Country: Phillipines

About: Regine is a young philanthropist, urban gardener, and peace activist from the ASEAN region. Owing to her multicultural Jewish-Asian heritage, she convenes the International Youth Centre for Peace, which seeks to bring together young public servants and peacebuilders to exchange meaningful conversations and best practices around diversity and inclusion, and the broader “sustaining peace” agenda. She is a member of the UN Major Group for Children and Youth, International Coordination Mechanism of Youth Organizations, Young UN, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network Youth, and Friends for Leadership. Regine is Trustee of the Guevara Family Foundation, and is a member of various international business and charity organizations.

Recipe for Change: 

Every person deserves dignity. Young leaders must be engaged in building peace at the local, national and global levels.  A few key lessons in my recipe for change are:

1. Advocate in both formal and informal spaces for policy change, ensuring that we break the silos between youth in decision making spaces and youth on the ground in communities.
2. Education never ends. We must continue to learn and build our understanding of histories in the making. 
3. Reform peace-building and countering violent extremism efforts in our local communities to ensure that the local needs are indeed met in a holistic approach that builds social cohesion between people with different identities.
4. Participate in inter-religious and intercultural dialogues with old and new friends, and even families, in order to deepen our experiences of tolerance. 
5. Practice self- and collective-expression through arts and culture to enhance creative and innovative action.
6. Support longer term humanitarian and development efforts for the disadvantaged i.e. refugees, disabled, gender minorities, children. Focus on policies that ensure inclusion of all.

Recipe: Shakshuka

When it comes to food diplomacy, Shakshuka is one of those classic dishes that emerged from multiple cultures and faiths in the MENA region. Considered both a Jewish and Muslim cuisine in Al Maghreb (Morocco), the dish is easy to make, and relies heavily on one’s spice intuition!

INGREDIENTS:

4 whole eggs  

1 whole egg plant

2 whole tomatoes

1 small bulb garlic (minced)

1 small white onion (diced)

Olive oil

Feta cheese

Fresh cilantro leaves 

Paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Simmer garlic and onions in olive oil. 

2. Sautee the tomatoes and eggplant, with tomato paste, in a small saucepan. Add salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, to taste. Cook over low heat until thick, stirring occasionally. 

3. Bring to a simmer and break the eggs over the tomatoes. Gently break the yolks with a fork. (There is also an option to make the eggs). 

4. Sprinkle feta and cilantro on top. Continue to cook, covered, for a few minutes until the eggs are set to your liking. 

5. Serve from the frying pan, with pita bread!