Youth Action Team

Fareed Ibrahim is the Founder and Executive Director of Smart Aid Initiative, a youth-led nonprofit advancing education, digital empowerment, gender equality, and social inclusion across Nigeria. With over 7 years of experience in advocacy and community-driven solutions, he has directly empowered more than 14,000 people in underserved communities. A recognized voice in international development spaces, Fareed’s work blends grassroots innovation with policy influence, focusing on responsible technology, social equity, and inclusive governance. He is passionate about shaping civic participation and accountability, building bridges between communities, governments, and global stakeholders to unlock the potential of young people and marginalized groups in creating a more equitable and sustainable future.

Rodrigo Miguel Cardoso is a Portuguese human rights advocate and final-year Political Science and International Relations student at NOVA University of Lisbon. He serves on the Board of Amnesty International Portugal, where he helps shape the organisation’s strategic direction and represents Portuguese youth at the Global Assembly. In 2025, he was appointed Commissioner for the Portuguese Government’s Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination (CICDR) and joined the European Economic and Social Committee President’s inaugural Youth Advisory Council, where he represents over 66 million young Europeans and provides policy recommendations to the European Commission, European Parliament, and UN bodies. He also advises the Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) on key priorities and supports the development of its future youth participation framework.

Rodrigo has represented Portugal in more than ten countries, contributing to global dialogues on migration, climate change, and digital rights, from the International Youth Conference on Biodiversity in Japan to the Global Youth Summit on Digital Rights in Argentina.

From the uri and villages of Ngāti Maru ki Hauraki, Taputimu, Fai'a'ai and Nofoali'i, Ty has been on a mission to open doors for Māori and Pasifika in the global discourse on sustainable development, believing it starts with harnessing indigenous knowledge.

Ty’s advocacy has led her to speak at the UN Foundation's Global Goals Week in New York, recognised in the YWCA's Y25 programme in 2024 and awarded the only Aotearoa New Zealand representative for the Global Citizen Youth Leader Awards 2024.

Central to the various kaupapa she serves in is her cherished passion project, VAKA to 2030, a platform designed to foster community and empower South Pacific changemakers to incorporate ancestral knowledge into initiatives advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Tylah's most important mission in life is to be a role model for younger sisters, Blayke and Ridley, so they feel confident navigating the world as strong Pacific women.

Honduran lawyer with a Master’s degree in Public Management and Political Action, recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 for her leadership and social impact. At the age of 24, she has worked at the United Nations Office in Honduras, as well as at the Embassy of Honduras in Spain, and has participated in international programs such as the Carolina Foundation’s Ibero-American Leaders Program, the UN Young Peacebuilders Program, and the Botín Foundation’s Program for the Strengthening of the Public Function in Latin America.

She is the Executive Director of El Milenio, a youth organization that promotes civic engagement and combats political polarization in Honduras. Under her leadership, the organization has launched initiatives such as EMIL, an artificial intelligence tool that compiles the professional profiles of all candidates running for public office, and “Tu Voto, Tu Poder”, a digital campaign that mobilized thousands of young people to increase voter participation in the primary elections.

She has represented Honduras abroad as a panelist at conferences including the Nobel Prize Summit in Washington D.C., the Summit of the Future at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and the Peace Summit of the Americas in Buenos Aires. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the Americas Youth Advocacy Team and as Focal Point for the United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY), where she advocates for the implementation of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda across Latin America. She has also contributed to research projects such as the UNDP Human Development Index in Honduras and “Catalyst for Change: Youth Leadership in Rights, Diversity and Social Cohesion Across the Americas” by UNOY.

Gisselle is Co-Founder of Centuria, the first political consulting firm in Honduras, where she leads the development of innovative political strategies for social and political actors, fostering democratic participation and strengthening institutional resilience in the country.

