Multi-cultural, multi-sectoral dialogue brings together over 150 young leaders from the Asia Pacific
PRESS RELEASE
Alvin Cloyd Dakis, Founder & National President of the Alliance of Young Nurse Leaders & Advocates International Inc. (AYNLA) has been named among the 150 next generation leaders from 30 countries in the Asia Pacific region who will participate in the Asia Society’s sixth annual Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit, to be held in New Delhi from November 18 to 20, 2011.
Dakis joins a multi-sectoral network of his peers, all under age 40, who will engage in discussions about “Worlds Apart Together: Shared Values for an Asia-Pacific Community.” The diversity of representation – from business, government, academia, media, civil society, and the arts – brings a wide range of perspectives to the discussions, which will explore issues such as developing a sustainable energy policy for Asia, whether corruption is hampering the region’s development, and whether food security should take precedence over civil rights, amongst others.
The Asia Society’s Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit is part of a larger initiative designed to help emerging leaders from across the region to develop common approaches to meet its shared challenges. “The Asia 21 young leaders represent the future of the Asia-Pacific region. The work that this incredible community of leaders is doing today and will do in the future is laying a strong foundation for regional collaboration for decades to come,” said Asia Society Executive Vice President Jamie Metzl.
The Asia 21 Summit is supported by founding international sponsor Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “Bank of America is committed to making a positive impact on the social and cultural fabric of the society that we live and work in. As such, we are particularly pleased that the Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit is being hosted in India this year,” said Kaku Nakhate, President and Country Head for India. “By partnering with global initiatives such as Asia 21, Bank of America can leverage its resources to encourage and support young leaders from across sectors, including social enterprise, non-profit, media, economic and arts, to enable a better and brighter future for business, politics, and civil society in Asia.”
Dakis, a registered nurse by profession and founder of AYNLA, the first nursing organization that empowers young professional nurses to become effective advocates of health, is a staunch advocate of universal access to healthcare, achievement of the MDGs, and nurses’ rights. Dakis also supports the rights of people with disabilities, LGBTs and young indigenous people. He was one of the instrumental leaders that helped protect nurses from alleged exploitation during the Senate & Congressional hearings.
Established by the Asia Society with support from Founding International Sponsor, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the Asia 21 Summit is the pre-eminent gathering of Asia’s most dynamic young leaders from the Asia-Pacific region, from every sector including business, government, media, culture and civil society. To date, the network counts more than 700 of the most accomplished young leaders in the Asia-Pacific among its members, including businessmen, documentary filmmakers, environmental activists, human rights advocates, members of parliament, military personnel, performance artists, and social entrepreneurs.
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ABOUT THE ASIA SOCIETY
The Asia Society is an international organization dedicated to strengthening relationships and deepening understanding among the peoples of Asia and the United States. It seeks to enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of policy, business, education, arts, and culture. Founded in 1956, the Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution with offices in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, and Washington, DC. For more information, contact the Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021.
For more information about the Asia Society’s Asia 21 Young Leaders Initiative, including details about previous conferences and Fellows, please visit www.AsiaSociety.org/Asia21.
ABOUT BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the marketing name for the global banking and global markets businesses of Bank of America and is among the world’s leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world.
In the Asia Pacific, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has a long history and has had an on-the-ground presence for over 60 years. Today, it is one of the region’s leading financial services firms with a full service platform encompassing Global Markets, Corporate and Investment Banking, Global Treasury Solutions, Research and Global Wealth Management across 12 countries, five time zones and more than a dozen languages.
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