What They are Saying?
 My experience at the forum was a dream come true. After listening to the different speeches on the topics that are impacting our environment, it made me think more about what I can do to help those who are less fortunate than I am. I enjoyed working with my team my disability did not prevent them from communicating with me and they were very understanding and helpful and I have intentions of keeping in touch with them. The forum also endorsed my passion for helping blind people in other countries to develop and achieve their highest potential. I am happy that I got a lifetime experience I would never forget.
Alicia Lalite
Monroe College, New York
Athgo forums are important for any young person with a vision. In part, because the purpose is simple: young people come to discuss global issues and develop the capacity to affect change. In part, because the speakers are amazing: members of international organizations and corporations come to share insight and provide mentorship. Most importantly, because the results are meaningful:
solutions become tangible as participants challenge each other and work together towards a common goal.
 The forums are unique. Athgo has no political agendas. No religious affiliations. No bias towards specific perspectives. The purpose is not to question how problems arise or place blame, but to provide a safe and encouraging environment for ideas to develop into workable solutions.
For this reason, I know that Athgo will serve an increasingly important function as a catalyst for change. As an individual, it has deepened my view of the world. It has encouraged me to question my beliefs, provided room for growth, and introduced me to people committed to change. As a global citizen, Athgo has provided me with hope. It connects passionate individuals and mobilizes their ideas. The possibilities are endless.
Aniela Kuzon
Wesleyan University
I have attended the ATHGO International Forum’08 in New York. It was the first time I was attending such an event abroad.
Before my ATHGO experience, I was feeling uncomfortable with the idea that me, talking and listening important issues in English!
The first thing, I gain from the ATHGO experience is this convenience and confidence in communicating with people in a different language, rather than in mother tongue.
I may admit that attending an event, like ATHGO’s, is a great opportunity to meet new people and able to communicate them in a multinational platform by talking the issues of all mankind. I have not had any other experience like this in a foreign country but, I may say, with composure, that ATHGO’s organization, the speakers and the subjects were a perfect choice to start a new line in my life.
Duygu Sener
Bilkent University, Turkey
 Thank you so much for a wonderful forum! It was very knowledgeable, challenging and most importantly fun. Thank you for organizing such a diverse group of speakers. I know it takes a lot of effort to organize a forum on such a large scale. I could honestly say that their panels made me understand international affairs on a whole different level and to certain degree reconfirmed my existing positions. My favorite part of the forum was working in teams. By having us break up in to groups I've met such an interesting group of people who are intelligent and unique. Everybody had different characters, backgrounds and naturally, a lot to contribute.
Elena Tenchikova
Brooklyn College, New York
 From the ATHGO experience, I took away a greater understanding of the effect of businesses and policy makers in climate change mitigation. I learned a great deal about what is being done and what can be done. I also gained a sense of confidence with my role in influencing the environment around me. I was inspired to confidently speak out about what I know which is something that I haven’t done until now. I am particularly good friends with the students from my University that I attended ATHGO with, and I have remained in touch with others via Facebook and email.
Elizabeth Brennan
University of Calgary, Canada
 Being a part of the forum was the best thing that ever happened to me academically. I learned so much from my peers as well as the speakers and the ambassadors. Because of Ahtgo I can brag to my friends about meeting the ambassadors from Syria, Singapore, China etc... some of them think it was so cool that I went inside the UNITED NATIONS :) Because of Athgo I can say that I was a part of something very meaningful and informational about the world and how we ' the people and the head of States intend to make right the wrong in this world. I am happy and proud to be a part of this wonderful organization and anyone who comes upon this opportunity should be as well.
Geralda Vastey
College of Saint Elizabeth, New Jersey
My ATHGO experience introduced me to people from around the country and world who share similar interests with me, taught me more about how the United Nations works and how the United Nations University serves the international community.
Heyley Kallenberg
Sigma Iota Rho - University of Michigan, Michigan
The overall exchange of ideas was priceless. The Global Forum was definitely a worthwhile experience and I hope to partake in future ATHGOforums.
Inna Kitaychik
Baruch College, New York
 Looking back on the ATHGO Conference I can only recall the good moments: high-quality speakers, enthusiastic participants and challenging tasks. All the little imperfections, inherent to every event of this type, seem to have faded in front of all the other great memories. It’s as if I’m looking at a painting and I feel enchanted by the all-round effect, without having to pay attention to all the details.
So perhaps it’s not only the students that should learn from these events, but also the people standing in front of them. I think this is one of ATHGO’s conference merits: it brought together, in the same room, the men who take the decisions today with those who might be in their place tomorrow. And if this conference had any impact on the participants then they’ll know that when their “tomorrow” comes the key to make it a better day is working as a team.
The ATHGO Conference united people from all over the world and helped them feel part of and, moreover, play a part in the big team. So thank you, ATHGO!
Ioana-Selena Stan
University of Bucharest, Romania
ATHGO's Fourth Annual Global Forum was a wonderful and unique experience. It was amazing to be a part of such a learning filled environment where youth from various academic backgrounds are able to assume leadership positions and come together in order to share, expand, and utilize their ideas, using the UN's Millennium Development Goals and the role of novel ICT's as a springboard for the creation of business and policy proposals.
Jennifer Milosavljevic
Hunter College, New York
I truly appreciated the chance to attend the ATHGO forum and was very taken aback at the amount of talent and innovation present there. I realized quite quickly that I was in very good, incredibly experienced company, and it was an event that I believe I was very lucky to attend.
Jessica Oney
Stony Brook University, New York
I would say that ATHGO was a unique opportunity to bring together students, not just from the US, but from around the world to discuss new paradigms in international agency operations. It was enlightening to hear high-ranking UN officials talk about the role technology is playing in the way agencies are adapting to our increasingly complex world. I look forward to future opportunities with ATHGO and ways students can partner with international agencies to bring about greater change in this world.
Justin Evilsizor
Fels Institute of Government
University of Pennsylvania
 My ATHGO experience inspired me to pursue my dream to be a leader that can make a long-lasting effect on the global economy.
Ksenia Shnyra
Dowling College, New York
I love the conference because beside of meeting great people. I believe we were able to acquire a great deal of knowledge. All participants were able to make themselves more aware of the changes of today’s world in a very interactive way; that was one of the best things of the conferences. Students were able to ask and interact with ambassadors and other important people.
Lais Parano
Queensborough Community College, New York
ICT and globalization have indeed "shrunk the world", none more evident than at the 2008 New York ATHGO forum. Among the diverse group of students from all walks and avenues of life, there was a shared interest that change must be brought to global governance in the 21st century and that this change must begin today.
I am very fortunate for having worked with a group of students so committed to the social problems that are relevant on our little planet.
Throughout the forum, I was always given the impression that the students in attendance were genuinely motivated to make positive change in this world. I felt their deep commitment to finding answers to global issues like corporate accountability in developing nations and was honestly and truthfully inspired by it. The experience I gained is not something I can easily depart from and something that cannot easily escape my memory. It has left an indelible mark on my intellectual and academic experiences. For this alone, I am truly grateful.
Nicholas Soto
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York
The forum was one of the most diverse events I have attended thus far. I got to know a great number of people, made lasting connections and most of all, had fun working with them. I was impressed by the wide array of opinions in the conference by the students who participated and got to add a few comments of my own. Being a speaker in the team led me to speak in front of a very large crowd, so it was a terrifying but pleasantly memorable experience.
Onur Bayraktaroglu
SUNY Geneseo
 My experience at the ATHGO forum was fantastic, I could have a small picture perhaps of how things are managed at International Organizations, and especially their concerns about issues like poverty, inequalities, education and so on. It was also refreshing to see how there are young people like me, searching other interests than their own and from many different countries with one ideology.
Paola Cabrera
Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain
ATHGO International's 4th Annual Forum at the United Nations Headquarters was truly an amazing experience! I learned an incredible amount of information by hearing respectable ambassadors from Singapore, China, Syria, Albania, etc. and other prominent figures from the international business and political realm speak about global governance, the impact of technology, and the mindset. More importantly, from this conference, I was inspired to learn more about the world and to be open-minded and explore different possibilities and solutions to world problems of poverty, hunger, disease, etc.
