In 2023 after starting her bachelor’s at Aalborg University, Bilan joined the United Nations Youth Association in the Aalborg branch. She was drawn to the organisation as she further wanted to expand her international profile, which is one thing that UNYA offers. Along with working on her profile, Bilan also joined UNYA due to her interest in the UN and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, she does not believe the way we are going about achieving the goals is the best way and wants to have some influence over the process.
Bilan’s background as a second-generation immigrant profoundly shapes her perspective. Both of Bilans’ parents immigrated to Denmark from Somalia in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As a 2nd generation immigrant, Bilan had difficulty creating an identity in the Danish public school system, as she did not have the same sense of belonging as other Danish students. At 13, she travelled to Somalia for the first time and did not feel a sense of belonging there either. During her visit, she realised how lucky she was to have grown up in a privileged country and realised her desire to help those who are not as fortunate.
One of the goals and focuses in Bilan’s life is to help those in need, and it took her a while to figure out that there are many different ways to help. She started her university education studying medicine in Aarhus but soon realised that this was not the right path for her, but she still wanted to help people. This led her to discover that doing volunteer work could benefit and help others. Driven by her upbringing in Denmark and her Somali heritage, one of Bilan’s primary goals is to contribute to solving issues in Africa, particularly those affecting communities with similar backgrounds to her.
It did not take long before leadership roles within UNYA became available, and Bilan jumped at the opportunity to take on such a role. She became the finance leader, undertaking a new experience for her. As the head of finance, Bilan has worked with budgeting for the managing groups and the working groups in order to help them find funding for events or projects. Her role has taught her the importance of transparency within an organisation, in the sense that transparency is needed for the whole organisation to run smoothly. Bilan also mentioned how “as head of finance you are not part of a working group and you work more independently”, but she still feels she has been able to learn and grow in the position that has enabled her to take on more responsibility.
One event that UNYA organised that stood out for Bilan, was an event organised to raise awareness on the issue of Genital Mutilation. The event was very important to Bilan as it had an experienced speaker from Somalia (like Bilan) who had an outlet to speak on the matter. Bilan felt pride during this event as “we don’t just focus on Western problems or Global North problems, but we focus on general traditions and cultures that are not good in the Global South and Africa and East Africa, I was very surprised by that and that it wasn’t a Western narrative, but it was more that we had to raise awareness that this is not just a problem in East Africa but it is a global problem that we have to do something about.”
Bilan’s leadership and dedication have not gone unnoticed by her peers at UNYA. Former head of UNYA Aalborg Johanne Hansen had the following to say about Bilan: “Bilan is always a joy to work with. Always open to new challenges and embraces them gracefully. I am very proud of her achievements in her time at UNYA Aalborg. She has shown that she is competent and capable as a leader, in my opinion. One example is when she was elected as host for UNYA Denmark’s anniversary event. She was absolutely amazing, and her energy kept the crowd engaged throughout the day. She is also not afraid to stand up for herself and what she believes in. I fully admire her confidence and person as a whole.” Another working group leader has said
“Bilan wasn’t directly involved in the journalism team, yet she supported us in securing finances for our event and gaining access to the event location. Despite being incredibly busy, she showed up at 8 in the morning to help us prepare. It’s clear that Bilan prioritises her volunteer work and is great at time management.
Bilan will be stepping into the role of head of UNYA Denmark, and she is very excited. It is important to Bilan that UNYA focuses on cooperation, teamwork and togetherness to achieve and work towards the UN’s sustainability goals. She hopes that as a head she will be able to coordinate and delegate tasks that can work towards some of the goals she has for UNYA. One of her goals is to increase diversity and representation within the organisation. Moreover, she feels it will be easier for her to achieve her ambitions when she takes on this new leadership role.