Weekly Roundup: Ambassadors Received Prestigious Diana Award & more

In the midst of numerous global challenges, OYW Ambassadors have demonstrated their continued leadership in their countries and communities. In recent months, Ambassadors have received prestigious accolades, launched new initiatives, and published important pieces.

Have some news to share? The Community Team would love for you to get in touch via community@oneyoungworld.com.

2021 Diana Award Nominator

Zubair Junjunia, Yi Kang Choo, Aimée Clint, Gulnahar Mahbub Monika, Sara Rajabli, Benjamin Bocio Richardson

Diana Award Recipients

ZubairYi KangAiméeGulnaharSara, and Benjamin received the Diana Award, which was established in the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. The Award is given out by the charity of the same name and has the support of both her sons, The Duke of Cambridge and The Duke of Sussex. The recipients of the award have been honoured for going above and beyond in their daily life to create and sustain positive change.

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Kehkashan Basu

Launched Mobile Library

Emirati

Kehkashan's organisation, the Green Hope Foundation, launched a mobile library, which runs on solar energy. The children of this village in Bangladesh, like hundreds of villages in Global South, have missed out on going to a school library for more than one and a half years. The Green Hope Foundation decided to bring the library to their doorstep, so everyone has the same accesibility to education. 

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Siddhant Sarang

COVID-19 Response

India

Siddhant, a climate activist and OYW Ambassador, runs a one-person volunteer operation to supply critical medical supplies such as oxygen to those affected with COVID-19 in India. The pandemic has been spreading to rural communities where health-care systems not prepared to handle the virus.

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Anya Lazarova, Sonal Sharma, Caroline McGroary

Promoted Cybersecurity Awareness

One Young World Ambassadors, Anya, Sonal, and Caroline, collaborated to promote cybersecurity awareness. Through a university and industry collaboration, they designed an initiative to help educate students about the importance of being cyber aware. They also launched the #CyberSecureChallenge to promote cybersecurity awareness.

#CyberSecure Challenge

Svanika Balasubramanian

Addressed the Nobel Prize Summit

India

CEO of rePurpose Global, Svanika, addressed the inaugural Nobel Prize Summit, emphasized amplifying diverse voices, and launched the Color For Climate Petition. As an environmental innovator, Svanika called for international environmental organizations to create a Reality Seat on their governing boards which allows for people of color under 35 to represent the environmental concerns of communities. 

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Raghu Appasani

Launched Mental Health Resources

United States

Raghu and his organisation, The MINDS Foundation, are working to create resources that provide support to those who have been affected mentally due to the pandemic. 

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Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List

Madhav Datt, Serkan Toso, Alexia Hilbertidou, Zahin Razeen, Shubham Choudhary, Yaseen Khalid, Prakash Koirala, Chen Chee Yang

Forbes 30 Under 30

Madhav, Serkan, Alexia, Zahin, Shubham, Yaseen, Prakash, and Chen were all featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2021 list. The award recognizes young leaders for their dedication, hard work, and innovation despite long lockdowns, restricted travel and uncertainties on all fronts. 

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James Da Costa, Kaene Disepo, Joseph Migila

Candidates for the Commonwealth Youth Council

Among 40 young leaders, James, Kaene, and Joseph were announced as candidates and stood in the election. Candidates that are elected serve on the council from 2021 to 2023 and will lead consultations, projects, and events which will develop the ideas and concerns of young people which will shape youth development policies and frameworks.

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Apefa Adjivon

City of Toronto's Confronting Anti-Black Racism Advisory Committee

Canada

Apefa has been appointed to the City of Toronto's Confronting Anti-Black Racism Advisory Committee which provides advice to the City Council on inter-government and institutional work in education, child-welfare, policing, housing, employment, and the justice system.

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Dayo Okewale

Creating Opportunities for Black Entrepreneurs

United Kingdom

Dayo recently announced the launch of ‘Be the Best’ which will bring together elite industry leaders from every field. ‘Be the Best’ guarantees to create a purposeful ecosystem that promotes black career growth, black entrepreneurs and business ownership. 

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Be the Best Finance Flyer

Ibijoke Faborode, Fatima Zaman, Mete Coban

Athens Democracy Forum Leadership Council

IbijokeFatima, and Mete joined the Athens Democracy Forum Leadership Council to oversee the work that empowers society through citizen engagement and better governance. 

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Gwendolyn Myers

Appointed the Global Chair-Youth Empowerment

Liberia

Gwendolyn received the Global Appointment of the Global Chair-Youth Empowerment @G100 eminent and empowered club of the top 100 women leaders in the world. This appointment provides a path for young people, especially women, to dream, grow, aspire and lead. 

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Florian Jardin, Peter Roozemond

Created Sustainable Cycling Fashion Brand

France

Florian and Peter recently launched Velor, a sustainable cycling fashion brand. Velor makes global impacts through reduction of carbon footprint, high quality garments, and introducing and implementing a circular solution using recycling. 

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Willice Onyango

Published Book Focused on Peace and Security

Kenya

Willice along with his colleagues recently published a book titled "Securitizing Youth: Young People's Roles in the Global Peace and Security Agenda". This book offers new insights on youth engagement regarding peace and security.

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Brighton Kaoma

Joined United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network

Zambia

Brighton has joined the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN Youth) as their Global Director. Their mission is to promote practical solutions for sustainable development and apply the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at national and international levels.

