UNICEF HK recently hosted a seminar under its Young Envoys Programme, featuring Siddharth Chatterjee — Honorary Advisor of UNICEF HK and former UN Resident Coordinator in China. Chatterjee worked for the United Nations for 30 years, including 15 years with UNICEF. At the seminar, he shared his experiences and what he had witnessed, including female genital mutilation, lack of access to education, and schools destroyed by terrorism in Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq. He told the young audience that Hong Kong's stability, education and clean water amount to a "massive privilege," and urged them to be grateful — and to "get on the table" to help reduce inequality.
After the seminar, we spoke to two programme members: Cynthia, a CUHK Global Studies student and UNICEF HK intern, and Brendan, a 2025 Young Envoy now with Young Envoys Plus. Cynthia said Chatterjee's words inspired her to stop passively waiting for opportunities and instead speak up to decision-makers, adding that inequality is a compound issue tied to poverty, health and education — and that children cannot choose where they are born. Brendan shared that Chatterjee's insights on empathy, courage, consolidation and compassion shaped his view of young leadership, and voiced concern over climate change, air pollution, and how short-form social media and chemical additives affect children's attention spans and health.
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