Weekly Roundup: Ambassador Launched Path to Net-Zero Future & 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 published groundbreaking reports, met world leaders, and joined exclusive leadership positions.

Have some news to share? The Community Team would love for you to get in touch via [email protected].

Mete Coban

Launched Path to Net Zero

United Kingdom

Councillor Mete Coban announced the Hackney roadmap to net zero, which is set out to rebuild a greener Hackney. The Councillor, along with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Hackney, hosted a roundtable with youths from the Cardinal Pole school to determine how to respond to the climate emergency.

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Mete speaking

Tim Keaveney

Featured on Dragon's Den

United Kingdom

Tim and his co-founder recently appeared on accalimed BBC show, Dragon's Den, with their refillable and eco cleaning products company, Homethings. Their products can help households dramatically reduce their single-use plastic waste.

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Mpho Manyisa

Selected for McKinsey & Company Program

South Africa

Mpho was selected for McKinsey & Company's Next Generation Women Leaders 2021 program. This program emphasizes the importance of women in leadership and develops connections among young leaders.

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Ambassadors making strides to achieve the SDGs

Our latest collaboration with Ladderworks were interviews with Etienne AdriaenssenTamara MecklerAmira OdehYi Jun MockReyhan JamalovaParveen BegumArjun MishraMazbahul IslamEmmanuel Niyoyabikoze, Bhagya Uppala Wijayawardane, Taylor Quinn, Kenna Questelles, Raeed Roshan AliTatiana HoundjoLara Valentina PizarroLaís Naoko Higashi, and Karime Guillen Libien which have been featured on NASDAQ's website. 

Ladderworks is a publishing platform of diverse stories with the mission to inspire kids and youth around the world to become empathetic entrepreneurs.

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Andrea de la Torre

"'Fake News', an existent reality"

Colombia

Co-written by OYW Ambassador Andrea de la Torre, the article "'Fake News', an existent reality" highlights our route towards fake news, the anatomy of fake news, and recommendations to fight against fake news.

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Brighton Kaoma

Joined the 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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Rut Einarsdóttir

Ambassador Meeting Prime Minister

Iceland

Rut met Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the Prime Minister of Iceland at the reception for the Icelandic Delegation to the CSW 65. The largest gathering on gender equality at the United Nations, the Icelandic delegation to the Commission on the Status of Women, was composed of diverse fields in Iceland, all of whom work together and individually to further women's rights on a global scale.

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Rut Einarsdóttir and Katrín Jakobsdóttir

Xiangkun (Elvis) Cao

Co-Authored Report on Energy Transition

China

Elvis co-authored Theme Report on Energy Transition at the UN Technical Working Group on Energy Transitions was published recently. He also joined the Future Energy Leaders Programme with the World Energy Council. This community is composed of young professionals who are dedicated to making the transition to sustainable energy a reality. 

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Juan Carlos Viloria Doria

Participated in Youth Forum

Colombia

Juan was an active and involved participant at the 3rd Migration Youth Forum. This is an annual forum that gathers youth perspectives in key thematic areas across different regions that focuses on intersectional issues. Additionally,  Juan Carlos Viloria Doria recently urged governments and various organizations from around the world for solidarity with refugees and migrants from Venezuela.

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Maria Alejandra Téllez Correa

“Retratos del campo: Mujeres de tierra y agua”

Colombia

Maria Alejandra Téllez Correa released a documentary about the relation between gender, rurality and climate change in Colombia. The work's name is "Countryside Portraits: Women from Earth And Water", which are real life histories.

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Joseph Sarvary

Selected as President of INDEVOR

Paraguy

Joseph was selected as President of INDEVOR (INSEAD MBA Impact club). He will use his skills and experiences to guide his school toward a more sustainable future. 

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Kristin Duquette

Selected as Security Fellow

United States

Kristin is joining the Truman National Security Project Class of 2021 as a Security Fellow. Kristin will be collaborating with over 2,000 veterans, policymakers, and national security experts who are committed to making national security more diverse and innovative. 

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Albert Ninepence

Published Book on Impact

Ghana

Albert recently published his book, 'Impact of Structural Adjustment Program on Sub-Saharan Africa', which investigates and evaluates the impact of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) in Ghana. 

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Albert Ninepence

Morgan Hewett

Selected for Fast Track to Scale Program

United States

Morgan was accepted into a pilot opportunity with Anthem, the second largest health insurer, through their Fast Track to Scale program. In this program Morgan will generate important proof points around the efficacy of treatment options, better understand Anthem's network of psychiatrists, and learn how to navigate patients to the proper care. 

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Brad Gudger

Appointed Trustee Position

United Kingdom

As a Youth Expert Advisor for NHS England and NHS Improvement, a Young Leader for the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust and a OYW Ambassador, Brad was appointed as a new trustee to the board for the National Academy for Social Prescribing. 

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Nhial update

Nhial Deng

Joined Advisory Board

Ethiopia

Nhial recently joined the East African Centre for Forced Migration and Displacement as a Member of its Advisory Board. He will work with the Centre in advocating for policies and research that incorporate the voices of the displaced populations in the region.