Ahmed Saad is an award-winning Program Manager, educator, and social entrepreneur with over eight years of experience designing and delivering educational, peacebuilding, and capacity development initiatives across the MENA region. As CEO of Educuality, Egypt’s pioneering platform for social entrepreneurship and peace education through gamification and the arts, Ahmed has mentored over 50 youth-led initiatives and trained more than 10,000 young people on global skills and civic engagement.

A distinguished graduate of the University of Manchester (MA Digital Technologies, Communication and Education), Ahmed is also a UNESCO Global Youth Grant recipient, Global Changemaker, and speaker at forums hosted by the United Nations, Council of Europe, and British Council. His work bridges grassroots innovation with global impact, empowering marginalized communities through inclusive education, policy advocacy, and storytelling.

Maria Veronica “Oni” Papa is a youth leader and researcher dedicated to amplifying young people’s voices in governance and climate action. She serves as Global Communications Co-Lead for UNEP’s Children and Youth Major Group (CYMG) and as a Youth Advisor at the Global Fund for Children. She also manages regional programs for IFLRY Asia, contributes to policy research at Policy International, and advises on global linkages for Kilos Ko Youth, which she co-founded in 2020.

Cedric Bichano is a storyteller and changemaker who turns displacement into strength.

As the Founder of World Refuge Film Academy, where he empowers displaced communities to share their own narratives through film and media.

He creates spaces where refugees reclaim dignity through their own voices and stories.

Named a Kofi Annan Changemaker 2024 and selected as an Obama Africa Leader 2025, Cedric believes storytelling is not just art, it is a path to peace, justice, and belonging. He leverages storytelling to shape dialogue, influence policy, and inspire social transformation.

Lian Biar is a youth leader from South Sudan and the founder of KushAgro, a youth-led enterprise connecting smallholder farmers to climate-smart agriculture through multilingual education and community workshops. In recognition of her advocacy for sustainable food systems, she was invited as the youth keynote speaker at the 2024 World Seed Congress of the International Seed Federation, where she addressed over 2,000 professionals from 85+ countries alongside global dignitaries. Lian has also represented youth at the World Food Forum 2023 and the World Bank Group Youth Summit 2023.

Her advocacy for youth, women's empowerment, and equality has been recognized by the United Nations Institute for Training & Research, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources of the FAO, NGIN (NextGen Agriculture Impact Network), and Caribou Digital’s Agri-Influencer Network, where she is one of 12 young people influencing social agriculture across Africa. Lian served as the inaugural Speaker of the Youth National Parliament in South Sudan from 2018-2019, where she promoted inclusive civic space for the youth. She is currently volunteering as the Country Ambassador for Youth Opportunities in Costa Rica, where she engages with civil organizations to promote the rights of students.

Zulfiya Urunova is a social impact entrepreneur, human rights advocate, and founder of Take Care Mom — a digital health and psychosocial support platform empowering mothers across Central Asia. With over $200,000 secured in international grants, she has led initiatives focused on maternal mental health, early childhood development, and digital access to care.

Nahjae Nunes is a Jamaican social development policy leader who works to turn the lived realities of children and young people into public decisions. Rooted in national youth service, his path runs from parish hearings in Kingston to multilateral negotiations, carrying youth testimony into policy. In the Commonwealth, he co-chaired the International Youth Taskforce and helped craft the Apia Youth Declaration presented to Heads at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2024, later delivering the Royal Commonwealth Society’s High Commissioners’ Banquet keynote. At the United Nations, he has brokered consensus on child rights and youth participation and spoken at the ECOSOC Youth Forum, the High-Level Political Forum, and the Summit of the Future, including a foresight session in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. With UNICEF Innocenti, he supports research and country offices to strengthen prevention and social protection systems across regions. His contributions have been recognised with Jamaica’s Prime Minister’s National Award for Excellence, the Governor-General’s Achievement Award, and fellowships of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Commonwealth Society. He is currently pursuing graduate studies at the University of Oxford.

Learning and leading, creating and succeeding — for a just, green, and inclusive world.

