“My name is Linnea Nguyen, and I’m honoured to introduce myself as a candidate for the AICSES Youth Global Delegate position. I am a 21-year-old youth advocate from Montreal, Quebec, and I’ve been actively involved with Amnesty International since I was 15 years old, when I participated in my first Write for Rights campaign in high school.
In July 2021, I took on my first leadership role within Amnesty as a National Organizer, a position I’ve continued to grow in to this day alongside dedicated and ambitious young leaders. In September 2023, I joined the National Youth Action and Advisory Committee (NYAAC), where I currently serve as the Strategy and Global Partnerships Officer. In this role, I became familiar with Amnesty’s policies, practices, and procedures by leading the implementation of the National Youth Strategy across various activist structures and fostering partnerships with both international and national youth-serving organizations. Through this work, I’ve developed a strong understanding of our movement from within.
Although most of my efforts have been rooted in Amnesty, I’ve also been fortunate to engage in youth advocacy across national and global platforms. Since March 2021, I’ve served as a U-Report Ambassador with UNICEF Canada, contributing to the development of youth polling initiatives used to inform youth-centered policy recommendations. In May 2023, I joined the UNESCO Global Youth Community, where I collaborate with youth activists and researchers on global initiatives. I am a certified crisis responder for Kids Help Phone, where I worked for a year starting in June 2023, providing support to youth in distress. My proudest moment, however, was in in February 2024, when I was invited to deliver a TEDx Talk drawing on all these experiences. I spoke about youth global citizenship, the importance of civic education, and the role of young people in shaping a more just and connected world. If elected as a Global Youth Delegate, I would bring a combination of lived experience, policy engagement, and strategic leadership to the Global Delegation. I would work to make sure that our delegation embodies the urgency, creativity, and intersectionality that youth contribute to the human rights movement. My time with Amnesty has reinforced my belief of the power of collective action in challenging injustice. Youth are not only the future of Amnesty–they are its present.”
