships, share culture and experiences.
© All photos are from the Morrocan Millenium Leaders Facebook Page and do not belong to the author of this article.
IVolunteer International is a Gold Seal nonprofit organization on Guidestar. Operating from Savannah, Georgia, IVolunteer International connects volunteers to volunteer projects around the world. Since 2017, IVolunteer has connected over 3,000 volunteers worldwide. In 2019, World Trade Center Savannah selected IVolunteer International as finalists of the Peace Through Trade Competition. In 2020, IVolunteer International will develop and launch a geo-connecting mobile application which will be available to volunteers around the world.
