Gabriela Patricia Velásquez Rodríguez and Amy Mariela Ramírez Estrada, two youth leaders from El Salvador, signed up to help shape a summit. In the end it shaped them, too. Since 2023 when they were selected to be part of the Special Olympics Global Youth Leadership Council (GYLC), they grew not only as individuals, but as global advocates for inclusion.
The GYLC was created to shift the direction of Special Olympics youth work – from being merely for young people to being by young people. Council members, both with and without intellectual disabilities, are selected through a global application and interview process, representing every corner of the world. Together, the Council conceptualizes, plans, and brings to life the Global Youth Leadership Summit. The event aims to empower young leaders from around the world to design, lead, and foster inclusion projects in their communities.
For the young women from El Salvador, the work was both personal and transformative.
“It was something really exciting,” Amy and Gabriela say. “We learned a lot about how to talk to adults, how to talk to people, how to talk to youth. We feel really excited about everything we learned. We made new friends and it’s been an amazing opportunity for us to better understand how to bring leadership to our communities.”
Over the past few days, Amy and Gabriela helped lead the 2025 Global Youth Leadership Summit – the culmination of all their efforts. On the final night of the event, watching the joyful energy of participants from around the world, emotions ran high.
“It was something joyous to feel,” the two young women shared. “We met youth leaders we didn’t know before. Listening to them, seeing their willingness to go back to their communities and spread the word of inclusion – that made us feel incredibly proud. We know that the future really begins with us, the youth.”
It goes to show that the Council’s theme for this year’s Summit, “The Future Begins with Us”, wasn’t just a slogan. It was a belief, lived every day of the Summit through all participants.
“With this theme,” the two youth leaders explain, “people with and without intellectual disabilities can become part of the solution. They can think outside the box, realize they can become part of the change, and know they can do something – anywhere.”
As Amy’s and Gabriela’s term on the Council comes to an end, their message for the next Council is simple but powerful: “Be proud of what’s coming. Give it your all. And remember – you are here to make the change.”
Leave a Reply