A special assembly gave some South Ozone Park students a chance to think of themselves as citizens of the world.
Penny Abeywardena, the City’s Commissioner for the Mayor's Office for International Affairs visited students at Al-Ihsan Academy Thursday morning. It was all a part of the NYC Junior Ambassadors program, which connects 7th graders with the United Nations to encourage them to start thinking about global issues.
During Thursday's visit, a panel of seventh grade girls got to ask the commissioner about her work, along with issues like climate change and the refugee crisis.
“To have this next generation learning from the global community, learning about best practices, and bringing their ideas to the community, I mean that to me is more than empowering, it's enabling them to do something,” Abeywardena said.
“The type of thing I want to learn about is us, how young people are voiced and our ideas can be heard throughout the country and throughout New York,” added Junior Ambassador Hakeema Safi.
The students will be visiting the UN later this month.