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Keithlin Caroo

Signed Memorandum of Understanding

St. Lucia

Keithlin's company, Helen's Daughters, signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Export Saint Lucia. Their partnership will provide women and youth with training programs and support to improve capacity in the agricultural sector. 

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Jemima Lovatt

Received Offer of Pupillage

United Kingdom

Jemima recently received an offer of pupillage from 6 Pump Court, fulfilling her lifelong drem of being a barrister. Jemima also launched Thrive, which assists businesses in reducing and and mitigating the risks associated with gender inequality.

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George Imafidon

Ambassador Meets Prince William

United Kingdom

An engineer on Team X44, George Imafidon, recently met with Prince William to test drive their electric racing vehicles.

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George Imafidon and Prince William
Speaking Engagements

Xiangkun (Elvis) Cao

China

Elvis was invited by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs to be a panelist on their Global Policy Dialogue for Climate Action. The dialogue is titled 'Imagining the Carbon-neutral Future: Transformations in Energy and Transport' and featured discussions of practical solutions and ways to minimize the effect of clean energy and sustainable transport on the environment.

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Svanika Balasubramanian

India

Svanika focused on the theme 'Our Planet, Our Future' while speaking at the first Nobel Prize Summit. This event brought together Nobel Prize laureates, scientists, policy makers, business leaders, and youth leaders to explore the question: What can be achieved in this decade to put the world on a path to a more sustainable, more prosperous future for all of humanity?

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Jayathma Wickramanayake, Countney Sunna

Two Summit speakers, Jayathma and Countney, inspired and reflected upon changes for youth for today and Future Generations during the Youth 7 2021 Summit.

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Salam Al-Nukta

Syria

As the founder of ChangeMakers, an organization which aims to close the gender gap in STEM, Salam Al-Nukta will be speaking at Youth 2030 Feminist Vision for the Arab States at the Generation Equality Forum, which will be held in Paris. 

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Awards

Stephen Ogweno

Kenya

Stephen's foundation, Stowelink, won Student Innovation Project Of The Year during the Quality Health Care Awards. It was also the first runner up in the category of Innovative Use Of Social Media For Healthcare. Additionally, his work with the NCDs 365 project and App and the impact created has been recognized by The Young Innovators For Health Award, an Africa wide health innovation award. Since 2020, the project and the app have reached 3.5 million people in the world. 

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Courtney Sunna

United States

Courtney moderated the World Humanitarian Forum's session, "Youth Leadership: The role of youth in building back better" which addressed the challenges of today's generational gap and solutions to rebuild and create an intern-generational society.

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Manoly Sisavanh

Laos

Manoly Sisavanh, the Deputy Country Director for the Wildlife Conservation Society Lao PDR Program in Laos, has been shortlisted for Women of the Future Awards South East Asia 2021 in the Community Spirit and Public Service category. Manoly currently leads government policy dialogue on protected areas and wildlife and in 2019 won the Mary Robinson Climate Justice Award. 

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Jemima Lovatt

United Kingdom

Jemima has been nominated for the National Diversity Awards for her work with Thrive, the social enterprise for gender equality. Thrive provides education on domestic abuse, stranger harassment, creating safe spaces, the double discrimination faced by black women and equal pay to corporate clients.

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Emmanuel Niyoyabikoze

Burundi

Founder of Greening Burundi, Emmanuel, has been named as an Earth Champion by ICPAC, as a leader at the forefront of Sustainable Development and Climate Action in Eastern Africa. 

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Rimla Akhtar

United Kingdom

Rimla was recognised in The Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021 lists, which acnkowledges those who give extraordinary contributions and service across the United Kingdom. Rimla was honoured with the Order of the British Empire as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to Equality and Diversity in Sport.

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Renee Davis

United Kingdom

Renee was recognized in UK Black Business Week's 25 Top Black Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2021. As the founder of Out The Box, a community of over a thousand young creative entrepreneurs, and black professionals in various fields, Renee feels very passionate about seeing young people thrive and reach their full potential. 

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Dalia Yousif

Sudan

Dalia received the Chevening Scholarship and is preparing to complete a MSc in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Management at Imperial College London and eventually looks to be the future minister of Trade in Sudan.

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Izzy Obeng

United Kingdom

Izzy Obeng was recognized in UK Black Business Week's 25 Top Black Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2021. Izzy is the Director of Foundervine, an international training consultancy specialising in start-up and scale-up acceleration programmes. She works to address the inequalities that women and young people face when starting a business or social enterprise.

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Media Coverage

Alexia Hilbertidou

New Zealand

Alexia Hilbertidou article

Esther Marshall

United Kingdom

Esther Marshall article

Jacob Hamar, Sabrina Kolbeck

Jacob Hamar and Sabrina Kolbeck article

Cecilia Chapiro

Argentina

Cecilia Chapiro article

Siddhant Sarang

India

Siddhant Sarang article

Yi Kang Choo

Malaysia

Yi Kang Choo article

Adam Bradford

United Kingdom

Adam Bradford article

Emerson Salguero

Guatemala

Emerson Salguero article

Kamal-deen Kassim

Nigeria

Kamal-deen Kassim article