This was a truly unforgettable experience. I learned so many things, was inspired, and met some amazing people who I will never forget.
Stella Ma
Hunter College, New York
At the Forum we had an overwhelming opportunity to cover many topics like: international politics, role of UN, human rights, developing countries, role of religion, new business models and many others, that we gain a lot of encouragement to become active in any filed we may feel comfortable, needed and useful. The constant support of the thought, that as the youth of today we have to shape our future knowing that, world gives us a lot of strength and challenges at the same time.
Tomasz Jaster
Assumption College, Massachusetts
My ATHGO experience was phenomenal! To be able to see that there are students from around the country that have the same passions, interests, and dreams as me is something that I'll always take with me.
After attending the conference, I decided to try and apply more of my education into areas of environmental health science and climate change and applied for an internship with the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's where I'm working right now.
Bryan Moy
University of California, Los Angeles
 What I really enjoyed about the Athgo forum was the focus on creating practical, achievable ideas to combat climate change.
we were especially encouraged to work together to develop our own ideas and to empower ourselves to work towards implementing these solutions after the forum's completion.
Candace Hodder
Royal Roads University, Canada
 Athgo was really a challenge in my life. First and foremost everything was organized in a very professional manner. I gained some more knowledge (particularly on IT), besides I made lots of friends. I am still in contact with some of them. They are very interesting people. And all this thanks to Athgo.
Daniel Mehta
Pierce College, California
I really enjoyed the LA event -- I found it very motivational. The people I met and the work we began has continued -- along with three of my UCI colleagues, we are working to start a non-profit climate change education partnership, called CLEAN (addressing Climate change through Learning, Empowerment, Awareness, and Networking).
Francesca Hopkins
Scholar
University of California, Irvine
My participation in the ATHGO conference has really inspired me to look for more environmentally conscious organizations to work for. Although I do not necessarily plan on going into the environmental field specifically, the experience writing policy and business plans has helped me to understand the need and obstacles surrounding the issues.
Janine Forster
Whittier College, California
ATHGO was a fantastic experience for me. The biggest thing that I took away was how much can get accomplished in a short period of time when different people, who are all concerned about the same issue, get together.
Joel Madero
University of California, Irvine
 I am so glad that Cornell helped me to attend the ATHGO conference. I was very impressed by the speakers who came to the event, and even more by the students who came together. I wish I could have spent at least another week just sharing ideas with the other members of my working group (a few of whom I am still in touch with). As an engineer, we don't spend a lot of time focusing on business and policy plans for implementing changes. I really welcomed the opportunity to exercise that side of creating change.
Katharine Alexander
Excellence Sholar
Cornell University, New York
It was a great experience getting to meet great minds on policy making and business on such an important issue as Global warming. I left the conference, so enriched with information about the dangers of Global warming and the necessity of having a healthy environment that, I don’t regret it, even a single bit, to have attended the conference. I made contacts and friends, some of whom we communicate all the time. I was so inspired by the speakers that I am now more sensitive to my environment more than ever before.
Landry Nfonsam
New Mexico Highlands University, New Mexico
 The ATHGO Forum was a very rewarding experience. The conference had all the right elements to make for an ideal learning environment; Expert interaction, Highly motivated participants, Collaborative opportunities, and it was Fun! I met an incredible mix of dynamic students and young people at the forum that care deeply about the world. I was very impressed during the question/answer sessions with our panelists. The participants had very challenging questions and took our experts to task. I came back from the Forum with a lot of energy and a renewed faith in the young people who will soon lead our world through the many challenges it faces. Upon returning from the conference I embarked on organizing our University's first Institute of Sustainability. The ATHGO experience was a memorable one, and I hope to do more work with ATHGO in the future.
Mark Casias
Presidential Scholar
California State University, Fullerton
 The 2008 ATHGO conference in Los Angeles was a deeply exciting and inspirational experience. Intense and challenging, we were provided with incredible opportunities to learn both from experts in many fields and each other. Even more than that, we were presented with a chance to learn through active participation and collaboration.
