Heela Yoon
on Afghan Women and Youth Rights and Peacebuilding
“Hope. My name is Hope.”
Heela Yoon’s parents named her after a much-needed feeling they craved during the civil war in Afghanistan. A feeling they still carry in their souls: a better future for their country. No wonder Heela learned from a young age that it’s okay to lose hope sometimes: “Cheap optimism doesn’t work. You need to allow yourself to feel both the ups and downs.”
Spending time with her mother and working in NGOs in Afghanistan, she discovered that young women weren’t listened to, even though they were directly affected by the challenges their villages faced. When in school, Heela experienced a terrorist attack, witnessing the death of her friends and teacher. At that moment, she said “Enough!” and decided to found Afghan Youth Ambassadors for Peace Organization. (AYAP), her NGO focused on grassroots activism and violent extremism prevention through education: “It was a struggle in the beginning. When you’re young, you’re overly ambitious and want change to happen quickly. I learned that social change takes time, especially when tackling big in countries like Afghanistan.”
Heela Yoon is a dedicated advocate for refugee rights, peacebuilding, mental health and climate change with a vast background in international organizations including the United Nations, UN Women, Amnesty International, Oxfam, and the International Rescue Committee. Dignity and strength are the key values she promotes when assisting refugees in finding belonging and social cohesion. Her initiatives fostered global partnerships and delivered significant humanitarian assistance, as she trained over 100 young Afghans and provided aid to 7,500 families, earning recognition from King Charles for her efforts and being named a UN Young Leader: “Young people have never been given a platform or a chance to speak about their concerns. My goal is to place them at the centre of bigger programs, so they can be part of the change.”
Women are also at the heart of everything she militates for: “Afghan women are half of the society, and if they don’t have education, I don’t think we can contribute much to the prosperity of our country. They are not only the victims of war but also the change makers. Their involvement should be meaningful, not just symbolic. And when I say meaningful engagement, I am talking about not seeing only men sitting at the table talking about women’s rights.” Heela asks the international community to act as an ally, not a representative, and stop seeing Afghan women as victims: “Women need to be involved from the very start to the very end, at every table. We don’t need others to rescue us. We can solve our own problems - we just need the right platforms!”
Read Heela Yoon’s answers for Inspirators and discover a rising star shining a light on women's empowerment!
Thank you, Heela, for being a Rising Young Peacebuilder!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Heela Yoon
Company / Institution: Afghan Youth Ambassadors for Peace Organization
Title: Founder/CEO
Website: AYAPO
LinkedIn profile: linkedin.com/in/heelayoon
Country of origin: Afghanistan
Country you currently live in: United Kingdom
Your definition of Regeneration: Healing and being vulnerable to the unknown and the uncertainty life brings you. One of my favourite authors, Haruki Murakami, once said “What happens when people open their hearts? They get better.” Having such a mindset says there will be days and periods in life where we will be completely in very delicate situations and pessimistic about the future. But keeping hope alive and accepting that we are humans who need time and space to feel everything, to open our hearts to any obstacle will help us heal gradually.
Main business challenge you face: There are so many! Being a refugee in the UK, away from my family and my community, working in the humanitarian sector and witnessing the climate crisis, human rights abuses, inequality, conflict and most importantly, the numbness of the world leaders and humans around the world to these situations. These things make me wonder a lot if I am on the right track or if any of my work makes any sense!
Main driver that keeps you going: Hope! My name, Heela, is a Pashto word which means Hope. My parents named me during the civil war in Afghanistan and they always hoped - and are still hoping - for a better future.
The hope and the resilience of my people drive me as well!
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: Being more proactive rather than reactive in most situations in life. Seeing things half-glass full and being empathetic towards others and myself.
The trait you most value in others: Empathy, Courage, Resilience and Trust.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: Hiking with my Cat (Captain Levi), Yoga, spending quality time with my friends and family, going to bookstores and enjoying a nice cup of coffee, travelling, binge-watching Studio Ghibli Movies and collecting postcards.
The Inspirators who determined you to take the regenerative path:
My Mother and every woman in my family. They taught me what resilience and kindness mean despite experiencing so many traumas, growing up in conflict and losing so much to war. They always showed empathy and courage and supported me throughout my journey.
My father who taught me the importance of education, independence and the courage to stand up for your values despite facing so many threats.
Other Inspirators include:
Demecia Yat
Soundous Boualam
Bibi-Jane Angelica
Hayao Miyazaki
A starting point for companies or professionals that are beginning the regeneration journey: Don’t be afraid of trying different things until you find what you're good at and what inspires you. Always experiment with an open mind and don’t be afraid to try new things along the way. Don’t stick to the traditional ways of how things usually work out. Always co-create with others and build a strong team. Avoid hyper-independency and be more open to collaboration.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: Publishing or writing other resolutions to solve the global crisis instead of focusing on implementation and accountability. Most INGOs, big companies and even academia spent years and so much money on repetitive policy and research papers instead of taking action.
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: It's okay to sometimes lose hope. Cheap optimism doesn’t work either. Allow yourself to feel both the ups and downs. What helped me is having a small list of Joy Sparkers, things that remind me of a hopeful future and positivity. Losing hope is part of life and as human beings, it's okay to feel that sometimes! Take a step back, heal and come back with a fresh perspective.
Books that had a great impact on you / Must-Reads for any regenerative professional:
The five people you meet in heaven by Mitch Albom
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
The Egyptian by Mika Waltari
Movies / Documentaries you would watch all over again:
Into The Wild, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Graveyard of Fireflies, Howls Moving Castle, The Office, The Queen's Gambit and Dear Zindagi.
Websites / Podcasts you visit frequently: Jafekri and Talk Twenties Podcasts.
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: Gregory Alan Isakov, Googoosh and Miki Matsubara.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: Oman, Azerbaijan, South of France / Bordeaux and my hometown, Afghanistan.
Global Regenerative Voices, you recommend us to follow:
Bisan Owda
Motaz Azaiza
4Ocean
Young activists working on climate change and sustainability who are bringing real and practical solutions.
Trends in Regeneration we should keep an eye on: Somatic Therapy, reducing the consumption of social media, mindfulness practices and thrift shopping!
Events we should attend / Best places for networking (online or offline):
Online: LinkedIn and online Regional Youth Summit.
Offline: UN ECOSOC and UNGA summits.
Impactful and relevant Sustainable Development or Regeneration courses or certifications: Use LinkedIn Learning and Coursera and edX for many courses on Sustainable Development.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: Globalization, advancement in medical technology, social progress and equality, vast platforms and resources for sustainability and positive change.
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: Polarization of News, quick spread of fake news, Climate Change and Environmental degradation, Afghan girls being deprived of education and the impact of it on my country's future, mental health crisis and fewer resources to deal with it.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: Empathy, proactiveness, courage and not seeing everything as black and white.
The Inspirator you are endorsing for a future edition is:
Yasmina Benslimane
Luisa Franco Machado
The quote that inspires you:
“I began to see how giving a voice to my struggles and being honest opened up the door for recovery. I learned to celebrate my victories and navigate challenges with the support of people who were on a similar journey. I learned to treat that journey - with all its ups and downs - with grace and compassion. Here, I learned that healing happens together, in the raw and messy places of our hearts and our stories.” (Brianna Bulman)
Your quote that will inspire us:
