In the midst of numerous global challenges, OYW Ambassadors have demonstrated their continued leadership in their countries and communities.This week, Ambassadors have launched new projects, been presented with prestigious awards, and shared their expertise on a range of platforms.
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Gideon Olanrewaju
Coca-Cola Foundation Grant
Nigeria
The Coca-Cola Foundation has provided Gideon with a grant of 85,000 USD to repurpose 18,000,000 PET bottles to the construction of informal community learning centres across 6 states in Nigeria.
Ozzie Clarke-Binns
Board Appointment
United Kingdom
Ozzie Clarke-Binns is one of three new board members appointed by A2Dominion. Ozzie is a people and organisational development specialist and served previously as the Head of Innovation and Consultancy at University College London. He is also a trustee of the Royal National Institute of Blind People.
Hauwa Ojeifo
Mental Heath Workshop
Nigeria
She Writes Woman, led by Hauwa, are accelerating their work supporting those living with mental health conditions. They have launched a two-day workshop where persons with psychosocial conditions can learn about legislative advocacy and peer leadership in order to push for change against stigma and discrimination in Nigeria, and advocate for their own rights.
Rimla Akhtar
Rugby Football League Appointment
United Kingdom
Rimla was appointed as the Rugby Football League Non-Executive Director and Inclusion Board Chair.
The board has been established as part of the game-wide commitment to diversity, inclusion, and anti-discrimination campaigning, announced last Autumn. Its members are drawn from a wide range of backgrounds such as education, media, business and retail.
Kenny Imafidon
OnBoard Launch
United Kingdom
Elizabeth Mohr and Kenny Imafidon have created OnBoard - a not-for-profit organisation, which aims to improve the diversity of perspective and increased representation on boards by supporting talented and capable individuals from disadvantaged and non-traditional backgrounds who wish to pursue a board career.
Morgan Hewett
Award Recipient
United States
Options MD - founded by Morgan - competed in the MEDA Million Dollar Pitch Competition, winning a $150,000 grant to support their work.
MEDA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping BIPOC businesses succeed. The past two years of the Million Dollar Challenge resulted in 12 minority businesses from five states receiving financial awards, totalling nearly $3 million.
Deepak Ramola
Launch of the World Wisdom Map
India
Project FUEL - founded by Deepak - have designed 20 'life lessons' based on the heartwarming wisdom that people from across the world have submitted. The map is brimming with more than 300 life lessons harvested from 195 countries, artworks from 10 incredible South-East Asian Artists and curated collections on diverse themes.
Sebastian Arevalo Sanchez
Regional Representative
Colombia
Traffik Analysis Hub has opened its first regional office of representation in Latin America with Sebastián as TAHub’s Latin American (LATAM) Regional Representative.
The Co-Founder and CEO of Fundación Pasos Libres, Sebastian is especially focused on creating partnerships between the private sector, international cooperation and civil society.
Vandana Satgoor
Decarbonisation Campaign Launch
South Africa
Vandana Satgoor, a member of FinBiz2030, has launched a change.org campaign with an aim to build back a decarbonized South Africa.
Young professionals and citizens in South Africa are invited to call to action the Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni, to implement a post-COVID19 recovery plan that will accelerate South Africa’s transition to a low-carbon economy, and take advantage of the many Green Stimulus opportunities available to create jobs and develop a sustainable, resilient and inclusive economy.
Raghu Appasani
Mental Health Campaign
USA
In response to the burnout that GEN-Zs have faced during the pandemic, Raghu - founder of The Minds Foundation - has partnered with # HalfTheStory on a global study to investigate the impact of technology on emotional wellbeing. Their goal is to reach diverse Gen-Z populations globally to help guide transformative educational, technological, and cultural positive societal changes.
Elvis Cao
Energy Transition Working Group
China
Elvis has been selected as a member of the Technical Working Group for Energy Transition for the High-Level Dialogue on Energy by the United Nations. The other members of the technical working group include the Head of Division, Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, and Professor at The Earth Institute at Columbia University, among others.
Jamilla Sealy
Steering Committee Appointment
Barbados
Jamilla was appointed to the first-ever Youth Seat on the Global Water Partnership (GWP) Steering Committee. Jamilla began her 3-year term in December 2020 and will work with other SC members to support the sustainable development and management of water resources at all levels of GWP.
