A year has passed since I was elected curator of the Global Shapers Hub in Copenhagen. This year was without a doubt one of the riches years in terms of encounters with beautiful, passionate and driven people.
Our Global Shapers Copenhagen hub grew with 11 new, bright and talented people from Copenhagen, Harare, Medellin and Oxford. Together we hosted an Unleash Lab shaper meetup, gathered 20+ Global Shapers and Young Global Leaders (YGLs) from all over the world, and we held a Nordic Retreat for 20+ shapers from the Oslo and Helsinki hub. We supported smaller organizations in the Danish society, such as Enable for Life, and we have found new areas/projects that we will continue to pursue, Kids of Holiday, Impact Investing and SoMe free day.
When I look back at my pictures from 2017-2018, I mostly see photos of shapers from all around the world. I feel so fortunate to have meet so many strong and determined individuals, who all want to make a positive change in this world.
First, I went to Kiev for a Ukraine Discovery Tour, and what an amazing and unforgettable experience. Well done Olha, Olga, Max, Darius and team! Not only did we hear about and experience the thriving IT startup environment, THE ANTONOV 225 (worlds biggest plane), we also got an insight into the violent revolution that happened at Maidan just a few years ago. It was inspirational to see the young population and their devotion to the nation to help it thrive and shine even brighter.
Second, UNLEASH was held in Copenhagen, and it lured lots of Shapers to the beautiful city of the little Mermaid and the freetown of Christiania. The family was gathered again, at rooftops, billboards, and any smartphone/360 camera (Binit and Nicholas)!
Third, the Annual Curators Meeting in Geneva at World Economic Forum’s headquarters. We were divided into tribes, and Schwabs Minions were my favorites! Again, an intense, meaningful program with amazing people from more than 100+ countries gathered in one place!
Fourth, Shape Europe in Milan, where our dear Milano shapers had created a four-day program on Sustainability. Here, the focus was on how we could turn ideas into actions, and people from Al Gore climate reality training came to train us. Besides from saving the world, we also had plenty of time to eat delicious Italian food, get to know each other and the city (nightlife).
Fifth, Yerevan. Where do I even begin? This was one of my highlights as a shaper. The hospitality in Armenia is out of this world. Thank you so much for hosting me! Beautiful country and landscape, and the music was ridiculously good. The deep conversations and thoughts shared were priceless, and it was an experience that changed my perception of my passport privilege.
Countless meetups over the year, thanks to Global Shapers Manama in Bahrain for hosting and showing us around in your beautiful city! Thank you Javad for hosting a conference in Oslo and gathering all us shapers in Europe. Thanks for an amazing NYE in Sri Lanka Javier, Dani, Anja, Emi and Alex.
Thanks Renard being such a superstar, so Giovanni and I end up in one of the biggest newspapers in Malaysia. Thanks for the meaningful conversations, crashing our workshop in Copenhagen and the adventure in Munich, David! Thanks for putting up with my last minute spontaneous meetups and long talks about presentation techniques and everything between heaven and earth Balázs! Simon, thank you for checking in with me to see if I am still alive, happy and crazy – I really appreciate it – and of course all our fun adventures (four countries in one year?) Taejin, my favorite Korean! Thanks for showing me around in Seoul and taking me to various puppy cafes, for the gangnam style dances at WEFs HQ and introducing me to drones! Thanks to all the wonderful shapers that came to Copenhagen to say hi. You are always welcome to visit me, and I would be happy to take you on a tour around the city!
Moving forward, I set the intention to create many more new memories with all of you guys, shaper or not! I am looking forward to Shape NA in Sacramento in August, and I am sure the new year is going to be just as amazing as this one. Now, I will hand over the baton to my dear Christina. Hope you will have an amazing year as the new curator at the Global Shapers Copenhagen hub. I know that the hub is in very good hands with you!
Life is all about creating new memories with people that you love. What are you waiting for?