DISD student delegation at the H20 Health Summit

A delegation of six students from the German International School Dubai (DISD) was honored at the prestigious H20 Summit at the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva on June 19. The summit, which was launched in 2018 as part of the G20 Health and Development Partnership, is considered an important platform for promoting global health and development goals in the context of the G20 and G7.

student students Jaden Stevens, Alexander Sonnenberg, Christopher Luka, Narek Movsisyan, Luca Erkol and student Lara Gutmann were invited to present symbolic gifts to WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. In a particularly moving moment, Lara Gutmann and Luca Erkol then gave impressive speeches in which they emphatically raised the voice of their generation for global health justice.

"Listening to the voices of the younger generation is essential to achieving health for all," emphasized Lara Gutmann in her speech, referring to the G20 youth simulation that took place at DISD earlier in the day. "Everyone deserves to live a healthy life - regardless of the economic status of the country in which he or she was born."

Luca Erkol underlined this message with an urgent appeal to the G20 leadership: "If global challenges are also youth challenges, then global solutions must also include youth perspectives. Global health - and youth health - must not be a mere agenda item, but a real promise to all people who are not represented here... and their right to believe in a better future."

In his opening speech, South African Health Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi publicly acknowledged the work of the DISD delegation and thanked them for their efforts in the Model G20 simulation on public health organized by the school. "I would also like to thank the students of the German International School Dubai for their commitment and their important role in the discussion on global health issues for future generations," he said in a video message to the summit participants.

DISD student took part in a G20 workshop on "Global health after the pandemic" on May 8. The workshop was led by Hatice Küçük Beton, Managing Director of the G20 & G7 Health and Development Partnership. Organized by DISD teachers Sitem Kolburan and Louisa Willgrass, the young politicians slipped into the roles of heads of state and government, discussed urgent health issues and experienced the complexity of global diplomacy at first hand. Topics included pandemic preparedness, dealing with unhealthy child nutrition and sustainable healthcare systems.

A video documenting the simulation - including student voices and a statement by Hatice Beton on the importance of youth participation - was presented at the H20 summit. Beton expressed her enthusiasm: "I was very positively surprised. The student were full of energy and had concrete ideas ... I think they can really make a difference with these approaches."

Particularly noteworthy: The South African Minister of Health showed interest in the student ' recommendations and announced that he would have them considered for the upcoming G20 agenda in Johannesburg in November 2025.

The DISD delegation's proposals - summarized in a Model G20 Leaders' Declaration - include the establishment of a Global Youth Health Fund to promote education and health campaigns, a Youth for Health program to integrate health issues into school systems and mobile health clinics in disadvantaged regions of Africa and Southeast Asia.

"This moment shows how much impact a dialog led by young people can have," says teacher Sitem Kolburan, who supervises the young people in English lessons. "We are incredibly proud of our student - they represented the DISD and the youth of the world with clarity, courage and conviction."

With this international recognition, DISD aims to promote the voices of young people even more in the future and intensify the dialog with local and global partners. The school looks forward to working with the media to share this inspiring milestone in youth leadership and international understanding.