Learning to Take a Seat at the Table: My Reflections as an Australian Delegate to the Y20

By Isha Desai, 2026 Y20 Fellow

If my time as a Global Voices fellow changed me in one way, it was professional empowerment. I had previously viewed myself as a confident person, but representing Australia and negotiating with intelligent minds from all over the world taught me that the only limits to my career will be the ones I place on myself. 

I began the negotiations as a slightly hesitant delegate itching to get my ideas out but not wanting to step on anyone’s toes. I watched myself morph into someone that was able to pull together opposing perspectives to propose a compromise, and when it was that very idea that ended up achieving consensus, I felt a small swell of pride. 

Prior to the program I believed that preparation is everything. In many ways, I still do believe preparation and research are everything. But the summit taught me that collaborating with the person sitting across from you sometimes means listening to their ideas instead of defending your own. The ability to adapt on the logistics of your idea is worth it if your principle is being upheld. 

The discrepancy between the expert panels and the Y20 negotiations remains unsolved for me. We would begin each day with a roundtable comprised of public and private sector policy leaders, entrepreneurs and political staff. It may have been naïve of me to think that international diplomacy is strictly altruistic because these experts reminded me that even in political circles, everything is a business. From introducing themselves by their net worth, to listing their lucrative business ventures in, I found myself thinking that the aim was to obtain the best position for yourself, instead of the best outcome for the collective. 

But these thoughts were quickly dispelled every time I stepped into my track’s negotiation room. The Global Economy and Job Creation track were warm, thorough, professional and open. I was in an environment that wasn’t afraid to disagree but would never show hostility or disrespect. One of our biggest debates was how we would address the economic gender inequality in our document. Some states believed that we didn’t need to explicitly include the word ‘women’, and that outlining economic equality for all was enough. Other states took the argument that equity required the explicit mention of minority groups to signal that these groups are structurally disadvantaged and therefore require extra policy measures. A two-hour discussion and various wordings later, we landed on how we would address women’s economic disadvantage. I found it interesting that our track chairs congratulated us for not being passive aggressive. It made me wonder the kind of language and hostility that comes out at the professional level.

Some of the most fulfilling conversations I had in DC were outside working hours, instead having lunch with my peers, walking to the Washington Monument together and the after-hours social events. It always astounds me how close you can feel to people in a short period of time and the Y20 was no exception. I loved bonding with the South African delegate on our travels, the Mexican delegate on her educational journey and the Canadian delegate on our hopes and dreams, even scheduling phone calls after the summit. It feels exciting to know that I have made friends from all over the world, people I never would have met if I hadn’t taken a flight to Washington DC for 4 days. 

I am finishing this Y20 experience with a love for research, consulting with the community, ideating and negotiation. It has reaffirmed the reasons why I first got into international relations and policy. In an age of rapidly changing technology, geopolitical relations and increased uncertainty, I leave the fellowship not quite knowing how and where my skills will be used next, but with the confidence that I have the tools to walk into any room I aim for.