#Integrity #Passion #Resilience
Leadership Anthem: Venezuela by Pablo Herrero Ibarz

Senior of Liberal Studies at Universidad Metropolitana in Caracas, Venezuela. Advocate for transforming realities through meaningful youth civic engagement, and the defense of democracy and equality in Latin America. Dedicated to sustainable education and building leadership networks, with female empowerment as a key goal. Exercised leadership roles in the National Student Movement of Venezuela for over 3 years, in elected positions of representation of youth demands towards national authorities, civil society, and the international community. Designed and implemented non-violence practices and protocols to over 40 student protests with over 1 million participants from 2017 to 2019. Elaborated a diagnosis of 26 universities in 13 states of Venezuela, on behalf of fighting for institutional autonomy and sustainability, as well as building a network for national youth participation.  Currently serving as Director of Female Leadership in the NGO Proyecto Base. Founder of “El Círculo”, a Latin American Female Leadership network with participants from 7 countries, thriving to cooperate and impulse active female leadership and critical mass in the region, based on shared perspectives. Founder of Women in Business Venezuela, an undergraduate network for professional guidance. Member of the Latin American Public Servants Network of the Botín Foundation, and the UNIMET Honorary List.

#Leader #SocialImpactWarrior #Compassionate
Leadership Anthem: Wakenya Pamoja for Peace

Ian Makamara is a 24-year-old Kenyan lawyer with an interest in digital rights, gender equality and the freedom of expression. Currently, Ian is a Public Policy and Corporate Communication Conslutant with Speyside where he has advised multiple tech companies on their entry and operation in the Kenyan market. He is also a founding member of the Nawiri Sisters Foundation, an organisation dedicated to the eradication of period poverty for underprivileged girls in Kenya. Ian is also an innovation consultant who works with social impact entrepreneurs across the globe to learn about Little Big Fund’s unique model and find approaches to scale it through partnerships and collaborations with social impact organizations and foundations around the world. 

Ian was also an Empowered Elections Initative Fellow with the IRI, where his work and research was centred around elections fairness with a focus on Columbia and Kenya. Ian is also an advisory Board Member of the Global Childhood Academy, where his work is focused on ensuring that providers of child care receive adequate and easily accessible training across the world. As a member of the Youth Action Team, Ian wil be actively working to empower young activists across the globe through advocacy and research. 

#Activist #Inclusion #CerebralPalsy
Leadership Anthem: Real Inclusion for people with disabilities

I am Susan Sabano from Uganda, 27 years old, a youth living with Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is a disability that affects the part of the brain responsible for body coordination. I serve as a Board member at Show Abilities Uganda (SAU) which is an umbrella organization for the youth with Disability in Uganda. I perform the role of a youth advocate for the inclusion of persons with cerebral palsy where their rights and their potential needs adhere to both National and grass-root levels.

I am passionate about seeing an inclusive society having all youth (the able-bodied and those with Disabilities) being given equal opportunities without Stigmatization and Discrimination and also serving communities beyond themselves for their better wellbeing. This has been an inspiration and a cause to work in every aspect of life to make a significant change in the life of the needy, especially marginalized group.

#homoempathicus  #storyteller  #adventurer
Leadership Anthem: Avril Lavigne – We Are Warriors

Mihajlo is a youth worker passionate about the Bonn Process, revitalising pluralistic democracy and meaningful youth participation. He was a Serbian youth delegate at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities at the Council of Europe and a youth representative at the National Advisory Council on Youth, a co-management system within the Govt. of Serbia. Regionally, he works in peacebuilding and the promotion of human rights, democracy and NFE. At the moment, he is engaged at Res Polis from Novi Sad, where he designs, implements and oversees youth-oriented and youth-led activities. 