Vincent Egunlae, Caroline Maille
Open Private School Event
United Kingdom
Vincent and Caroline are trustees for ‘The Open Private School’, a charity that seeks to provide opportunities to state-school educated students, via mentoring, network creation and workshops. One of these virtual workshops ‘How to Pick A Career That Is Right For You’ took place on the 28th January 2021.
During this session, Vincent and Caroline shared with students a proven framework and strategy used by careers advisors and coaches to help students work out how to choose a career path that is aligned with who they are.
Isaac Olufadewa
LANCTE Covid-19 Commission
Nigeria
Isaac was invited by Professor Jeffrey Sachs to join the reputable LANCET COVID-19 Commission, the highest scientific research group on COVID-19, as an International Expert.
Elvis Cao
Authored Article
China
Elvis's first-authored opinion article on navigating his way as a first-generation student was just accepted for publication by Matter, a top journal from Cell Press and a sister journal to Cell, Chem, and Joule.
Ismael Essome Ebone
UpLink Video Feature
Cameroon
Ismael's work was featured by Uplink.
Announced during the 2019 Sustainable Development Impact Summit and launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020, UpLink is a digital crowd-engagement platform that connects entrepreneurs and champions of the Sustainable Development Goals
26 January
Seye Odukogbe joined Chris Conway CDir, Group cEO of Translink, for a conversation about the future of travel hosted by The Lens.
28 January
Beliza Coro spoke at the World Economic Forum Spain about education in Latin America.
1 February
Tin Maung Htwe spoke on Sky News about the coup that took place in Myanmar. He is a Manager for the Rakhine Transformation Program at the Center for Diversity and National Harmony.
2 February
Thinzar Shunlei Yi from Myanmar was interviewed on BBC’s The Today Programme.
4 February
Jasmine Burton emceed at the Festival of Urgent Reinventions, facilitating a space for disruptive, inclusive and sustainable innovation in the Impact Economy.
5 February
Innandya Irawan spoke about Ocean Solutions on 5th February at #ULTRAMARINE2021 event, in collaboration with Oceanic Global and Sustainable Ocean Alliance.
Nelson Olanipekun
Nigeria
Nelson has been selected as an @AspenNewVoices Fellow. He is joining a community of passionate, frontline experts from Africa, Asia, and Latin America who are changing the global health & development conversation.
Jubilanté Cutting and Bradley Heslop
Guyana and United Kingdom
Jubilanté and Bradley were amongst twenty extraordinary young individuals including inventors, activists and entrepreneurs from 18 countries to have been announced as finalists for this year’s Commonwealth Youth Awards.
Olu Odubajo
United Kingdom
Olu was nominated for KPMG UK's The People Awards, which recognises the contributions of those in corporate consulting.
Kehkashan Basu
Canada
Kehkashan has been featured on the BBC's “names to watch out for this year” article this year.
Kehkashan founded her first environmental group - the Green Hope Foundation - in Canada when she was just 12 years old.
Benjamin Bocio
Dominican Republic
Benjamin Bocio has been featured in Yahoo Finance for his work helping low-income communities fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Amil Khanzada
Japan
Amil's app, Virufy, has been featured by Forbes Mexico. This app seeks to diagnose Covid-19 just by coughing in front of the phone. The Virufy platform is seeking to collect 100,000 cough sounds from around the world.
Robin Lewis
Japan
Robin was featured in an article published by The Japan Times which covers the myth of #recycling, cultural issues around sustainable consumption, and the story of his enterprise, mymizu.
Robin Lewis
Japan
After hitting their fundraising goal within 48 hours, finished with more than double the target amount ($31,500), Robin shares 8 lessons he learnt from running the mymizu's Kickstarter campaign.
Vincent Egunlae
United Kingdom
Listen to Vincent Egunlae, Co-founder The Open Private School and FinBiz2030 UK Task Force Member, and Ben Elvidge, Executive Director at Morgan Stanley and CFA UK Inclusion and Diversity Network, discuss The Open Private School, a new initiative to help create a more inclusive investment profession.
Pratik Gauri
India
Pratik Gauri was featured in an article written by Entrepreneur India, included as one of the 35 Under 35 rising stars.
Pratik Gauri is an Indian social entrepreneur, currently serving as the India President of 5th Element Group - a global impact management consultancy.