It has long been a heartfelt desire of mine to be involved with just such an organization. The ATHGO conference provided a marvelous opportunity to meet like-minded, enthusiastic people in an environment where we were valued for our creativity and encouraged in our vision.
Mary Anderson
Scholar
University of California, Irvine
 My experience at the ATHGO climate change forum in Los Angeles was time well spent. It was great meeting with extremely motivated, engaged, and creative individuals who all have similar goals: to draw upon our experiences and enthusiasm to leave the world a better place than we found it. I thought it was fantastic that we were able to hear from some of the great minds in academia, science and business while they discussed their strategies and ideas for tackling such an enormous issue.
Warren Williams
Scholar
University of Southern California
 ATHGO was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be submerged in issues relating to global climate change and human impacts on the environment. The forum truly permitted and encouraged creative thinking regarding policy and business proposals.
Zein Obagi
Scholar
University of Southern California
 This symposium had a noteworthy impact on my personal and professional formation. The topic of the conference, global security and the Millennium Development Goals, which reflected the core themes of ATHGO, helped broaden my personal and theoretical outlook. It not only expanded my academic interests into other areas, such as development, but it also helped me reevaluate my own beliefs and the way I studied International Relations. At the very least, the conference catalyzed both my curiosity into the topic, and drive for learning more about the subject matter. It became clear that the global ills we address at ATHGO symposia are in many ways linked to every topic of our field of study, and to our world. Likewise, the conference made me seriously reconsider my ambitions and career path, as I now aspire to help tackle our world’s most pressing challenges.
Alejandro Martin Sueldo
University of Southern California
 Participation in ATHGO symposium gives me the great opportunity to get up to date knowledge from the experts of ICT sphere, to participate in interactive discussions with young professionals concerning global issues and to give the solutions to the real problems, also to establish network of young bright minds who share the same interests as I. Being the part of ATHGO symposium makes me more confident and gives me feeling that young generation has the power to solve the problems that global community is facing with nowadays. I came away with a renewed sense of purpose and direction and gained some new ideas on where I might want to go in my career and professional development. And the most important and valuable for me was that the events at the symposium helped me to start thinking in a global way.
Anna Grigoryan
Ambassador Scholar
American University of Armenia
 After working with the ATHGO resolution team, I became convinced that multi-disciplinary teams would be invaluable in writing international health and social policy and in carrying out related research.
Since the symposium I have been involved in fostering collaboration between the fields on psychology and international development. In partnership with two other ATHGO World Bank symposium participants, I presented and facilitated an academic community discussion on the role of psychology and developmental research in the international health and social policy process, held at the Centre for Research in Human Development at Concordia University.
Clairneige Motzoi
Ambassador Scholar
Ph.D. Candidate, Concordia University
 I was impressed by the number of participants at the conference, many of whom had gone to great lengths and come many miles to attend the conference. Additionally, I was impressed by the breadth of perspectives conveyed within the topic of intellectual property rights and the eighth Millennium Development Goal.
Courtney Green Matson
Ambassador Scholar
Middlebury College, Vermont
 At ATGHO’s International Forum in Washington DC, I realized a whole new side to the term “youth.” For the first time I was working side by side with people who had a lot more under their belt than I – people with Masters, PhD’s, or years of experience in their respective fields. Yet, we were all on the same level working together towards one goal. Each of us listened and learned from our peers, and each of us had our opinions heard.
Deborah Anne Zwi
Excellence Scholar
New York University
 ATHGO helped me personally, academically and professionally…it reminded me of the words of wisdom at the Oracle of Delphi, “KNOW THYSELF” and “NOTHING TOO MUCH.” I did not know nor understand myself before this conference, especially how to work with my own disability and special talents. By knowing myself, I improved academically and professionally by combining skills I acquired through volunteering and extracurricular activities.
Hoi Kei Phoebe Chan
Ambassador Scholar
Bishop’s University, Canada
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