#Dedication #Inclusion #Reliability
Leadership Anthem: Whatever it takes – Imagine Dragons

Nikita Leonie Peck studies law in Hamburg, Germany. In 2017, she became a national finalist in the debating competition “Jugend debattiert”. Ahead of the state elections in 2019, she debated the expansion of renewable energies with Brandenburg’s minister-president Dietmar Woidke. As a representative of the Jugend debattiert alumni association, she is involved in the coordination of workshops at schools. Moreover, she was part of the UNICEF Juniorteam Berlin and gained experience as a youth delegate and mentor of UNITE 2030. She is especially passionate about youth participation, quality education, climate action and mental health.

#SocialArtivist #Integratedbeing #Collectiveleadership
Leadership Anthem: Planting Seeds – Nimo Patel

Kejal has been facilitating leadership journeys through learning and social action, since 2014. She is the CEO/ Co-founder of Wisdom Tree. It works on leadership and culture transformation with social organisations.

Her journey in the social space started with the Blue Ribbon Movement (BRM) as a civic fellow who moved on to lead civic programs that have built active citizenship in 800+ youth. She then co-envisioned and convened a volunteer-led youth movement of these alumni that runs with 100% consent.  

Believing in the spirit of togetherness, she has been part of diverse networks in India. Kejal has also been involved in peacebuilding through the South Asian Youth Conferences. She was selected as the youth representative of India at the World Forum for Democracy 2015, France. She is currently serving her second term as Youth Action Team member at CIVICUS. 

#Diversity #Compassion #Empathy #YouthEmpowerment
Leadership Anthem: 倔强；孤勇者

A law graduate at Queen’s University Belfast, and a Masters in Corporate Law graduate at the University of Cambridge – Choo is currently SEO London’s (a UK-based charity) Corporate Law Programme Coordinator, supporting/mentoring students from BAME and social mobility backgrounds to succeed in their legal career journey. He is also an ambassador for the British Youth Council and Youth Futures Foundation Future Voices Group, advocating for youth unemployment issues across the UK.  

Besides, he was a Childline Counsellor and the Founder of the Welfare Taskforce for Malaysian Students Abroad – supporting young people/students globally with their mental health especially during COVID. He is also a Board Member of SistersIN, a charity focused on empowering/developing leadership skills amongst female students to succeed in tomorrow’s workplace. 

Internationally, he was invited by the UN OSGEY to be part of its Youth, Peace, and Security Protection Working Group, and is an active One Young World Ambassador who co-organised its inaugural University of Cambridge Caucus. Some of his notable achievements include receiving the QUB Student of the Year Award, Union of Students (Ireland) International Student of the Year Award, a Diana Award, and being appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. 

#Visionary #BuildNarratives #YouthPower
Leadership Anthem: Follow The Leader – The Soca Boys

Daniel is the media and communications coordinator at Afrika Youth Movement; a youth-led movement with over 10,000 members in over 41 countries and 15 country hubs. He is passionate about everything youth, media, and information literacy. As part of his role, Daniel was responsible for media engagement of the movement and contributing to policy frameworks on the continent from the African Union to national initiatives and alliances including the Fight Inequality Youth Alliance (Denmark) and Africans Rising (Tanzania). In 2017, Daniel began engaging with UNESCO and GAPMIL to promote media and information literacy among young people globally. Daniel Nwaeze served on the CIVICUS Youth Action Team from 2019-2020.

#Energetic #Ambitious #EngagedInCivilSociety
Leadership Anthem: Coldplay - Sky Full of Stars

Lilia Khazri is a 21-year old social activist based in Tunisia advocating gender equality, peace building and youth empowerment. She is an international relations student who is very passionate about social activism, diplomacy and changemaking. Throughout her journey with in civic engagement, Lilia worked with civil society NGOs at both national and international scale, including : IBuild Africa, Girl Up, NOW4Humanity, Paper Airplanes, AMEL Institute and many more. Currently, she is the country ambassador of Tunisia in Peace First Organization as well as a project coordinator for the Cultural Club of Ali Belhouane Tunis. In advancing the cause of youth empowerment, she is leading SPEAK UP TUNISIA and keeps believing that meaning youth engagement can build a harmonious and advanced world where everyone is included, respected and heard.