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Jessica Novia

Supported Sustainability Efforts at Unilever

Indonesia

As the forefront of Unilever's Green Office concept in Indonesia and Singapore, Jessica has initiated reducing plastic usage, adding jet hand dryers, and inspiring employees to use reusable water bottles to encourage a more sustainable office lifestyle.

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Jessica Novia Unilever

Mandy Benjamin, Lyle Malander

Co-Hosted Executive Leadership Session

South Africa

Mandy and Lyle, Co-Chairs of the FinBiz2030 South African Task Force, hosted the first Executive Leadership session, bringing leaders together with young professionals driving changes in business and finance.

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Jonny Jacob

Featured in 'The Book of Hope'

United Kingdom

As a part of his mental health advocacy, Jonny, was invited as one of 101 stories in Jonny Benjamin MBE's new book, 'The Book of Hope'. Jonny was also featured in ICAS' CA Magazine May edition titled 'Why mental health is everyone's business'.

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Speaking Engagements

Anita Mitic

Serbia

Anita recently gradauted as a Fulbright Scholar from Texas A&M University. Anita was the first international student to give a graduation speech as a class speaker. 

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Hauwa Ojeifo

Nigeria

Hauwa gave the opening statement at the United Nations Conference of States Parties (UN COSP) where she focused on mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities while examining the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on those with disabilities. 

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Dara Latinwo

United Kingdom

Dara recently moderated Gulf Information Security Expo & Conference (GISEC) Inspire. This event combined cybersecurity companies, governmental organizations, and think tanks to encourage women to enter the field of cybersecurity.

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Enass Abo-Hamed

United Kingdom

The CEO of H2GO Power, Dr. Enass Abo-Hamed, recently spoke at the UK Business Group Alliance for Net Zero, led by the Corporate Leaders Group UK. The webinar showcased UK businesses that are taking climate action through their commitment and dedication to Race to Zero to achieve the net zero targets.

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Salam Al-Nukta

Syria

Salam joined a panel discussion, with more than 500 viewers, with the Social Progress Imperative and the European Youth Forum. Panelists tackled issues such as the climate crisis and the fallout of Covid-19 and discussed how to combat the the global pushback on civic space. 

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Lorenz Narku Laing

Jamaica

Lorenz was featured in an article by Codelist titled, "An ambassador from Bruck speaks against discrimination". The article details Laing's delegate speech against all forms of discrimination during the One Young World Summit at the Munich Olympic Hall.

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Awards

Guled Ibrahim

United States

Guled was announced as a 2021 Bush Fellow. The Bush Fellowship allows individuals to develop the skills and relationships to drive large-scale change among a variety of issues in communities around the region. 

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Kishore Gopal Reddy, Isabella Villanueva-Garcia

Kishore and Isabella have been selected to be one of the 17 Young Leaders representing youth at the 2021 European Development Days (EDD). The EDD Young Leaders participate in panels and key events to find solutions to cross-cutting issues in our generation.

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Xiangkun (Elvis) Cao

China

Elvis was recently named to one of the 200 Leaders of Tomorrow by the 50th St. Gallen Symposium in Switzerland. This annual Symposium invites decision-makers from the diverse fields including, economics, politics, science, and society, to meet and exchange ideas with the next generation of leaders.

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Nishall Garala

United Kingdom

Nishall was recognized by Harlow Council as an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the local community. One of Nishall's biggest accomplishments is running the Big Up Harlow campaign since 2014.

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Moctar Dembele

Burkina Faso

Post-doctoral fellow at IWMI, Moctar, was recently awarded the Prix de la Société Academique Vaudoise 2021. This academic award, given to the best PhD thesis of the academic year, recognizes Moctar’s remarkable methodological thesis which integrates remote sensing and hydrological modeling methods.

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Greg Rockson

Ghana

mPharma, Greg Rockson's company, was selected as an inaugural recipient of the Morgan Stanley award for developing concepts that aim to solve global challenges. 

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Siobhan Gardiner

United Kingdom

Siobhan was named on the 2021 Management Today's 35 women under 35 list. As the Director for Sustainability and Climate Change at Deloitte, Siobhan collaborates with strategic alliances to take the initative on climate action.

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Vilma Saloj

Guatemala

Vilma's organization MAIA Impact School, Central America’s first secondary school which was designed for Maya girls in rural Guatemala, was recently recognized by HundrED.org and the Inter-American Development Bank. MAIA was also featured in a report about 21st-century skills in education in Latin America and the Caribbean. Right now, MAIA continues to conduct classes virtually, taking the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and is working to keep families informed through an educational campaign about the COVID-19 vaccine in Maya languages.

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Radhika Batra

India

Radhika was selected by the World Economic Forum as one of India’s Top 50 COVID-19 Last-Mile Responders.

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Media Coverage

Regis Burton

Antigua and Barbuda

Regis Burton article

Onneile Maripe

Botswana

Onneile Maripe article

Ahmad Nawaz

Pakistan

Ahmad Nawaz article

Abideen Opeyemi

Nigeria

Abideen Opeyemi article

Maureen Muketha

Kenya

Maureen Muketha article

Ali Qasim

United Kingdom

Ali Quasim article

Kellyn George

Dominica

Kellyn George Article

Nhial Deng

Ethiopia

Nhial Deng Article

Reyhan Jamalova

Azerbaijan

Reyhan Jamalova article