First Bhutanese to win

Source: Kuenselonline.com

9 May, 2010 - Tashi Wangmo, one His Majesty’s five appointees in the National Council, has been named as one of the 197 Young Global Leaders 2010 by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Geneva.
The honour, bestowed each year by the Forum, recognises and acknowledges up to 200 outstanding young leaders under 40 years from around the world for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.

Young leaders from 72 countries, selected from a variety of sectors such as business, government, academia, media, non-profit organisations and arts & culture engage in task forces that address specific challenges of public interest with the objective of shaping a better future.

Drawn from a pool of almost 5,000 candidates, the Young Global Leaders 2010 were chosen by a selection committee, chaired by H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and comprised eminent international media leaders.

The 2010 honourees will become part of the broader Forum of Young Global Leaders community that currently comprises 660 outstanding individuals. The YGLs convene at an annual summit – this year it was in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from May 2 -7, the largest ever gathering of YGLs – as well as at forum events and meetings throughout the year.

WEF is a Geneva-based non-profit foundation best known for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

The community of Young Global Leaders was established in 2005 by the WEF as a successor to the Global Leaders of Tomorrow. The leaders engage in the 2030 Initiative, the creation of an action plan for how to reach the vision of what the world could be like in 2030. This year’s honorees include Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, British fashion designer Stella Mc Cartney, Evan Williams, the CEO and co-founder of Twitter, and Indian filmmaker and actress Nandita Das.

Tashi Wangmo said that she was surprised to receive the award and was also deeply honoured and humbled. “I see this honour not an end in itself, but a means to an end, the beginning of a journey,” she said.

By Dipika Chhetri