#YouthLeader #HealthcareWorker #Musician
Leadership Anthem: Mississippi goddam - Nina Simone

Mehjar is a youth leader based from Sweden where he’s studying medicine and global health. He is currently sitting as a board member of Amnesty International Sweden. Mehjar started as an activist in high school working with the human rights movement through different organizations such as Amnesty, the Red Cross Youth, and FIAN-Sweden. He is especially interested in the right to healthcare and its intersection with other human rights. As his activism expanded, he started becoming active in more international work through IFMSA, Terre des Hommes, Amnesty’s international networks, and meetings. As he started working on a more strategic level, the grass-root is still integrated within his work as he knows how essential it is. Mehjar has always seen youth engagement as an important part of his activism and a crucial part of the current world of activism. We are pivotal to creating change and meaningful youth engagement should systematically see us, amplify us, and listen to us. Youth involvement and more youth in leadership positions will make the movement stronger and better.

#Activism #Passion #Diversity
Leadership Anthem: We Are the Champions by Queen

René Díaz is 29 years old and a master's student in economics. He is the founder of Ayudando a Honduras, renextbomblog, pazartistas and other projects in his country promoting social change and peacebuilding. He is a strong LGBTI activist, promoter of human rights, peace, justice and social impact. In recent years, he has focused on working closely with social entrepreneurship for the benefit of the most vulnerable adolescents and young people in Honduras.

#SocialJustice #Science4ThePeople #CommunityWork
Leadership Anthem: La Vida Vale la Pena – Petrona Martínez

Sandra is a physics engineer, social human right activist and teacher. She has been a social and human right activist since the age of 17 participating and coordinating protests in Colombia for education, human rights and against police brutality. She is a strong advocate of putting science and engineering at the service of the people and not the big companies and believes and has worked for building community sustained economies. She participates in Hands on the Field, a grassroots organization committed to putting knowledge of university students and teachers at work to serve poor peasants and rural development. She is also cofounder of the People Support Network, a community organization that builds on solidarity and self-management to collectively face poverty, discrimination, health and other problems encountered specially by women and youth in poor neighborhoods in Colombia. She believes in the power of civil society movements and the leading role youth takes in them.

#kind #imperfectfeminist #listener
Leadership Anthem: I'm Still Standing - Elton John

Sanaya is a youth activist and a dispute resolution lawyer practicing in Mumbai, India. She is a strong advocate for gender justice and works at the intersection of law and development. Sanaya is the Chief Legal Officer at One Future Collective (OFC), a feminist, youth-led not-for-profit, nurturing radical kindness in people, organizations, and communities, where she is involved with legal compliance, strategy, research, and community organizing. During the covid-19 lockdown, she has led OFC's open mic nights, facilitating dialogue on themes such as labor, care and rebuilding, through poetry. Sanaya believes that art, poetry, and music have the power to transform communities.

Alan is a lawyer and passionate human rights defender from Bolivia. He serves as the Director of Policy and Advocacy of the International Youth Alliance for Family Planning, and is the Founder of Change the System (CTS), a Bolivian youth-led organization working towards sustainable development, human rights and youth participation, from a systemic change perspective. He is a vocal advocate for human rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and meaningful youth engagement in decision making. He believes that an intersectional and holistic approach to global issues is fundamental for addressing the issues that are central to his work. He has followed and led advocacy strategies in different international processes.

Dragana is a Management Board member at the Center for Intercultural Dialogue (CID), a youth-led organisation in North Macedonia working with young people from different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds in a post-conflict society. As part of her role, she is running an open youth centre, MultiKulti (MultiКулти), in the city of Kumanovo, where she works on her fields of expertise, including intercultural dialogue, human rights and youth participation by using integrated education. She also works as an educator on these themes with youth and adults at a local, national and international level. You can find her on Instagram: @jovanovska91.